“President [Heber J.] Grant received revelations as
President of the Church to guide the Church as a whole. One such revelation
came just after he was set apart as President of the Church, when he sought the
will of the Lord in appointing a new member of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles. As he pondered this responsibility, his thoughts turned repeatedly to
his lifelong friend Richard W. Young, a faithful Latter-day Saint and a proven
leader. President Grant discussed this possibility with his counselors, who
supported his decision. When he finally felt confident with this course of
action, he wrote his friend’s name on a piece of paper and took the paper with
him to the weekly temple meeting with the First Presidency and the Quorum of
the Twelve. However, when he was about to present the name for the approval of
his Brethren, he was unable to do so. Instead of presenting the name of Richard
W. Young, he presented the name of Melvin J. Ballard, a man whom he hardly
knew. President Grant later told of the impact this experience had on him:
“‘I have felt the inspiration of the living God directing me
in my labors. From the day that I chose a comparative stranger to be one of the
apostles, instead of my lifelong and dearest living friend, I have known as I
know that I live, that I am entitled to the light and the inspiration and the
guidance of God in directing His work here upon this earth’” (Teachings of
Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant [2002], 181–82).
