“Receiving the authority of the priesthood by the laying on of hands is an important beginning, but it is not enough. Ordination confers authority, but righteousness is required to act with power as we strive to lift souls, to teach and testify, to bless and counsel, and to advance the work of salvation.”

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.