Elder David A. Bednar, born David Allan Bednar on October 11, 1952, in San Leandro, California, and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is a prominent Mormon leader and educator, known for his advocacy on religious liberty and family values, as well as his authorship of books and delivery of numerous addresses emphasizing principles of faith, discipleship, and personal revelation. Bednar served a full-time proselytizing mission for the Church in southern Germany and Austria from 1972 to 1973. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in communication arts from Brigham Young University in 1976, a Master of Arts in organizational communication from the same institution in 1977, and a Ph.D. in organizational behavior from Purdue University in 1980. His academic career included positions as an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, at Texas Tech University, and as a full professor of management at Brigham Young University starting in 1986. From 1991 to 1997, he served as academic vice president at Ricks College (renamed Brigham Young University-Idaho in 2001), then as its president from 1997 to 2004, where he oversaw its transition to university status and implemented key institutional changes. Prior to his apostleship, Bednar was recognized for his contributions to higher education within church-affiliated institutions. He married Susan Kae Robinson in 1975, and they raised six children together. No major legal controversies, financial disclosures, or political donations are publicly documented for him.