“The Lord Jesus Christ is our most precious of all gifts from God.” – President M. Russell Ballard, “Precious Gifts from God,” General Conference, April, 2018.
President M. Russell Ballard graduated from mortality to eternity on November 12, 2023. The last time I heard him speak during the October General Conference of this year, I had the feeling he was saying goodbye. This news, though sad, was not unexpected for the 95-year-old servant of the Lord. He is now in a far better world and reunited with his wife and Savior. Today, I pay him tribute, give him thanks for his decades of selfless service in the cause of truth, and highlight two of the most significant doctrines he taught.
President Ballard was the acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was an ordained apostle of the Lord. He was called by revelation into the apostleship on October 6, 1985. He had been a member of the Quorum of the Twelve from before the time I was born.
Others will write biographies of this great man. I wish to focus on his teachings and testimonies, focusing predominately on his later years because it can be presumed that what a man believes at the end of his life is a better gauge of his heart.
Above all, an apostle is a witness for Jesus Christ. President Ballard bore his witness of the Savior frequently and fervently. It is fitting, therefore, to quote from the three most profound statements President Ballard ever made. I refer to the words of three proclamation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which he helped draft and which he signed. The first we will quote is called “The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles” and reads in part:
“As we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ two millennia ago, we offer our testimony of the reality of His matchless life and the infinite virtue of His great atoning sacrifice. None other has had so profound an influence upon all who have lived and will yet live upon the earth. . . .
“We testify that He will someday return to earth. “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (Isaiah 40:5). He will rule as King of Kings and reign as Lord of Lords, and every knee shall bend and every tongue shall speak in worship before Him. Each of us will stand to be judged of Him according to our works and the desires of our hearts.
“We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.”
One of the other proclamations that has been so impactful is “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” published in 1995. Among the many superlative truths about gender, identity, traditional family roles, proper sexuality, and more, we find this statement:
“The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.”
The most recent proclamation is titled “The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World.” In it, the Lord’s then living Apostles, including President Ballard, testified:
“We solemnly proclaim that God loves His children in every nation of the world. God the Father has given us the divine birth, the incomparable life, and the infinite atoning sacrifice of His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. By the power of the Father, Jesus rose again and gained the victory over death. He is our Savior, our Exemplar, and our Redeemer. . . .
“We declare that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, organized on April 6, 1830, is Christ’s New Testament Church restored. This Church is anchored in the perfect life of its chief cornerstone, Jesus Christ, and in His infinite Atonement and literal Resurrection. Jesus Christ has once again called Apostles and has given them priesthood authority. He invites all of us to come unto Him and His Church, to receive the Holy Ghost, the ordinances of salvation, and to gain enduring joy. . . .
“With reverence and gratitude, we as His Apostles invite all to know—as we do—that the heavens are open. We affirm that God is making known His will for His beloved sons and daughters. We testify that those who prayerfully study the message of the Restoration and act in faith will be blessed to gain their own witness of its divinity and of its purpose to prepare the world for the promised Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Beautiful words. President Ballard continuously raised his voice to support the declarations in all three proclamations and was proud to place his name on paper affirming them.
In his October 2021 General Conference talk ““Lovest Thou Me More Than These?”,” President Ballard gave this additional witness:
“As one of the Apostles who signed “The Living Christ” document, I can say that knowing that Jesus “is the light, the life, and the hope of the world”6 gives me a greater desire to love Him more every day.
“I testify that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live. I testify that They love us. The scriptures teach that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The scriptures also teach that Jesus “so loved the world that he gave his own life, that as many as would believe might become the sons [and daughters] of God.” . . . .
“. . . We need to believe in Jesus and in God’s plan of happiness. To believe is to love and follow our Savior and keep the commandments, even in the midst of trials and strife. . . .
“We cannot lose our love for and hope in Jesus, even if we face seemingly overwhelming challenges. Heavenly Father and Jesus will never forget us. They love us. . . .
“We must always remember that our true happiness depends upon our relationship with God, with Jesus Christ, and with each other.”
