Facts about President Russell M. Nelson
How blessed we are to be led by inspired prophets in these latter-days. We mourned the passing of one of our beloved leaders, our sorrow is tempered by the assurance that we will be guided by yet another of the Lord’s chosen leaders. It is reassuring to know that our leaders are men of sound judgment, great spiritual insight, and that they have presided in the leading councils of our church for many years. Such has definitely the case with Presidents Hinckley, Monson and Nelson. We love and sustain these great leaders, having watched their remarkable service to the church, to its members, and to the Lord for many years.
Following are some interesting facts and insights into the leadership and experience of President Russell M. Nelson, as an example of the dedicated discipleship of our leaders. These items were published by Deseret News.
- The middle initial ‘M’ in President Nelson’s name stands for ‘Marion’. Marion was the name of President Nelson’s father.
- President Nelson was sustained as an apostle in April of 1984, along with President Dallin H. Oaks. Neither one of them was serving as a general authority when called to the apostleship.
- President Nelson served as a stake president and as the General President of the Sunday School before his service in the Quorum of the Twelve.
- President Nelson’s parents were less-active members of the Church throughout his childhood. They were both loving and caring parents.
- President Nelson was baptized at age 16, along with his siblings. His baptism would have occurred in 1940. Since he was raised in Salt Lake City, it is likely that his baptism occurred there.
- President Nelson graduated from East High School in 1941. At age 16, he was the youngest member of his class, and he was also the Valedictorian of his graduating class.
- President Nelson did not serve a full-time mission as a young man due to World War II.
- President Nelson has perfect pitch.
- President Nelson was a key member of the team that pioneered the development of open-heart surgery.
- President Nelson served in the military during the Korean War, as doctors were desperately needed.
- President Nelson performed surgery on President Spencer W. Kimball, Elder Richard L. Evans, President Boyd K. Packer, and other church leaders as well.
- President Nelson has dedicated at least 27 countries for the preaching of the gospel, including Bulgaria, Croatia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, French Polynesia, Kazakhstan, and Russia.
- At one time in his life, President Nelson was serving as the General President of the Sunday School, the president of the American Cardiovascular Surgical Society, he was a very busy heart surgeon, and he was the father of TEN children.
- President Nelson and his wife Dantzel White Nelson had nine girls in a row, and their tenth and last baby was a boy!
- President Nelson introduced open heart surgery to the country of China, and has been a lifelong friend of many Chinese physicians and medical organizations.
Here is an informative article about President Russell M. Nelson presented by Trent Toone.
Russell M. Nelson — known for his career as an international heart surgeon, his extensive global ministry and emphasis on temple building — was born on September 9, 1924, in Salt Lake City. At age 16, he was baptized and graduated from high school. After graduating from the University of Utah, he married Dantzel White in the Salt Lake Temple. The couple had 10 children, 57 grandchildren, and over 100 great-grandchildren. He served in the United State Navy Reserve and later in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during the Korean War. He served his residency in surgery at Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital and at the University of Minnesota, where he was awarded his Ph.D. degree in 1954. He became a world-renowned medical researcher and heart surgeon, performing the first open-heart surgery in Utah at the age of 31. He performed lifesaving surgery on Spencer W. Kimball, who lived 13 additional years after the surgery and became the President of the Church. At the height of his surgical career, Elder Nelson was sustained as a member of the Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on April 7, 1984. He supervised Church affairs in Europe and Africa, with a special assignment to open nations in eastern Europe for the preaching of the Gospel. Following his wife’s death in 2005, he married Wendy Watson, that being in April 2006. After 34 years as an Apostle, President Nelson was set apart the the 17th President of the Church on January 14, 2018. During his nearly 8-year administration, he visited 32 countries and U.S. territories and announced 200 temples. He instituted a home-centered, church-supported curriculum, reorganized welfare and ministering programs, shortened Sunday meeting times, and initiated a new global hymnbook. President Nelson died in Salt Lake City on September 27, 2025, at the age of 101, the oldest President in the history of the Church.
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