Jedediah M Grant Saved By A Vision

Jedediah Morgan Grant was born in New York in 1816. He joined the Church in 1833. As a young man of 18 years, he marched with "Zion's Camp" to Missouri. That experience was a very formative one in his life. Years later, speaking in Salt Lake City, he described an experience during the march:

"In the year 1834, when Zion's camp was moving from Kirtland to Missouri, one day I left the camp and went out to hunt in the woods of Ohio, and strayed away from the camp some 10 or 11 miles.
The camp kept moving on all the time, and I entirely lost the track, and having no compass, I knew not towards what point I should travel. I kept traveling on till the after part of the day; I then concluded I would pray, but I could not get any impression where the camp was. However, I soon after received an impression from the Spirit, the same Spirit we had in Kirtland, and the same Spirit we enjoy in this place; and immediately after receiving the impression, I looked before me, and there was the camp moving on in regular order. I could see it just as clear as I did in the morning; there were the people, the wagons and horses, all in their places as I left them in the fore part of the day, and I supposed they were not more than 80 rods off. But after turning away for a moment, I again looked in the same direction, but all was gone. Still the Spirit told me to travel on in the same direction I had seen the camp; I did so, and after traveling some 8 or 10 miles, came up with them, and when they first came in sight, they looked just as I saw them in the vision." (_JD_ 3:10-11, May 30, 1855)


In the years following Zion's Camp, Elder Grant served several missions and suffered persecution with the Saints. He became well known for his speaking ability; stories of his preaching a sermon from a blank text and of disarming an opponent by pointing out who was at the head of the Church are well known (see CH Story 14). He crossed to Utah in 1847 and later helped direct other companies on that journey. He was the first mayor of Salt Lake City in 1851, and then was ordained an apostle and became a counselor to Brigham Young in 1854. He had a son named Heber J., who later followed in his father's steps and eventually became president of the Church. However, a week after Heber was born in November 1856, Jedediah died an untimely death at 40 years old, having given great service to the kingdom.

After telling the story of his experience during Zion's Camp, Elder Grant observed:


"Again, whenever I have had anything that was great or important to accomplish, I have been impressed with my own weakness and inability to perform the task imposed upon me, and that of myself I was as nothing, only as I trusted in God, and under these circumstances I was certain to speak by the power and influence of the Holy Ghost. When I have trusted in books, or in my own acquirements that I had gleaned from reading the productions of different authors, (for I used to be fond of reading the works of Brown, Abercrombie, Locke, Watts, and other metaphysical writers,) I was sure to be foiled in my attempt, for all would leave me. But whenever I have trusted in the Lord, and relied upon Him for strength, it has come out right." (_JD_ 3:11)


(Compiled and written by David Kenison)