“Many of the lessons we are to learn in mortality can only be received through the things we experience and sometimes suffer. And God expects and trusts us to face temporary mortal adversity with His help so we can learn what we need to learn and ultimately become what we are to become in eternity.”

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.