David A. Bednar
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).
Bednar was
sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve on October 2, 2004, 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.
[2] As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Bednar is accepted by the church as a
prophet, seer, and revelator. In addition, Bednar is a member of the
Church Boards of Trusteees/Education, the governing body of the
Church Educational System. He is the youngest member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at this time. Currently, he is the twelfth most senior apostle in the ranks of the Church.
Prior church service
Bednar has served as a
bishop (Fayetteville Ward, 1987), a
stake president twice (Fort Smith Arkansas Stake, 1987–1991 and Rogers Arkansas Stake, 1991-1995), a
regional representative of the Twelve (1994–1995), and an
area seventy. During his time as a bishop, stake president, and regional representative, Bednar was an associate dean at the
University of Arkansas. He was an
area seventy from 1997 to 2004 while he was president of
Ricks College which had its name changed to
Brigham Young University–Idaho during his tenure.
Personal history
Bednar was born on 15 June 1952, in
Oakland,
California. His mother came from a long line of
Latter-day Saints, but Bednar's 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. He then received a
Doctorate in
organizational behavior from
Purdue University in 1980.
From 1980 to 1984, Bednar was the assistant professor of management in the Sam M. Walton College of Business (then College of Business Administration) at the
University of Arkansas in
Fayetteville, Arkansas. He became assistant professor of management at
Texas Tech University from 1984 to 1986. He then moved back to the University of Arkansas as the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in the Sam M. Walton College of Business from 1987 to 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 has twice been the recipient of the Outstanding Teacher Award in the College of Business Administration.
Bednar then served as the president of
Ricks College/
Brigham Young University–Idaho from 1997 to 2004 in
Rexburg,
Idaho. 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,
Brigham Young University-Idaho.
Bednar married Susan Kae Robinson in the
Salt Lake Temple on 20 March 1975. They are the parents of three sons.
Oratorio
In the fall of 2009 the BYU-Idaho choirs and orchestras performed an oratorio with words by Bednar and music by Robert Cundick.
Published works
- Donald D. White, David A. Bednar (1991). Organizational Behavior: Understanding and Managing People at Work. Allyn & Bacon. ISBN 0-205-12851-3.
- Ronald R. Sims, Donald D. White, David A. Bednar (compiler) (1992). Readings in Organizational Behavior. Allyn & Bacon. ISBN 0-205-12857-2.
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