This excerpt contains one of the major motifs of President Ballard’s ministry; namely, that our Heavenly Father and Savior know and love us. President Ballard knew, as do I, that we are the literal children of God – His spirit sons and daughters. We are reconciled with Him and may return back to Him one day through our Redeemer. It is crucial to know our identity and to know how we may become one with God – through Jesus Christ.
In his April 2021 General Conference “Hope in Christ”, President Ballard spoke further of our identity as sons and daughters of God and the Lord’s ability to bless us and fulfill our purest dreams when we hope and trust in him:
“Because we are the spirit children of God, everyone has a divine origin, nature, and potential. Each of us “is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents.” This is our identity! This is who we really are! . . . .
“This sense of spiritual and cultural identity, love, and belonging can inspire hope and love for Jesus Christ.
“I speak of hope in Christ not as wishful thinking. Instead, I speak of hope as an expectation that will be realized. Such hope is essential to overcoming adversity, fostering spiritual resilience and strength, and coming to know that we are loved by our Eternal Father and that we are His children, who belong to His family.
“When we have hope in Christ, we come to know that as we need to make and keep sacred covenants, our fondest desires and dreams can be fulfilled through Him. . . .
“Waiting upon the Lord implies action. I have learned over the years that our hope in Christ increases when we serve others. Serving as Jesus served, we naturally increase our hope in Him.
“The personal growth one can achieve now while waiting upon the Lord and His promises is an invaluable, sacred element of His plan for each one of us. . . .
“Never forget that you are a child of God, our Eternal Father, now and forever. He loves you, and the Church wants and needs you. Yes, we need you! We need your voices, talents, skills, goodness, and righteousness. . . .
“I bear my witness on this Easter weekend of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and the eternal hope He gives me and all who believe in His name. And I bear this testimony humbly in His sacred name, even Jesus Christ, amen.”
As children of Elohim, Jesus is our Advocate, our Lord, and our hope. He is our only hope. We must look to Him in faith and follow Him wherever He leads. Everything hinges upon our obedience to His word.
In his second-to-last General Conference address aptly titled “Remember What Matters Most,” President Ballard said:
“Faith in Jesus Christ is the foundation of our testimonies. A testimony is a witness or confirmation of eternal truth impressed upon individual hearts and souls through the Holy Ghost. A testimony of Jesus Christ, born of and strengthened by the Spirit, changes lives—it changes the way we think and how we live. A testimony turns us toward our Heavenly Father and His divine Son. . . .
“Having a testimony alone is not enough. As our conversion to Jesus Christ grows, we naturally want to testify of Him—His goodness, love, and kindness. . . .
“I invite you to bear your testimony of Jesus Christ more often. Bear testimony of what you know and believe and what you feel, not just of what you are thankful for. Testify of your own experiences of coming to know and love the Savior, of living His teachings, and of His redemptive and enabling power in your life. As you bear testimony of what you know, believe, and feel, the Holy Ghost will confirm the truth to those who earnestly listen to your testimony. They will do so because they have watched you become a peaceful follower of Jesus Christ. They will see what it means to be His disciple. They will also feel something they may not have felt before. A pure testimony comes from a changed heart and can be carried by the power of the Holy Ghost into the hearts of others who are open to receive it.
“Those who feel something as a result of your testimony may then ask the Lord in prayer to confirm the truth of your testimony. Then they can know for themselves.
“Brothers and sisters, I testify and witness to you that I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. He lives. He is the resurrected Son of God, and this is His Church, led by His prophet and apostles. I pray that someday when I pass to the next world, I may do so with my testimony burning brightly.”
I have no doubt that President Ballard’s testimony burned brightly as he passed into immortality and glory. He tirelessly witnessed of Jesus Christ and pointed us to Him. He urged us and pleaded with us to come to our Savior.
As a logical outgrowth of his anchoring love for Jesus Christ, President Ballard had an ardent love for the Prophet Joseph Smith, about whom he routinely spoke. President Ballard was the great-great-grandson of Hyrum Smith, the brother of Joseph Smith and, at the end of his life, co-president-prophet with him of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. President Ballard’s passion for declaring to the world that Joseph Smith was called by Jesus Christ to restore His Church was personal.
