Our 15 Apostles

While at Ed Week I had bought a small religion manual for a home-study class which contains brief biographies of each of the 15 Apostles. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed reading it. It was fascinating getting to know some of the Apostles and learning things like the fact that Elder Robert D. Hales was born 2 months before my Dad and their high schools were only 25 miles apart on Long Island. Elder Hales played baseball...and I know my Dad played football and wrestled. Wonder if they ever crossed paths at anything.

I also discovered that Elder David A Bednar and his wife Susan were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on 20 March 1975...just like Elder Neil L Andersen and his wife Kathy. Wonder if they overlapped or were all out on the lawn taking pictures at the same time. Fighting over who got to use the reflecting pool first (just kidding). Anyone know them and can ask?

Anyway, I have spent the past week working on a hand-out to give to the kids in Sharing Time on Sunday dealing with the Apostles, and I thought I'd share part of it here. My disclaimer: even though I had been researching and thinking about it for over a week, when it came to typing it, I was under the gun to get it to the church library last night so the packets could get printed out, and I didn't really have time to edit it like I would have liked. I'm sure I would have swapped some stories, but this is what it is. GEFN (good enough for now). It is intended just to whet the appetite to learn more, and I hope it accomplishes that.

Oh, and today is Elder Ballard's 82nd birthday. Happy Birthday Elder Ballard!

Know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord.
--1 Thessalonians 5:12

Knowing and loving our Leaders will help us all to want to follow them. Here are some very brief and incomplete biographies of the 15 Apostles to help us get a better feel for who they are. We will start with the First Presidency:

1-PRESIDENT THOMAS S MONSON-Born 21 August 1927 and is the 16th President of the Church in this dispensation.

He started working at the age of 12 next to his father due to the back economic conditions of his time. At age 18 he went off to serve in the Navy at the end of World War II. He refused a commission in the Navy so he could serve in the Church. He married at age 21, and became a Bishop at age 22. He worked in the newspaper and publishing business at this time. At age 27 he was called into the Stake Presidency. At age 31 he became the Mission President for the Canadian Mission, headquartered in Toronto. In October 1963, at age 36, he was called as an Apostle when Pres. David O. McKay was the Prophet.

He is known for being big on and in Scouting, for his watchful care of the widows in his ward while he was Bishop…and afterwards, and for following the Spirit.

“I may have walked where Jesus once walked, but what is more important to me is that today, I can walk where Jesus would walk if He were still with us. I can listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and minister to those the Savior would minister to today. I try to never delay a prompting.” (Pres. Monson as quoted by his daughter Ann M. Dibb in a BYU-Idaho Devotional 19 Feb 2008)

2-PRESIDENT HENRY B EYRING-Born 31 May 1933, he is the 1st Counselor in the First Presidency.

Although Pres. Eyring did not serve a regular full-time mission, while he was serving in the Air Force in Albuquerque, New Mexico, he served a district mission for the Western States Mission, where for 2 years he worked evenings and weekends as a missionary.

Trained in physics and business, he worked in the education arena, becoming President of Ricks College from 1971-1977.

He said that he would never pursue any sport that he couldn’t play with his family and they enjoyed tennis, basketball, and swimming together. One of their family traditions was that every Saturday morning was for “projects.” Everyone was expected to be home on Saturday mornings and they did things from building kitchen cabinets, gardening. Or just doing chores around the house. He often prepared breakfast for his family, and then they’d eat together with the main course being the scriptures.

He loves to paint watercolor pictures (and used to make illustrations for his Family Home Evening lessons). His motto: Be the best you can.

3-PRESIDENT DIETER F UCHTDORF-Born 6 November 1940 in Czechoslovakia and raised in Germany. He is the 2nd Counselor in the First Presidency.

Due to World War II, his family lost everything they had twice in a seven year period, but he says that they gained more than any amount of money could every buy.  During part of that difficult time, his family joined the Church. He said that even in those trying times, with extreme financial hardship, they were a happy family because of the Church. One of his jobs at church when he was 8 and 9 was to pump the pump organ so the congregation could sing. “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam” was a favorite of his.

He worked hard during those years to help his family by being a laundry delivery boy for their family’s business. The exercise received on his job helped to heal his lungs from a disease he hadn’t even know he had. His desire to become a pilot was so strong that it helped him to persevere and learn the difficult task of learning to speak the English language.  He became a pilot and is known for his wonderful flying analogies in his conference talks.

