A Tour Bus of Witnesses: Thoughts on President Russell M. Nelson

We were leading our annual Church History Tour with a bus load of faithful Latter-day Saints when we heard the news of President Nelson’s passing. Maurine and I asked our participants if they would like to share some of their feelings about our beloved prophet. The following responses are from about a dozen of our group.

A Gentle Giant

For me, President Nelson has been a gentle giant, teaching me that the safest place to be in these tumultuous last days is within my temple covenants. He has taught me to keep an eye focused on the Lord, and to “think celestial,” not to get hung up on what’s happening around me. He has proven, again and again, the prophetic promises of temples dotting the earth in the last days, and given us something to look forward to in the future . . . Some of the Lord’s greatest works! His homecoming on the other side of the veil is something I would have loved to see. He was a very special prophet.

— Sarah Smith

We Will Miss Him Terribly

I loved President Nelson’s humor and positivity, like when he told us to eat our spiritual spinach and hang on for what’s ahead. His encouragement for us to do better and be better was given with love. We will miss him terribly, but happy to have had him as our prophet during our lifetime.

— Debbie Smith

He Was a True Prophet

I remember when President Nelson was first called to be the President of the church. I remember receiving a strong impression that he was a true Prophet. I kind of wondered about it because I didn’t doubt his position as the prophet. The Come Follow Me program he instituted changed my life. It helped me understand my Savior, Jesus Christ, and the importance of reading the scriptures daily. I try harder to be a peacemaker and be a better person and family member. I know he was and is a true prophet.

— Eloise Cuslidge

My Comforting Friend

Living in Atlanta, I’ve never met President Nelson. However, listening to his messages through the years, I have felt his love and concern for the world.

On April 5, 2020, I sat alone and depressed in my home watching general conference. President Nelson began delivering a previously recorded message from the Sacred Grove: Restoration of the Fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ a Proclamation to the World.

I felt as if I were right there with him, a dear friend sharing a message of hope and love with me. As I stood and did the Hosanna Shout with him, tears filled my eyes, and I was comforted. The Holy Ghost testified to me once again that this is Christ’s church led by a living prophet…my friend Russell M Nelson. I look forward to seeing him again.

— Romy Lakip

Learn to Be a Peacemaker

We love Pres. Nelson. One of our favorite quotes from him is: We were born to die and we die to live. As seedlings of God, we barely blossom on earth; we fully flower in heaven. We can feel joy even while having a bad day, a bad week, or even a bad year!

We also love his talk on Peacemakers needed.

We were asked to team-teach this talk, the second hour, to a new group of seventeen saints and investigators in Akrofuom Ghana. This was one of our first weeks serving as senior missionaries in Ghana. Only a couple of them spoke English, so the branch president translated our discussion into their language, which is “Tw.” Our meeting was held in an abandoned school with no lights or running water.

Pres. Nelson’s message was: Learn to be a peacemaker by treating others with charity, respect, and understanding. The branch president called a few weeks later and asked if we could pick up a family of five and take them to the nearest “real chapel”, twenty minutes away, so that they could be baptized on that Sunday, along with three others.

A year later, before we left, there was a branch formed with a new building and fifty-three attending, including those faithful saints that were peacemakers and examples to those in their community.

We will miss Pres. Nelson, but know that he is fully flowering in heaven.

— Kraig and Maggie Loveland

I Know Him to Be a Prophet of God

Studying President Nelson’s words and trusting in his relationship with Jesus Christ has made me love him immensely. I know him to be a prophet of God, and I believe what he has taught us. A few of my favorite quotes are: “Seek and expect miracles. Few things will accelerate your spiritual momentum more than realizing the Lord is helping you to move a mountain in your life.” “…The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.” And “as you prayerfully study the Book of Mormon every day, you will make better decisions —every day. I promise that as you ponder what you study, the windows of heaven will open, and you will receive answers to your own questions and direction for your own life. I promise that as you daily immerse yourself in the Book of Mormon, you can be immunized against the evils of the day, even the gripping plague of pornography and other mind-numbing addictions.”

I love President Nelson! And I am grateful for direct revelation from God to our prophet. I love being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

— Sterling Jenson

His Impact on the World Cannot Be Measured

The cumulative impact of the life of Russell M. Nelson on this world cannot be calculated with equations or expressed in words. If we were to consider only his medical career, or his ministry as a prophet, or the great legacy he has left in his posterity as separate accomplishments, the mark he has left on this world would still be far more significant than most people could ever dream of leaving.

He revolutionized open-heart surgery. He led the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through the COVID pandemic, announced the construction of 200 temples across the world, and motivated us to hasten the work of the gathering of Israel.

President Nelson taught us in ways that were spiritually digestible and practically applicable. He was also a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, gently directing his descendants’ gaze towards the Savior as the remedy for all of life’s challenges.

