[70], On March 9, 2019, Nelson met with Pope Francis at the Vatican. Nelson told members that the use of nicknames such as Mormon or LDS was "a major victory for Satan. Nelson served in that bishopric for over five years at a time when it had over 1,000 members. Tonight, December 21, is the winter solstice, regarded in many traditions as the darkest and longest night of the year. Russell M. Nelson was sustained and set apart as the 17th president and prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sunday, January 14, 2018, in the upper room of the Salt Lake Temple. [32], Nelson was honored nationally by being elected president of the Society for Vascular Surgery for the year 1975. White and Nelson first met while being the leads in a musical produced at the University of Utah. He also served in the U.S. Army for three years as a Captain in the Army Medical Corps and went to the Korean War. [36], After returning to Salt Lake City, he was called as priest quorum advisor in the Garden Park Ward, working with over 50 boys ages 16 to 18. Nelson received a Ph.D. from Minnesota in 1954 for his research contributions. A stake's high priest quorum now consists of current members of stake presidencies, high councils, bishoprics and functioning patriarchs. ... We live in a glorious age, foreseen by prophets for centuries. [59] He developed ties with the medical community in China and made several trips there to train surgeons. In 2018, Nelson announced 19 new temples, seven in April and 12 in October, among which were the first in India, Nicaragua, Russia, and Cambodia. He spent the next 29 years working in the field of cardiothoracic surgery. [76], In March 2018, the First Presidency issued a letter on preventing and responding to abuse. Russell M. Nelson and his first wife, fellow University of Utah student Dantzel White, met while they both were attending college. Approximately half of this time, he was assigned to oversee the fourteen stakes at BYU, while he worked with the stakes in Kearns, Utah for the other time. ", "Elder Nelson pronounces blessings on six Balkan nations", "Elders Maxwell, Nelson welcomed in China", "President Nelson Signs Mission Calls as Presiding Apostle", "President Russell M. Nelson introduced as 17th LDS president, vows to serve, discusses diversity", "President Nelson Traveled to 16 Nations and Territories during First Year as Prophet", LDS Church news article on Nelson's visit to Canada, Deseret News article on Nelson's tour of Caribbean, "President Nelson promises Puerto Ricans their 'best days' are ahead", "Crowd Sunday at State Farm Stadium could rival Super Bowl", "Prophet Meets Pope Francis at the Vatican", "President Nelson Meets with Pope Francis at the Vatican", "Pope Francis meets with President Nelson in the Vatican", report on Nelson's broadcast to the Church, article on announcements at general conference, article on LDS Church ending scouting, announcing new youth program, article on Nelson meeting with NAACP leadership, report on Nelson's remarks in youth devotional, "Members 'offend' Jesus and please the devil when they use the term 'Mormon,' President Nelson says", "General Conference, October 2018, Russell M. Nelson", "Prophet Introduces a New Proclamation to the World: "The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, "How rare a proclamation: A look at 2020's on the Restoration and the 5 previous in Church history", In India, the story of the India LDS Temple Announcement Is Revealed, President Nelson Dedicates Concepcion Chile Temple, Why President Nelson took all Latter-day Saint Apostles to Rome and What They Said About It, Historic Photo of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in Rome, "President Nelson Announces Eight New Temples During General Conference: For the first time, announcement made in women's session", "President Nelson announces plans to build 8 new temples — including one in People's Republic of China", "Prophet Announces Six New Temples at October 2020 General Conference", "Elder Nelson's wife, Dantzel, dies at age 78", "Wendy Nelson Maxfield, daughter of LDS Church President Russell Nelson, dies at 67", "Elder Russell M. Nelson Marries Wendy L. Watson", Carrie A. Moore, "Elder Nelson marries BYU Professor", Society for Vascular Surgery past presidents list, "LDS Church News - Elder Nelson, pioneer heart surgeon, honored", "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement", "Awards Banquet Draws 'Giants of Achievement, https://www.alumni.utah.edu/awards/docs/Distinguished_Alumnus_past_recipients2010.pdf, "Elder Russell M. Nelson Counsels New Doctors to Read Scriptures - Church News and Events", "A 'true medical pioneer,' President Nelson honored with lifetime achievement medal for innovation", https://www.localprayers.com/XX/Unknown/109727239094418/Inspirational-Art-Association/videos, "General Authorities and General Officers: President Russell M. Nelson", The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints titles, Presidents of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Russell_M._Nelson&oldid=1001133821, American general authorities (LDS Church), General Presidents of the Sunday School (LDS Church), University of Utah School of Medicine alumni, United States Army Medical Corps officers, United