Pres. and Sister Uchtdorf love traveling and have visited most parts of the world. They enjoy hiking, classical music, and spending time with their family. Pres. Uchtdorf also loves photography.

We will now move on to the Council of the Twelve Apostles:

1-PRESIDENT BOYD K PACKER--born 10 September 1924 and is the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

He loves the outdoors and animals and is known for his art work--his specialty is carving birds. He is an author and has even illustrated some of his works.

He enlisted in the air cadet program of the Air Force and was a bomber pilot during World War II over in the Pacific Arena. He said, “It was in the military service that I came to know for sure that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, that there stands at the head of the Church a prophet of God, and that our Father in heaven will hear and answer prayers and sustain us as we answer the call to enter military service.”

While he was serving in the military, he took the opportunity to teach the people of Japan, where he was stationed, about the gospel. It was while he was in the military that he decided to become a teacher. He knew he wouldn’t be wealthy but he accepted that. He went on to have a career in the Church Educational System.

2-ELDER L TOM PERRY--born 5 August 1922 in Logan, Utah

As a boy he had the goal of perfect attendance at church…and even went when he had tonsillitis. His dedication was also shown in his work as a paperboy…one day a blizzard had brought in over 20” of snow…and he delivered all his papers even though he had to struggle in the snow for almost an hour to deliver the last paper on his route.

He was an Explorer Scout and was the captain of a championship volleyball team, taking 1st place in the All-Church 1940 tournament.

His brother, Ted, said that Elder Perry was always talking about and saving money for a mission. He was called to the Northern States Mission in 1942. While in Cedar Rapids, his Mission President gave his approval for Elder Perry to play on the YMCA volleyball team and the went on to the Nation Finals. Elder Perry was selected as the outstanding player for the tournament.

After his mission he was drafted and became a Marine during World War II and was stationed in the Pacific. In Nagasaki, he helped to rebuild a Protestant chapel.

He’s known for his enthusiasm and says that has been the secret to his success in life. “I’ve had more experiences in my life just by getting involved, and participating, and trying my best to create an atmosphere of always wanting to win or be on top, or grow, or develop.”

3-ELDER RUSSELL M NELSON--Born 9 September 1924 in Salt Lake City, Utah

He is a world-renowned heart surgeon…having gone to school year-round, he was a “full-fledged M.D. at just 22 years of age” having graduated with highest honors. He served in the Army during the Korean War in the medical service. He was the first surgeon to perform open-heart surgery in Utah.

He, his first wife and their 10 children were very musical. They all performed and sang and played instruments together.

Later in his medical career he had the opportunity to operate on Elder Spencer W. Kimball (who would later become the 12th President of the Church) and save his life. Elder Nelson shared what was said in a blessing given to him before he performed the operation, “I was promised that the operation would be performed without error, that all would go well, and that I need not fear for my own inadequacies, for I had been raised by the Lord to perform this operation.”

When talking about following the Prophet, Elder Nelson said, “My experience is that once you stop putting question marks behind the prophet’s statements and put exclamation points instead, and do it, the blessing just pour.”

Another great quote by Elder Nelson: “You’re only happy in life if you’re rendering service. Whether I’m a surgeon or an apostle, all I need to know is that I’m doing what the Lord wants me to do.”

4-ELDER DALLIN H OAKS--Born 12 August 1932 in Provo, Utah

As a teenager (age 15), Elder Oaks got his commercial radio operator’s license and soon started working at a local broadcast station. In college, he announced high school basketball games on the radio. Years later he would become the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Public Broadcasting System (PBS).

He enjoyed hiking, gardening, and playing tennis with his first wife, June. He said, “Everybody needs to keep intouch with nature, with the rhythm of the eart. Somehow it’s bad for people when they can’t.”

Although he claims he is no great scriptorian, he loves the scriptures and read them “repeated and regularly.” He likes to use the indexes and said, “My method of studying the scriptures is to read them and think how they apply to me personally. Stories and their concepts are what strikes me most deeply.”

Before becoming an Apostle, Elder Oaks was a law clerk to U.S. Chief Justice Earl Warren of the Supreme Court, was a laywer, President of BYU in Provo, and then was Justice of the Utah Supreme Court 1981-1984.

