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Heber J. Grant Begins His Administration
The year 1918 marked a major milestone or turning point in the course of world and Church events. In the world, it brought the end of hostilities and a turning to peace. Then, within two weeks of the November 11 armistice, President Joseph F. Smith died and Heber J. Grant became the new leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Not only did the Church get a new President, but as Heber J. Grant began his administration new patterns could also be seen in several aspects of Saints' activities. While the nineteenth century had been an era of gathering, the 1920s saw the first substantial outward migration from the centers of Mormon settlement in the Intermountain states. A world tour of missions by Elder David O. McKay further reflected the Church's outward reach. During this decade the Saints also commemorated important events that had occurred just a hundred years earlier. Thus the Saints' appreciation of their historical heritage was being strengthened at the same time as they were moving out into new spheres of activity. Many facets of this heritage and of the Church's experience were reflected in the personal life of President Heber J. Grant.
Heber J. Grant's Earlier Life
Heber J. Grant represented a personal link with the early leaders of the Restoration. He was the son of Jedediah M. Grant, a New York convert, who became the first mayor of Salt Lake City and a counselor to President Brigham Young. Heber's mother, Rachel Ivins, however, had been sealed to Joseph Smith after his death and before her marriage to Jedediah. Thus, in terms of eternal family relationships, Heber J. Grant considered himself a son of the Church's first prophet, a heritage which he valued highly. 1 He was the first Church President to be born after the Saints' exodus to the Rocky Mountains, being born in Salt Lake City in 1856, just nine years after the Mormon pioneers had arrived there. As a boy, Heber was very close to Brigham Young's family and became well acquainted with the great colonizer.