President M. Russell Ballard, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died Sunday.
After a brief hospital stay, he returned home. Love ones surrounded him when he died at 11:15 p.m. Sunday night.
President Ballard became an apostle in 1985 and was called as acting president of the Quorum in 2018.
Throughout his service, he inspired many with his praises of his late wife, Barbara.
“I love the example he has shown at loving his spouse,” said BYU-Idaho student Andrew Harrison. “In his addresses you can see how much he does love her and now he gets the opportunity to be with her, which is sad for us, but it’s a joyful reunion for him.”
BYU-Idaho students are saddened by President Ballard’s passing, but appreciate what he has taught them.
“M. Russell Ballard was a great apostle,” said student Lacey Boyer. “He was very insightful. I admired his talks and words whenever he spoke in General Conference.”
“I think it’s a surprise, I mean we all saw him not so long ago at General Conference and everything,” said student Skyler Diquattro. “It’s all part of God’s plan and I think he did what he needed to here on earth. I think there’s still much that we can learn from him dissecting his words.”
“He was a great man,” Harrison said. “Especially thinking about his last General Conference talk, he didn’t follow the teleprompter. He followed the spirit. That’s one thing I try to do in my life is follow the spirit as closely as I can.”
To read more about President Ballard’s legacy, click here.