Young Men General President Timothy L. Farnes: Obedience, Truth and Faith First

When President Timothy L. Farnes was 14 years old, a friend of another faith began challenging his religious beliefs. There was “no way” that Joseph Smith saw the Father and the Son, this friend said, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “couldn’t be true.”

It was the first time in his young life that he felt compelled to speak up about his beliefs, President Farnes said.

“I testified that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God, that he saw the Father and the Son, and the Church was true,” he said, adding, “The Spirit filled the room. It was palpable. We all felt it, and we all changed.”

President Farnes was sustained April 5 as the new Young Men General President and began his service on August 1. As he steps into his new role, he wants the Church’s youth to know that they belong to the family of Christ, he said.

“They’re children of God and children of the covenant,” he said, “and they can become that disciple of Jesus Christ if they’ll accept Him, accept the gift that is theirs because of His Atonement.”

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‘Anxious to Declare His Word’

Timothy Lowell Farnes was born June 29, 1969, in Baltimore, Maryland, to Gary William Farnes and Mary Ellen Orton Farnes, who raised him “in a home focused on the Savior and faith in Him.” As a young child, his family moved to Utah, where he grew up. President Farnes is the oldest of seven children.

The night he first bore his testimony to his friends, he ran home, woke up his mother and told her, “Mom, I know that Joseph Smith is a Prophet and this is [Jesus Christ’s] Church.” She still remembers that day, President Farnes said, “and talks of it often.”

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As a young missionary, President Farnes served in the Brazil Porto Alegre Mission. He was shy and quiet as a youth, he said, and didn’t express himself well, to the point that his mother once wrote out a prayer for him to give at a missionary farewell.

But when he left for his own mission, he had “a great desire” to share, preach and teach.

“So I made a strong promise to my Father in Heaven that I’d give my all if He’d allow my tongue to be loosed,” President Farnes said.

Obedience was a major factor in his ability to receive heaven’s help during his mission, he continued.

“I recognized the power that came through strict obedience and submission to Him,” President Farnes said. “And it was literally from that moment on, [from] my willingness to give all, that I was able to teach in a different way. I came home from the mission anxious to declare His word, and it changed me completely.”

Lovers of Light

Following his mission, President Farnes attended Brigham Young University, where he studied economics.

He also began working for a company that held seminars throughout North America and required him to pick up tickets from a local travel agency. Each time he visited the agency, he noticed a beautiful girl, Linsey Anne Skinner, working at one of the front desks.

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Unfortunately for President Farnes, the attraction was initially one-sided. “I used every ploy to try to get her to look my way, and she never did.”

Then, one Sunday, Linsey showed up in his ward — she’d recently moved into the same apartment complex as him. He passed the sacrament to her row that day and “finally caught her glance.”

He knocked on her door that night and introduced himself. Three months later, on August 27, 1992, they were married in the Salt Lake Temple.

President Farnes recalled his attraction to Sister Farnes’ “uncommon light,” as well as her maturity, depth and independence.

Sister Farnes also remembered being attracted to President Farnes’ light, particularly his love for Jesus Christ.

“There was something about him that was so different than anybody I had ever met,” she said, adding, “It sounds like we got married fast, but I literally felt like I had known him forever and we were just meeting up again.”

President Farnes said he and Sister Farnes don’t want young single adults to hear their love story and think something is wrong if they’re not having similar experiences. Rather, the pace of his and Sister Farnes’ relationship was right for the two of them.

Now almost 33 years into their marriage, the Farneses still cherish each other’s light.

“One of the things we love the most is just talking about the gospel together,” President Farnes said, sharing how he and Sister Farnes often study the scriptures independently and then discuss what they learned with each other. “She’s taught me a lot that way — of what it means to truly seek Him.”

A Life Undivided

As the parents of five children and grandparents of six, President and Sister Farnes’ faith is also central to their family life.

This was particularly evident while they served as mission leaders in the Brazil São Paulo North Mission from 2014 to 2017. The Farneses moved four of their five children — their oldest child was then serving a mission in South Africa — from Bountiful, Utah, where they’d lived all their lives, to a country where they didn’t speak the language or understand the culture.

