Russell M. Nelson, oldest-ever president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dies

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.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church leaders spent millions to promote the moniker over decades.Nelson also made headlines the next year when he repealed rules that banned baptisms for children of gay parents and labeled same-sex couples as sinners eligible for expulsion.Those 2015 policies had generated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...