States Army personnel of the Korean War, Articles with incomplete citations from November 2013, Articles with incomplete citations from April 2015, Latter Day Saint biography Infobox with missing parameters, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2020, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, President of the Thoracic Surgical Directors Association, President of the Utah State Medical Association, Director of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, Chairman of the Council on Cardiovascular Surgery for the, Chairman of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at the, Vice-chairman of the board of governors at the LDS Hospital, "Heart of Gold Award", American Heart Association, "Governor's Medal of Science: Lifetime Achievement Award", Utah Technology Innovation Summit, "Advocate of the Arts" award presented by the, This page was last edited on 18 January 2021, at 11:12. Honorary scholastic societies include Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha. In March 1956, he performed the first successful pediatric cardiac operation at the SLGH, a total repair of tetralogy of Fallot in a four-year-old girl. [91], On April 5, 2020, Nelson announced a new proclamation, "The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World". He later had a practice at the Salt Lake Clinic with admission privileges at LDS Hospital. [40], Nelson later served for four and a half years as a regional representative. The hymn practice time in Sunday School was also renamed to worship through music. Dallin H. Oaks, then a law professor at Chicago and a fellow Latter-day Saint, actively worked to recruit Nelson. President Russell M. Nelson shared photos of his family in honor of Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 10, 2020. From left, a picture of Sister Dantzel Nelson, Wendy, Marsha and President Nelson taken in 1951 in Washington D.C. Credit: Russell M. Nelson Facebook. President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his wife, Sister Wendy Nelson, wave to attendees during a devotional in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Nov. 19, 2019. Credit: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News. SALT LAKE CITY — As the number of global deaths caused by COVID-19 surpassed 700,000, President Russell M. Nelson expressed “great sorrow” on Wednesday over the losses in a statement released through the social media accounts of the leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.. President Russell M. Nelson and his wife, Sister Wendy Watson Nelson, at the dedication of the Brigham City Temple. Russell M. Nelson. This was highlighted by shortening the length of Sunday church meetings to 2-hours from the previous 3-hours. [13] Nelson has absolute pitch, and frequently sang in choirs, quartets, and plays. and M.D. [58] While there, Nelson visited government officials, was interviewed by Yuzhnaya Stalitsa television, and dedicated that country for the preaching of the gospel. Nelson and Oaks filled the vacancies in the Quorum created by the deaths of LeGrand Richards and Mark E. [57], Nelson's only son, Russell M. Nelson Jr., served as an LDS missionary in Russia. He is listed in Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in America, and Who’s Who in Religion. 02:49. By President Russell M. Nelson In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost. He was officially set apart in that capacity July 15, 2015. White was very musical and in high school took music lessons from Richard P. Condie, who was then the assistant director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The event marked the first time in history that a pope and an LDS Church president met face-to-face. For a time he was also the church's representative to a US State Department committee on international religious freedom. This includes discussions about the Plan of Salvation (which are deeply rooted in the “Three Pillars of Eternity” structure outlined by Bruce R. McConkie), caring for the human body, and preparing for death and the resurrection. [82] That same weekend Nelson gave a devotional to LDS youth in which he urged them to more fully commit to the church. Elder Nelsons previousmarriage was to Dantzel White Nelson, who died 12 February 2005.Their family includes 10 children, 56 grandchildren and 18great-grandchildren. She attended Box Elder High School, among her classmates was Boyd K. Packer, who would serve with Nelson for 30 years as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve. program ranked first in his class after only three years of study. [84], In August 2018, Nelson issued a statement urging the use of the church's full name. The meeting took place the day before the church's Rome Italy Temple was dedicated. Official Facebook page for President Russell M. Nelson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Personal Life. Then the anticipation of death shall … [107] Dantzel White was a native of Perry, Utah, where her father was for a time mayor. By President Russell M. Nelson. He was set apart as a counselor in the bishopric by Joseph Fielding Smith, whose son-in-law was the bishop. Russell Marion Nelson Sr. (born September 9, 1924) is an American religious leader and former surgeon who is the 