In his 1991 address “The Family of the Prophet Joseph Smith,” President Ballard said:
“Each person who has a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ should love and appreciate Joseph Smith, Jr., for he is “the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, [who] has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it.” (D&C 135:3.) . . . .
“The Lord foreordained his father, Joseph Smith, Sr., who is spoken of in the holy scriptures, to be one of the earthly parents of the Prophet. Joseph of Egypt prophesied that the latter-day seer whom God would raise up to do his work would be “called Joseph” (JST, Gen. 50:33), and his name would “be after the name of his father” (2 Ne. 3:15). The heavenly messenger Moroni admonished young Joseph to go to his father following a glorious night of sacred instruction. In Joseph’s words, this messenger “commanded me to go to my father and tell him of the vision and commandments which I had received. I obeyed; I returned to my father in the field, and rehearsed the whole matter to him. He replied to me that it was of God, and told me to go and do as commanded by the messenger.” (JS—H 1:49–50.)
“Joseph Smith, Sr., was in tune with the Spirit of the Lord. He knew that his young son spoke the truth. He not only believed the boy’s words but encouraged him in the work he had been called to do.
“Joseph, Sr., endured ridicule and persecution because of his prophet son’s experiences and claims. Yet, he was unwavering in his loving support and defended his son. . . .
“I bear humble witness that Joseph Smith is one of the great, noble ones to come to the earth. He and his brother Hyrum deserve our honor, respect, and gratitude as do other members of their family who assisted with the restoration of the fulness of the gospel . . . Jesus, our Lord and Savior, stands at the head of the Church. Our Heavenly Father lives and watches over each of His children. To this I humbly testify, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”
In 1994, President Ballard bore a similar witness in “Restored Truth”:
“My dear friends, I testify to you that this is true and that the Father and the Son appeared in wondrous vision to young Joseph as a step in the restoring of the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth. Through subsequent, equally miraculous experiences, Joseph Smith was God’s instrument in
- Translating from ancient records a book of scripture, the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ,
- Restoring priesthood authority,
- Restoring sealing keys to turn the hearts of the children to the fathers,
- Establishing the restored church of Jesus Christ in these latter days with the fulness of the gospel as taught in the meridian of time by the Savior and His Apostles,
- Fulfilling biblical prophecy,
- Preparing for the second coming of Jesus Christ.
“. . . either the gospel has been restored or it has not. Either the Savior’s original church and its doctrine were lost or they were not. Either Joseph Smith had that remarkable vision or he did not. The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ or it is not. Either the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored to earth through God’s chosen latter-day prophet or it was not.
“The truth really is not any more complicated than that. Either these things happened just as I have testified or they did not. As a latter-day Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, my testimony, and the testimony of millions of faithful members of the Church the world over, is that what I have told you this morning is true. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been restored to the earth through Joseph Smith and is administered today by a living prophet. These things I know!”
President Ballard never wavered. In his final General Conference sermon just over one month before he walked through the veil into the world of spirits, President Ballard devoted his witness to the Prophet Joseph Smith, entitling it “Praise to the Man.” In it, he affirmed:
“I’d like to share with you some things that have been in my mind. I have seemed to have the Prophet Joseph in my mind the last few months. I’ve sat and contemplated his glorious responsibility in becoming the prophet of this, the dispensation of the fulness of times. . . .
“Because Jesus, our Savior and our Redeemer, spoke to the boy Joseph and opened up this dispensation of time that we now live in, we sing, “Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah!” (“Praise to the Man,” Hymns, no. 27). We thank the Lord for Joseph Smith and for his courage to go into that grove of trees in 1820, near his home in Palmyra, New York.
“I’ve been thinking about all of the marvelous things that we know and all of the things that we have. My beloved brothers and sisters, my testimony to you this morning is how abundantly blessed we are to know all that we know because we have Joseph Smith, the prophet of this last dispensation of time. . . .
“I think it’s one of the most glorious and wonderful things that anybody in this world can know—that our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ have revealed Themselves in this latter day and that Joseph has been raised up to restore the fulness of the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ. . . .
“Though my message this morning is simple, it’s deep, and it’s full of love for the Prophet Joseph Smith. . . .
“So my testimony this morning is that I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. I also know that our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ appeared and spoke to Joseph and prepared him to become the prophet.”
