Elder Ballard and his wife reunite with friends in Canada

BRAMPTON, Ontario — While dozens, and then hundreds, of young single adults gathered excitedly in the chapel of the Brampton Ontario Stake Center for a Friday evening fireside with Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve and Elder L. Whitney Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy on March 5, a smaller, more senior group of members assembled at the other end of the building.

Rose-laden centerpieces, white table cloths, silverware and napkins folded inside water goblets were set out on five round tables in the Relief Society room, where this special group would soon sit to dine with their old teacher, mentor and friend, Elder Ballard.

Along with his wife, Barbara Bowen Ballard, and six of their children, Elder Ballard served as president of what was then the Canada Toronto Mission from 1974 until his calling to the First Quorum of the Seventy in 1976. During that period, the Ballards established a legacy of dedicated service, missionary-mindedness and love that continues to influence Ontario Latter-day Saints.

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