Elder Stephen D. Nadauld

Of the Seventy

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He was in the middle of rewarding career already marked by high achievement in both business and education. But when he was asked to give it up, there was no hesitation. Elder Stephen D. Nadauld said yes.

His attitude toward Church callings is a simple one: when it comes to helping move the Lord’s work forward, he will serve wherever he is needed and do whatever he is asked to do.

He was one of two men called to serve in the Second Quorum of the Seventy, effective June 1. The other was Elder Han In Sang of Seoul, Korea.

Elder Nadauld (pronounced NAY-dauld) came to the new calling determined to use all the knowledge and experience the Lord has given him in carrying out his assignments. And he has had ample opportunities in life to gain both knowledge and experience.

Prior to receiving his new calling, he was serving as vice chairman and chief financial officer of Bonneville Pacific Corporation, an independent developer of major power projects. Before that, he served as president of Weber State College for five years, helping prepare it to become one of Utah’s state universities. He has also served as the president of a large milk-processing company, the head of the master of business administration program at Brigham Young University, a faculty member in the University of Utah College of Business, and an investment banker on Wall Street.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from BYU, an M.B.A. from Harvard, and a doctoral degree in finance from the University of California at Berkeley.

Elder Nadauld smiles as he recalls the time he gave a speech that was preceded by an introduction mentioning many of those accomplishments. After the speech, a woman approached him to say, “I know who you are—you’re Margaret Dyreng’s husband!” The fact “that I’d had the good sense to marry Margaret,” Elder Nadauld says, “was my highest credential in her eyes.” He, too, regards it as one of his greatest achievements.

Stephen D. Nadauld was born on 31 May 1942 in Idaho Falls, Idaho, a son of Sterling Dwain Nadauld and Lois Madsen. (His mother, widowed in 1964, later married Ira N. Corey.) After serving in the French Mission (from 1961 to 1964), Steve met Margaret Dyreng at BYU. She is a daughter of R. Morgan Dyreng and Helen Bailey of Manti, Utah.

The Nadaulds were married on 19 July 1968 in the Manti Temple. They have seven sons: Stephen, 22; Justen, 21; James, 17; Lincoln, 15; Taylor, 13; and twins Adam and Aaron, 10.

Elder Nadauld pays high tribute to his wife’s accomplishments in the home, in the Church, and in the community. In addition to rearing seven sons and helping each learn to play at least one musical instrument, she has always been active in Church service. She has served as a Relief Society president and as a Young Women president (three times). She is vice president of both the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge and American Mothers, Inc. She is also a woman of great faith and testimony, Elder Nadauld says.

Sister Nadauld says her husband is “quick to grab the kernel of an idea or problem and hone in on that.” Her father noted his exemplary kindness before they were married, she says, and her husband’s natural empathy and ability to help others have been augmented by his experiences, particularly as college president.

“What you see is what you get with him. He has no hidden agenda,” Sister Nadauld comments.

His interests are diverse, she says. He likes to read. “He knows a lot about art and music. And he plays sports—still—and watches them.” As a family, the Nadaulds enjoy being involved in a number of outdoor activities.

The Nadaulds understand how greatly they have been blessed. The blessings they list are not material things, but opportunities and experiences, friendships, and good parents who set examples of selfless service for them.

“King Benjamin tells us that we’re always in debt to the Lord,” Elder Nadauld says. “If there is any small way that we can be of service and help repay the blessings that we’ve received, we ought to be willing to do that. And we are.”