Hello again, everyone! Given that today is June 15, I wanted to take an opportunity to pay tribute to Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who is marking his 72nd birthday today. Let's get into some details about Elder Bednar's life thus far. David Allan Bednar was born in Oakland, California, on this day in 1952 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 not having a formal Church membership, Anthony Bednar fully supported the rest of his family in their Church membership. He would often step in and participate in meetings and Church activities, including various service projects, whereby he was, in essence, functioning in the same supportive way as other Church members did, but as one who was not a Church member. Young David would often ask Anthony when he would be baptized, to which his father replied that he would do so when he felt it was right.
Elder Bednar served a mission in southern Germany, during which time, then-Elder Boyd K. Packer visited his mission, and was advised that to get through the necessary border security, he would need money. The future President Packer would later recount in General Conference that a young missionary provided him with the money he needed, and later revealed that Elder Bednar had been that missionary.
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. Susan would later note that, incidentally, that was the only time she could remember catching a pass.
That experience left a positive impression on both of them, 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. One major highlight of Elder Bednar's life came long after his marriage. Anthony called his son one day and asked, "Would you be free on (and he named a near-future date)? I would like you to come and baptize me." He was able to baptize and confirm his father and also ordained him to the priesthood.
He spent his vocational career as an educator at several secondary schools. For four years (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 and then as the Director of the Management Decision-Making Lab.
During this time, he was recognized as an outstanding educator through the receipt of many prestigious awards and honors. He also had a few ecclesiastical responsibilities within the Church around the same time. He spent several months as a bishop and then went on to serve first as the president of what was then the Fort Smith Arkansas Stake and 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 serve in the new position of area seventy. That same year, he was also called by the Church Board of Education to serve as president of Ricks College. His tenure there spanned from 1997-2004, during which time he led the transition of that college to BYU-Idaho.
In October 2004, as a result of the apostolic vacancies due to the July deaths of Elders Neal A. Maxwell and David B. Haight (which occurred 10 days apart), Church President Gordon B. Hinckley announced that the vacancies would be filled by Elders Dieter F. Uchtdorf and David A. Bednar. At the time of his call to the apostleship, Elder Bednar, who was 52 at that time, was the youngest apostle to have been called since then-Elder Dallin H. Oaks (who had been called to the apostleship in 1984 at the age of 51).
Although he immediately commenced his service in the apostleship, he also continued to serve as president of BYU-Idaho for several weeks before the appointment of an interim president. Elder Bednar's tenure as an educator has molded how he speaks and ministers as an apostle. One of his common traditions, as he speaks at General Conference, is to invite the Holy Ghost to bless him and the rest of us as we listen to his remarks.
Since his October 2004 call to the apostleship, he has given 40 General Conference addresses, which are always well crafted and insightful, and are well worthy of review by all of us. He is currently the third-most senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (which, including the current members of the First Presidency, makes him the sixth in overall apostolic seniority), and is still among the younger apostles, being the seventh-oldest in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the tenth oldest among all 15 apostles.
While I have never had the honor of personally meeting him, from the moment his apostolic call was first announced and onward since then, I have had a testimony that his apostolic call has been inspired and directed by the Lord, which I reiterate to you all today. Given his relatively younger age in comparison to both the six apostles senior to him, and four of the eight apostles who are junior to him, I fully believe that Elder Bednar may serve as Church President or at least in the First Presidency at some point.
That, of course, will be up to the Lord’s will and the health and longevity of Presidents Nelson, Oaks, Eyring and Holland, and that of Elder Uchtdorf. I want to make it very clear that such a prospect is merely my personal opinion and not anything I can attribute to anyone else. I am grateful to have been able to provide this tribute to Elder Bednar as he marks his 72nd birthday today.
I continue to monitor any and all Church News, Newsroom, and Church of Jesus Christ Temples updates and will be sure to pass word of those along to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines.
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