Talk:M. Russell Ballard

message: Here is a brief synopsis from a world broadcast this evening that gives insights  to M. Russell Ballard. . . . Music: “Where Can I Turn For Peace?”  and “If the Savior Stood Beside Me”  Introduction: Served as an Apostle since October 6, 1985. . . . ELDER BALLARD:  The Lord needs righteous young men and young women to declare the Gospel—to help gather the righteous before His second coming.  [As Apostles] our callings take us around the world. The Lord blesses us to move His Work forward in amazing ways:  (1) technology; (2) combatting pornography; and (3) the doctrine of marriage.  PS: Added to help in future editing, and also augment the Article. -- Charles Edwin Shipp (talk) 02:19, 5 May 2014 (UTC)
replies: text: Thanks for the informative synopsis, but, as a general rule, Wikipedia articles do not take note of every sermon given by every Church leader on every occaision. I personally do not see how this information would be relevant to the article about Ballard, other than to note one more assignment that he fulfilled. But, as I said, as a general rule, Wikipedia doesn't list every speaking assignment every Church leader has ever filled. If that were the case, the article about President Monson would be larger than Wikipedia could hold. I mean no disrespect, but I fail to see how this is relevant to the article's subject. I am open to discussing its relevancy, however, if you would care to comment on it. --Jgstokes (talk) 02:41, 5 May 2014 (UTC)

text: While that may be true, it is not clear how the cited citation proves the fact that "much of his ministry has been focused on missionary work." So I removed what seemed to be an irrelevant reference and replaced it with a citation needed tag. I believe sufficient proof of this claim would be referencing some of his conference talks that have addressed the subject of missionary work. But I will let you decide which of the many talks he has given to use, since you're the one that wants this sentence in the article. I would also like to see you address the concerns I raised in my previous comment, which is why a summary of this talk or citing this talk has relevance to an article about him. I hope I'm not coming across as unreasonable. I just want to make sure that if certain material is to be included in a Wikipedia article that it meets Wikipedia standards, and from what you've said so far, I honestly can't tell whether Ballard's address meets this criteria. And yes, before you ask, I did watch the address myself. But I would still like to see a comment from you about why this particular address has relevance to the article about Ballard, and why the fact you added, along with the citation you added, proves that much of Ballard's ministry has been focused on missionary work. Happy searching! --Jgstokes (talk) 02:35, 11 May 2014 (UTC)

text: I've had some additional thoughts and we can discuss this thoroughly before changing the article.Charles Edwin Shipp (talk) 11:57, 11 May 2014 (UTC)

text: Secondary sources such as those discussed in this guideline: Wikipedia:Identifying reliable sources. I'm not saying there is necessarily a secondary source that mentions or discusses this. I'm saying that if the information is to be included, it should come from a reliable secondary source. Good Ol’factory (talk) 21:54, 14 May 2014 (UTC)

text: Reviving this discussion about a year and a half later. Ballard's official biography on mormonnewsroom.org states: "Much of his ministry has been focused on missionary work." This statement appears in the third paragraph up from the bottom. Since it's in his official biography, which has been endorsed by Church leaders, would it be fair to include it herein? What do you think? --Jgstokes (talk) 08:50, 27 November 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Elder Ballard speaks to young LDS around the world