15 fun facts you probably don’t know about Elder Renlund on his birthday

13 Nov 2020, 9:08 AM MST

Elder Dale G. Renlund fist bumps a young girl while greeting her family following a devotional for women in Antofagasta, Chile, on Feb. 15, 2019. His wife, Sister Ruth Renlund, is also pictured to his right. Credit: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

By Danielle Christensen

Elder Dale G. Renlund was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during the 185th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was one of three Apostles called to serve on Oct. 3, 2015, along with Elder Ronald A. Rasband and Elder Gary E. Stevenson.

Here are some fun facts and photos about Elder Renlund, who turns 68 today, in honor of his birthday.

Elder Renlund was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Nov. 13, 1952.
Elder Renlund’s father was born in the Swedish-speaking city of Larsmo in western Finland.
His grandparents joined the Church in 1912. Members in Larsmo lost contact with the Church in 1914 for many years due to World War I.
Elder Renlund’s parents met in Sweden at church. His mother was determined to get married in the temple, so they went to Salt Lake City and were married in 1950. Since the endowment ceremony had not yet been translated into Swedish, they didn’t understand a word of what was said.
Elder Renlund first received his testimony as an 11-year-old when a mission president issued a challenge to read the Book of Mormon. Although it was directed to the Aaronic Priesthood young men, Elder Renlund also accepted the challenge and found an answer that the book was true.
As a boy, Elder Renlund lived in both Finland and Sweden while his father, a carpenter, was called as a building missionary.
Elder Renlund served his mission in Sweden from 1972 to 1974.
Elder Renlund described himself as a “horrible dater” and when he first asked out his future wife, Ruth Lybbert, she turned him down. He overcame his rejection and asked her out again months later.
Elder Renlund and his Sister Renlund were married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1977.
Elder and Sister Renlund have one daughter.
From 1980 to 1986, the Renlunds lived in Baltimore, Maryland, where both Elder Renlund and Sister Renlund studied medicine and law, respectively.
Prior to his call as an Apostle, Elder Renlund was a professor of medicine at the University of Utah and was m edical director of the Utah Cardiac Transplant Program.
He served as an Area Seventy from 2002 to 2009.
In 2009, Elder Renlund was called as a General Authority Seventy. He was assigned to the Africa Southeast Area.
In April 2019, Elder Renlund dedicated the Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple.

Young Elder Dale G. Renlund on his mission in Sweden from 1972-1974. | Credit: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

Elder Dale G. Renlund and his wife, Sister Ruth Renlund, and their daughter, Ashley, on the day Sister Renlund graduated from law school. | Credit: Courtesy Renlund family

Members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Elder Gerrit W. Gong, Elder Dale G. Renlund, Elder Ulisses Soares, Elder Gary E. Stevenson and Elder Ronald A. Rasband talk prior to the Sunday afternoon session of the 189th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Oct. 6, 2019. | Credit: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Elder Ulisses Soares, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, and Elder Dale G. Renlund of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, speak to media after the dedication of the Rome Italy Temple in Rome, Italy, on Sunday, March 10, 2019. | Credit: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Every member of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints posed for an iconic photograph in the Rome Italy Temple Visitors’ Center in Rome on Monday, March 11, 2019. — Every member of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dressed in white temple clothing, posed for an iconic photograph in the Rome Italy Temple Visitors Center in Rome on Monday, March 11, 2019. Front center are President Russell M. Nelson and his counselors in the First Presidency, President Dallin H. Oaks and President Henry B. Eyring. Also included are members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: President M. Russell Ballard, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Elder David A. Bednar, Elder Quentin L. Cook, Elder D. Todd Christofferson, Elder Neil L. Andersen, Elder Ronald A. Rasband, Elder Gary E. Stevenson, Elder Dale G. Renlund, Elder Gerrit W. Gong and Elder Ulisses Soares. | Credit: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Ruth L. Renlund, visit with Church members in Sweden during a visit to the country on April 29. | Credit: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, center, is joined by his wife, Sister Ruth L. Renlund, right, and their daughter, Ashley Renlund, as he conducts the cornerstone ceremony during the dedication of the Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple on Sunday, April 14, 2019.

Elder Dale G. Renlund of The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles greets a young Latter-day Saint during the cornerstone ceremony of the Kinshasa DR Congo Temple on Sunday, April 14, 2019. | Credit: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Elder Dale G. Renlund, left, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles conducts the cornerstone ceremony of the Kinshasa DR Congo Temple, assisted by Elder Larry Y. Wilson, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Temple Department, on Sunday, April 14, 2019. The cornerstone ceremony symbolizes the completion of the temple and its readiness to be dedicated for sacred use. | Credit: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

Elder Dale G. Renlund and his wife, Sister Ruth L. Renlund, visit with some of the apostle’s cousins while in Sweden.

Elder Dale G. Renlund hugs one of his former heart transplant patients at the Tokyo South Mission home on May 19.

Elder Dale G. Renlund and Elder Quentin L. Cook, both of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, look over different language editions of “Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days” in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018. | Credit: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News