Heber J. Grant (November 22, 1856–May 14, 1945) was the seventh President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church; see also Mormonism). He was ordained an apostle on October 16, 1882, on the same day as George Teasdale. Grant served as Church President from 1918 to his death in 1945.

Heber Jeddy Grant¹ was born in Salt Lake City, Utah to Jedediah M. and Rachel Ridgeway Ivins Grant. Jedediah Grant had served as Brigham Young's counselor in the First Presidency of the LDS Church. However, he died nine days after Heber was born, and Rachel became the dominant influence in Heber's life. In business, Heber J. Grant helped develop the Avenues neighborhood of Salt Lake City.

In 1901, Grant was sent to Japan to open the Japanese Mission of the LDS church, where he served as its president until 1903 when he returned home but was almost immediately sent to preside over the British and European Mission.

Heber J. Grant succeeded Joseph F. Smith as President of the Church in 1918. He enforced the Manifesto outlawing plural marriage throughout his tenure as president of the church, and gave inspired guidance as the church's social structure evolved away from its early days of plural marriages.

One of his greatest legacies as Prophet and President of the Church is the welfare program of the Church, which was instituted by revelation in 1936. He said, "Our primary purpose was to set up, in so far as it might be possible, a system under which the curse of idleness would be done away with, the evils of a dole abolished, and independence, industry, thrift and self-respect be once more established amongst our people. The aim of the Church is to help the people help themselves." (ibid, p. xxiv)

Heber J. Grant died in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Plural Marriage

Heber J. Grant was the last of the presidents of the LDS Church to practice "plural marriage". He married a first time in 1877 and then again twice in 1884. Some sources suggest the latter two marriages were annulled after the Manifesto ending plural marriages was issued by President Wilford Woodruff in 1890, but no evidence can be found to support this.

• Grant married Lucy Stringham on November 1, 1877. Lucy bore him 6 children before she passed away in 1893, after a long illness, during which he gave constant and tender devotion to her, as he had throughout their marriage. (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, p. xviii)

• He married Hulda Augusta Winters on May 26 1884. Augusta bore him one daughter. She accompanied Grant to Japan when Grant was sent to open the Japanese Mission in 1901. Remained with Grant until his death in 1945. She died in 1952.

• He married Emily Harris Wells on May 27 1884. Emily bore him 5 children before she passed away in 1908. She accompanied Grant during his time presiding over the British and European Mission in 1903. Emily's last child was born in 1899, the same year Grant pleaded guilty to cohabitation and paid a $100 fine. Cohabitation was the most common charge for poligamists. This daughter, Frances, knew her father as "a remarkable family man" (ibid, p. xv).

Reference

• Allen, James B. and Leonard, Glen M. The Story of the Latter-day Saints. Deseret Book Co., Salt Lake City, UT, 1976. ISBN 0-87747-594-6.

• Ludlow, Daniel H., Editor. Church History, Selections from the Encyclopedia of Mormonism. Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, UT, 1992. ISBN 0-87579-924-8.

Note

¹His middle name was indeed "Jeddy", not "Jedidiah", though his father, a Counselor in the First Presidency of Brigham Young, was Jedidiah Morgan Grant.