Church leaders and family of President Russell M. Nelson gathered in the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Wednesday, Oct. 1, in a tribute for the Prophet broadcast to the world.
President Dallin H. Oaks, who served as the first counselor in the First Presidency with President Nelson and returns to his role as the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, presided at and conducted the meeting. He said he will remember President Nelson as “a servant of our loving Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.” He called President Nelson a “prophet of love” and then recounted the late Prophet’s teachings on love.
All 14 members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles sat in a row behind the pulpit during the tribute, with other general leaders of the Church seated on the stand as well. President Nelson’s family was seated in the front rows of the Tabernacle.
“[President Nelson] preached the gospel of love, which is paramount in the gospel of Jesus Christ,” President Oaks said. “What greater tribute could I give my dear friend than to share some of his teachings about love?”
President Nelson taught about and encouraged love in many ways. In teaching about the Savior’s instruction to His 12 apostles to love each other like He loved them, President Nelson said: “The Savior’s message is clear: … True disciples of Jesus Christ are peacemakers.”
President Oaks said the Prophet practiced what he preached about love. “President Nelson was our model in loving one another. He loved us, and we felt it. His love strengthened us.”
Speaking about the teaching of love on a broader scale, President Oaks quoted President Nelson’s op-ed from 2020 where he wrote, “Whether you are a believer or not, Jesus Christ taught an inspired model that leads to peace and harmony — to love God first, and then to love our neighbor as ourselves.”
President Oaks quoted from the first First Presidency Christmas Devotional message that President Nelson shared after becoming President of the Church. In that message, he taught about loving when it is hard to love.
“He gave you and me an unlimited capacity to love. … Ask for the Lord’s help to love those He needs you to love, including those for whom it is not always easy to feel affection,” President Nelson said.
After sharing examples of President Nelson’s teachings on love, President Oaks closed with his prayer that individuals will continue to live the principles President Nelson taught.
“I pray that we will always remember and be influenced by the great teachings and example of love from our Prophet, President Russell M. Nelson.”
Primary General President Susan H. Porter said she felt her life had been transformed by the ministry of President Nelson and she “felt the joy of his personal ministry.”
She and her husband, the late Elder Bruce D. Porter, first met President Nelson 30 years ago, when he was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, preceding her husband’s call to be a General Authority Seventy.
That meeting was during a time of personal heartache for then-Elder Nelson, but President Porter said she and her husband would have never known of his pain because he made them feel like they were his sole focus in that moment. She said he handled himself then, and always, with “quiet dignity.”
President Porter finished her remarks by sharing invitations that President Nelson had also made to the world.
“Come unto the Savior. Receive the blessings of the holy temple. Have enduring joy. And qualify for eternal life,” she said.
Bishop Gérald Caussé, presiding bishop of the Church, shared memories of then-Elder Nelson ministering in France. Bishop Caussé said he could see then how important President Nelson’s family was to him. He said he still remembers President Nelson’s counsel to him regarding the care of his family.
“He reminded me that caring for my beautiful wife was my most important priesthood duty,” Bishop Caussé said. “I will never forget that inspired counsel.”
The presiding bishop of the Church also testified that President Nelson “was exactly the man you believe him to be.”
One of the ways President Nelson was able to express love for others was by always working to remember their names. Bishop Caussé said President Nelson being able to call people by their name when he met with them “reflected a true shepherd’s heart.”
Serving in the Church’s Presiding Bishopric has given Bishop Caussé many opportunities to work with President Nelson. Through all of those experiences, the bishop said he and his counselors felt the mantle that President Nelson had as he considered each decision they faced.
“We witnessed a Prophet of God at work,” he said.
Like President Oaks, Elder Carl B. Cook of the Presidency of the Seventy spoke of the love that President Nelson had for others.
“He was always thinking of others,” Elder Cook said. “President Nelson was genuinely interested in everyone — in a very Christlike way — and we all felt it.”
Elder Cook said President Nelson was known for being “conversant in many languages.” But more important that the spoken languages he used to teach was the underlying language that came from his heart.
“His primary language was love, and that love is deeply rooted in his soul,” Elder Cook said.
And because he demonstrated that love to all those he served and ministered to, Elder Cook said, President Nelson earned the love and respect of many around the world.
“We love him, and we will always cherish him,” Elder Cook said. “I know that President Russell M. Nelson was a true and faithful disciple of Jesus Christ because he loved us, he served us, and he invited us to treat others with love and kindness.”
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles began his message quoting from Ralph Waldo Emerson, who wrote in 1836 that “nature magically suits the man to his fortunes by making these the fruit of his character.”
Elder Holland said the blessings of his life “came to President Nelson as the inevitable fruit of his personal Christlike character.”
Watching him in large, public settings or small, personal settings, Elder Holland said any measurement of President Nelson’s life would have netted him “an unblemished, straight A.” Not coincidentally, Elder Holland said, President Nelson received an A in every course he took — “academic, scientific, musical or moral.”
The two Apostles served together since 1994, Elder Holland having been called to the quorum almost exactly one decade after President Nelson was called in 1984. Elder Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who was the concluding speaker at the tribute, joined President Nelson and Elder Holland in the Twelve a year later in 1995. The three served together for the next 30 years.
In addition to excelling in many fields, Elder Holland said, President Nelson’s character was rooted in his love of God.
“The most important manifestation of his character was the preeminence of his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his unfailing devotion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
Elder Holland said this is shown by the fact President Nelson was one of only 17 individuals to be called to “the most influential role” in the Church in this dispensation. He said that is evidence of the Prophet’s “faith, his humility and his love for everything celestial.”
President Nelson’s “remarkable talent” as a husband and father helped him as a husband to both his late wife, Sister Dantzel Nelson, and later his second wife, Sister Wendy Nelson, Elder Holland said, calling both of them “remarkable and completely supportive.”
As the father of 10 children, President Nelson felt “an immense amount of pressure,” Elder Holland said, “to keep a strong covenantal relationship with each of them.”
“It cannot be overstated that his family meant everything to him.”
Elder Holland said his only feeling of disappointment “at this bittersweet time of loss” is that President Nelson will not be able to rededicate the Salt Lake Temple when its renovations are complete.
“But he will have a much better view of it all now,” he said.
President Nelson, who celebrated his 101st birthday on Sept. 9, was the Church’s oldest living Prophet.
Elder Eyring also spoke of President Nelson’s love for Heavenly Father’s children and said he channeled that love as he taught.
“He taught of our Savior and Redeemer — encouraging all to emulate Him,” Elder Eyring said.
When Church employees and leaders presented to the First Presidency, President Nelson made it a point to call each individual by name and thank them for their contributions, Elder Eyring said.
President Nelson was always trying his best to listen to the Lord’s inspiration to him as he led the Church. Elder Eyring said President Nelson would sometimes bring notes to First Presidency meetings that he had made in the middle of the night while in bed. After being asked for feedback on such occasions, Elder Eyring said, he didn’t recall giving any corrective opinions.
“I never remember an instance of our making any suggestion,” he said. “I felt again the quiet and clear assurance that the Lord leads His Church by revelation to His prophets.”
