Elder Dale Gunnar Renlund was born in Salt Lake City, Utah to Mats Ake and Marianna Andersson, who had emigrated from Finland and Sweden respectively in order to be married in the temple. In view of that, Elder Renlund grew up primarily speaking Swedish (the fact that he did not speak English as a primary language gives him international appeal). In his teenage years, Elder Renlund lived with his family in Sweden while his father was a building missionary.
Several years later, Elder Renlund returned to Sweden, this time as a full-time missionary. Following his missionary service, Elder Renlund continued his scholastic endeavors at the University of Utah, where he earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry and his M. D. Approximately 3 or 4 years after he concluded his missionary service, he met and married his eternal companion, Ruth Lybbert, who was the daughter of another General Authority Seventy, Merlin R. Lybbert. Elder Renlund went on to do a three-year cardiology residency and a three-year fellowship in cardiology, both at Johns Hopkins University, and served as a bishop while he did so. Simultaneously, his wife was earning her law degree. During that same busy time period, they gave birth to their only child, a daughter, Ashley.
At some point in 1986, Elder Renlund became a professor at the University of Utah. From five years later to the time of his call as a General Authority Seventy in 2009, he served as the medical director of the Utah Transplantation Affiliated Hospitals Cardiac Transplant Program. In 2000, he was also appointed the director of the Heart Failure Prevention and Treatment Program at Intermountain Health Center headquartered in Salt Lake. At the same time, his wife served as a law partner in the firm of Dewsnup, King and Olsen.
In addition to his service as a bishop, Elder Renlund also served locally as ward Sunday School president, high councilman, and as a stake president. From 2000 to 2009, Elder Renlund served as an area seventy. He became a general authority in April 2009, at the same conference Elder Neil L. Andersen was sustained as an apostle.
The August after his call, Elder Renlund began serving in the Africa Southeast area presidency, headquartered in Johannesburg South Africa. He concluded that service by serving as the area president from 2011 to 2014. Just over a year after concluding that service (during which time he served in other general capacities at Church headquarters), he was the third man to be called to fill the three vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve in the wake of the passing of President Boyd K. Packer and Elders L. Tom Perry and Richard G. Scott. Some have claimed (rightfully so, in my opinion) that since Elder Scott was the last of the three to pass away, Elder Renlund, as the last of the three new apostles called, was the one filling the apostolic vacancy occurring from the death of Elder Scott. Others may disagree on that, as is their right, but I think it fair to say.
Elder Renlund's apostolic call was significant for a few reasons. His call (in conjunction with those of his senior seatmates Elders Ronald A. Rasband and Gary E. Stevenson), made them the 98th, 99th, and 100th members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles called in this dispensation. There have been more men ordained as apostles, but only 100 have served in the Quorum of the Twelve.
Additionally, and more significantly, Elder Renlund was the last apostle called prior to the announcement on May 23 of this year that President Monson would be stepping back from an active role in Church leadership. President Monson will need to approve the new apostle that will be called to fill the current vacancy (in view of the death of Elder Robert D. Hales), but, as with the times when Presidents Kimball and Benson were in their declining years, the calling, sustaining, and setting apart will be done by one of his counselors (likely President Eyring, though I imagine that President Uchtdorf will be present when all of that takes place).
All of that aside, there was a third aspect of significance in Elder Renlund's call. As most of you are probably aware, at times in the past where 2 or more apostles have been called, tradition is that they will be called, sustained, and ordained according to their age, from oldest to youngest. That tradition, as has been the case a couple of times before, was slightly adjusted, as Elder Stevenson, almost three years younger than Elder Renlund, was called, sustained, and ordained as the senior apostle to Elder Renlund. That kind of thing is not in any way unprecedented, but it is a significant anomaly to note.
That said, it is also significant to me to note that Elder Renlund has only been the junior apostle for two years, and another apostle has passed. This is not at all uncommon. Elder Cook had been the junior apostle for six months prior to the call of Elder Christofferson, and Elder Christofferson had in turn been the junior apostle for a year at the time Elder Andersen was called. I have previously observed the interesting fact that, by the time President Hinckley had served as long as President Monson has (9 years and 9 months or so), he (President Hinckley) had appointed four apostles, and whomever is appointed to succeed Elder Hales will be the sixth apostle appointed during President Monson's prophetic tenure.
I know that Elder Renlund may never read this personally, but for my part, I thank him for his service and wish him all the best on his 65th birthday. I additionally wanted to observe that, since Elder Renlund grew up speaking Swedish and has served as a missionary in Sweden and in an area presidency in Africa, he has had plenty of international experience. Some have observed, as is their privilege to do so, that the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles needs to be more diverse. But the fact is that, to a man, every currently serving apostle has had a wide-scoping amount of experience ministering throughout the world, and, as so many of them have observed, they are called to represent the will of the Lord to the people of the Church, and are called to be apostles to all the world, not just to represent those of different races or ethnic backgrounds.
So while I fully believe that the Quorum of the Twelve will see more apostles born outside the US in the years ahead, it does not in any way break my heart when the Lord feels a need to call someone seasoned through years of service in His Church, over and above filling whatever "status quo" many people feel the Church should be observing.
This has been a wide-ranging post, which has not necessarily stuck to the main objective of honoring Elder Renlund's birthday. Thanks for sticking through all the deviations from the original topic I set out to cover. That does it for this post. Any comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. I continue to keep my eye out for any updated Church and temple news and will pass those along as I am able to after I learn of them. 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.
