He later admitted that during the years of heavy business he felt so blue that he did not know what to do or where to turn. Under this burden, his six-foot, 140-pound frame almost gave way. The attending doctor pronounced a diagnosis of nervous convulsions and warned the young man that if he did not slow his pace he would certainly experience a softening of the brain.
Members came to love President Grant's expansive ways. Until mounting burdens and declining health intervened, his office door was open to General Authorities, stake and local leaders, and even to members troubled with problems. He traveled widely throughout America and in 1937 heralded the Church's European centennial by touring the missions of Great Britain and western Europe, the second LDS President to venture across the Atlantic Ocean while in office. Seeking to personalize his presidency, he distributed thousands of homiletic books, personally autographing each and sometimes marking passages for emphasis. Recalling his mother's struggles, he freely gave of his personal means, particularly to widows, and established a missionary fund for his increasing progeny.
In 1940, while visiting Southern California, he suffered a series of strokes that slowed his pace and forced him to delegate active administration of the Church, relying primarily on J. Rueben Clark, Jr., his First Counselor. President Grant died on May 14, 1945, at Salt Lake City.
Salt Lake City Cemetery
