Heber J. Grant's recovery from a dangerous operation
Published October 12, 2026 at 6:34 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
Heber J. Grant, an Apostle of the Church, underwent a medical operation deemed dangerous by the medical profession, with many expecting a fatal outcome. He attributed his recovery to the blessing of the Lord in answer to the prayers of the Saints. Later, he suffered from pleuro-pneumonia for three months and was at times in a critical condition, but his faith and the prayers of the Saints continued to support him.
Fuller account of this event (as retold in Heber J. Grant and the Utah Loan and Trust Company - BYU Studies):
On May 29, 1897, the portly and veteran Apostle Brigham Young Jr., himself ailing due to an attack of dropsy, called at the Heber J. Grant household to pray a blessing upon his associate. He found that “Bro Grant . . . Mary’s Hospital, celebrating the miracle of extended life. His recovery had been extraordinarily rapid, and his personal crisis had brought him an unexpected tide of sympathy and well-wishing. There was an added reason for rejoicing. About six weeks after his appendectomy, he contracted “pleuro-pneumonia.” Again his friends feared for his life, and for three months the convalescing leader retired from public affairs.
In Their Own Words
“A PRIVATE letter from Heber J. Grant states that his health is greatly improved. It will be remembered that the report of the general conference held in Salt Lake City last October, contained the announcement that Elder Grant’s health was such that he was unable to attend any of the meetings. Several months since he went under an operation which the medical profession consider a dangerous one at any time, and in his own case it was looked upon as one which would result fatally. Speaking of his operation he says it was a miracle that he recovered from it, and attributes the result to the blessing of the Lord in answer to the prayers of the Saints. Soon after this recovery he was attacked with pleuro-pneumonia. He has been suffering for three months with this ailment, and at times has been very low. His own faith — Millennial Star 59:48”
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 2 December 1897 (Vol. 59, No. 48). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1897-12-02_59_48 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Fuller account: Heber J. Grant and the Utah Loan and Trust Company - BYU Studies https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/heber-j-grant-and-the-utah-loan-and-trust-company
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