85 years ago today - May 29, 1934

[President Heber J. Grant Diary]
I excused myself at 8:30 and went to a meeting of a Church History and Book of Mormon group, of which about a dozen young men and their wives are members. They met occasionally to study Church hsitory (sic). Nearly the entire evening up to half past ten o'clock, after I arrived was spent by their asking me questions about Church matters--Why the Presidency was not organized after the death of the Prophet for several years? Why the same thing happened when John Taylor succeeded Brigham Young, and Wilford Woodruff succeeded John Taylor; then Lorenzo Snow being made president immediately, all of which I answered to the best of my ability, and I hope to the satisfaction of those who were present. This class met at my duahgter (sic) Mary Judd's. They had refreshments and then a discussion afterwards. I told them I did not know why there was a delay in organizing the Presidency after the martyrdom of the Prophet, unless it was that there was a spirit of apostasy among the people and President Young did not care to organize it. When Brother Taylor came to the Presidency there was litigation regarding the properties belonging to the Church and that belonging to Brigham Young, and I supposed John Taylor preferred to have all of the Twelve with him until those matters were settled without organizing the Presidency, but when Brother Woodruff came to the Presidency he probably felt that as the Presidency had never been organized promptly after the death of the Prophet Joseph, or after the death of Brigham Young and John Taylor, he would wait two or three years, but that when Brother Woodruff died, after the funeral the Council met at the Presidency's office, and Brother Francis M. Lyman made a speech, although there were present Lorenzo Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Joseph F. Smith, and Brigham Young Jr. who were his seniors. He said he hoped that if he were out of order Brother Snow would call him in order. He said he thought that the Presidency of the Church should be organized immediately following the funeral of the deceased president, and we all knew who wea (sic) entitled to and should be the president. He hoped that President Snow would consent to the reorganization of the Presidency.

[Diary of Heber J. Grant, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]