Ian S. Ardern
Ian S. Ardern is a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. He was sustained on April 2, 2011. At the time of his call he had been serving in the Eighth Quorum of the Seventy.
In the Saturday morning session of general conference on April 6, 2024, President Dallin H. Oaks announced that Elder Ardern will be released and receive emeritus status on August 1, 2024.
He was born on February 28, 1954, in Te Aroha, New Zealand. He joined the Church at age eight after the missionaries taught his family. He attended the Church College of New Zealand. He earned his bachelor’s degree and his master’s degree in education from the University of Waikato, New Zealand. In between degrees, he worked for the Church Educational System as a teacher and then principal of the Church College of New Zealand. In 2004, he became the Pacific Church Educational System area director and then later worked as the Institute director and Seminary coordinator for the Church Educational System in New Zealand.
Ardern served in the Church in numerous callings prior to his call as a General Authority. He served as a full-time missionary in France and Belgium and presided over the Fiji Suva Mission. He has served as an Area Seventy, stake Young Men president, high councilor, bishop, and stake president’s counselor.
He and his wife, Paula, are the parents of four children.