5-ELDER M RUSSELL BALLARD--Born 8 October 1928 in Salt Lake City, Utah

Elder Ballard is from pioneer stock--his paternal grandfather was Elder Melvin J. Ballard (an Apostle from 1919-1939) and his maternal grandfather was Hyrum Mack Smith (an Apostle from 1901-1918). Through Hyrum Mack Smith, Elder Ballard’s great-grandfather was the prophet Joseph F. Smith and his great-great grandfather was Hyrum Smith (who was martyred along side of his brother Joseph Smith).

He served an extra five months on his mission to serve as a counselor to his mission president. Elder Ballard said, “A mission is the greatest thing a young Church member can perform. It not only helps the work of the Lord, but it gives the missionary the emotional and spiritual maturity he needs to face life.” He later served as Mission President in the Canada Toronto Mission.

He was a businessman before his full-time church callings. He said, “A member of the church should not be so involved and entangled in business that he can’t accept a Church calling or responsibility when it comes to him.” He said he had been heading in that direction and tool a long look at what he was doing.

On final piece of advice from Elder Ballard: “Marrying a good wife is the key to any man’s success.” (look at any of the Apostle’s wives and you will see that they are evey bit as dedicated and worthy as their husbands are)

6-ELDER RICHARD G SCOTT-born 7 November 1928 in Pocatello, Idaho

Elder Scott lived many places as a child: Pocatello, Idaho; Washington, D.C.; Kansas City, Missouri. As a teenager he worked in many places: on Long Island, New York he worked on an oyster boat, in Idaho he worked cutting down dead forest trees, and he played in a dance band in the Ozark Mountains playing the clarinet and saxophone. When he was 18 he arrived in Cedar City, Utah with 12¢ in his pocket and wound up washing dishes.  By the end of the summer he was the assistant chef.

His mother was inactive and his father was not a member of our Church. After Elder Scott and one of his brothers had served their  missions and a 3rd was then serving one, Elder Scott's father decided to be baptized. Elder Scott's parents later became temple workers in the Washington, D. C. Temple.

Elder Scott graduated from college in mechanical engineering and then left for a mission to Uruguay. When he left many were counseling him not to go as it would ruin his engineering career. He went anyway. Shortly after his mission he was selected to be in the Naval Nuclear Program, which was just beginning.  After serving for 12 years on Admiral Rickover's staff, Elder Scott was called to be a mission president. Once again, people advised him not to take the position as he wouldn't be able to find work again when he returned due to his highly specialized field. Once again, he served faithfully, and when he returned, he was able to find work. He said, "I feel that when we do what the servants of the Lord ask us to do to the best of our ability, we will be given aid and will not lose out in any way."

Elder Scott is an artist and likes to paint watercolor pictures.

7-ELDER ROBERT D HALES-Born 24 August 1932 in New York City, New York

Elder Hales grew up outside of New York City. He was on his high school's baseball team and  once made it into Ripley's "Believe It or Not" because in a game where he pitched a no-hitter…so did the other pitcher!

After Elder Hales graduated from the University of Utah, he went into the Air Force where he flew F-84 and F-100 aircraft.

He was twice called to be the mission president in London England but served only once. The first time he was called, as they were packing to go, they received a call from Pres. Kimball changing their plans. Instead of heading to England, Elder Hales was called to Salt Lake to be an Assistant to the Council of the Twelve in April 1975.  A few years later, in 1978-1979, he finally served as the mission president in the England London Mission.

When he was called to be an apostle in 1994 he said, "Imagine what it means to be a young boy from New York who memorized the names of all the apostles when I was a deacon. I never thought I'd be among them."

8-ELDER JEFFREY R HOLLAND-born 3 December 1940 in St. George, Utah

Elder Holland played sports while in high school.  He lettered in four sports and was voted the school's outstanding athlete.  He attended Dixie College on a basketball scholarship and was team captain for one year, served his mission to the British Isles, and then returned for another year at Dixie.

Before his mission, he wanted to be a medical doctor, but decided instead, due to his experiences in the mission field, that he wanted to teach the scriptures and the gospel instead.  He ended up working for the Church's Institute program. He turned down teaching at Yale, and with his Ph.D. from Yale became, according to him, "the lowest instructor on the totem pole at the institute adjacent to the University of Utah, which was just fine with me."

He later rose so high on the totem pole of education that he became the President of BYU in Provo.

