By Harshit / 2:00 AM EDT
Salt Lake City, Utah — President Russell M. Nelson, the 17th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a pioneering heart surgeon who became a global faith leader, has died at the age of 101. The Church confirmed he passed away peacefully at his home in Salt Lake City shortly after 10 p.m. MDT.
Nelson, the oldest president in the history of the Church, served as prophet-president for more than seven years. His leadership was marked by sweeping reforms, historic interfaith outreach, and a dynamic vision for temple growth that transformed the global church.
A Presidency of Transformation
President Nelson began his tenure in January 2018 at the age of 93. Despite his advanced age, he moved swiftly to reshape the church’s structure and practices. He oversaw changes to worship services, introduced a home-centered model of gospel study, and emphasized the full name of the Church, discouraging use of the nickname “Mormon.”
He guided the Church through the COVID-19 pandemic, offering messages of hope and resilience, and championed humanitarian outreach that expanded to more than $1.3 billion annually.
One of his most enduring legacies is temple building. When he assumed leadership, the Church had 159 operating temples. During his presidency, he announced plans for 200 more — a pace unparalleled in Latter-day Saint history.
A Global Spiritual Leader
President Nelson’s ministry extended across continents. He preached in over 130 countries, dedicated 31 nations for gospel preaching, and built interfaith bridges, including a landmark collaboration with the NAACP. In 2023, he became the inaugural recipient of the Gandhi-King-Mandela Peace Prize, recognized for promoting harmony and peacemaking in a divided era.
In his messages, Nelson consistently urged members to choose peace over contention. “Anger never persuades. Hostility builds no one,” he declared during a 2023 general conference address, calling on people worldwide to model respect and reconciliation.
From Surgeon to Prophet
Before his ecclesiastical service, Nelson earned renown as a cardiothoracic surgeon. Born in Salt Lake City on September 9, 1924, he graduated from high school at 16 and later earned both bachelor’s and medical degrees at the University of Utah by age 22.
He helped develop the heart-lung bypass machine that made open-heart surgery possible, performed Utah’s first successful open-heart operation in 1955, and authored more than 70 peer-reviewed medical papers. By the time he was called as an apostle in 1984, Nelson had performed approximately 7,000 surgeries.
Family and Faith
President Nelson married Dantzel White in 1945, with whom he had 10 children. After her passing in 2005, he married Wendy Watson Nelson in 2006. At the time of his death, he was the patriarch of a vast family that included 57 grandchildren, 168 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.
His family and faith were central to his ministry. He frequently emphasized the importance of temple covenants and family unity, declaring in his later years that temples are “the gateway to the greatest blessings God has in store for each of us.”
Legacy of Service
From world-renowned surgeon to global spiritual leader, Russell M. Nelson dedicated his life to healing hearts — first physically and then spiritually. His presidency will be remembered for its rapid pace of change, its global reach, and its unwavering focus on Jesus Christ.
In his first address as Church president in 2018, he pledged: “I know [the Savior and the Father], love them and pledge to serve them — and you — with every remaining breath of my life.” That pledge defined his leadership until his final day.
