Elder Neil L. Andersen was sustained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on April 4, 2009. Born on Aug. 9, 1951, in Logan, Utah, Elder Andersen was raised in Pocatello, Idaho, and earned a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University and Master of Business Administration from Harvard University. His professional work included advertising, real estate development and health care.
Prior to his call as an apostle, he was serving as the senior member of the Presidency of the Seventy. He was called to the First Quorum of the Seventy in April 1993, at age 41. Elder Andersen and his wife, Sister Kathy Williams Andersen, presided over the France Bordeaux Mission from 1989 to 1992. They are the parents of four children.
In honor of his 70th birthday, here are seven quotes from Elder Andersen in the past year.
Personal relationship with the Savior
“Jesus meets us where we are, realizing our specific needs and giving us individual expectations. As we meet these expectations, our faith and capacity will be expanded and our personal relationship with the Savior strengthened.”
— Facebook post, July 22, 2021
Mission leaders’ influence on their missionaries
“Your influence will begin in your first meeting. You will love them to the end, but you will feel a powerful love from the very beginning. Plan enough time for your first interview. Listen. Take notes. Personal information about a missionary’s parents, siblings, motivations, fears, and strength of testimony will be critical to future revelation. Through your mission, you will come to discern the hearts and minds of each missionary. The revelation you will receive in helping your missionaries will be undeniable.”
— Seminar for New Mission Leaders, June 24, 2021
Moving mountains
“Whatever your own particular situation, you are a child of God with unique talents and abilities, circumstances and challenges and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. … The words of President Nelson are true … ‘[The Savior] paid the compensatory price and provided the power for you to move every mountain you will ever face. You obtain that power with your trust, faith and willingness to follow Him.’”
— Face to Face for single adults, June 13, 2021
Children of God
“Some may question if life begins with the formation of an embryo, or when the heart begins to beat, or when the baby can live outside of the womb, but for us, there is no question that spirit daughters and sons of God are on their own personal journeys coming to earth to receive a body and experience mortality. As covenant children of God, we love, honor, nurture, safeguard and welcome those spirits who are coming from the premortal world.”
— “The Personal Journey of a Child of God,” April 2021 general conference
Second coming of the Savior
The Savior will not come “wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger,” but He will appear “in the clouds of heaven, clothed with power and great glory; with all the holy angels (Doctrine and Covenants 45:44). In that day the skeptics will be silent, ‘for every ear shall hear …, and every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess’ (Doctrine and Covenants 88:104) that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world.”
— Devotional for French-speaking young adults, Feb. 21, 2021
Missionaries’ courage
“People will ask you decades from now, ‘When did you serve your mission?’ And you will say, it was during the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be a time never forgotten. It has taken courage for you to serve your mission during this notable time.”
— Christmas devotional at the Missionary Training Center, Dec. 23, 2020
Speak more of Christ
“As the world speaks less of Jesus Christ, let us speak more of Him. As our true colors as His disciples are revealed, many around us will be prepared to listen. As we share the light we have received from Him, His light and His transcendent saving power will shine on those willing to open their hearts. Jesus said, ‘I … come [as] a light into the world.’”
— “We Talk of Christ,” October 2020 general conference