He said, "I do not have any hobbies, except perhaps reading. My recreation, my rejuvenation, my refreshment in life come from my family."  His wife said, "If  you were to ask what Jeff's gift is, I would have to say it is faith. Once he prays and makes a decision, he acts on it and never looks back."


9-ELDER DAVID A BEDNAR-born 15 June 1952 in San Leandro, California

Elder Bednar’s mother is LDS. His father was Catholic. That is until Elder Bednar was in his late 20’s and going for his Ph.D. at Purdue and got a phone call from his Dad saying, “What are you doing this Saturday? I need you home to baptize me.” Elder Bednar had the blessing of being able to perform that ordinance for his father.

While in high school, Elder Bednar was the quarterback on the football team.

While raising their family, Elder and Sister Bednar had three important things that they wanted their three boys to remember as they left home. “1-Remember that you represent the Savior. 2-Remember that you represent your family. 3-Remember that you represent the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

Elder Bednar taught at Texas Tech University and then at the University of Arkansas. Then he was called to be the president of Ricks College and transition it from a 2 year college to the four year BYU-Idaho. When he was asked to go in to interview for the job his son said, “Dad, there have to be a lot of men in the Church better qualified for that job than you!” (which brings to mind the scripture that says that a prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among  his own kin).


10-ELDER QUENTIN L COOK-born 8 September 1940 in Logan, Utah

When Elder Cook was little he at first wanted to be a doctor. When he changed his mind his father asked him why he had changed. Elder Cook had responded that he still liked the idea of being a doctor but he had noticed that his Uncle Joe worked on Saturday mornings and Elder Cook didn’t want to miss his Saturday morning cartoons. Since that time, his family has labeled anything that distracts them from a worthy goal to be a “Saturday morning cartoon.”

Elder Cook is the great-great grandson of the early Apostle Elder Heber C. Kimball. His great-grandfather was David Patten Kimball, one of the rescuers of the Martin Handcart company. Talking of the rescue, his grandfather told Elder Cook, “As heroic as it was for Daveid Patten Kimball to help recue the poineers, it might be equally heroic today to follow the prophet by not watching immoral movies or by refraining from using vulgar language…”

Elder Cook also played many sports while in school. He was the quarterback on the football team, was on the basketball and baseball teams and also ran track.

As part of his duties for the Church, Elder Cook is one of the men who worked on creating the “Preach My Gospel” manual for the missionaries to use.

11-ELDER D TODD CHRISTOFFERSON-born 24 January 1945 in American Fork, Utah

Elder Christofferson grew up in Pleasant Grove, Utah. The family then moved to New Jersey where Elder Christofferson was the only member of the Church in his high school.  That allowed him to think deeply about what his beliefs were and his “faith matured into a full-blown testimony.”

Living so close to New York allowed him to participate in the Hill Cumorah Pageant two different summers.

When Elder Christofferson was a boy, his mother had cancer and came close to dying. Her surgery left her week and it was painful for her to use her right arm. From his father’s example during that time (i.e. his father secretly went without lunch for a year so he could save up enough money to buy a special machine to help his mother with the ironing), Elder Christofferson says that he learn that “true manhood is defined in our relationship to women.”

He was an Edwin S. Hinckley scholar at BYU and went into law. He served under John J. Sirica (and later was asked to speak at his funeral) and worked on the Watergate Investigation.

12-ELDER NEIL L ANDERSEN-born 9 August 1951 in Logan, Utah

He grew up on a farm and raised rabbits. At the age of 5 he was given cows that he had to milk every day, getting up at 5:30 am in order to do it.

He was heavily involved in student government during his high school years and in his junior year, he represented Idaho in the Student Burgesses, where students from all 50 stated and 37 countries gathered to discuss the challenges facing democracy.

He was called to serve in the France Bordeaux mission after he graduated from high school. He felt inadequate and unprepared and prayed, “Heavenly Father, how can I serve a mission when I know so little?” The reply came, “You don’t know everything, but you know enough!” He was able to head into the mission field and enjoy the experiences there. Years later he returned to the France Bordeaux mission as its mission president.

Just like Elder Christofferson, Elder Andersen was also an Edwin S. Hinckley scholar at BYU, where he was elected Student Body Vice President.

Besides speaking French, he has also learned Spanish and  Portugese.

As part of his Church responsibilities, he supervised the filming of “The Testaments: Of One Fold and One Shepherd.”