Elder Bradley D. Foster

Of the Seventy

Elder Bradley Duane Foster of the Second Quorum of the Seventy can trace the beginnings of his testimony to listening to his parents’ testimonies.

“My grandfathers on both sides were immigrants when they came to America as new members of the Church from Germany and from England,” says Elder Foster. “They suffered greatly in doing so. I gained a testimony by listening to my parents tell me stories about their parents and what they sacrificed for the Church. As a young boy, I believed their words.”

He was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA, on March 5, 1949, to Dewain and Melba Foster. Elder Foster grew up in the neighboring community of Rigby. He served a full-time mission in the Texas South Mission. His testimony was further strengthened during his mission when he met a minister of another religion who told the young missionary that the only people who were to go to heaven were the members of his small church in Texas.

“I couldn’t imagine our Heavenly Father being that unkind to the rest of us. That night as I prayed to my Heavenly Father, He bore witness to my spirit that His plan and His love were for everyone. I knew then our message to the world was true.”

Upon returning from his mission, Elder Foster attended Ricks College (now Brigham Young University–Idaho), focusing on preveterinary studies. In 1971 he started his own agriculture business in Rigby. He married Sharol Lyn Anderson on May 14, 1971, in the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple. They are the parents of four children. He has served as a member of the Idaho Potato Commission, the Northwest Farm Credit Board of Directors, and on the President’s Advancement Council at BYU–Idaho.

Elder Foster has served as elders quorum president, stake mission president, bishop, high councilor, stake president, and president of the California Arcadia Mission.