For 75 minutes, the 100-year-old President Russell M. Nelson, top leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, settled into a comfy red chair as speaker after speaker lauded him and his long life in person and taped messages.
He was surrounded in the Conference Center Theater in downtown Salt Lake City by other members of the faith’s governing First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, his large family and many close friends. Millions more watched online as the event was livestreamed across the world.
The centenarian, the oldest ever to leader the global religion, stood to greet and embrace some of the musicians and speakers, while others, including those of other faiths, regaled him in video messages.
Jeffrey R. Holland, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve, called Nelson a “Renaissance man,” including his work as a heart surgeon, as a gifted musician with perfect pitch and with basic skills in 17 languages, including Chinese.
His tenure has been marked, Holland said, by a “rush of revelation.”
The program included a video collage of people from multiple countries describing what they did to “find the one” — someone who felt lost, sick, grieving or alone — as Nelson had asked for his birthday. It also featured videos of kids wishing him “Happy Birthday” in various languages and a chorus of Nelson’s posterity singing “I Will Be What I Believe.”
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) President Russell M. Nelson with his wife, Wendy, and his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren take a moment for a photo before his 100th birthday festivities at the Conference Center Theater on Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Sept 9, 2024.
The Rev. Amos Brown, who has worked with Nelson on his partnership with the NAACP, called the Latter-day Saint leader “my brother from another mother.”
Brown, who is Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ San Francisco-based pastor, said he felt an immediate connection to Nelson when they met. “He came with a track record of “higher pursuits of racial reckoning” and working to provide “a better day for all of God’s children.”
Ashlyn Owens, one of Nelson’s 167 great-grandchildren, described three attributes of her beloved relative: his tender, loving care; his steadfastness; and his profound respect for women. Nelson rose to his feet and hugged Owens after her remarks.
President Camille Johnson, head of the church’s all-female Relief Society, echoed that idea.
Nelson has taught her that temple worship gives members “covenant confidence that comes with a relationship with God,” Johnson said. He helped her understand “what it means to be covenant women.”
Johnson said she has felt Christ’s love through Nelson. He is a “holy man, the Lord’s mouthpiece on the Earth today.”
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) President Russell M. Nelson and his family greet and visit with one another before his 100th birthday festivities at the Conference Center Theater on Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Sept. 9, 2024.
Nelson’s two counselors, Dallin H. Oaks, 92, who is next in line to lead the church, and Henry B. Eyring, 91, sat across from each other in a videotaped chat, discussing what they have learned from the faith’s prophet-president.
Eyring is amazed at the former surgeon’s “warmth,” he said. “You want to be better when you are around him.”
Oaks added that he liked Nelson’s decision-making abilities, asking for others’ opinions before making the ultimate call.
The final video was Nelson’s own.
He expressed gratitude for all the love he feels from his family, colleagues and believers in the 17.2 million-member faith.
“My dear brothers and sisters, the length of your life is not as important as the kind of life that you live,” Nelson said. “For each of us, even for a 100-year-old man, life passes quickly. My prayer is that you will let God prevail in your life. Make covenants with him. Stay on the covenant path. Prepare to return to live with him again.”
The celebration concluded with attendees standing and singing, “We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet,” followed by a prayer, and everyone joining in “Happy Birthday” from around the world.
Blue, green, yellow and white balloons cascaded from the ceiling and the birthday boy playfully kicked one with his foot.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) President Russell M. Nelson and his wife, Wendy, and President Henry B. Eyring during a balloon drop at his 100th birthday festivities at the Conference Center Theater on Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Sept. 9, 2024.
