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David A. Bednar

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David A. Bednar
Bednar speaking in 2018
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
October 2, 2004 (2004-10-02)
LDS Church Apostle
October 7, 2004 (2004-10-07)
ReasonDeath of David B. Haight.[1]
14th President of Brigham Young University–Idaho
In office
July 1, 1997 – December 1, 2004
SuccessorKim B. Clark
Personal details
BornDavid Allan Bednar
(1952-06-15) June 15, 1952 (age 72)
Oakland, California, U.S.
Alma materBrigham Young University (BA, MA)
Purdue University (PhD)
Spouse(s)Susan Kae Robinson
(1975–present)
Children3

David Allan Bednar (born June 15, 1952) is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A former educator, Bednar was president of Brigham Young University–Idaho (BYU–Idaho) from 1997 to 2004.[2][3]

Bednar was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve on October 2, 2004. At 52 years old, he is the youngest man named to that body since Dallin H. Oaks in 1984. He was ordained an apostle on October 7, 2004, by church president Gordon B. Hinckley. Bednar and Dieter F. Uchtdorf were called to fill the vacancies created by the July 2004 deaths of quorum members David B. Haight and Neal A. Maxwell.[4] As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Bednar is recognized by the church as a prophet, seer, and revelator. He is currently the sixth most senior apostle in the church.[5]

Life and career

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Bednar was born in Oakland, California to Lavina Whitney Bednar and Anthony George Bednar.[6][7] His mother came from a long line of Latter-day Saints, but his father did not join the church until Bednar was in his late twenties. He served as a full-time missionary in Southern Germany and then attended Brigham Young University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication in 1976 and a Master of Arts degree in organizational communication in 1977.[8] He received a doctorate degree in organizational behavior from Purdue University in 1980.[9][10]

From 1980 to 1984, Bednar was an assistant professor of management at the University of Arkansas College of Business Administration (now Sam M. Walton College of Business). He was an assistant professor of management at Texas Tech University from 1984 to 1986. He returned to the University of Arkansas in 1987, serving as the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in the Sam M. Walton College of Business until 1992, and was then the director of the Management Decision-Making Lab from 1992 to 1997. In 1994, he was recognized as the outstanding teacher at the University of Arkansas and received the Burlington Northern Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching. He was twice the recipient of the Outstanding Teacher Award in the College of Business Administration.[11]

Bednar served as the president of Ricks College/BYU–Idaho in Rexburg, Idaho, from July 1, 1997, to December 1, 2004.[3] There, he oversaw and managed the transition of the school from, what was at the time, the largest private junior college in the United States, Ricks College, to a four-year university, BYU–Idaho.[8]

LDS Church service

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Bednar has served in the LDS Church as a bishop (Fayetteville Ward, 1987), twice as stake president (Fort Smith Arkansas Stake, 1987–1991 and Rogers Arkansas Stake, 1991–1995), regional representative (1994–95), and area seventy (1997–2004).

In 2016, Bednar dedicated the Star Valley Wyoming Temple, the LDS Church's 154th temple.[12]

Bednar at the April 2008 BYU Commencement with Cecil O. Samuelson, Elaine S. Dalton, and W. Rolfe Kerr

Bednar attended the 2019 dedication of the Rome Italy Temple with all 15 of the LDS Church apostles.[13] This is believed to be the first time the entire First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles were in the same location outside the United States.[13]

Bednar addressed the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on May 26, 2022.[14][15]

Controversy

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In 2016, Bednar attracted media attention when he claimed the church doesn't discriminate against gay and lesbian people because "there are no homosexual members of the church." He stated that being gay or lesbian is not the primary identity of individuals, but rather that each individual is first a child of God.[16][17][18]

Personal life

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Bednar married Susan Kae Robinson in the Salt Lake Temple on March 20, 1975. The Bednars have three sons.[8]

Bednar at the April 2008 BYU graduation ceremony
Bednar with his wife, Susan, in 2018 at a BYU Devotional.