He taught us the importance of temple attendance, the need for peacemakers in the world, to think celestial, the concept of spiritual momentum, and many other things that have inspired individual lives and entire families to follow the Savior more closely. We love and appreciate him for all of these things.

One thing I am particularly grateful for during President Nelson’s time as a prophet is the emphasis beginning in 2019 of moving towards home-centered and church supported gospel living. Having the Come Follow Me manuals for family study and having more time to study the gospel at home with my family has truly transformed my entire family as a unit. Our testimonies of Jesus Christ, his atonement, the Book of Mormon, and this restored church of Jesus Christ have been strengthened and deepened. I can’t think of many things in the world that have brought my family closer and facilitated more unity than this family-centered church.

President Nelson’s inspiration also prepared members of the church for the COVID pandemic because when we were not able to attend sacrament meetings in our chapels, we had already been focusing on gospel study at home.

Also, my family was sealed in the temple as an eternal family on September 9th, which is President Nelson’s birthday. Even though these events obviously did not fall in the same year (1924 and 2022), we still enjoy celebrating the birthday of the Prophet along with our anniversary.

It almost feels trivial to try to express the depth of my gratitude for the life of President Russell M. Nelson, but I love him I hope and pray to be able to express this to him someday.

— Christy Lakip

An Example of the Compassionate Life of Jesus

President Nelson’s zest for life and deep love for all was uplifting to me. His life was an example of the compassionate life of Jesus Christ.

— LeAnn Mitchell

He was Speaking Directly to Me

No personal interactions with President Nelson for me. It just seemed that each time he talked, he was speaking directly to me. I just had such a high regard for his Christlike qualities. I feel like I have lost my best friend.

–David Dibb

A Rare Combination of Virtues

President Russell M. Nelson: He never seemed to age!

I loved how he shared stories of his personal life as a doctor and father. Our youth need examples of integrity and conviction.

Russell M. Nelson was a rare combination of virtues that inspired and blessed the world. I was motivated to be a better person through his example of integrity, love of God and family, intellect, humility, honesty, virtue, kindness, and so much more.

I was able to attend a funeral of a dear friend of President Nelson’s, Dr. Douglas Heiner. Their families developed a close association as young doctors living in Boston, Massachusetts. Both men were driven to do their best in their fields of study: Russell Nelson, the heart, and Doug Heiner, discovering a cure for milk allergies.

Years later, when Dr. Doug Heiner passed away, President Nelson was the prophet with a very busy schedule. The Heiner family was told he might be able to speak at the funeral. Right before the service started, President Nelson was able to come and speak. The family was truly honored by this gesture of friendship.

— Jolene Jenson

Like a Father to Me

Even though I have not physically been in the same room as my dear President Nelson, I have invited him into my home and sat in front of him in my living room. I have been taught at his feet on my TV. I have felt the power of his spirit and testimony enter my heart. He has spoken Christ’s words that have taught me how to become like Christ, and shown me the path to return to my Heavenly Parents. My Prophet’s love and example have personified Christ’s love for each of us. I cherish his simple, yet profound teachings – Think Celestial, Remember Him, Just be Kind, and his final conference talk: Confidence in the Presence of God. Each inspired message has stretched and taught me deeper meanings and personal ways I can change. President Nelson has been like a father to me, and I love him – as he has loved me. He has tearfully expressed that love every time he speaks to me – and each of us. Thank you, President Nelson, for your Christlike leadership, love, and example. I love you too, President Nelson!

–Cyndi Cordell

Remembered in China

When we were on tour with many others in China, our knowledgeable tour guide learned that we were Latter-day Saints. He immediately said with great enthusiasm that he had done some guiding in China with a member of our faith. He described it this way: “He was the nicest man I have ever met. He was such a gentleman, and he was so kind to me personally. I don’t remember his name, but I know he was very high up in your church.” We pulled out a picture of President Nelson and asked, “Is this the man?” “Oh yes,” he smiled. “That was him, and I’ll never forget the way he made me feel.”

–Maurine Proctor

He is My Hero

I have deeply admired Russell M. Nelson from the time I first met him in the late 1970s—before he was called into the Twelve. There was something about him—a presence—that I felt from that first moment I stood beside him.

I have carefully studied in succession all 114 of his general conference talks a number of times, and I can say with all my heart that he has changed, blessed, lifted, and inspired my life. I have no need to look to the world for some hero or super hero—he completely fills that need. I admire his intelligence, his gift with languages, his insights into health and the human body, his deep and powerful teachings of the atonement of Jesus Christ, his insights into the gathering of Israel on both sides of the veil, and his calling us Latter-day Covenant Israel, a people who let God prevail in their lives. That’s what I want more than anything, and he has clearly shown me the way to do that.

I am so grateful for the life and teachings of President Russell M. Nelson, and I know that he wants us all to carry on and to press forward with a perfect brightness of hope. What an incredible example he has been for all of us, and for this, I am eternally grateful.

–Scot Facer Proctor