President Ballard then spoke about his soon departure from this mortal field, saying:
“I marvel, and I’m sure that many of you do too, at how blessed we are to know what we know about our purpose in life, why we are here, what we should be trying to do and accomplish in our daily lives. We’re in the process of trying to prepare ourselves, a day at a time, to be a little better, be a little kinder, be a little more prepared for that day, which will surely come, when we shall pass back into the presence of our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
“That’s getting a little closer for me. I’ll soon be 95. My children tell me they think I’m a lot older than that some days, but that’s OK. I’m doing the best I can.”
To close his final talk to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the world, President Ballard said:
“May our Heavenly Father watch over us now and bless all the proceedings of the conference. And may we have the Spirit of the Lord well up in our hearts, and may our love for the gospel of Jesus Christ—our beloved Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ—increase as we strive to serve Him and keep His commandments and be more like Him as a result of our attending general conference. Wherever you are in this world, may God bless you. May the Spirit of the Lord be with us. May we feel the power of heaven as we worship together in this session of conference.
“I leave you my witness and testimony that I know that Jesus is the Christ. He is our Savior, our Redeemer. He is our best friend. In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.”
Amen. President Ballard’s enduring witness will ever be that Jesus is the Christ, that He is our Savior, and that He is our loving friend. And his secondary witness will forever be that Joseph Smith was the Lord’s chosen prophet to restore His Church and raise up Israel in the last days. Jesus and Joseph – the two names are linked. It is through the Prophet Joseph Smith that we come to a fuller knowledge of Jesus, and it is through Jesus Christ that we come to salvation and eternal life.
It is significant to me that President Ballard’s X post on same day he delivered his final talk, which was to be the second-to-last post he would ever make, contained these thoughts:
“I did not read a prepared address today at general conference. My eyes are getting dim as I approach 95 which makes it more difficult to see the teleprompter. However, I didn’t want to allow this obstacle to keep me from sharing my testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ.
“I declare my witness that Jesus Christ is our Beloved Savior. He is our Redeemer. I testify that striving to live His commandments will bring peace and happiness into our lives. Through Him, we may return to live with our Heavenly Father. I know this is true.
“My dear friends, please know that I love you and pray for you. May God bless each of us in our endeavors to follow Him.”
To me, this post was one of the most stirring and heartfelt testimonies President Ballard ever gave.
I cite only one more doctrine taught by President Ballard; the validity and importance of the holy scriptures, specifically the Holy Bible and The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. President Ballard gave perhaps the greatest sermon in modern Latter-day Saint history on the Holy Bible, titled “The Miracle of the Holy Bible.” Citing all the good parts would require too much space, but here is an excerpt:
“It is a miracle that the Bible literally contains within its pages the converting, healing Spirit of Christ, which has turned men’s hearts for centuries, leading them to pray, to choose right paths, and to search to find their Savior.
“The Holy Bible is well named. It is holy because it teaches truth, holy because it warms us with its spirit, holy because it teaches us to know God and understand His dealings with men, and holy because it testifies throughout its pages of the Lord Jesus Christ. . . .
“How grateful we should be for the Holy Bible. In it we learn not only of the life and teachings and doctrines of Christ, we learn of His Church and of His priesthood and of the organization which He established and named the Church of Jesus Christ in those former days. We believe in that Church, and we believe that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that same Church, restored to earth, complete, with the same organization and the same priesthood.
“Without the Bible, we would not know of His Church then, nor would we have the fulness of His gospel now.
“I love the Bible, its teachings, its lessons, and its spirit. I love the Old Testament’s compelling, profound stories and its great prophets testifying of the coming of Christ. I love the New Testament’s apostolic travels and miracles and the letters of Paul. Most of all, I love its eyewitness accounts of the words and the example and the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. I love the perspective and peace that come from reading the Bible.
“Brothers and sisters, I am sure many of you have had the experience of hearing people say that “Mormons are not Christians because they have their own Bible, the Book of Mormon.” To anyone harboring this misconception, we say that we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and the author of our salvation and that we believe, revere, and love the Holy Bible. We do have additional sacred scripture, including the Book of Mormon, but it supports the Bible, never substituting for it.”
