Elder David A. Bednar Marks His 66th Birthday Today

Hello again, everyone! After a very busy day for me personally, I am back to do the first of two or three posts I will be publishing by the end of the day today. As some of you may recall my mentioning, today marks the 66th birthday of Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

So let's get in to some details about his life experiences. David Allan Bednar was born on June 15, 1952 in Oakland California to Anthony George and Lavina Whitney Bednar. His mother came from a long line of Latter-day Saint ancestors, but his father was not a member of the Church. Despite that fact, Anthony Bednar fully supported the rest of his family participating actively in the Church, and he would often step in and participate in meetings and Church activities, including various service projects.

One major highlight of Elder Bednar's life came long after his marriage. Although he frequently asked his father when he would be baptized, his father replied that he would do so when he felt it was right. Anthony called his son one day and asked, "Would you be free on (and he named a date in the near future)? I would like you to come and baptize me." He was able to baptize, confirm, and ordain his father to the priesthood.

Elder Bednar served a mission in southern Germany, and some may recall the late President Boyd K. Packer recounting in General Conference a story of how he was in Germany and a young missionary gave him money, which he was able to use to get through border security. That young missionary was David A. Bednar.

Elder Bednar attended BYU-Provo, where he earned a bachelor's degree in communication and a master's in organizational communication. He went on to earn a doctoral degree in organizational behavior from the prestigious Purdue University.

He met Susan Kae Robinson at an activity for young adults. He recounts that they were playing flag football, and that he threw a pass, which she caught, and that, incidentally, was the only time she could remember catching a pass. This impressed him, and the two started dating not long afterward. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on March 20, 1975, and would go on to raise 3 sons together.

For a four-year period (1980-1984), he was an assistant professor of management at what was then the College of Business Administration at the University of Arkansas. He spent the next two years as an assistant professor at Texas Tech University, after which he returned to Arkansas, where he served first as the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, then the Director of the Management Decision-Making Lab. During this time, he was recognized with numerous awards as being an outstanding educator.

He also had a few ecclesiastical responsibilities within the Church at around the same time. He spent several months as a bishop, then went on to serve first as the president of what was then the Fort Smith Arkansas Stake, then as the first president of the newly-established Rogers Arkansas Stake. During the final months of his service as a stake president, he was called to serve as a regional representative.

In 1997, he was among the first men called to be an area seventy. That same year, he was also called to serve as president of Ricks College, during which time he led the transition of that college to BYU-Idaho. His tenure in that assignment came to an end on December 1, 2004, roughly one month following his call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He and fellow apostle Dieter F. Uchtdorf were called to fill the vacancies created by the July deaths of Elders Neal A. Maxwell and David B. Haight 10 days apart. Interestingly enough, Elder Bednar joined only two other current apostles (now-Presidents Nelson and Oaks) who were called to the apostleship without having previously served as a general authority.

Elder Bednar's tenure as an educator has molded how he speaks as an apostle. One of his hallmarks is to invite the Holy Ghost to bless him and us as we listen to his remarks. In view of his almost-14-year tenure in the apostleship, he has given 28 General Conference talks, which are always well crafted and insightful, and are well worthy of review by all of us.

At the time of his call to the apostleship, Elder Bednar, at age 52, was the youngest apostle to have been called since then-Elder Dallin H. Oaks came to the apostleship at age 51 in 1984. He is currently the fourth most senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (which makes him the 7th in overall apostolic seniority), and is the eighth oldest current member of the Quorum (which means he is the 11th oldest current apostle).

While I have never had the honor to meet him personally, I can fully attest to the validity and inspiration of his apostolic call, and it is significant that after just 14 years in the apostleship, he is within the senior ranks of that apostleship. Some have voiced their opinion that Elder Bednar might one day preside over the Church, and I concur that that is a very likely prospect. Given that he is in such a senior position at this point, and given that only six current apostles are more senior to him, unless something very unexpected happens, he is sure to be with us for at least the next two or three decades.

I hope this post has served as a fitting tribute to this remarkable servant of the Lord. That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.