Abraham H. Cannon — Vision of Elizabeth Hoagland Cannon

During the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple in April 1893, Abraham H. Cannon received a personal vision of his deceased mother, Elizabeth Hoagland Cannon. While seated in the assembly, he looked toward the side of the room and saw her standing there. He recorded that she 'looked just as she did in life, only more beautiful' and that she smiled at him with an expression of peace and approval. This vision served as a great comfort to him, reinforcing his faith in the reality of the spirit world and the eternal nature of the family units he was working to seal in the temple.

Recording note: Cannon recorded this experience in his private journal under the date of April 1893, during the Salt Lake Temple dedication; the journal remains unpublished, and portions are quoted in David John Buerger's “The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship.” Cannon (1859–1896), a member of the First Council of the Seventy and a son of Elder George Q. Cannon, saw his mother, Elizabeth Hoagland Cannon, who had died several years earlier; the experience confirmed for him the reality of the spirit world and of temple sealing work.