If you were to ask other men that he serves with to describe elder Ballard they would say that he is “teachable”. The follow was a story relayed by Boyd K. Packer:

 “It is not unusual to find those who have very brilliant minds to at once lack humility and meekness,” said Elder Packer. “Not so with M. Russell Ballard. If I should choose a word to describe him, it would be teachable. That is a synonym for meekness. Meekness and weakness are not synonyms.
    “When he was presiding over the mission in Toronto, I toured the mission. When I returned home, my wife was concerned because I was so tired. ‘Did you have a mission president that wouldn’t listen to your instruction?’ she asked.

    “I replied, ‘No, just the opposite. I found a mission president who was so eager to learn and so desirous of obtaining instruction that I was drawn beyond what we ordinarily are able to do.’ ”