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How 2024 proved to be a year to ‘marvel and rejoice’ for President Nelson

President Russell M. Nelson’s remarkable year includes celebrating his 100th birthday and dedicating the Church’s 200th temple

On the first day of 2024 — his 100th New Year’s Day — President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints posted a message on social media that set the tone for his remarkable and historic year — a year to truly “marvel and rejoice.”

“May we strive this new year to marvel and rejoice at the privileges and opportunities our Father in Heaven and our Redeemer Jesus Christ provide,” the Prophet and President of the Church wrote in a Jan. 1, 2024, social media post.

For President Nelson, the privileges and opportunities of the next 12 months included dedicating the Church’s 200th house of the Lord, rededicating a pioneer-era temple, speaking at a worldwide Relief Society broadcast, delivering two general conference addresses and announcing 32 new temple locations — not to mention commemorating his 100th birthday.

“The length of your life is not as important as the kind of life that you live,” President Nelson said during his 100th birthday broadcast on Sept. 9. “For each of us, even for a 100-year-old man, life passes quickly. My prayer is that you will let God prevail in your life. Make covenants with Him. Stay on the covenant path. Prepare to return to live with Him again.

Here is a look at some highlights from President Nelson’s remarkable 100th year.

Relief Society devotional: ‘The Influence of Women’

On the 182nd anniversary of the organization of the Relief Society on March 17, Latter-day Saint women worldwide gathered to hear messages from President Nelson and the Relief Society general presidency, and to bear testimony of Jesus Christ.

President Russell M. Nelson speaks during a worldwide Relief Society devotional on March 17, 2024. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“Sisters, please never underestimate the extraordinary power within you to influence others for good. … If the world should ever lose the moral rectitude of its women, the world would never recover,” President Nelson declared in his message titled “The Influence of Women.”

President Nelson invited women to make the scriptures their personal Liahona, the temple their place of refuge and recalibration, and their personal prayers the way they learn where the Lord needs them to be that day. Over time, he said, they will see how the Lord guides them to help others.

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April 2024 general conference: Priesthood keys

At the conclusion of April 2024 general conference, President Nelson invited Church members both to understand the spiritual privileges made possible by the restoration of priesthood keys and to rejoice in them.

“The power of these priesthood keys is infinite and breathtaking,” he said in his prerecorded message.

Audience members watch intently as President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints delivers his talk by recorded video during the afternoon session of the 194th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, April 7, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

President Nelson announced locations for 15 new temples. He promised Latter-day Saints that nothing will help them hold fast to the iron rod more than worshipping in the temple as regularly as circumstances permit.

“Nothing will protect you more as you encounter the world’s mists of darkness,” he said. “Nothing will bolster your testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement or help you understand God’s magnificent plan more. Nothing will soothe your spirit more during times of pain. Nothing will open the heavens more. Nothing!”

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Manti Utah Temple rededication

On Sunday, April 21, President Nelson rededicated the Manti Utah Temple as “a house of peace, a house of comfort and a house of personal revelation.”

President Nelson’s participation in the rededication of the temple — originally dedicated nearly 136 years earlier in May 1888 — was a surprise to members in Sanpete County.

President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Sister Wendy W. Nelson prior to the rededication of the Manti Utah Temple in Manti, Utah, on Sunday, April 21, 2024.
President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Sister Wendy W. Nelson prior to the rededication of the Manti Utah Temple in Manti, Utah, on Sunday, April 21, 2024. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

“We build temples to honor the Lord,” said President Nelson, whose eight great-grandparents called Sanpete County home. “They are built for worship and not for show. We make sacred covenants of eternal significance inside these sacred walls.”

After the rededication, Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said he will never forget the expressions on individuals’ faces when the Prophet of God came in. “They did not even know he was coming,” he said.

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99+1: Spreading the Savior’s love

One hundred days before his 100th birthday, President Nelson posted an invitation on social media for individuals to commemorate his birthday by reaching out to “the one” in need, just as the Savior did.

“At age 99, I have no need of physical gifts,” President Nelson wrote on June 1. “But one spiritual offering that would brighten my life is for each of us to reach out to ‘the one’ in our lives who may be feeling lost or alone.”

In the weeks leading up to President Nelson’s birthday, Church leaders and members posted on social media using the hashtag #99plus1, sharing examples of when they or others have been cared for as “the one.”

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100th birthday celebration

Family members, Church leaders and friends shared joyous tributes to President Nelson on his 100th birthday as part of a broadcast celebration on Sept. 9. The live event originated from a full-house Conference Center Theater on Temple Square in Salt Lake City.

President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his wife, Sister Wendy Nelson, pose with his family during his 100th birthday celebration at the Conference Center Theater in Salt Lake City on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

President Nelson sat onstage with his wife, Sister Wendy Nelson, and his counselors in the First Presidency, President Dallin H. Oaks and President Henry B. Eyring.

“With joy in my heart, and a spirit of deep thanksgiving, I express my love for you, dear brothers and sisters,” President Nelson said in his prerecorded remarks.

President Nelson shared his testimony of Heavenly Father’s plan and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. “How grateful I am for His unfailing love and His generous guidance to me as He leads His Church,” he said.

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October 2024 general conference: Prepare for the Savior’s Second Coming

Now is the time for Latter-day Saints to prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and make discipleship their highest priority, President Nelson declared during October 2024 general conference.

“Today, I call upon you to rededicate your lives to Jesus Christ. I call upon you to help gather scattered Israel and to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord. I call upon you to talk of Christ, testify of Christ, have faith in Christ and rejoice in Christ.”

Audience members listen as President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announces 17 new temples will be built, during the Sunday afternoon session of the 194th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

At the beginning of his talk, President Nelson acknowledged his declining eyesight and said he was delivering his message with the aid of a desktop teleprompter. Even so, he looked to the future with characteristic optimism as he spoke of the Savior’s return — “The best is yet to come,” he assured.

President Nelson announced 17 new temple locations, and he projected the Salt Lake Temple and Temple Square renovations will be completed by the end of 2026. The 17 new locations bring the Church’s total number of houses of the Lord to 367 — including temples dedicated, under construction or in planning. Of that number, President Nelson has announced 185 of those temples — or 50.4%.

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Deseret Peak Utah Temple dedication

On a mild autumn evening in Tooele, Utah, President Nelson dedicated the Deseret Peak Utah Temple — the Church’s 200th house of the Lord.

“This is the Lord’s house. It is filled with His power,” President Nelson said of the temple, which he dedicated Nov. 10. He promised that those who live God’s higher law will have access to that power. “God’s power helps us to withstand the trials and temptations of life — with joy in our hearts,” he said.

President Nelson noted that it took the Church until the year 2000 to dedicate the first 100 operating temples. Now, just 24 years later, it has dedicated the second 100. “The Lord is truly hastening His work. I am filled with gratitude for the Lord’s mercy in guiding us to bring temples closer to members of the Church throughout the world,” he said.

President Russell M. Nelson, right, and Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles pose prior to President Nelson dedicating the Church's 200th temple, the Deseret Peak Utah Temple, in Tooele, Utah, on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who accompanied President Nelson to Tooele, called attention to two “unprecedented, historic” facts associated with the day’s event. First, that the Church has a 100-year-old Prophet in this dispensation. Second, that “our beloved Prophet, President Russell M. Nelson,” was dedicating the Church’s 200th temple.

“We think of moments when we can say, ‘Hallelujah!’ and for us this is one of those moments,” Elder Stevenson said.

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