LDS apostle and former BYU-Idaho president returning to Rexburg to celebrate historic anniversary
Published at | Updated at
REXBURG – A high-ranking leader within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is returning to Rexburg next week to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Brigham Young University-Idaho.
David Bednar, a member of the church’s Quorum of Twelve Apostles, along with his wife, Susan, will speak to the community during a devotional on Oct. 8 inside the BYU-Idaho Center. The event is part of the university’s Spirit Week, which is commemorating 25 years since Ricks College became BYU-Idaho.
Bednar was the university’s 14th president. He began serving as president of Ricks College in 1997 and oversaw its transition from a two-year junior college to a four-year institution in 2001. He continued serving as president until 2004, when he was called to serve as an apostle.
RELATED | Latter-day Saint leaders Elder and Sister Bednar answer 7 Questions with Emmy
During his first address as an Apostle during the church’s general conference in October 2004, Bednar recalled an experience he had on June 20, 2000, the day before the announcement from then-church President Gordon B. Hinckley about the change in the school’s status.
“We were making final preparations for an unexpected and historic assembly on our campus the next morning,” Bednar told church members. “As an administrative team we were just beginning to realize the monumental nature of the responsibility and challenges that were before us.”
From Bannock Stake Academy to BYU-Idaho
Ricks College dates back to Rexburg’s founding. William Rigby and Thomas Ricks were among the city’s first settlers. It was dedicated on March 16, 1883, according to a written history, and was named Rexburg in honor of Ricks, whose German stem-name was Rex.
RELATED | City of Rexburg will celebrate founding in two separate events this month
Ricks established Bannock Stake Academy five years later, which became Ricks Academy in 1903, according to campus historical records. It became Ricks College in 1923.
Sometime in the 1950s, church leaders were in the process of moving the campus to Idaho Falls, which drew pushback from locals. A letter to church leaders from retired professor M.D. Beal led the church to reverse its decision.
The transition from Ricks College to BYU-Idaho became official on August 10, 2001, according to church records.
Before serving as president of Ricks College and BYU-Idaho, Bednar was a professor of business management at Texas Tech University and at the University of Arkansas.
He was born on June 15, 1952, in Oakland, California. He served as a full-time missionary in southern Germany before attending Brigham Young University, where he received a bachelor’s and master’s degree. He also received a doctoral degree in organizational behavior from Purdue University.
He and Susan were married on March 20, 1975, and are the parents of three sons.
Prior to his call to the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Bednar served the church as an area seventy, an area authority seventy, a regional representative, twice as a stake president, and as a bishop.
Returning to Rexburg
As an apostle, Bednar has visited BYU-Idaho at least six times. His most recent visit was in March 2025, when he and his wife spoke to students during a weekly campus devotional.
His first visit as an apostle happened in 2006. One purpose of the trip was to break ground on the BYU-Idaho Center and expansions on the Manwaring Center.
During a devotional, Bednar recalled something Henry B. Eyring — apostle and father of former BYU-Idaho president, Henry J. Eyring — said in 1997 while touring the newly-completed John Taylor building on campus.
RELATED | Brigham Young University-Idaho announces new president
Eyring stood near the pulpit in the chapel and Bednar asked him what he was thinking about.
“I am thinking about how much we do for so few and how little we do for so many,” Eyring said, according to Bednar.
Eyring explained that he’d just returned from a trip to South America and that tithing funds from those people and others all over the world had paid for the building.
“Most of the people who have made this beautiful facility possible will never see or step foot in a building like this. That is what I am thinking about,” Eyring said.
After noting how much Eyring’s words had impacted him, Bednar made a similar statement to the students he was addressing.
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has invested millions of tithing dollars to upgrade the BYU–Idaho campus,” he said. “Please do not take these sacred resources, your choice associations, and this beautiful campus for granted.”
The spirit week event with the Bednars is open to anyone who’d like to attend. It will be streamed live here.