“Heber J. Grant,” Friend, July 1989, 28
Heber J. Grant
By patient continuance in well doing (Rom. 2:7).
1 Heber Jeddy Grant was a tall, thin boy, and he wasn’t very strong. When the neighborhood boys played baseball, he played with the younger, slower boys because he couldn’t even throw the ball from one base to another.
2 Jeddy really wanted to play ball with the boys his own age, so he decided to do something about it. He spent many hours in his mother’s boardinghouse, shining the boarders’ boots so that he could earn enough money to buy a baseball.
3 When Jeddy had earned a dollar, he bought a baseball. Then he practiced countless hours throwing it against his neighbor’s barn.
4 Finally Jeddy’s skill improved. The boys his own age were impressed with how well he could throw a ball, and they let him play baseball with them.
5 Eventually Jeddy’s baseball team became the territory champions; they went on to beat the championship teams of California, Colorado, and Wyoming.
6 Heber Jeddy Grant learned the importance of setting a goal and then working hard until it was achieved. Many years later this ability helped him greatly when he became the seventh President of the Church.
Illustrated by Paul Mann