“Faithfully obeying God's commandments is essential to receiving the Holy Ghost. We are reminded of this truth each week as we listen to the sacrament prayers and worthily partake of the bread and water.”

American religious leader and educator

David Allan Bednar is an American religious leader and former educator, known for serving in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was president of Brigham Young University-Idaho from 1997 to 2004. His public work is tied to leadership in the Latter-day Saint church and to higher education. Before becoming an apostle, he led BYU-Idaho as its president, and his words often reflect the concerns of religious teaching, discipleship, and academic life.