RACE, RELIGION + SOCIAL JUSTICE
President Russell M. Nelson celebrates turning 100
Sep 9, 2024, 5:00 AM | Updated: 4:03 pm
SALT LAKE CITY — The President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints turns 100 today.
President Russell M. Nelson was born in 1924, when there were only six temples and 25 missions in the world.
“In just his lifetime, we have seen the Church of Jesus Christ grow and expand across the globe,” said Deseret News editor Sarah Jane Weaver said on KSL TV’s Sunday Edition.
To celebrate his birthday, many people sent President Nelson birthday greetings by signing a large birthday card.
As a way to celebrate, President Nelson invited Church members around the world to care for the “99+1.” He encouraged members to reach out to “the one” in need leading up in the 100 days leading up to his birthday.
A long life and legacy
Nelson had a long career as a pioneering heart surgeon. Then came a call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1984. He was sustained as prophet of the church on January 14, 2018.
He’s faced the challenges of advanced age with patience and humor, as in this address to an international devotional for young adults.
“Some might label me as an old man. But I’m a lot younger than Adam,” Nelson said.
Over the years, he lost his first wife and two of his ten children. Weaver said that his daughter’s passing in 2018 didn’t keep him from visiting Latter-day Saints who’d lost their homes in a California wildfire.
“He said a father can’t have something like this happen without it being incredibly hard. And then he said, ‘but you know, sometimes the way you get through hard things is to reach out and serve other people,'” she said.
The church plans a special broadcast at 4 p.m. Monday to mark the occasion. You can hear it live on KSL NewsRadio.
KSL NewsRadio’s Dan Bammes and Becky Bruce contributed to this article.
