Barbara Bowen Ballard, wife of President M. Russell Ballard, passed away on October 1, 2018, surrounded by loved ones in her home. She was 86 years old and suffered from health issues, including Alzheimer’s.
► Related: Sister Barbara Ballard Passes Away at 86
Sister Ballard was a loving wife and mother, a faithful member of the Church, and an incredible disciple of Christ. She stood faithfully by her husband’s side through his busy work schedule and church callings, often giving him loving suggestions and guidance along the way.
In an interview conducted by Sheri Dew on the Mormon Channel, President and Sister Ballard discussed their life together and reflected on their successful marriage. It was clear in the interview how much the couple respected and loved one another, and President Ballard complimented his wife often on the wonderful companion she was throughout the years.
President Ballard spoke highly of his wife, and when asked what he has learned from the women in his life, he answered, “Well, probably everything.”
► Related: Touching Tributes President Ballard Has Shared About Sister Ballard Over the Years
Sister Ballard also had nothing but praise for her husband of 67 years. From their first date, she knew there was something special about President Ballard and called him “charming.” She said, “I saw how he treated his mother and I was always told to look at that. And he was wonderful with his mother. She was dear. And he was just very kind to me, very respectful.”
Sister Ballard jokingly mentioned how she had to get past the fact that he taught her how to saw wood on their first date and said, “We have had a wonderful relationship all of our married life.”
Sister Ballard shared the story of how they first met and fell in love, with President Ballard lovingly inserting his side of the story where he felt needed. Sister Ballard recalled how a mutual friend introduced them at a dance when she was only 18 years old and President Ballard had just returned from a mission. “I thought he was wonderful already,” she recalled.
Sister Ballard thought she had a lot of time before marriage, but President Ballard’s mission president’s advice to go home and get married really stuck with him. However, he mentioned that winning her over wasn’t easy.
“I called to see if I could get a date, but I had to wait in line,” he recalled. “And finally I got a date with her . . . she was so cute . . . I think everybody that dated her wanted to marry her. . . . I used all my missionary powers and skills to persuade her that I was the only true and living returned missionary that she should have [anything] to do with.”
View this post on Instagram I encourage you to not be afraid of the future. Don’t let anything that’s going on in the world slow you down in your progress in mortality. Don’t be afraid to marry. . I think back to when I returned from my mission to England, more than 66 years ago. I used every skill I had developed as a full-time missionary to convince Barbara that I was the only true and living returned missionary that she should give any consideration to. If you could see her, you’d know that she was very beautiful and still is, and a lot of young men had the same idea I had. So I used the old commitment pattern. I asked find-out questions, and I resolved concerns, and we moved on, and that’s what you’ve been counseled to do. . Don’t be afraid of marriage. I have been much more effective and much more able to accomplish things in my life with Barbara at my side than I ever would have been alone. Did we have hard times? Oh, yes. But they were some of the best times because we drew together, we prayed together, we worked together, we saw our way from one point of our lives on until today. We are so blessed that we’ve had seven children, none of which we could afford. . The Lord said that He’ll provide, He’ll make the way, and that was the case with us. Those wonderful seven children have given us grandchildren, and those grandchildren have given us great-grandchildren. A post shared by M. Russell Ballard (@mrussellballard) on Aug 23, 2018 at 6:52am PDT
“I knew that Russ was very special when I first met him,” Sister Ballard shared. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on August 28, 1951. Sister Ballard knew the importance of temple marriage, even though her parents weren’t active in the Church. They were sad they couldn’t attend their sealing, but Sister Ballard’s faith and belief in the gospel blessed their lives as they decided to be sealed for time and all eternity. Her loving parents were waiting right outside when the newlyweds came out of the temple doors.
Sister Ballard was a loving, devoted mother to seven children. She would attend zone conferences every other time with her husband and stayed home with her children for the other times. Her family was always the most important thing to her, and she knew her children needed her home.
Speaking of these zone conferences, President Ballard shared how much the missionaries missed his wife when she stayed home with the children. They would always ask where she was and were disappointed when she wasn’t there. “The missionaries absolutely adored her,” President Ballard noted.
With her husband holding such busy callings, Sister Ballard often had to care for the children without her husband’s help. “My parents were not active in the Church at all, so it was a little bit new to me,” she said. “I was always thinking about family I think first. . . . I enjoyed it. I enjoyed being with them and always have. There were times, I have to admit, we were planning something and someone came to the door and needed his help and it didn’t happen . . . I really didn’t resent it. I just knew that was part of the situation . . . I just felt that if that was my contribution then I would do it right.”
Sister Ballard had so much faith in raising her family. Whenever President Ballard felt a prompting to do something for someone, he admired that his wife never asked “why.” She just told him to go and do it and to be home as soon as possible. “We just need to know when we’re needed. . . . Sometimes it’s within our own home and sometimes it’s someone else’s.”
The couple also gave each other loving counsel throughout their married years. Whenever they noticed something that could be improved, they would say, “Sweetheart, I have a suggestion.” President Ballard wisely mentioned that heeding one another’s counsel was a great way to show love, respect, and improvement.
The couple had their fair share of trials, but bearing them with hope and faith gave them strength and empathy for others who might be in similar situations. Sister Ballard said, “Our children are wonderful. . . . They’ve had some problems in going to school and little things here and there that you wonder how you’re going to get through those things . . . we still love each other.”
When asked about health challenges she said, “It helps us to learn we’re not expendable. We can just suffer like everyone else and enjoy it.”
President and Sister Ballard set incredible examples of faith, endurance, and love. It was clear in the interview that the couple had a great love and respect for one another. They were asked to share one thing about the other spouse that everyone should know, and their answers were humble and inspiring. Sister Ballard said:
“I believe he is completely dedicated to the Lord, and he feels that it’s his responsibility to see that everyone else can find the Lord. I really think that’s what makes him run. He’s a wonderful idea person and sometimes he gets a little bit, I won’t say annoyed, upset because so many people call him for advice. And I just say, 'You have to live with it, honey, because that’s what you’re so good at.' He can mend people’s feelings and their ideas. He’s just a remarkable person and I’m grateful that he’s my husband.”
When asked the same question about his wife, President Ballard said:
“I think that the greatest feeling that I have about Barbara is that she’s a virtuous, good, kind and gentle, effective friend to neighbors and even people maybe she’s only met once. They connect to her. Just the other day she [received] a nice gift from somebody that she sat in a class with 17 years ago and because she penned a little note thanking him for the wonderful job that was being done in the teaching. Seventeen years later, he writes a letter and says that he still has that letter and still thinks about it. That’s the impact that she has and it’s the inner goodness of a good woman that people just see in her face. And that would be the one thing that I would say is one of the great attributes of this very special daughter of God.”
Sister Ballard shared a powerful testimony at the end of the interview saying, “I am grateful for the gospel in my life. It is my life, really. I think that my whole life is bound around the gospel and it’s a wonderful thing to have that to turn to. To help us when we’re sad and that can keep us on the right road if we just follow it.”
Sister Ballard’s funeral services will be held on Monday, October 8, 2018, at noon at the Monument Park Stake Center, 1320 S. Wasatch Dr., Salt Lake City. A public viewing will be held Sunday, October 7, 2018, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the same location.
