–from Young Heber J. Grant's Years of PassageFearing an early death like his father's and convinced of the virtues of life insurance, Salt Lake City's youngest agent repeatedly sought coverage to protect his mother. Nineteenth-century actuarial tables, however, discriminated against slender girths and no company would issue Heber a policy. Determined to gain weight, Heber sought out Dr. Benedict, who had an immediate solution. If Heber would drink four glasses of beer daily, which Dr. Benedict prescribed, within two years he would have the additional twenty pounds necessary for coverage.
At first Heber found beer "bitter and distasteful," like his mother's herbal "kinnikinnick" tea. But he quickly acquired both a business and a personal taste for it. Within a year, he secured the fire insurance business of most Salt Lake City saloons and Utah breweries, an additional ten pounds, and a growing relish for the savor of hops. His daily four-glass limit became five, and occasionally grew to six.
He warred with his acute sense of conscience. Rereading the Word of Wisdom, he resolved to abandon his drinking and place his health and his mother's future with the Lord, "insurance or no insurance." But resolutions were easier made than kept. "I wanted some [beer] so bad that I drank it again," he confessed. Finally, he found strength in the same formula he had used with coffee. By telling himself he was free to take a drink whenever he wished, he overcame his obsession and ceased drinking. Just as quickly, he lost his trade with the saloons and breweries of the territory.
I had never heard this story before in my life. Funny enough, it really only makes Pres. Grant more relatable.
I wish Church culture didn't go so far out of its way to deify leaders and historic figures as to whitewash out any semblance of human frailty.