17th and current president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). (Photo courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) President Russell M. Nelson gives concluding remarks at General Conference on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020. He also said the clouds of sorrow are laced with silver linings of faith, family and … Never a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. [16][17] He then attended the University of Utah School of Medicine, graduating in 1947 with a Doctor of Medicine degree. Yet, this humble man is the one chosen by Jehovah to preside over His affairs. Petersen. [51] The following month, Nelson dedicated the renovated Aaronic Priesthood Restoration Site in Pennsylvania, where LDS Church members believe the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods were restored. Nelson's father was a reporter for the Deseret News and later became general manager of Gillham Advertising, Utah's earliest advertising agency. It is anticipated that the process of creating the new unified hymnbook and children's songbook will take several years. In April 2006, he married Wendy L. Watson. [29] In 1985, Nelson along with his colleague, Conrad B. Jenson, performed a quadruple bypass surgery on the Chinese opera performer Fang Rongxiang (方荣翔 [zh]); 1925–1989). Up through August 2019, he had visited sixteen countries, addressing thousands of members of the faith. I invite you to turn your heart, mind, and soul increasingly to our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. [28] Later, he performed the same operation on future LDS Church president Spencer W. Kimball, replacing his damaged aortic valve. [39], Nelson also served for eight years as the church's Sunday School General President. [62] After being ordained and set apart as church president on January 14, 2018, Nelson was introduced to church members and the media two days later, along with Oaks as his First Counselor and Henry B. Eyring as Second Counselor. [50], Nelson made his first international trip as quorum president to Central America from August 20–31, 2015. [10][11] His parents were not active in the Latter-day Saint faith while he was a youth, but they did send him to Sunday School,[12] and he was baptized a member of the LDS Church at age 16. During the 1950s, Dantzel was a member of the Tabernacle Choir. [77], During the church's April general conference, Nelson announced the appointment of Asian-American Gerrit W. Gong and Brazilian Ulisses Soares to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, both of whom had been serving in the Presidency of the Seventy.[78]. Monson. Russell M. Nelson was born on September 9, 1924, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Marion Clavar Nelson (1897–1990)[8] and Floss Edna Nelson (née Anderson; 1893–1983). [16] Nelson began his first year of medical school prior to finishing his bachelor's degree, and completed the four-year M.D. Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. [81] A few days before this, Nelson and his counselors met with the national leaders of the NAACP. - Russell M. Nelson quotes from BrainyQuote.com "Life is filled with detours and dead ends, trials and challenges of every kind. [30], In 1965, the University of Chicago offered Nelson the position as head of their department of thoracic surgery. Dr. Nelson has served as president of the Society for Vascular Surgery, a director of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, chairman of the Council on Cardiovascular Surgery for the American Heart Association, and president of the Utah State Medical Association. [4] Nelson was a member of the LDS Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for nearly 34 years, and was the quorum president from 2015 to 2018. [citation needed] His travels have been punctuated by several temple dedications, most notably the Rome Italy Temple in March 2019, which was attended by all current members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. (KUTV) -- In a speechto young adults, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints President Russell M. Nelson hinted toward inadequate gun laws. In Washington DC, he was a counselor in the bishopric of the ward Ezra Taft Benson, then an apostle, regularly attended while serving as Secretary of Agriculture to Dwight D. Eisenhower. . Nelson was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on April 7, 1984, during the church's general conference. Her marriage to Nelson is her first. Sister Nelson passed away in February 2005. [66], In September 2018, Nelson visited the Dominican Republic, where he gave an entire talk in Spanish, which was believed to be the first time a church president had given an extended talk in a formal setting in a language other than English. As part of this decision, it was stated that all Young Men, Young Women, and Primary programs for those age 8–18 would be replaced by a new, unified worldwide program. [19][20][21], Nelson served a two-year term of duty in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during the Korean War, and was stationed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. [63] Nelson chose not to retain Dieter F. Uchtdorf, who had served as Monson's Second Counselor, in the