After a lifetime of “tireless service, inspired teaching and genuine kindness,” President M. Russell Ballard was remembered for his love, leadership and missionary zeal, during his funeral service on Friday, Nov. 17, 2023.
The Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Ballard died Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023, at the age of 95. Thousands gathered in the Tabernacle on Temple Square for the service, held on a sunny, mild November morning.
President Ballard was “a truly remarkable man, husband, father, grandfather and esteemed Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ” who leaves a legacy of “enduring faith and commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ,” wrote the First Presidency — President Russell M. Nelson and his counselors, President Dallin H. Oaks and President Henry B. Eyring — in a message read by President Oaks during the funeral. “As was his hope, he passed from this life into the next with his testimony burning brightly.”
President Nelson, who watched the funeral from his home, asked President Oaks to conduct the service.
As a great-great-grandson of Hyrum Smith, President Ballard had a tangible connection to the Prophet Joseph Smith, read President Oaks from the First Presidency message. “That connection inspired him throughout his life. It would be impossible to measure President Ballard’s impact for good during his sojourn in mortality. As a young missionary to Great Britain, as a mission president in Toronto and as a general authority, he has traversed the globe many times, teaching and testifying of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel. He has been a courageous warrior for truth.”
President Ballard was a gifted teacher with a zeal for missionary work, the First Presidency wrote. “His thoughtful, contemplative nature was a blessing to the Council of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. His tremendous energy and delightful sense of humor will be greatly missed by all who had the privilege of associating with him.”
After reading the letter, President Oaks also spoke of President Ballard.
“President Ballard and I sat beside one another in the meetings of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for almost 33 years,” he said. “President Eyring knew President Ballard intimately for about 40 years. President Nelson knew President Ballard longer than either one of us. Each of us loved this man, we were inspired by his fervent testimony, we learned from his many great leadership qualities, and we were blessed by his influence throughout the Church.
“He has been an exemplary leader of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during his many years in that capacity. We will miss him. The other leaders of the Church will miss him. Our missionaries will miss him. The members of the Church will miss him.”
Fortunately, concluded President Oaks, the loss for those here is a gain “for innumerable loved ones and leaders who are greeting him on the other side of the veil. There, and here, his influence for righteousness is and will be profound and permanent.”
‘One of the best friends you will ever have’
In fall 1990, President Jeffrey R. Holland — then a General Authority Seventy serving as president of the Church’s Europe North Area and now the Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles — learned that President Ballard would be his first contact in the Quorum of the Twelve.
President Holland recalled being “frightened and frantic,” having had “little ecclesiastical exposure to him and no personal contact at all.”
That night, he dropped to his knees and pleaded “for peace and some reassurance.”
“I then heard a voice so stunning that I stopped praying — midsentence — and considered every syllable I had just heard. Like a handful of other similar experiences in my life, I don’t know whether it was an audible voice or one delivered directly to my mind, but that distinction doesn’t matter,” said President Holland, who was set apart Nov. 15 to succeed President Ballard as the Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
The Lord then communicated a powerful message to President Holland: “Russell Ballard will be one of the best friends you will ever have in this world. You will enjoy his company and seek his counsel for the rest of your life.”
President Holland said that unexpected answer to prayer has been more than fulfilled in every detail a thousand times over.
“What I can say is that for the next three years, we cherished those long hours laboring together in England and Scandinavia, laughing and crying and loving the work, eating fish and chips on the run and avoiding lutefisk at Christmas time,” he said. “Then most unexpectedly, I became a fellow member of his quorum, where I have enjoyed his friendship and wise counsel for more than 29 years, six of which I have been at his elbow watching closely his leadership of that quorum.
“Even more personally, may I say that during my recent five-week hospital stay, three weeks of which were spent in an unconscious journey to the doorstep of death, President Ballard gave me blessings or visited or called the hospital every single day for those touch-and-go weeks while my life hung in the balance.
“How do you thank a man for that?”
In return, President Holland said he visited or called President Ballard every day during the last two to three weeks of his life, and “thanks to this remarkable family, who I love so dearly and who honor me with this invitation to speak, I got to kiss President Ballard’s cheek for the last time just hours before he passed.”
Like the thousands, now millions, who have been blessed by President Ballard’s witness of our Savior, “I, too, bear witness of the Lord Jesus Christ — that He is the Redeemer of all mankind, the Life and Light of the World,” said President Holland. “I celebrate President Ballard as one who will indeed come forth triumphantly on the morning of the first resurrection. He will do so as the recipient of a gift flowing from the great atoning sacrifice of the Holy Lamb of God, a gift which is the central splendor of the eternal plan of divine mercy of which Melvin Russell Ballard Jr. has been a special witness — and still is.”
‘What a missionary!’
Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke of President Ballard as a “dear friend and great leader.”
Referencing the musical rendition of “Faith in Every Footstep,” performed during the service, Elder Cook said the music evokes memories of President Ballard’s epoch efforts to overcome divisions and honor pioneers of all faiths.
President Ballard desired to help build unity, he said.
“The principal message in the hymn ‘Faith in Every Footstep’ is an invitation to give service to and build faith in Jesus Christ. This was President Ballard’s life mission. He served 47 years as a general authority, 38 of which he served as an Apostle of the Lord. The marvelous work referred to in the hymn is the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Proclaiming the Restoration was the greatest desire of his heart.”
Called to serve as a missionary in the British Mission in 1948, President Ballard returned in 2021 to England with Elder Holland and Elder Cook — also former British missionaries.