But their kids didn’t just accept the change, Sister Farnes said; they eagerly embraced it.

President Farnes recalled how willing one of their daughters was to go despite being a senior in high school at the time; another daughter burst into tears of joy upon hearing the news because she’d been praying for missionary experiences.

Returning to Brazil as a mission leader allowed President Farnes to share with his missionaries how much his previous service shaped him, he said. A mission isn’t a checklist item, he taught them; it’s a platform to launch their lives from, to become better spouses and parents and disciples of Jesus Christ.

“And that’s why you can’t live divided,” President Farnes said. “You’ve got to live the truth. Truth is truth and can be used in every setting.”

For Sister Farnes, whose first formal missionary service was during this time, the adjustment to missionary life in a new country was challenging. But she found her momentum when the Spirit directed her to focus on teaching the missionaries about the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

“That was my theme for three years,” Sister Farnes said.

Besides his missionary service, President Farnes’ previous callings include Area Seventy in the Utah Area, stake president, high councilor, bishop and young single adult bishop.

“I don’t remember a time in [my] Church service where I haven’t been sitting with the youth,” he said, adding that this has cultivated an ability to see people for who they can become.

“That’s been powerful for me to witness … and recognize the importance of repentance and the Atonement of Jesus Christ,” President Farnes said.

Putting Faith First

Formal Church service and family life aren’t the only ways that President Farnes centralizes the gospel; it’s also the foundation of his career and work ethic.

Shortly after his marriage, President Farnes started multiple companies in several industries, including a humanitarian nonprofit doing work in Ghana. But before his professional success, the Lord taught him the importance of putting faith first.

President Farnes recounted a turning point that came less than a year into the Farneses’ marriage, while the young couple was vacationing in Hawaii. President Farnes had spent the previous months traveling extensively for a seminar company, sometimes flying home on Sundays after busy work weekends.

The Hawaii trip was their first reprieve in some time, President Farnes said, and he was eager to impress his new wife. So despite the warning signs posted around the beach, he dove into the ocean — and was immediately slammed against the dangerous shore break he had been warned of.

President Farnes said he managed to make it back to the beach before losing consciousness. Hospital doctors resuscitated him when his heart stopped and discovered that he’d lost over 3½ liters worth of blood due to a ruptured spleen.

Months passed as President Farnes recovered. When he was finally well enough to travel home, “I knew that I needed to change my life,” he said. “It was kind of like the Lord was saying, ‘Wake up.’”

Going forward, President Farnes recommitted his life to the Lord. He left the job that required weekend travel, allowing him to better honor the Sabbath, and started his own company, which he later sold in 2007.

Running a business allowed President Farnes to integrate his core values into his work, he said, the most important of which was recognizing God. “We believe in involving God, even in the workplace, and we acknowledge His hand in all things.”

Each employee was encouraged to read the Book of Mormon for the first 15 minutes of the day, he said. Additionally, his teams began each meeting with a prayer and used the scriptures and the “Preach My Gospel” manual in sales meetings.

“Truth is truth in any setting,” President Farnes said.

Now he’ll carry those same core values and spiritual habits into serving the Church’s youth.

“I love the youth of this Church, the rising generation,” President Farnes said. “They bring great peace and strength and give me great hope in today. Their testimonies are strong, and they’ve been well prepared from before this world was. … I love them with all my heart.”

About President Timothy L. Farnes

Family: Timothy Lowell Farnes was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on June 29, 1969, to Gary William and Mary Ellen Orton Farnes; he was raised in Sandy, Utah. He married Linsey Anne Skinner on August 27, 1992, in the Salt Lake Temple. They have five children and six grandchildren.

Employment: Founder of multiple companies in several industries, including a humanitarian nonprofit doing work in Ghana.

Education: Studied economics at Brigham Young University.

Church service: At the time of his call, President Farnes was serving as an Area Seventy in the Utah Area. He is a former Brazil São Paulo North Mission president ( 2014-2017), stake president, stake presidency counselor, high councilor, bishop, young single adult bishop and bishopric counselor, and full-time missionary in the Brazil Porto Alegre Mission.