M. Russell Ballard
Born
Melvin Russell Ballard
8 Oct 1928
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Died
12 Nov 2023
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Resting Place
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Last Held Calling(s)
TitleActing President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
OrganizationQuorum of the Twelve Apostles
Call Date14 Jan 2018
Conference Talks
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M. Russell Ballard

President M. Russell Ballard has served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter–day Saints since October 6, 1985. He was sustained and set apart as Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles by President Russell M. Nelson on January 14, 2018. He died November 12, 2023.

How do you #HearHim? President M. Russell Ballard says finding peace amid the chaos of life can bring you closer to heaven.
President M. Russell Ballard bears his testimony of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
M. Russell Ballard Welcomed by Pope Francis
M. Russell Ballard at Cornerstone activity
Ballard, M. Russell. Biography
. Russell Ballard as a missionary in the British Isles.
M. Russell Ballard
M. Russell Ballard with mission president Selvoy J. Boyer and his wife Gladys, 1949.
M. Russell Ballard with his mission president Stayner Richards and his wife, Jane, 1950.
Ballard, M. Russell
Ballard, M. Russell. Biography
Ballard, M. Russell
The Ballard family ca. 1977. From left to right, Craig, Holly, Tammy, Meleea, Brynn, Stacey and Clark. Seated are Elder M. Russell Ballard and Barbara Ballard.
Elder M. Russell Ballard shakes the hand of President Thomas S. Monson at the October 2010 General Conference.
President M. Russell Ballard walking off the stand during a 2016 General Conference.
Elder M. Russell Ballard speaks at the October 2010 General Conference.
M. Russell Ballard and Barbara Bowen Ballard walk off the stand at the October 2010 General Conference.
Elder M. Russell Ballard shakes the hand of President Thomas S. Monson at the October 2010 General Conference.
Official Group Portrait of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Photographed April 2018. Front row, left to right: President Russell M. Ballard, Elders Jeffrey R. Holland, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, David A. Bednar, Quentin L. Cook. Back row: left to right: D. Todd Christofferson, Neil L. Andersen, Ronald A. Rasband, Gary E. Stevenson, Dale G. Renlund, Gerrit W. Gong and Ulisses Soares.
M. Russell Ballard and Barbara Bowen Ballard wear cowboy hats while in Calgary, Canada.
President M. Russell Ballard in Ethiopia.
Elder M. Russell Ballard visits with children in Suriname
Elder M. Russell Ballard with family on his 80th birthday, 2008.
Elder M. Russell Ballard and his wife, Barbara, 2008.
M. Russell Ballard Meeting President George H. W. Bush
M. Russell Ballard and Dieter F. Uchtdorf in Washington D.C. for the inauguration of President Obama.
Elder M. Russell Ballard with his mission companion Elder Thackery riding a tandem bike, while serving in the British Mission from 1948 to 1950.
M. Russell Ballard
The Church Pioneer Sesquicentennial Committee
M. Russell Ballard at a Temple Groundbreaking (potentially the Indianapolis Indiana Temple).
M. Russell Ballard attends a stake conference in New Delhi, India in May 2019.
M. Russell Ballard
M. Russell Ballard and Jeffrey R. Holland Ministry Trip
M. Russell Ballard Ministry Tour
M. Russell Ballard and Jeffrey R. Holland Ministry Trip
President Ballard Honors Joseph Smith’s Ancestry While Ministering in New England
President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visits with youth prior to a youth devotional held in Georgetown, Massachusetts on Saturday, May 14, 2022.
President M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles greets missionaries in the Massachusetts Boston and New Hampshire Manchester Missions in Georgetown, Massachusetts, on Friday, May 13, 2022.

Personal Life

M. Russell Ballard was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 8, 1928, to Melvin R. and Geraldine Smith Ballard. He attended the University of Utah.

He married Barbara Bowen in the Salt Lake Temple on August 28, 1951. They are the parents of two sons and five daughters.

As a young man, he served a mission to England for the Church where he was a counselor in the mission presidency. M. Russell Ballard has also served as a bishop twice.

Professional Life

In 1974, he was called as president of the Canada Toronto Mission where he was serving when called to the First Quorum of the Seventy in April of 1976. As a member of the Seventy, he supervised and trained leaders in his assigned geographic regions. He later served as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy from February 1980 to October 1985, overseeing the Church’s Quorums of the Seventy. Much of his ministry has been focused on missionary work.

Prior to his call as a full-time Church leader, President Ballard had interests in the automotive, real estate, and investment businesses. He has served on many Church and civic committees and boards.

Last Updated On 22 Nov 2023