Before They Were Apostles: Pilots, Doctors, Judges and CEOs

When we hear the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speak at general conference, it's easy to forget they had whole careers before their calls. One flew fighter jets. One was a heart surgeon. Several ran companies, and one sat on a state supreme court.

Those stories make good teaching. They show young people that the Lord calls people from every walk of life, and that a career built with integrity can prepare someone for service they never expected. Below are the prior careers of all 15 current Apostles, taken from their official Church biographies, plus six free games to help your family or class learn about them.

What the Apostles did before their calls

As of October 2026, the First Presidency is President Dallin H. Oaks, with President Henry B. Eyring and President D. Todd Christofferson as counselors. Each name below links to that leader's official biography.

Leader	Before full-time Church service
President Dallin H. Oaks	Law clerk at the U.S. Supreme Court, law professor at the University of Chicago, president of BYU (1971–1980), then a justice of the Utah Supreme Court
President Henry B. Eyring	Physics degree, then a Harvard doctorate in business; Stanford business faculty; president of Ricks College
President D. Todd Christofferson	Law clerk to Judge John J. Sirica during the Watergate proceedings; later associate general counsel of NationsBank (now Bank of America)
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf	German Air Force fighter pilot, then a pilot and executive at Lufthansa, rising to senior vice president of flight operations
Elder David A. Bednar	Business management professor at Texas Tech and the University of Arkansas; president of BYU–Idaho (1997–2004)
Elder Quentin L. Cook	Business lawyer and managing partner of a San Francisco Bay Area law firm; CEO of a California healthcare system
Elder Neil L. Andersen	Harvard MBA; business interests in advertising, real estate and health care in Tampa, Florida
Elder Ronald A. Rasband	Started as a sales representative and became president and chief operating officer of Huntsman Chemical Corporation
Elder Gary E. Stevenson	Cofounded ICON Health & Fitness, serving as president and chief operating officer
Elder Dale G. Renlund	Cardiologist, professor of medicine and medical director of a heart transplant program in Utah
Elder Gerrit W. Gong	Rhodes Scholar with an Oxford doctorate; worked at the U.S. State Department and as an assistant to the U.S. ambassador in Beijing
Elder Ulisses Soares	Accountant and auditor for multinational companies in Brazil
Elder Patrick Kearon	Worked in the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and the United States, and ran his own communication consultancy
Elder Gérald Caussé	Strategy consulting and the food industry in France; managing director of a food distribution company
Elder Clark G. Gilbert	Harvard professor of entrepreneurial management, then CEO of the Deseret News and Deseret Digital Media

A pilot, a surgeon, a judge, lawyers, professors and business leaders: it's quite a range. A good question for a youth class is, "What do you think each of these careers taught them that helps them now?"

Before They Were Apostles: the career game

Before They Were Apostles turns those stories into a 10-question quiz. Each question describes a career or achievement, and you pick the leader from four names. After each answer, you'll see a short explanation and a link to the official biography.

For example: "Which leader was president of Brigham Young University from 1971 to 1980?" The answer is President Dallin H. Oaks.

Leader Birthplace Map and True or False

The Apostles come from all over the world: Germany, France, Brazil, England and across the United States. The Leader Birthplace Map asks where each leader was born and shows the answer on a map. True or False: Leader Facts gives 10 quick statements, each with an explanation and a source.

Order of the Quorum: learn seniority

Seniority among the Apostles is based on when each was ordained an Apostle. The most senior Apostle presides. Order of the Quorum gives you five names per round. Tap them in order of seniority, most senior first. After all five, the game shows each Apostle's ordination year and how many you placed correctly.

It's a quiet way to teach how the Lord provides for orderly succession in His Church, which is a good discussion for youth and a meaningful one after the changes of the last year.

Two more: quotes and talk titles

• Which Apostle Said It? Ten quotes from recent general conference talks. Each answer links to the talk.
• Conference Talk Title Guess: read the opening lines of a talk and pick its title.

These two work especially well around general conference. Our general conference games guide has more, including Who's Speaking?, where you learn to recognize each Apostle's voice.

How to use these in a class or family night

1. Pick one leader and read his official biography together.
2. Play Before They Were Apostles and see who knew the most.
3. Read a recent talk by that leader, or watch a few minutes of it.
4. Ask: "How did his experiences before his call prepare him to teach this?"

For youth thinking about their own future, the lesson is encouraging. Your education and work matter, and the Lord can use all of it.

Questions people ask

Which Apostle was a pilot?

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf was a fighter pilot in the German Air Force, then a pilot and executive for Lufthansa German Airlines.

Which Apostle was a doctor?

Elder Dale G. Renlund was a cardiologist and directed a heart transplant program. President Russell M. Nelson, who died in September 2025, was a pioneering heart surgeon.

Which Apostles were university presidents?

President Oaks led BYU, President Eyring led Ricks College, and Elder Bednar led BYU–Idaho. Elder Gilbert also served as president of BYU–Idaho and of BYU–Pathway Worldwide.

Is the information current?

It reflects the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve as of October 2026. Elder Caussé was called in November 2025 and Elder Gilbert in February 2026. Always check the Church's official leader pages for the latest.

Are these official Church games?

No. Weak Things makes them independently. They are not affiliated with or endorsed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Every answer links to an official Church biography or talk.

Keep reading

• General Conference Games for Kids and Families
• Church History Games for Your Road Trip
• All Church leader games