Growing up on a ranch in Idaho, Stanley G. Ellis experienced the obligation and learned the ethic of hard work. He dug potatoes, weeded sugar beets, hauled hay and herded cattle. It was not the only virtue that would be instilled in him by his parents.

Photo by Tom Smart/Deseret Morning News

Kathryn and Stanley G. Ellis, parents of nine children, met before his mission. She attended BYU and they corresponded until he returned.

"My parents were active in the Church; we learned the gospel by living it," recalled Elder Ellis, 59, who was sustained to the Second Quorum of the Seventy at general conference in April.

Elder Ellis's father, Stephen, excelled at turning sagebrush-covered wasteland into productive rangeland near Oakley and Hollister, Idaho. With his wife, Hazel, he also had a knack for bringing out the potential in their own brood of six boys and one girl, of which Stanley was the second-born.

"My dad was always serving," the new General Authority recalled. "During my formative years, he was in the bishopric. If there was ever service to be done at the Church farm or anywhere, we were there doing it with him. It was very much an active, involved Church life, because my parents were actively involved in living the gospel."

The lessons that came with "learning the gospel while living it" included this understanding: "The Lord will guide us in our lives if we want to be guided."

"I always felt like the Lord loved me and that I could pray to Him, that He would answer our prayers," Elder Ellis mused. "That's something I seem to have always had. In college, I realized you can't prove that God is there. But I chose to believe. And as I chose to believe and act on that belief, the witness of the Spirit came."

One test of that understanding came early in his young adulthood. Just before the time came when he was to go on a mission, he met his future wife, Kathryn Kloepfer, through an in-law connection.

"I liked her, and she liked me," he said. But he would be away for two years and three months, and she would be attending BYU; the odds of the relationship flourishing into a romance that would culminate in marriage were not great.

To this day, his voice breaks with emotion when he recounts the story.

"I basically told the Lord: 'I've been called on a mission. I'll give it my best shot. I met this great lady. I'd like to get to know her when I get back. There's nothing I can do about that.' So my approach and my prayer was: 'If she's the right one, keep her. And if not, then let her go.' "

The two corresponded while he was on his mission. Sister Ellis recalled, "Every time I dated somebody that wanted to be more serious, I prayed. And the answer was always: 'Wait until he gets home, then find out.' "

After he returned, they married in the Los Angeles California Temple. Despite suffering four miscarriages, they were blessed with eight children over the next 22 years. Then came another test of their willingness "to be guided."

Eldest daughter Joy was already on a mission, and the Ellises were returning home from taking second daughter Kathryn to BYU.

"He said, 'I've had some inspiration for our family,' " recalled Sister Ellis. "I said, 'Great! What is it?' He said, 'We're supposed to have another baby.' I started laughing, not out of disrespect, but because he'd been the one who thought eight was enough.' "

Perhaps it was the sort of joyful laughter that Sarah had engaged in when she learned she was to conceive (see footnote to Genesis 21:6, LDS edition of King James Bible). In any event, Sister Ellis prayed about the matter and received an affirmative answer. Youngest daughter Emily was born soon after, and proved to be a delight to the family.

Willingness to be guided has become a family principle. When the father was called to preside over the Brazil Sao Paulo North Mission, there was the necessity to inform the younger children who would be going along into the mission field. Sister Ellis broached the matter in scriptural terms, noting that holy writ is full of examples in which Heavenly Father asks people to do things which, if fulfilled, prove to be a blessing to them and those around them.

"Then I said, 'Heavenly Father wants Daddy to go and be the president of the Sao Paulo North Mission, and that means He wants us to go there too.' And Rachel, the little girl who was finishing fifth grade just looked up and said, 'I don't want to go.' "

The two younger ones then expressed the same sentiment. Persuaded to make it a matter of prayer, they each received a witness that going along was the right thing.

Later, when elder brother Rob expressed hesitancy to go along with his parents and younger siblings into the mission field for a period of time, Rachel turned to him and said, 'Rob, we need to do what Heavenly Father wants us to do.' "

Today, those younger children, now in their teens, are grateful for that experience, and the growth that it brought to their testimonies and to their relationship as siblings. Thus, when the call came to Elder Ellis to be one of the newest General Authorities, they were prepared for any possible commitment or sacrifice that may be required on their part.

"The 12-year-old said, 'Well, I hope we get to stay in our own house, but if we have to go elsewhere, I'll go,' " Sister Ellis recounted. "The 16-year-old, too. So they're ready."

E-mail to: rscott@desnews.com