[Apostle Heber J. Grant]
Spent the morning attending to business this afternnon [sic] attended a meeting of the apostles at the Gardo House. After we had had a Prayer Circle there was a long chat as to the parties that the brethren would like to fill the three places in the Quorum of the Apostles. Prest. Wilford Woodruff said that he would like all of the brethren to hand him a list of the names that they would like for the vacancies. The matter had been talked of at the last meeting and some of the brethren had handed him a list. I was away and had had no knowledge on the matter and had therefore not handed the list of those that I would like to the President. I said that the first man of all those that I knew that I would like to see a member of the Quorum was Orson F. Whitney if it was thought that he was sound in his doctrine and if there was no fears as to his keeping theWords of Wisdom, but on account of my having doubts in these regards I did not care to name him, at the same time if the word of the Lord came through the President that he was the man I should be very glad to accept him. I handed in the names of Anthon H. Lund, Abraham H. Cannon, and Richard W. Young. These three I could endorse without the least reserve. I had never so much as thought of brother Lund until the President read the lists that had been handed to him and his name was on all of them. The minute I heard his name I felt that he was my first choice. Whitney, Young and Cannon or B.H. Roberts were the names that I had thought of. I was solid on Young and Cannon in my feelings but had doubts as to the third man. The minute that Lund's name was mentioned there was no doubt in my mind that he was the right man. I hope that Young will be selected, but I may be disappointed. He is one of my dearest if not my dearest friend and that may have something to do with my thinking that he is the proper man for a position in the Quorum. Sometimes our judgment is not good when a near and dear friend is the one in question. There were remarks made by a number of the brethren as to their knowledge of some of the ideas of Bro. Whitney. I am sure that he would have been the first choice of every man in the Apostles if there were not doubts as to how he kept the Words of Wisdom and as to the position that he took on a number of different doctrines. Jn. W. Taylor said that he had been to his band of horses to get a team and he picked out the two horses that he liked the best but he found that one of them had something the matter with its gamble joint and he therefore was under the necessity of taking another horse that did not please him so well. He said that in as much as there were men that we could select for Apostles that there was no questions in our minds as to their fitness that he did not think that we should think of taking a person that we were in the least doubt about. He said that his first choice was brother Whitney but he felt that he would prefer to take some one that he did not need to ask any questions about. He had turned his defective horse out for a year and hoped that he would be all right in that time, and in that case he could have the team he wanted. He felt that we had better wait awhile before selecting brother Whitney.
[Diary of Heber J. Grant, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
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