Salt Lake City, Utah — President Russell Marion Nelson, world-renowned heart surgeon and 17th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, passed away peacefully at his home in Salt Lake City on September 27, 2025. He was 101 years old, the oldest prophet in the history of the Church.
Born on September 9, 1924, in Salt Lake City, President Nelson was the second of four children of Marion C. and Edna Anderson Nelson. His early life was marked by a love of learning, music, and faith that shaped both his professional and spiritual journeys.
Medical Career
President Nelson graduated at the top of his medical class at the University of Utah in 1947 and later earned a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. He helped develop the heart-lung machine that made open-heart surgery possible and performed Utah’s first successful open-heart operation in 1955. Over the course of his career, he performed more than 7,000 surgical operations.
He served as president of the Society for Vascular Surgery, as director of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, and as chairman of the Council on Cardiovascular Surgery for the American Heart Association. He authored chapters in medical textbooks and numerous scholarly publications, gaining worldwide recognition for his skill and innovation.
Family
In 1945, he married Dantzel White in the Salt Lake Temple. Together they raised 10 children. After Sister Dantzel’s passing in 2005, he married Wendy L. Watson, a professor of marriage and family therapy, in April 2006.
President Nelson is survived by Sister Wendy Nelson, eight of his children, 57 grandchildren, and more than 167 great-grandchildren.
Church Service
President Nelson was called as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on April 7, 1984, and served for more than three decades. On January 14, 2018, he was set apart as the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
His presidency was marked by significant initiatives that reshaped the global Church. He announced the construction of 200 new temples, emphasized the importance of the revealed name of the Church, reorganized priesthood quorums, and introduced changes to ministering, missionary, and youth programs. He also modified temple recommend interview questions and addressed policies affecting families.
As prophet, he ministered across the globe, visiting 32 countries and U.S. territories, and met with world leaders including Pope Francis in 2019. In January 2016, then-Elder Russell M. Nelson made his final visit to the Philippines, ministering to thousands of Latter-day Saints in multiple cities across the country. President Nelson has also built bridges with faith and civic organizations, notably partnering with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to advance initiatives in education, self-reliance, and community service.
Legacy
President Nelson will be remembered for his pioneering contributions to medicine and for his prophetic leadership, which invited millions worldwide to deepen their faith in Jesus Christ.
Funeral services will be announced by the Church in the coming days. A successor to President Nelson is not expected to be formally designated until after the funeral.
The Church in the Philippines
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has grown remarkably in the Philippines since its first presence in 1961. Today, nearly one million members worship in more than 1,300 congregations across the country. The Philippines is also home to 14 temples in various stages of operation, construction, or planning, making it one of the largest centers of the Church outside the United States.
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