Jedediah M. Grant

Jedediah M. Grant
Second Counselor in the First Presidency
April 7, 1854 (1854-04-07) – December 1, 1856 (1856-12-01)
Called by	Brigham Young
End reason	Death
LDS Church Apostle
April 7, 1854 (1854-04-07) – December 1, 1856 (1856-12-01)
Called by	Brigham Young
Reason	Death of Willard Richards
End reason	Death
Reorganization at end of term	Daniel H. Wells ordained and added to the First Presidency
First Seven Presidents of the Seventy
December 2, 1845 (1845-12-02) – April 7, 1854 (1854-04-07)
Called by	Brigham Young
End reason	Called as Second Counselor in the First Presidency
Personal details
Born	Jedediah Morgan Grant February 21, 1816(1816-02-21) Windsor, New York, United States
Died	December 1, 1856(1856-12-01) (aged 40) Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, United States
Resting place	Salt Lake City Cemetery 40°46′37.92″N 111°51′28.8″W

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. He also 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". He 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 Grant in Windsor, New York. He was baptized into the Church of Christ on March 21, 1833 at the age of 17. By the age of 18 he had participated in Zion's Camp, marching from Kirtland, Ohio to Missouri under the direction of Joseph Smith, Jr.. Though the physical objectives of the march weren't met, many members later became leaders of the LDS Church. Jedediah'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 the present boundaries of Virginia. His preaching efforts in the Toms River area of New Jersey in the late 1830s lead to first conversion of members of the Ivins Family.

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

Church leader

After Smith's death, Jedediah was called to serve as a President of the Seventy. As a Seventy, he helped 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, Jedediah M. 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 Second Counselor to Brigham Young, to fill the vacancy left by Willard Richards' death.

Sermons during the Mormon reformation

In 1856, Grant was called upon by Young to tour the northern sections of Utah, calling them to repentance. In the Mormon Reformation of 1856, he toured according to his assignment, delivering fiery speeches condemning all forms of sin and demanding perfection. He issued a call for rebaptism of all the members of the area. His 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 Grant. He was buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery.

Like many early Latter-day Saints, Jedediah Grant practiced plural marriage. He had a total of seven wives and 13 children. His son Heber J. Grant became the seventh President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Grave marker of Jedediah M. Grant.

See also

• List of mayors of Salt Lake City

References

• Journal of Discourses
• 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, http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Journal_of_Discourses/Volume_4/On_the_Death_of_President_Jedediah_M._Grant?oldid=462001 .
• 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, http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Journal_of_Discourses/Volume_4/Remarks_at_the_Funeral_of_President_Jedediah_M._Grant?oldid=462002 .

External links

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

Political offices
Preceded by (none)	Mayors of Salt Lake City 1851 – 1856	Succeeded by Abraham O. Smoot