Local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints members mourn the passing of President Russell M. Nelson

President Russell M. Nelson

The Church of Je­sus Christ of Latter-day Saints mourns the passing of their President, Russell M. Nelson, who passed away on Saturday, September 27. Lo­cal wards and stakes paid homage to the late prophet at their meetings the follow­ing day, and members have taken to social media to share favor­ite memories, quotes and lessons about and from President Nelson.

The church released an obituary on their newsroom website, recounting highlights from President Nel­son’s life, his achieve­ments in the adminis­tration of the church, as well as his personal career as a surgeon. Said the press re­lease, “Beginning in the April 2018 general conference in which he was sustained as pres­ident of the Church, the prophet began introducing frequent adjustments designed to help the Saints min­ister more like Jesus Christ and better em­phasize the centrality of the Savior of the world in all the Church does.”

Of his achievements as a heart surgeon, the obituary shared, “As a physician, President Nelson was perhaps best known for his part in the development of an artificial heart and lung machine small enough to function in an operating room … In 1955 President Nel­son performed the first open-heart surgery in Utah, and he complet­ed more than 7,000 operations throughout his career.”

The statement from the church concluded with a quote from President Dallin H. Oaks who acted as one of President Nel­son’s counsellors and a fellow member of the quorum of the twelve apostles: “I’ve heard surgeons that he trained comment on how effective he was at teaching them to be surgeons, and I’ve seen him as the master teacher teach the servants of the Lord in the same way.”

Following President Nelson’s death, his counsellors will re­sume their role in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which will assume leadership of the church until the First Presidency can be reformed with the Senior Apostle - cur­rently Dallin H. Oaks - taking the role of President, and choos­ing two other members of the quorum to act as his counsellors.