Achieving a Goal

Adapted from Bryant S. Hinckley, Heber J. Grant: Highlights in the Life of a Great Leader (1951), 37–38.

Illustrated by Mike Eagle

As a boy, Heber J. Grant helped his mother sweep, wash dishes, and keep house. He had never played sports like other boys his age.

Heber: Mother, I want to join a baseball team.

At first Heber had to play with boys much younger than he was because he couldn’t pitch very well. His teammates made fun of him.

Boy: Throw the ball over here, sissy!

Instead of getting upset, Heber set a goal.

Heber: Someday I will play on a championship team!

Heber shined men’s boots to earn money until he had saved up enough to buy his own baseball.

Then he practiced pitching his baseball against Bishop Edwin Woolley’s barn every day. The bishop was concerned.

Bishop: Your son is the laziest boy in the whole ward. He wastes his time throwing a ball at my barn for hours.

Sister Grant: Bishop, my son is practicing to achieve a goal.

Heber’s hard work finally paid off. He joined a team that went on to win the championship in the states of California, Colorado, and Wyoming.