Russell M Nelson has gone home to his Savior, and we are left remembering his wonderful life of compassion and service. He served as an Apostle for the church since 1984, for over 40 years. And he has been a prophet of the church since 2018. He visited 32 countries and US territories, and announced 200 temples in his time serving God’s children. Before that, he was a world-class heart surgeon, famously operating on a Chinese opera singer, Fang Rongxiang, and former president Spencer W Kimball. So he was literally a doctor for the body and soul.
A Dedicated Family Man
His professional career was illustrious, and his church service was impressive. But some of my favorite stories about him revolve around Russell M Nelson as a husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He and his wife, Dantzel, had 9 children: 8 daughters and 1 son. And while Dantzell sang in the Tabernacle Choir, he wrangled all those little girls. He got them dressed, did their hair, and got them out the door. As a mother, I can tell you that it was an impressive feat.
I collect quotes and put them on my wall to serve as inspiration when I need it. One of my favorite quotes from Russell M Nelson’s service is this:
“We need women who know how to make important things happen by their faith and who are courageous defenders of morality and families in a sin-sick world. We need women who are devoted to shepherding God’s children along the covenant path toward exaltation; women who know how to receive personal revelation, who understand the power and peace of the temple endowment; women who know how to call upon the powers of heaven to protect and strengthen children and families; women who teach fearlessly.” 2015 conference talk: A Plea to My Sisters.
Encouraging Us To Be More
This talk was a call to arms for me. It spoke to my soul and gave me the courage as a young mother to do the hard things, pulling my son out of a terrible school environment and seeking a better way to educate and support him. His autism and gifted combination was not something public schools could handle.
And because of that decision, at 16, he is now thriving and loving education. I can thank President Nelson for that. He was inspiring and empowering. The way he spoke of womanhood and the difference women make in the world came at a time when I needed it. He blessed my life, my family, and the whole church.
On Sunday, we met as a Relief Society, and one sister shared a beautiful memory of Dr. Nelson. When she was young, her 14-year-old brother was struggling. He was diabetic and unstable, and often lashed out in emotional outbursts. One day, she remembers how he got into a fight with her mother and ran away from home. He was gone for 4 days, and when they finally found him, he was in a diabetic coma.
He was brought to the hospital where Russell M. Nelson worked. And the doctor attending her brother told her family he would likely never wake up. He would likely die from the severity of his coma. Her mother was distraught, and President Nelson came and held her hands, offering words of comfort. He made a lasting impression on this sister and her family. Her brother did eventually pass away from diabetes, but she will forever be grateful for the time that Russell Nelson took to comfort a grieving mother.
Prophetic Council
As President Nelson has continued to be a doctor for both bodies and souls, he has recently been vocal about the need for us to be peacemakers. The main page for churchofjesuschrist.org has this quote about halfway down.
Peacemaking is a choice. You have your agency to choose contention or reconciliation. I urge you to choose to be a peacemaker, now and always.
Brothers and sisters, we can literally change the world—one person and one interaction at a time. How? By modeling how to manage honest differences of opinion with mutual respect and dignified dialogue.
I think of the recent violence with the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the attack on the Church in Grand Blanc, Michigan. And I see the timeliness of this message. So many crazies have come out of the woodwork and spoken evil things since both these tragic events. But to seek to be a peacemaker in a time like this takes a concerted effort. It requires prayer and taking a moment to step back before reacting to horrible messages. And it means you need to be earnestly seeking to be more like Christ, resisting getting caught up in the heat of the moment. This quote is one more testimony to me that President Nelson is truly a prophet.
With so many voices competing for our attention in this world, I am truly grateful for the consistent and loving voice of Russell M Nelson. He was consistently loving, forward-focused, and looking to God in all he did. His impact on the world is not measurable, but his impact on me and my family was profound.
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