new First Presidency. [120], "Russell Nelson" redirects here. [14], In 1981 Nelson held appointments as a visiting professor of surgery at the National Institute of Cardiology in Mexico City and the Catholic University in Santiago, Chile. Family, friends, associates, dignitaries, and Church members from around the world have been invited to join in a celebration of President Russell M. Nelson’s 95th birthday on Friday, September 6, at 8:00 p.m. (mountain daylight time). What a glorious privilege it has been to celebrate Easter with you on this Sunday of general conference! [9] He had two sisters, Marjory E. (1920–2016) and Enid (1926–2019), and a brother, Robert H. (1931–2014). [83] On June 18, the First Presidency created committees assigned to form a unified hymnbook and children's songbook for the worldwide church membership, with each language edition having the same hymns (and songs) in the same order, and that these committees would be taking submissions and collecting surveys until July 2019. [64], The first trip, called a global ministry tour by the church, occurred in April 2018, when Nelson along with his wife, and Jeffrey R. Holland and his wife, met with Latter-day Saints in London, England; Jerusalem; Nairobi, Kenya; Harare, Zimbabwe; Bengaluru, India; Bangkok, Thailand; Hong Kong; and Laie, Hawaii. Nelson was set apart as the quorum president on July 15, 2015, by Thomas S. Nelson became a noted heart surgeon, and served as president of the Society for Vascular Surgery and the Utah Medical Association.[6]. [21] Nelson was also the director of the University of Utah thoracic surgery residency program. Russell M Nelson is an American religious leader who is the current president of the controversial LDS church. It also provided more clear policies mandating all interviews with women and youth be done with another person in the general area, and made it clear that youth and women could have a parent or other adult present for an interview. [95], In October 2018, Nelson concluded a 10-day trip to South America by dedicating the Concepcion Chile Temple. In addition to the large crowd in attendance, the devotional was broadcast across the state. [44], Nelson's assignments as an apostle have included supervisory responsibility for the LDS Church in Africa. During his tenure the Sunday School developed a unified 8-year-cycle of covering the LDS Church's scriptures in its curriculum. After dating for three years, the couple married on August 31, 1945, in … [27] In an indication of his surgical skill, a 1968 case series of his aortic valve replacements demonstrated an exceptionally low peri-operative mortality. . Visiting Professorship in Cardiothoracic Surgery. While on duty, he was assigned to a research group formed by the commandant of the Graduate School at Walter Reed, Col. William S. Stone and led by Dr. Fiorindo A. Simeone, a professor of surgery at Western Reserve University in Cleveland who had been a clinical investigator in the Mediterranean Theater during World War II. 1950) in the Salt Lake Temple. In 1966, Nelson became head of the thoracic residency program that combined resource from the University of Utah Medical School, LDS Hospital, Primary Children's Hospital and the VA Hospital in Salt Lake City. [14], Nelson studied at LDS Business College in his mid-teens (concurrently with high school enrollment) and worked as an assistant secretary at a bank. This letter reiterated existing policies, but also explicitly stated that no one should ever be counseled against reporting abuse to legal authorities. Today, Russell M. Nelson is the individual called of God to lead His earthly Church, speak in His holy name, and hold the keys of Priesthood authority to perform saving Gospel ordinances. After further surgical training and a two-year stint in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during the Korean War, Nelson returned to Salt Lake City and accepted a professorship at the University of Utah School of Medicine. How fitting that astronomers and scientists are predicting tonight's appearance of a "Christmas star," formed by the great conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter, a rare event not seen in nearly 400 years. While at Minnesota, he was a member of the surgeon Clarence Dennis's research team that pioneered the heart-lung machine that in April 1951 supported the first human open-heart surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass. He had previously served as Regional Representative for Brigham Young University. I have felt impressed to share with you a message on Nov. 20, 2020, from 11 to 11:15 a.m. MST. After 20 months in service, he left active duty at the rank of captain. [7] In 1984, Nelson and the American jurist Dallin H. Oaks were selected to fill two vacancies in the LDS Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. As part of this change, young women ages 14–18 may be assigned as ministering sisters, similar to the-long standing policies of young men ages 14–18 serving as home teachers. Russell M. Nelson was sustained and set apart as the 17th president and prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sunday, January 14, 2018, in the upper room of the Salt Lake Temple. 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