Elder Donald L. Hallstrom, a member of the Presidency of the Seventy of the LDS Church, will be speaking at BYU–Hawaii’s graduation on Feb. 27 in the Cannon Activities Center beginning at 9:30 a.m.
Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Elder Hallstrom grew up on Oahu, says lds.org. In an April 2012 Conference talk, he shared stories of growing up in Hawaii and the church and how that affected him.
“When I was born, our family lived in a tiny cottage on the grounds of one of the great and historic meetinghouses of the Church, the Honolulu Tabernacle. I now apologize to my dear friends in the Presiding Bishopric, who oversee the facilities of the Church, but as a boy I climbed over and under and through every inch of that property, from the bottom of the water-filled reflecting pool to the top of the inside of the imposing lighted steeple. We even swung (Tarzan-like) on the long hanging vines of the huge banyan trees that are on the site.”
Elder Hallstrom continues sharing a spiritual experience he had as a child in Hawaii. “When I was five years old, a major conference was held at the tabernacle. We walked down the lane on which we lived and over a small bridge leading to the stately meetinghouse and sat on about the 10th row in the large chapel.
“Presiding and speaking at the meeting was David O. McKay, the President of the Church. I do not recall anything he said, but I vividly remember what I saw and what I felt. President McKay was dressed in a cream-colored suit and, with his wavy white hair, looked very regal. In the tradition of the islands, he wore a triple-thick red carnation lei.
“As he spoke, I felt something quite intense and very personal. I later understood that I was feeling the influence of the Holy Spirit. We sang the closing hymn: ‘Who’s on the Lord’s side? Who? Now is the time to show. We ask it fearlessly: Who’s on the Lord’s side? Who?’
“With those words being sung by nearly 2,000 people but seeming to be a question posed just to me, I wanted to stand and say, “I am!”
Elder Hallstrom went on to serve a full-time missionary in England and married Diane Clifton in July 1972. He graduated from BYU in Provo with a bachelor’s degree in economics and then returned to Hawaii to live and work. He was an area authority and president of the Hallstrom Group, Inc., a real estate consulting organization based in Honolulu, Hawaii, when he was called to the First Quorum of the Seventy in 2000, continues lds.org.
He has served in the North America West Area and in the Asia Area Presidency, headquartered in Hong Kong, and concluded that service as the Area President, lds.org says. From 2000 to 2003, he was in the Asia North Area, residing in Tokyo, Japan, and also serving as the Area President.
Additionally, he served as Executive Director of the Church Audiovisual Department and as a member of the Young Men General Presidency. In 2009, he became a member of the Presidency of the Seventy.
Lds.org says, “Elder Hallstrom has served on various boards, including the executive board of the Aloha Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the President’s Roundtable of Brigham Young University–Hawaii. He was also vice chairman of Hawaii Reserves, Inc., which manages nonecclesiastical Church real estate in Hawaii. Additionally, he also has served on the National Advisory Council of the Boy Scouts of America.”