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Russell M. Nelson

Portrait of Russell M. Nelson
Portrait: Pastelitodepapa / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

AUTHOR PROFILE

Russell M. Nelson

Russell M. Nelson was a heart surgeon before he became an apostle and, later, the seventeenth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His presidency placed renewed emphasis on covenants, home study, ministering, and the Church’s full name. His quotes reflect both a long professional life and decades of Church teaching.

FEATURED QUOTE
“The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.”
— Russell M. Nelson

Biography at a glance

  • Born: September 9, 1924, in Salt Lake City, Utah
  • Died: September 27, 2025
  • Professional work: Physician and pioneering heart surgeon
  • Family: Married Dantzel White in 1945; after her death, married Wendy L. Watson in 2006
  • Church service: Apostle from 1984; President of the Church from 2018 to 2025

Medicine and faith

Nelson studied medicine at the University of Utah and worked in an era when open-heart surgery was still developing. His surgical work and the demands of family life preceded his full-time Church service. The Church’s memorial biography connects those years with his later teaching about learning, service, and persistence.

Apostle and Church president

Nelson was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1984 and became Church president in January 2018. During his presidency, he urged members to keep their covenants with Jesus Christ, strengthened home-centered gospel learning, and introduced a revised approach to ministering. He also announced many new temples. The Church’s history overview traces his work in the context of a global Church.

Related LDS Flow reading

Sources and further reading

Quotes by Russell M. Nelson

58 quotes

“When I think of the Book of Mormon, I think of the word power. The truths of the Book of Mormon have the power to heal, comfort, restore, succor, strengthen, console, and cheer our souls. “My dear brothers and sisters, I promise that as you prayerfully study the Book of Mormon every day, you will make better decisions—every day. I promise that as you ponder what you study, the windows of heaven will open, and you will receive answers to your own questions and direction for your own life. I promise that as you daily immerse yourself in the Book of Mormon, you can be immunized against the evils of the day, even the gripping plague of pornography and other mind-numbing addictions.”

"The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Like without It?" Conference October 2017

— Russell M. Nelson

“I recognize that, on occasion, some of our most fervent prayers may seem to go unanswered. We wonder, “Why?” I know that feeling! I know the fears and tears of such moments. But I also know that our prayers are never ignored. Our faith is never unappreciated. I know that an all-wise Heavenly Father’s perspective is much broader than is ours. While we know of our mortal problems and pain, He knows of our immortal progress and potential. If we pray to know His will and submit ourselves to it with patience and courage, heavenly healing can take place in His own way and time.”

“Jesus Christ – the Master Healer,” Ensign, November 2005, p. 86

— Russell M. Nelson

“When you reach up for the Lord’s power in your life with the same intensity that a drowning person has when grasping and gasping for air, power from Jesus Christ will be yours. When the Savior knows you truly want to reach up to Him–when He can feel that the greatest desire of your heart is to draw His power into your life–you will be led by the Holy Ghost to know exactly what you should do. When you spiritually stretch beyond anything you have ever done before, then His power will flow into you.”

"Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives"

— Russell M. Nelson

“This unique mortal mission of the Lord—the gospel as He defined it—we know as the Atonement. The fulness of the gospel, therefore, connotes a fuller comprehension of the Atonement. This we do not obtain from the Bible alone. The word atonement, in any of its forms, is mentioned only once in the King James Version of the New Testament. In the Book of Mormon, it appears 39 times! The Book of Mormon also contains more references to the Resurrection than does the Bible.”

"A Testimony of the Book of Mormon," Conference October 1999

— Russell M. Nelson

“Whenever I hear anyone, including myself, say, “I know the Book of Mormon is true,” I want to exclaim, “That’s nice, but it is not enough!” We need to feel, deep in “the inmost part” of our hearts, that the Book of Mormon is unequivocally the word of God. We must feel it so deeply that we would never want to live even one day without it. I might paraphrase President Brigham Young in saying, “I wish I had the voice of seven thunders to wake up the people” to the truth and power of the Book of Mormon.”

"The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Like without It?" Conference October 2017

— Russell M. Nelson

“Most books contained in libraries of the world were authored for contemporary readers. And they were generally written for profit, with royalties accruing from successful sales. “Not so with the Book of Mormon. It was written anciently for our day. It reveals the endless Lordship of Jesus Christ in accounts of two ancient American dispensations, preserved for the benefit of us who live in this dispensation of the fulness of times. Certainly no royalties came to its authors. In fact, they paid dearly for their privilege of participation. What motivated them? Their devotion to God! The book’s four major writers—Nephi, Jacob, Mormon, and Moroni —were all eyewitnesses of the Lord, as was its martyred translator, the Prophet Joseph Smith.”

"A Testimony of the Book of Mormon," Conference October 1999

— Russell M. Nelson

“This appeal to all people must involve many languages and the work of skilled translators. The King James Version of the Bible, for example, was produced by 50 English scholars who accomplished their work in seven years, translating at the rate of one page per day. Expert translators today do well if they can also translate scripture at the rate of one page per day. “In contrast, Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon at the rate of about 10 pages per day, completing the task in about 85 days! (Many of us feel good if we can read the book in that time.)”

"A Testimony of the Book of Mormon," Conference October 1999

— Russell M. Nelson

That Jesus attained eternal perfection following his resurrection is confirmed in the Book of Mormon. It records the visit of the resurrected Lord to the people of ancient America. There he repeated the important injunction previously cited [to be perfect even as your Father in Heaven is perfect], but with one very significant addition. He said, “I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect.” This time he listed himself along with his Father as a perfected personage. Previously, he had not. Resurrection is requisite for eternal perfection. . . . Eternal perfection is reserved for those who overcome all things and inherit the fulness of the Father in his heavenly mansions. Perfection consists in gaining eternal life – the kind of life that God lives.

Ensign, November 1994, p. 87

— Russell M. Nelson

“It is doctrinally incomplete to speak of the Lord’s atoning sacrifice by shortcut phrases, such as “the Atonement” or “the enabling power of the Atonement” or “applying the Atonement” or “being strengthened by the Atonement.” These expressions present a real risk of misdirecting faith by treating the event as if it had living existence and capabilities independent of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ…There is no amorphous entity called “the Atonement” upon which we may call for succor, healing, forgiveness, or power. Jesus Christ is the source. Sacred terms such as Atonement and Resurrection describe what the Savior did, according to the Father’s plan, so that we may live with hope in this life and gain eternal life in the world to come. The Savior’s atoning sacrifice–the central act of all human history–is best understood and appreciated when we expressly and clearly connect it to Him.

— Russell M. Nelson

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