Works

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Books
  • White, Donald D.; Bednar, David A. (1991), Organizational Behavior: Understanding and Managing People at Work, Allyn & Bacon, ISBN 0-205-12851-3
  • Sims, Ronald R.; White, Donald D.; Bednar, David A. (1992), Readings in Organizational Behavior, Allyn & Bacon, ISBN 0-205-12857-2
  • Bednar, David A. (2011), Increase in Learning, Deseret Book Company, ISBN 978-1-60908-943-6
  • Bednar, David A. (2012), Act in Doctrine, Deseret Book Company, ISBN 978-1-60907-227-8
  • Bednar, David A. (2014), Power to Become: Spiritual Patterns for Pressing Forward with a Steadfastness in Christ, Deseret Book Company, ISBN 978-1-60907-859-1
  • Bednar, David A. (2017), One by One, Deseret Book Company, ISBN 978-1-62972-382-2
Academic articles

Awards

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  • Burlington Northern Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching (1994)[19][8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ See this article, which clearly states that Bednar's call was due to the death of Haight.
  2. ^ "Biography:President David A. Bednar". BYU-Idaho. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  3. ^ a b Heaps, Julie Dockstader (20 November 2004). "New interim president to take helm at BYU-Idaho". Church News. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  4. ^ Hinckley, Gordon B. (November 2004), "Condition of the Church", Ensign: 4
  5. ^ Apostolic seniority is generally understood to include all ordained apostles (including the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Seniority is determined by date of ordination, not by age or other factors. If two apostles are ordained on the same day, the older of the two is typically ordained first. See Succession to the presidency and Heath, Steven H. (Summer 1987). "Notes on Apostolic Succession" (PDF). Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 20 (2): 44–56. doi:10.2307/45216003. JSTOR 45216003. S2CID 254390532..
  6. ^ "prophets and apostles". LDS Church. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  7. ^ "David A. Bednar". www.churchofjesuschrist.org. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  8. ^ a b c d Stack, Peggy Fletcher. "Bednar's 2nd calling still comes as surprise", The Salt Lake Tribune, 3 October 2004. Retrieved on 26 March 2020.
  9. ^ Buzzanell, Patrice M., The Teacher-Scholar Model of the Redding Tradition (PDF)
  10. ^ Liberal Arts Magazine, Volume 11 No. 2 (PDF)
  11. ^ Keogh, Rochelle. "Former UA Professor is Apostle", Arkansas Traveler, 6 October 2004. Retrieved on 27 March 2020.
  12. ^ Noble, Mariah. "Mormons dedicate first temple in Wyoming", The Salt Lake Tribune, 14 November 2016. Retrieved on 26 March 2020.
  13. ^ a b Noyce, David. "A historic first: All 15 top Latter-day Saint leaders will be in Rome for temple dedication this weekend", The Salt Lake Tribune, 8 March 2019. Retrieved on 22 March 2020.
  14. ^ "Transcript of Elder David A. Bednar at the National Press Club". 26 May 2022.
  15. ^ "'Under the Banner of Heaven?' Elder Bednar says Latter-day Saints have been mischaracterized since 1830". 26 May 2022.
  16. ^ "Mormon leader claims church has no homosexual members". The Independent. 2016-03-02. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  17. ^ Lauren Jackson,special to (2016-07-16). "Devotion and despair: The lonely struggle of a gay Mormon". CNN. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  18. ^ Neugebauer, Cimaron (2016-04-29). "Neon Trees' lead singer slams Mormon church in solo single over LGBT stance". KUTV. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  19. ^ "- University of Arkansas". Uark.edu. Retrieved 8 October 2018.

Further reading

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to David A. Bednar.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints titles
Preceded by Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
October 2, 2004 – 		Succeeded by
Academic offices
Preceded byas President of Ricks College President of Brigham Young University–Idaho
August 10, 2001 – December 1, 2004 		Succeeded by
Robert M. Wilkes
as interim President (2004–05)
Kim B. Clark
as President of Brigham Young
University–Idaho (2005–2015)
President of Ricks College
July 1, 1997 – August 10, 2001
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