President Nelson was set apart as the 17th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at age 93.
President Nelson served in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for 34 years before becoming Prophet.
President Nelson was born in Salt Lake City to Marion C. and Edna Anderson Nelson on September 9, 1924.
President Nelson was baptized at age 16. During his youth, President Nelsons parents had not been active in the Church but they never discouraged his participation in Church.
President Nelson graduated first in his class from medical school at age 22. He receiving doctoral degrees from the University of Utah, University of Minnesota, and advanced work in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C.
He helped pioneer the development of the artificial heart-lung machine, a means of supporting a patient’s circulation during open heart surgery.
President Nelson’s wife Danztel died on February 12, 2005. They were married almost 60 years when she passed away.
The Nelson posterity of 10 children and 57 grandchildren now includes 116 great-grandchildren.
In 2006, President Nelson married Wendy L. Watson. President Nelson’s son, Russell Nelson Jr., said the family saw “an immediate change” in President Nelson’s countenance. “The sadness was gone and it did us all good to see that happiness back.”
A man of perfect pitch that plays the organ during quorum meetings, President Nelson often addresses Latter-day Saints in their native tongues and is “the best writer in the Quorum of the Twelve,” said President Oaks.
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