“Elder Holland and I were amazed to watch President Ballard stand on a wall in the center of Nottingham, where he had held street meetings 73 years before,” recalled Elder Cook. “What a missionary. What a teacher. Even more impressive was his showing us a spot near a stream where he had had a spiritual confirmation of the truthfulness of the gospel he was teaching.”
The grandson of two Apostles — Elder Melvin Joseph Ballard on his father’s side and Elder Hyrum Mack Smith on his mother’s side — President Ballard never saw this heritage as a badge of honor or an entitlement of any kind, said Elder Cook. “He did see it as a responsibility to teach the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He believed strongly that he would be accountable both to the Lord and to Joseph and Hyrum. He had sculptured busts of Hyrum and Joseph on his office shelf. I believe, with this powerful motivation, M. Russell Ballard was the most dedicated missionary of our generation. I am confident that these faithful ancestors have greeted him with love and deep appreciation.”
Elder Cook said one of the reasons President Ballard was such a great missionary and leader is his love for people — all people. “Everyone he met realized he was truly interested in them and any challenges that they faced. He believed that the gospel of Jesus Christ was the answer to life’s truly important questions. His love of people was not conditional. He continued to love and associate with them whether they accepted the gospel message or not.”
Elder Cook said the centerpiece of the Church’s missionary effort has always been the doctrine of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of the Lord’s Church. “No one has taught this more powerfully or thoroughly than President Ballard over the last 50 years.”
For almost six years, President Ballard led the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
“President M. Russell Ballard was a mentor to each of us in the quorum and many, many others. He was a warm bridge builder with a great sense of humor and was kind to everyone. He was wise and tried to keep things simple. He was inclusive and invited everyone into his circle. He exhibited great character and integrity in every aspect of his life.
“His personal testimony of the Savior was strong and unwavering. I am eternally grateful to have been blessed by the power of his testimony,” Elder Cook said.
‘Like an oak tree’
President Ballard’s daughter Holly B. Clayton said that to his children, her father was like a mighty oak tree — grounded and steady. She said President Ballard was always there for his family. “He has been our broad shoulder to cry on, and his chest was a peaceful place to rest our weary heads.”
During his 50 years of full-time Church service, President Ballard — “a consensus-building problem-solver and unifier” — was a husband and a father first, she said. “He always helped us feel that things would work out.”
President Ballard’s son Craig B. Ballard spoke of his father’s ability to tackle complex issues. “He always knew how to get to the heart of a difficult problem quickly. He had incredible vision to know what needed to be done and the wisdom and fortitude to do it.”
The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square provided music for the service, performing “Consider the Lilies,” “Faith in Every Footstep,” “Have I Done Any Good?” and “I’ll Go Where You Want Me To Go.”
Daughter Brynn B. Huntsman and Paul N. Clayton, a son-in-law, offered the invocation and benediction, respectively. Son-in-law Bradford J. Brower offered the family prayer before the service.
Interment
President Melvin Russell Ballard Jr. was buried at the Salt Lake City Cemetery in Salt Lake City, Utah. President Holland presided at a short graveside service, conducted by Hal C. Murdock, a son-in-law. Following a musical selection by Gentri of “Be Still, My Soul” and military honors rendered by the Utah Army National Guard, son Clark R. Ballard offered the prayer of dedication on the grave.
President Ballard’s large family — which includes seven children, 43 grandchildren, 105 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild — and every member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and other Church leaders gathered at the cemetery for the service.
The headstone that President Ballard shares with his late wife, Sister Barbara Bowen Ballard, who died in October of 2018, records for history the advice that defined President Ballard’s life:
“Remember: think straight, keep it simple, preach My gospel, seek the one, counsel together, stay in the boat and hold on, love and just serve.”
The First Presidency letter to the Ballard family
To the Family of President M. Russell Ballard:
We extend to you our heartfelt condolences at the passing of our dear friend and associate, President M. Russell Ballard, a truly remarkable man, husband, father, grandfather and esteemed Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. He leaves to you, his posterity, a legacy of enduring faith and commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ. As was his hope, he passed from this life into the next with his testimony burning brightly.
As the great-great-grandson of Hyrum Smith, President Ballard had a tangible connection to the Prophet Joseph Smith. That connection inspired him throughout his life. It would be impossible to measure President Ballard’s impact for good during his sojourn in mortality. As a young missionary to Great Britain, as a mission president in Toronto and as a general authority, he has traversed the globe many times, teaching and testifying of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel. He has been a courageous warrior for truth!
President Ballard was a gifted leader. His zeal for missionary work is legendary, and he led out in developing the original version of “Preach My Gospel.” His thoughtful, contemplative nature was a blessing to the Council of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. His tremendous energy and delightful sense of humor will be greatly missed by all who had the privilege of associating with him.
In his final conference address, President Ballard said to members of the Church: “Oh, how I love you! What a glorious experience [it has] been — to look into your faces, be in your presence, and feel your love that you have for the Lord and for the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” To which we now respond: Oh, how we love President Ballard! How glorious it has been to associate with him, to be inspired by his loving care for his beloved Barbara, to hear his resounding witness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Until we meet again, dear friend and brother, we thank you, for a lifetime of tireless service, inspired teaching and genuine kindness. May we strive to follow your extraordinary example as a covenant-keeping disciple of Jesus Christ.
May you, his loved ones, receive a blessing of comfort at this tender time of parting.
With our love and warm regards,
Russell M. Nelson
Dallin H. Oaks
Henry B. Eyring
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