Elder S. Mark Palmer

General Authority Seventy

In 1992, time was a precious and limited commodity for Elder S. Mark Palmer and his wife, Jacqueline.

Elder Palmer was serving on the stake high council at the time. He was also working hard to build his professional career. Sister Palmer’s time was stretched just as thin. The Palmers were raising six children in their Austin, Texas, USA, home—including a six-month-old baby boy.

When their stake president invited them to serve as workers at the Dallas Texas Temple, they didn’t know how they could handle one more duty. But they accepted the call—and then prayerfully asked for the Lord’s help.

Making a monthly bus trip to serve all day in the temple required sacrifice and careful planning. “But it blessed our lives enormously,” says Elder Palmer.

Serving in the temple, he adds, prepared him spiritually for future priesthood callings. It also made him a better husband and father—and he found balance in his busy life.

“Going to the temple often helps you reset your priorities and be reminded of the covenants you have made,” he says.

Stanley Mark Palmer was born on February 11, 1956, in Te Puke, New Zealand, to Kenneth and Jill Palmer. His family joined the Church when he was a young boy. He served a full-time mission in the New Zealand Wellington Mission.

After earning an undergraduate degree at the University of Auckland, he enrolled in the master of business administration program at Brigham Young University. While living in Provo, Utah, USA, he met a returned missionary named Jacqueline Wood on a blind date. They were married on December 18, 1981, in the Salt Lake Temple. The Palmers have six children and nine grandchildren.

Elder Palmer is the founder and president of SMP Ventures, a real estate development company. He has served as bishop, stake president, president of the Washington Spokane Mission (2009–12), interim president of the Australia Sydney South Mission (2014), and Area Seventy.