LDS Witness
Healing / Medical Reversal & Remission

Heber J. Grant's Answered Prayer and Prompting regarding a child with diphtheria

Published October 26, 2026 at 7:50 AM

1920s
Salt Lake City
Heber J. Grant·John Henry Smith·unnamed friend·unnamed daughter

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Millennial Star Research

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Heber J. Grant's Answered Prayer and Prompting regarding a child with diphtheria — a documented healing / medical reversal & remission account from the 1920s in Salt Lake City
Heber J. Grant and J. Reuben Clark.jpg via Wikimedia Commons

Heber J. Grant received a report from a friend that his daughter had been diagnosed with diphtheria and was expected to die before morning. Grant prayed for her, and while doing so, received an impression that he needed to act immediately. He was prompted to go to John Henry Smith, rebuke the power of the destroyer, and was promised that the girl would live. The doctor, who had been convinced she would not survive the night, was surprised the next morning to see a positive change in the girl's condition.

In Their Own Words

“I shall never forget the occasion when a friend appealed to me, upon learning that the doctor had announced that his daughter, stricken with diphtheria, would die before morning. He asked me to pray for that daughter, and after leaving his office I prayed with all the earnestness of my soul that God would heal her. While praying the impression came to me: "The power of the living God is here on the earth. The Priesthood is here. Hurry! Hurry! Get John Henry Smith: go and rebuke the power of the destroyer, and the girl shall live." The doctor, waiting upon that girl, said she could not live till morning; but when morning came he exclaimed that he could not comprehend it, and that he believed the girl was going to get well. He could not refrain from expressing his surprise at the change in the girl's condition over night. The power of the living God rebuked the destroyer. — Millennial Star 87:21”

Sources & References

The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), Vol. 87, No. 21 (1925). https://archive.org/details/millennialstar8721eng (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Image: Heber J. Grant and J. Reuben Clark.jpg — via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heber_J._Grant_and_J._Reuben_Clark.jpg

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Filed under

Healing / Medical Reversal & Remission1920sUnited States

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Questions about this account

Who was involved in this account?
The account involves Heber J. Grant, John Henry Smith, unnamed friend, unnamed daughter. Each person named here also has a witness page collecting the other accounts involving them.
When did this account take place?
The account is set in the 1920s.
Where did this account take place?
It took place in Salt Lake City.
What kind of miracle is this?
It is filed as a Healing / Medical Reversal & Remission account reported in United States.
Where does this account come from?
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), Vol. The full source citation appears in the Sources section below, with links to the original where available.

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