Jedediah M. Grant

Jedediah M. Grant
Second Counselor in the First Presidency
April 7, 1854 – December 1, 1856
Predecessor	Willard Richards
Successor	Daniel H. Wells
LDS Church Apostle
April 7, 1854 – December 1, 1856
Reason	Death of Willard Richards[1]
Reorganization at end of term	Daniel H. Wells ordained and added to the First Presidency
First Seven Presidents of the Seventy
December 2, 1845 – April 7, 1854
End reason	Called as Second Counselor in the First Presidency
Personal details
Born	Jedediah Morgan Grant February 21, 1816 Windsor, New York, United States
Died	December 1, 1856 (aged 40) Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, United States
Resting place	Salt Lake City Cemetery 40°46′37″N 111°51′29″W / 40.777°N 111.858°W
Spouse(s)	7
Children	11
Parents	Joshua and Athalia H. Grant

Jedediah Morgan Grant (February 21, 1816 – December 1, 1856) was a leader and an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was member of the First Council of the Seventy from 1845 to 1854 and served in the First Presidency under church president Brigham Young from 1854 to 1856. He is known for his fiery speeches during the Reformation of 1856, earning the nickname "Brigham's Sledgehammer". Grant is the father of Heber J. Grant, who later served as President of the Church.

Early life

Jedediah M. Grant was born February 21, 1816, to Joshua Grant and Athalia Howard in Windsor, New York. He was baptized into the Church of Christ on March 21, 1833, at age 17.^[2] By age 18, he had participated in Zion's Camp, marching from Kirtland, Ohio, to Missouri under the direction of Joseph Smith. Though the physical objectives of the march were not met, many members later became leaders in Smith's church. Grant's close relationship with these men from such an early age would last the rest of his life.

Grant was among the first Latter Day Saint missionaries to go to Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia.^[3] His preaching efforts in the Toms River area of New Jersey in the late 1830s led to the conversion of members of the Ivins family.^[3]

Grant was one of a group of men (which also included Brigham Young, Wilford Woodruff and George A. Smith) who were called in 1844 to campaign for Smith's election to President of the United States.

Church leader

After Smith's death, Grant was called to serve as a President of the Seventy. As a Seventy, he assisted with the trek westwards and the settling of the Salt Lake Valley. He would later become the first mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah, serving in that position from 1851 until his death. Morgan County, Utah, and Morgan, Utah, are both named for him. In 1854, Grant was ordained an apostle, but he did not become a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Instead, he was called to the First Presidency as Young's Second Counselor, filling the vacancy left by the death of Willard Richards.

Sermons during the Mormon reformation

In 1856, Grant was called by Young to tour the northern sections of Utah Territory, calling the Latter-day Saints to repentance. Grant inspired the Mormon Reformation of 1856 as he delivered fiery speeches on this tour. He issued a call for rebaptism of all the members of the area. Grant's speeches earned him the title "Brigham's Sledgehammer." The effects of his speeches were felt almost immediately; members throughout the area, as well as in distant parts, were rebaptized to signify their commitment to renew their commitments to the LDS Church and the gospel. Several of these speeches are recorded in Journal of Discourses.

Death and descendants

Grant contracted pneumonia after his vigorous tour. He died on December 1, 1856, just nine days after his son, Heber J. Grant, was born to his wife Rachel Ridgeway Ivins. He was buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery.

Like many early Mormons, Grant practiced plural marriage. He had a total of seven wives, among them Susan Fairchild Noble Grant, who wrote reminiscences of early life in Utah and was a leader in the Relief Society after Grant died. By his wives, Grant had 11 children (10 biological, one adopted). His son, Heber, became the LDS Church's seventh president.

Grave marker of Jedediah M. Grant.

See also

• List of mayors of Salt Lake City

Notes

1. Grant replaced Richards as a member of the First Presidency. Although he was an ordained apostle, Grant was never a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
2. Biography of Jedediah Morgan Grant, Joseph Smith Papers (accessed January 6, 2012).
3. 2005 Deseret Morning News Church Almanac (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Morning News, 2004) pp. 197, 213, 220, 254.

References

• Sessions, Gene Allred. Mormon Thunder: A Documentary History of Jedediah Morgan Grant. University of Illinois Press, 1993. ISBN 0-252-00944-4.
• Young, Brigham (December 4, 1856), "On the Death of President Jedediah M. Grant", in Watt, G.D., Journal of Discourses Delivered by President Brigham Young, His Two Counsellors, and the Twelve Apostles, and Others, 4, Liverpool: S.W. Richards, pp. 129–134.
• Kimball, Heber C. (December 4, 1856), "Remarks at the Funeral of President Jedediah M. Grant", in Watt, G.D., Journal of Discourses Delivered by President Brigham Young, His Two Counsellors, and the Twelve Apostles, and Others, 4, Liverpool: S.W. Richards, pp. 135–138.

External links

• Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages
• A List of Sermons by Grant (Wikisource)