Elder Dale G. Renlund was sustained on Oct. 3, 2015, as one of three new members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles called during that general conference. He was born on Nov. 13, 1952, in Salt Lake City, and raised in Finland, Sweden and Utah, later returning to Sweden as a young full-time missionary.
Elder Renlund received bachelor’s and medical degrees from the University of Utah, with further training at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was a professor of medicine at the University of Utah and the medical director of the Utah Transplantation Affiliated Hospitals Cardiac Transplant Program.
He married Ruth Lybbert in 1977 in the Salt Lake Temple. They are the parents of one daughter. Prior to being called as an Apostle, Elder Renlund served in the Africa Southeast Area presidency, was a General Authority Seventy and an Area Seventy.
In honor of his birthday, here are nine quotes from Elder Renlund in the past year.
1. Personal revelation
“I invite you to have the confidence to claim personal revelation for yourself, understanding what God has revealed, consistent with the scriptures and commandments He has given through His appointed prophets, and within your own purview and agency.”
— “A Framework for Personal Revelation,” October 2022 general conference
2. Learn from Church history
“Our history is inspiring. This history is our shared heritage, whether we descend from early pioneers, later pioneers, or if we are pioneers in the faith.”
— Worldwide Devotional for young adults, Sept. 11, 2022
3. FSY’s impact on youth
“We hope that [youth] will develop a faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and a commitment to following Him. God’s purpose in parenting isn’t to have His children be obedient but to have His children choose to be obedient. And FSY creates an environment and a milieu in which they can make these decisions under the influence of the Spirit.”
— For the Strength of Youth conference at University of Utah, July 20, 2022
4. Heavenly help in parenting
“[Parenting] is the most challenging task and requires the most out of us, the most inspiration from heaven to do it. And it’s because of how God set it up to be.”
— Ministering in the Philippines, July 1, 2022
5. Truths in the Young Women theme
“I invite you to center your life on Jesus Christ and remember the foundational truths in the Young Women theme. If you are willing, the Holy Ghost will guide you. Our Heavenly Father wants you to become His heir and receive all that He has.”
— “Your Divine Nature and Eternal Destiny,” April 2022 general conference
6. The ‘perfect message’
“That perfect message centers on the Lord Jesus Christ, on Heavenly Father and His plan and on the Restoration of the gospel in its fullness. That is the perfect message. That is what we preach. That is what we get to when we are at our strongest — and you are the perfect messenger, even if you are imperfect in some ways.”
— Devotional at Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah, March 22, 2022
7. Disagreements
“When love of Christ envelops our lives, we approach disagreements with meekness, patience, and kindness. We assume that those with whom we disagree are doing the best they can with the life experiences they have.”
— This week on social, Feb. 4, 2022
8. Personal revelation
“Learning to hear Him is the safest way to go through life. Challenges become less daunting when we know we are guided by the Holy Ghost.”
— Devotional for French-speaking young adults, Jan. 9, 2022
9. Knowledge of the Savior
“My father and mother knew who that babe in Bethlehem was and what He would grow up to accomplish. This knowledge transformed them. They desired not only that we children would believe on their words but that we would come to know for ourselves, so that we could be transformed, too.”
— First Presidency’s Christmas Devotional, Dec. 5, 2021
