Elder M. Russell Ballard celebrates his 89th birthday today

Hello, everyone! Hope you have had a wonderfully inspiring Sabbath Day. I wanted to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who is celebrating his 89th birthday today. In two days' time, he will mark the 32nd anniversary of his call to the apostleship. So, what can I tell you about this remarkable special witness of Jesus Christ? I thought you'd never ask!

Melvin Russell Ballard Jr. was born on October 8, 1928 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Melvin Russell Sr. & Geraldine Smith Ballard. Both his paternal & maternal grandfathers (Melvin J. Ballard & Hyrum M. Smith) were apostles, and Elder Ballard is thus a direct descendant of the early leaders of the Church (Hyrum M. was the son of Joseph F., who was the son of Hyrum Smith, brother of the Prophet Joseph Smith). It is interesting to note that the Church has, by tradition, had at least one apostle currently serving who has ancestral ties to the Smith family. It is further interesting to note that Bruce R. McConkie, who was the last apostle indirectly related to the Smith family (being the son-in-law of Joseph Fielding Smith, who was the son of Joseph F. who was the son of Hyrum, who was the brother of the Prophet Joseph Smith), was the apostle whose death resulted in the apostolic vacancy that necessitated the call of M. Russell Ballard.

Elder Ballard served as a missionary in England, as has been noted in previous blog posts. Upon his return, he served in the US Army Reserves, where he rose to the rank of First Lieutenant. As a result of obtaining his secondary education from the University of Utah, he met a young lady named Barbara Bowen, whom he married on August 8, 1951 in the Salt Lake Temple. They became the parents of 7 children, and one of their daughters, Brynn, married Peter Huntsman, whose mother, Karen Haight Huntsman, is the daughter of Elder David B. Haight, one of Elder Ballard's apostolic colleagues. It is interesting to see that additional relationship Elder Ballard has to other LDS apostles.

Elder Ballard worked professionally in auto sales. His Church service included serving as a counselor to his mission president, as a bishop twice, and as president of the Canada Toronto Mission. He completed the final year of that assignment as a General Authority Seventy, having received that call in April 1976. Less than four years later, on February 20, 1980, he was called to the Presidency of the Seventy. In the August 1985 Ensign, Church leaders reported that they had created an international mission, which would be supervised from Salt Lake City for the purpose of ministering to members in outlying areas in which no formal Church units had been formed. He served in that Presidency for just over 5 years. At the time of his call to the apostleship, he had become the third most senior member of the Presidency of the Seventy.

Elder Ballard, known and respected for the emphasis he has placed on missionary work in his apostolic ministry, has gone from being the 15th most senior apostle at the time of his apostolic call to now being the 4th in apostolic seniority. In his 32 years as an apostle, he has given 67 talks in General Conference: in addition to the 9 he gave in his previous capacities as a General Authority Seventy and in the Presidency of the Seventy, that brings his total number of General Conference talks to 76. To review any of those wonderful addresses, click here.

I am grateful that Elder Ballard has lived and served as long as he has, and I am likewise grateful for this opportunity I have had to pay this birthday tribute to him, though he may never read it. I testify that, just as the Lord directed his call to the apostleship 32 years ago, He has continued to move Elder Ballard up in apostolic seniority to the present time. He has served commendably. And I am grateful for his service. I share this birthday tribute to him with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.