Career
A resident native of New Zealand at the time of his call, he is the second general authority from New Zealand in the church"s history. They are the parents of four children. Ardern received both bachelor"s and master"s degrees in education from the University of Waikato in New Zealand.
In 1981 he joined the Church Educational System ( Certificate in Superior Studies) as an English teacher and was later principal of the Church College of New Zealand.
In 2004 he became the Certificate in Superior Studies Pacific Area Director. After serving as president of the Fiji Suva Mission from 2005 to 2008, Ardern returned to employment with the Certificate in Superior Studies in New Zealand as an institute director and seminary coordinator in Hamilton.
Ardern was appointed an area seventy in the Eighth Quorum of Seventy on 3 April 2010. He was then appointed to the First Quorum of the Seventy on 2 April 2011.
From 2011 to 2014, he served as second counselor in the presidency of the church"s Philippines Area, and has served as the area"s president since August 2014.