Elder Ballard served his mission in England from 1948-1950 at the age of 21. He was the 1^st counselor in the British Mission Presidency. When he returned home he returned to his education at the University of Utah. This is where he met Barbara Bowen, who would become his wife.

 “I met her at the University of Utah ‘Hello Day Dance.’ A friend of mine thought I ought to meet her, so he tagged in to dance with her, danced over to where I was, introduced me, and I danced with her thirty seconds before I was tagged out. That was the beginning of a courtship of eleven months.

   
 “She was not only beautiful, but had a sparkling personality. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to marry her, but she didn’t share the same feelings. It was a little hard convincing her. I kid her now that getting her to agree to marry me was the greatest sales job I ever did,” said Elder Ballard.