Russell M. Nelson, the oldest-ever president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died Saturday night at the age of 101, church officials announced.
Nelson died at his home in Salt Lake City, church spokesperson Candice Madsen said in a statement.
Nelson, a former heart surgeon, spent four decades in the highest levels of church leadership after he was selected in 1984 to join a top church governing body called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He ascended to the presidency in January 2018 when Thomas S. Monson died and in 2024 became the first president of the faith to hit the century mark.
The next president of the faith, known widely as the Mormon church, was not immediately named, but is expected to be Dallin H. Oaks, per church protocol. He is the next longest-tenured member of the church’s governing Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Sen. Mike Lee of Utah posted a warm tribute to Nelson on social media shortly after the announcement.
“For as long as I’ve known him, he has exuded — and for me, he’s come to personify — the kind of faith, humility, and quiet confidence that tends to be the constant companion of a devoted servant and follower of Jesus Christ,” Lee wrote.
Nelson made significant changes to the church
The former heart surgeon had a vibrant and transformative tenure, especially in 2018, his first year, when he made a surprising announcement calling on people to stop using the shorthand names “Mormon” and “LDS” as substitutes for the full name of the religion, a sharp shift after previous church leaders spent millions to promote the moniker over decades.
Nelson also made headlines the next year when he repealed rules that banned baptisms for children of gay parents and labeled same-sex couples as sinners eligible for expulsion. Those 2015 policies had generated widespread backlash.
But even though Nelson’s administration was gentler and more welcoming to LGBTQ+ people than those of previous presidents, the church stance on same-sex marriage didn’t change. His administration also sharpened rules limiting the participation of members who pursue gender-affirming medical procedures or change their names, pronouns or how they dress, leading to criticism that it would marginalize transgender members.
Nelson and one of his top counselors described their approach to LGBTQ+ members as trying to balance the “love of the Lord and the law of the Lord.”
President Russell M. Nelson (C), 1st Counselor Dallin H. Oaks (L), and 2nd Counselor Henry B. Eyring (R), of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, answer questions from the press after Nelson was announced as the 17th president of the Mormon Church on January 16, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. – George Frey/Getty Images
Presidents of the Utah-based faith are considered prophets who lead the church through revelations from God in collaboration with two top counselors and members of the Quorum of the Twelve.
Nelson was known for leading the church through the COVID-19 pandemic and severing the faith’s century-long ties with the Boy Scouts of America, creating the church’s own youth program that also could serve the more than half of its 17 million members who live outside the U.S. and Canada.
The disassociation came after the Boy Scouts of America decided to allow LGBTQ+ youth members and adult volunteers to join.
Tenure included scrutiny over abuse reports
During his tenure, long-simmering scrutiny swelled over the way the faith handles sexual abuse reports lodged with local leaders. An Associated Press investigation found the religion’s sexual abuse reporting hotline can be misused by its leaders to divert abuse accusations away from law enforcement and instead to church attorneys who may bury the problem, leaving victims in harm’s way.
Nelson and church leaders defended their practices, saying the hotline “has everything to do with protecting children and has nothing to do with cover-up.”
The church also faced scrutiny about closed door, one-on-one interviews between youth and local adult leaders where questions might arise about identity and sexuality.
The faith changed its guidelines to direct lay leaders never to disregard a report of abuse, a more direct instruction than previous guidelines. It also allowed children to bring a parent or adult with them during one-one-one interviews with local church leaders known as bishops.
Nelson expanded leadership and forged partnerships
Nelson also appointed non-American leaders to the all-White and mostly American top governing body and pushed to publish regional hymnbooks that celebrate local music and culture worldwide.
The president shortened Sunday services and accelerated a long-running push to build more temples, dotting the world with the faith’s lavish houses of worship despite resistance in some parts of the US.
He also forged a formal partnership with the NAACP. Until 1978, the church banned Black men from the lay priesthood, a policy rooted in the racist belief that black skin was a curse. The church disavowed the reasons behind the ban in a 2013 essay, but never issued a formal apology. It remains one of the most sensitive topics for the church.
Born in Salt Lake City in 1924, Nelson joined the religion in young adulthood. He was a doctor at the age of 22 and served a two-year Army medical tour of duty during the Korean War before resuming a medical career that included being director of thoracic surgery residency at the University of Utah.
Nelson was known for his skill of precision, which made him a successful surgeon during his time in church leadership. He had a reputation for stressing obedience to law and to what he called the “covenant path,” the series of ordinances and practices that mark a life in the faith, said Mormon scholar Matthew Bowman, a religion professor at Claremont Graduate Universities.
Nelson and his first wife, Dantzel White, had 10 children together. After she died in 2005, Nelson married Wendy Watson in 2006.
For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
