Elder M. Russell Ballard - Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Elder Melvin Russell Ballard, Jr. was born on October 8, 1928, in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was the only boy in a family of four children. He grew up in Salt Lake City, mowing lawns as a young man.

Elder Ballard comes from a strong religious heritage. He is a great-great-grandson of Hyrum Smith, the brother of Church founder Joseph Smith. Elder Ballard’s maternal grandfather was Hyrum Mack Smith who served in the Quorum of the Twelve from 1901-1918. Elder Ballard’s paternal grandfather was Melvin J. Ballard, who served in the Quorum of the Twelve from 1919-1939. Elder Ballard’s great-grandfather was Joseph F. Smith, who served as Church president from 1901-1918.

From 1948-50, Elder Ballard served as a missionary in England. When he returned home he met his future wife, Barbara Bowen, at a dance at the University of Utah. It took some time for him to convince his wife to marry him but they eventually were married on August 28, 1951, in the Salt Lake Temple. They have two sons, five daughters, and forty grandchildren.

Professionally, Elder Ballard was involved in several business enterprises, including automotive, real estate, and investments. He also took over his family’s car dealership, Ballard Motor Company, and managed it for some time. He even experienced a financial failure in one of his ventures in a Edsel dealership, which taught him empathy. He also served briefly in the U.S. Army Reserves. He has also served on many civic communities and boards. He is the author of two books.

Elder Ballard has served in numerous ways in the Church. He has served twice as a Bishop and twice as a high councilor, as well as a priest’s quorum advisor. He served as the Mission President in Toronto, Canada from 1974 to 1976, when he was called as a member of the First Quorum of Seventy. In February 1980, he was called to the Presidency of the Seventy. On October 6, 1985, he was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at the age of 56.

Although I have never met Elder Ballard, I know he is a man of God and servant of the Lord. His associates speak highly of him. President Packer describes him as “teachable.” His wife states he is a “perfectionist”, “hard-driven,” and “extremely organized.” On a lighter note, she says his favorite meal is probably steak and French fries.

Elder Ballard currently has responsibilities over the Missionary Department of the Church. As such, he is making use of new media to share the gospel. Here is one video from YouTube.

Sources:

Official Background Information from the Church

Article in the Ensign about Elder Ballard.

Additionally, I took a class at BYU on the lives of the Apostles. I relied on some documents from that class.