M. Russell Ballard Biography Quotes 3 Report mistakes

Early Life and Family
M. Russell Ballard was born on October 8, 1928, in Salt Lake City, Utah, into a family deeply rooted in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His parents, Melvin Russell Ballard Sr. and Geraldine Smith Ballard, nurtured in him a sense of faith, duty, and industriousness. Through his mother, he was a descendant of early Latter-day Saint leaders, including Hyrum Smith and Joseph F. Smith, a lineage that shaped his sense of responsibility toward the Church and its members from an early age.

Education and Early Missionary Service
Raised in Utah, he gained a reputation for determination and good humor. As a young man he served a full-time mission in the British Isles, an experience that honed his gifts for teaching, leadership, and compassionate outreach. After returning, he attended the University of Utah, where his studies and associations broadened his perspective and prepared him for a life that would blend business acumen with religious service.

Marriage and Family
He married Barbara Bowen in the Salt Lake Temple in 1951. Barbara became the steady heart of his life, a partner in every sense, whose gifts of hospitality, empathy, and quiet strength complemented his energy and vision. Together they raised a large family, and he often credited her with the atmosphere of love and counsel that governed their home. He taught that family councils, a principle he modeled with Barbara, could help households find unity, solve problems, and keep faith at their center.

Business Career and Lessons Learned
Before full-time church service, Ballard worked in the automotive, real estate, and investment fields. He became widely known in Utah car sales and management and often recounted the setback of owning an Edsel dealership when that brand failed. Rather than diminishing him, the experience became a touchstone of humility and perseverance. He spoke candidly about ethical decision-making, resilience in the face of loss, and the way honest work and compassion for employees and customers should guide enterprise. Those lessons later influenced his counsel to congregations and leaders facing complex temporal and spiritual decisions.

Local Leadership and Mission Presidency
Ballard served as a bishop and in stake leadership, where he displayed a gift for building councils that were efficient, candid, and unified. From 1974 to 1977 he presided over the Canada Toronto Mission. There he encouraged missionaries to teach with clarity, listen closely to those of other faiths, and link gospel commitment to practical service. His tenure in Canada deepened his conviction that the Church prospers when leaders trust local members and when councils make space for every faithful voice.

General Church Leadership and Emphasis on Councils
He was sustained as a General Authority Seventy and took on broad administrative responsibilities, traveling widely and mentoring leaders in many parts of the world. In these roles he worked closely with senior leaders including Spencer W. Kimball, Ezra Taft Benson, and, later, Gordon B. Hinckley and Thomas S. Monson, developing a reputation for straightforward, compassionate advice. A hallmark of his leadership was his advocacy of councils at every level, an approach reflected in his widely read book Counseling with Our Councils and in his consistent instruction that leaders should seek revelation together, not alone.

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
In October 1985 he was sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Over the following decades he served under Presidents Benson, Howard W. Hunter, Hinckley, Monson, and, later, Russell M. Nelson. He collaborated closely with fellow apostles such as Dallin H. Oaks, Boyd K. Packer, Jeffrey R. Holland, and Dieter F. Uchtdorf, among others, contributing to global initiatives in missionary work, public affairs, and religious education. He championed wise, kind engagement with the wider world, encouraging members to use emerging technologies and social platforms to share faith thoughtfully and respectfully. His book Our Search for Happiness became a concise exposition of Latter-day Saint belief aimed at both members and friends of the faith.

Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
When Russell M. Nelson became President of the Church in 2018, Ballard, by seniority, became Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In that role he shouldered the operational leadership of the quorum while working in concert with President Nelson and with Dallin H. Oaks, then serving in the First Presidency, and Henry B. Eyring. He continued to travel, meet with members and civic leaders, and speak with clarity about discipleship in complex times. He emphasized simple, daily acts of devotion; care for the poor and the lonely; and courage in sharing belief without contention.

Teaching Style and Influence
Ballard's speaking style was plainspoken and warm. He loved to tell stories drawn from business, family life, and missionary service, and he often urged listeners to be wise, to pray, to read scripture, and to lift where they stand. He asked members to reach out to friends of other faiths and to sustain local leaders. He stressed the importance of women's perspectives in councils and celebrated the contributions of Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary leaders. Those who worked with him described him as steady under pressure, quick to laugh, and direct without being harsh. He cared intently about the training of missionaries and supported the development of improved teaching methods that focused on conversion, agency, and the Holy Ghost.

Personal Character and Relationships
Behind his public responsibilities stood the enduring partnership with Barbara. Their marriage was a touchstone in his sermons and a quiet guide to his administrative style: inclusive, loyal, and anchored in prayer. He honored his heritage while insisting that testimony rests on personal revelation, not ancestry. Colleagues, including Presidents Hinckley, Monson, and Nelson, frequently entrusted him with delicate assignments, confident in his ability to listen, weigh options, and move forward with both courage and compassion.

Later Years and Passing
Barbara Bowen Ballard passed away in 2018, a loss he spoke of tenderly, always with gratitude for their years together. Even in advancing age he continued an active ministry, meeting with young adults, missionaries, and international congregations, and offering practical counsel on faith, work, and family. M. Russell Ballard died on November 12, 2023, in Salt Lake City, Utah, at age 95. He left a legacy of patient leadership, devotion to the Savior he testified of, and a lifetime of service carried out in partnership with family, colleagues, and the millions of members he encouraged to walk by faith and to be, in his memorable phrase, both wise and kind.

Our collection contains 3 quotes who is written by Russell Ballard, under the main topics: Faith - Honesty & Integrity - Teaching.