A powerful witness for the Bible! It is truly our foundational book in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because it testifies so strongly of our Savior. The Book of Mormon likewise teaches clear and glorious doctrine about Jesus Christ, pointing our souls to Him and to no other for salvation. In the same address just cited, President Ballard said of The Book of Mormon:
“Those who join this Church do not give up their faith in the Bible—they strengthen it. The Book of Mormon does not dilute nor diminish nor de-emphasize the Bible. On the contrary, it expands, extends, and exalts it. The Book of Mormon testifies of the Bible, and both testify of Christ.
“The first testament of Christ is the Bible’s Old Testament, which predicted and prophesied of the coming of the Savior, His transcendent life, and His liberating Atonement.
“The second Bible testament of Christ is the New Testament, which records His birth, His life, His ministry, His gospel, His Church, His Atonement, and His Resurrection, as well as the testimonies of His Apostles.
“The third testament of Christ is the Book of Mormon, which also foretells Christ’s coming, confirms the Bible’s account of His saving Atonement, and then reveals the resurrected Lord’s visit to the earth’s other hemisphere. The subtitle of the Book of Mormon, the clarifying purpose statement printed on the cover of every copy, is “Another Testament of Jesus Christ.”
“Each of these three testaments is a part of the great, indivisible whole of the Lord’s revealed word to His children. They contain the words of Christ, which we have been admonished to feast upon as a means of qualifying for eternal life (see 2 Nephi 31:20). Those who think that one part is more important or more true than the other parts are missing some of the beauty and completeness of the canon of ancient scripture. . . .
“I bear solemn witness that we are true and full believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and in His revealed word through the Holy Bible. We not only believe the Bible—we strive to follow its precepts and to teach its message. The message of our missionaries is Christ and His gospel and His Atonement, and the scriptures are the text of that message. We say to all people, “We extend our love to you and invite you to come. Let us share all that God has revealed.””
I extend the same invitation to you now. I know The Book of Mormon is as true as the Bible and that both are inspired works of holy scripture. God has given us both so that we might better know Him and His Son, Jesus Christ. Together, they are “one” the Lord’s hands as He anciently promised to Ezekiel they would be (Ezekiel 37:15-19).
Throughout his long ministry, President Ballard taught about the family, the gifts of the spirit, the threat of secret combinations, the wickedness of supernatural healings outside the Priesthood order, the snares the Devil lays to destroy people, the power of prayer, the importance of our spiritual identity, the Pioneers, and more. I invite you to click this link and review President Ballard’s catalogue of General Conference addresses dating back to 1976.
Finally, I wish to share a miraculous story that I heard from President Ballard’s own lips at the Missionary Training Center in 2006 while I was preparing to serve my mission in Moscow, Russia. I will paraphrase the story in my own terms as best as I can remember it while retaining its essence.
In the talk, President Ballard spoke of his call to the apostleship. During his first week as an apostle, he was sent to Latin America to minister to the Saints in a region that had been hit by flood. President Ballard and a group of local authorities examined a lake that had risen, if memory serves, about thirty feet too high.
As the group walked back to car, but President Ballard felt a strong impression from the Spirit that he should command the waters to recede to their original levels. He said that he thought something along the lines, “I’ve been an apostle one week and you want me to command the waters to go down?” Faithful to the prompting, however, President Ballard called his companions back and made a pronouncement by virtue of the Priesthood, commanding the water to recede.
Something time went by and, back in the United States, President Ballard received a newspaper clipping from a local Church leader in the flood-affected with a headline stating, in essence, “Scientists baffled as water recedes thirty feet.” President Ballard relayed this incredible experience to testify of the Lord’s power and authority over all things.
I also testify of the Lord. I testify that the Lord has called apostles and prophets in our day, beginning with Joseph Smith. One of those apostles was President M. Russell Ballard. He was a good man and a servant of our Redeemer who is Christ the Lord. He is now reunited with his wife and with the Lord whom he loved and served. May we keep President Ballard’s teachings, testimony, and service in our minds and do what he encouraged us to do, follow the Savior.
Zack Strong,
November 14, 2023