“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).
