Editor’s note: After a lifetime of dedicated service, President Russell M. Nelson died on Sept. 27, 2025, at age 101. This article is part of a series exploring different facets of President Nelson’s exemplary, faith-filled life.
President Russell M. Nelson was set apart as the 17th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Jan. 14, 2018. Before his passing, he was the oldest president in the Church’s history.
His life, example and leadership were captured in many Church News videos. These videos showcase his worldwide ministry, his testimony of the Savior and his family members’ witnesses of his prophetic calling.
Fijian Latter-day Saints give an emotional farewell to President Nelson through song
A crowd of over 4,000 Latter-day Saints in Nausori, Fiji, sent the Prophet off with a fond farewell on Wednesday, May 22, 2019.
Singing “Isa Lei,” a traditional song meaning "farewell, dear friend," the Fijian members expressed their love to President Nelson, Sister Wendy Nelson and their traveling companions.
During the devotional, President Nelson also led the children in the hymn, “I Am a Child of God,” stating that one day they could tell their grandchildren they sang for the prophet.
From Scrabble to the commandments, President Nelson and Sister Wendy Nelson talk about ‘eternal laws’
Whether it’s a game of Scrabble with his wife Sister Wendy Nelson or the principles that make an airplane fly, there’s one thing President Nelson wanted to know.
“I want to know what the laws are,” he said. “If I can know the laws, then I can get the blessings.”
In a Church News video following the Nelsons on their Latin America ministry, President Nelson explained why it’s important to know the laws — regardless of whether they are physical or spiritual.
Sister Wendy Nelson shares her personal witness of President Russell M. Nelson’s prophetic ministry
While participating in the dedication of the Rome Italy Temple, Sister Wendy Nelson testified to the Church News of President Nelson’s prophetic calling.
After marrying President Nelson in 2006, Sister Nelson had, on numerous occasions, witnessed him receive revelation from the Lord during the night, especially as general conference approached. But after he was ordained as the Lord’s prophet, the revelation came with frequency and intensity. “My husband is trying to get every bit of instruction that he can,” she said.
Elder Gong gives an inside look at President Nelson’s ‘remarkable’ Pacific ministry tour
Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared in a Church News video the many ways he was impressed by President Nelson‘s interactions with others on his Pacific ministry.
“I’ve just been so deeply touched at how the prophet of God ministers to 10,000 people and a single family that’s grieving over the loss of their mother at the same time,” said Elder Gong.
The video shows footage of President Nelson waving to crowds, meeting with missionaries and consoling individuals such as Mateo Lautaimi, a Latter-day Saint father in Tonga who lost his wife to a sudden illness shortly after Cyclone Gita destroyed his house.
Joy and peace can be found regardless of what is happening, President Nelson teaches
“When the focus of our lives is on Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening — or not happening — in our lives,” said President Nelson.
During his 2019 global ministry, President Nelson and other leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were captured in video footage sharing and receiving joy and peace.
President Nelson says ‘There is much more to come’
A 20-minute Church News documentary highlights President Nelson’s worldwide ministry, his outreach to world government and religious leaders, his focus on the rising generation and his ministry to the one.
President Nelson and the Rev. Amos Brown highlight need to move forward ‘Arm in Arm’
The Rev. Amos C. Brown introduced President Nelson at the 110th annual convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Detroit, Michigan, in July 2019.
The words of President Nelson and the Rev. Brown, recorded at the NAACP 2019 convention, are highlighted in a Church News video called “Arm in Arm.”
‘Guidance from the Lord’
Three months ahead of his 101st birthday, President Nelson dedicated the Syracuse Utah Temple on Sunday, June 8.
Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles accompanied President Nelson at the dedication and spoke with Church News about President Nelson’s prophetic guidance of the Church.
“President Nelson’s direction and guidance has been so profound because he is always doing what the Lord is giving him the guidance and direction to do,” Elder Cook said.
In a Church News video titled "Guidance from the Lord," Elder Cook talked about the Prophet and President of the Church, and the importance of Latter-day Saints worshiping and completing ordinances in the house of the Lord.
President Nelson, Church leaders on their experiences at the Washington D.C. Temple and in the ‘House of the Lord’
President Nelson attended the first dedication of the Washington D.C. Temple as a medical doctor in 1974. He then returned to the temple on Aug. 14, 2022, to rededicate the iconic building, which had undergone extensive renovations.
President Nelson spoke about his experience and the sacred temple in a Church News video titled "House of the Lord."
President Nelson shares how temples are ‘a symbol of Jesus Christ’
During a great era of temple building for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Nelson called all temples a symbol of Jesus Christ.
A Church News video, titled “A Symbol of Jesus Christ,” features an interview with President Nelson recorded at the Washington D.C. Temple Visitors’ Center. Video footage showcases the renovated temple, the first Latter-day Saint edifice built in the eastern United States. Church leaders closed the temple in 2018 to renovate mechanical and electrical systems and to refresh finishes. President Nelson rededicated the temple on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022.
A behind-the-scenes look at filming the bicentennial proclamation in the Sacred Grove with President Nelson
In preparation for the 200th anniversary of the First Vision, President Nelson retraced the steps of the Prophet Joseph Smith into the Sacred Grove and delivered a bold proclamation to the world declaring the ongoing Restoration of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
On this historic occasion, President Nelson invited two general officers — then-Relief Society General President Jean B. Bingham and then-Primary General President Joy D. Jones — to join him.
In a Church News video, "A Sacred Proclamation," President Bingham and President Jones recounted “the profound privilege” of standing in the Sacred Grove as President Nelson spoke the words of “The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World.”
President Nelson, Elder Christofferson share the ‘great hope’ they feel for the Church’s future in Vietnam
On Nov. 17, 2019, President Nelson stopped in Ho Chi Minh to speak with 432 Latter-day Saints. In a Church News video, President Nelson spoke of how the Church has grown over the recent decades, stating that President Hinckley could “foresee what we are seeing tonight.”
Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who was accompanying President Nelson on his ministry, spoke about the hope there is for the future of the Church in Vietnam.
“The Church is young here. It’s young in terms of its years of presence ... but it’s vibrant,” he said. “And because of that, there’s great hope for the future.”
President Nelson and Elder Christofferson also noted that the blessings promised to Latter-day Saints are the same no matter their location.
Favorite moments from Church President Nelson’s ministry, part 1
President Nelson addressed hundreds of thousands of Latter-day Saints — often in their own language— and called upon kings, presidents and prime ministers. He also comforted victims of crime and others who grieved, called children to him and linked arms with top leaders of the NAACP.
The first video in the Church News series "Five Years of Leadership" features favorite moments captured by the Church News during President Nelson’s historic ministry to 35 nations.
Favorite moments from Church President Nelson’s 5-year ministry, part 2
This second video in the Church News series "Five Years of Leadership" features President Nelson as he spoke with the NAACP and Rev. Brown, reflected on Washington, D.C., and the two temple dedications he participated in there, and discussed prayer and the Christlike love demonstrated by the Church’s COVID-19 response.
