Russell Marion Nelson Sr. (1924–2025) is an American religious leader and retired cardiothoracic surgeon, serving as the 17th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church.) Before his leadership, he had a distinguished medical career, advancing open-heart surgery and serving as president of the Society for Vascular Surgery.
Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Nelson studied at the University of Utah, earning a B.A. in biological sciences (1945) and an M.D. (1947.) He later completed a PhD at the University of Minnesota, where he helped develop the heart-lung machine, a breakthrough in cardiac surgery. During the Korean War, he served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps before returning to Utah to teach and practice medicine, improving lifesaving heart procedures.
Nelson was appointed to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1984, a top LDS Church governing body, and became church president in 2018. His books include Heart to Heart (1979,) The Gateway We Call Death (1995,) and Accomplishing the Impossible: What God Does, What We Can Do (2015,) exploring medicine, spirituality, and faith.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Russell M. Nelson
Fasting gives you confidence to know that your spirit can master appetite … and helps to protect against later uncontrolled cravings and gnawing habits.
—Russell M. Nelson
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