Today is the funeral service for President M. Russell Ballard, who died November 12. When he died at age 95, he was the Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He had been an Apostle for 38 years!
Did you know that President Ballard was a descendant of Hyrum Smith? The Prophet Joseph Smith was his great-great-great-great-uncle! And both of President Ballard’s grandfathers had been Apostles too. So maybe it’s not a surprise that he loved the stories of the early Saints. In 1997, President Ballard helped plan the Church’s 150th anniversary celebration of when pioneers arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah, after walking across the United States to escape persecution.
President Ballard and his wife, Barbara Bowen, had been married for 67 years when she died in 2018. They have seven children, 43 grandchildren, 105 great-grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild. Before he became a General Authority, President Ballard had supported his family by working as a businessman.
As a young man, President Ballard loved being a missionary in England. He never lost his enthusiasm for sharing the gospel. Many of the messages he shared were about missionary work.
“This is the most important work that we can participate in,” he once testified. “Let your voice be heard in declaring the great and glorious message of the Restoration of the fullness of the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ.”1
Learning from President Ballard
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See more pictures and read more about President Ballard’s life in this Church Newsrooom article.
1. From “Sharing the Gospel Worldwide” in the June 2021 For the Strength of Youth magazine.