Margaret McNeill Ballard's Prophecy of Her Son's Apostleship
Published October 21, 2026 at 5:06 PM
Contributed by
Young Woman's Journal Research
While suffering from prolonged sickness and death in her home, the mother of Melvin J. Ballard prayed for comfort and received a revelation that she would bear a son who would become an Apostle of the Church, a testimony she held until her death.
Andrew Jenson notes that in the years leading up to Melvin's birth, the Ballard home experienced significant sickness and numerous deaths. Margaret maintained her faith throughout these trials, and this specific revelation became a source of strength that sustained her during her long years of toil and sacrifice.
In Their Own Words
“Upon one of these sad occasions, when the clouds of darkness hovered long about them, the mother, with a "broken heart and a contrite spirit," bowed in solemn supplication before her Father, and received the assuring comfort that she should be given a son who would be numbered as one of the Apostles of the Lamb, and to her last day she maintained that this would come to pass just as it had been revealed to her. — Andrew Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, 1920”
Sources & References
The Young Woman's Journal, vol. 30 no. 3 (March 1919). L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University digital collections. https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/YWJ/id/9500 (account extracted verbatim from the collection's page-level OCR; research confidence: high) Additional sources (periodical research): Jenson, Andrew. "Ballard, Melvin Joseph." LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, pp. 744-746. https://historicalgeneralconferences.weebly.com/melvin-j-ballard.html
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