President Russell M. Nelson became the 17th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sunday morning, as announced during a live broadcast from the Salt Lake City Temple on Tuesday morning.
He succeeds President Thomas S. Monson, who died on Jan. 2. Monson served almost 10 years as president of the church, and 54 years as a general authority, according to LDS.org.
Nelson said the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles met in the upper room of the Salt Lake Temple on Sunday morning and made a unanimous decision. He was set apart by the next ranking apostle in seniority, Dallin H. Oaks, along with the rest of the Quorum of the Twelve.
“I needed to discern whom the Lord had prepared to be my counselors,” Nelson said.
Nelson, 93, selected President Dallin H. Oaks, 85, as first counselor in the First Presidency, and President Henry B. Eyring, 84, as second counselor in the First Presidency.
Nelson said words were inadequate to describe the process on Sunday morning, a process he said that was put in place by the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
Oaks replaces Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf in the First Presidency. Uchtdorf served as second counselor in the First Presidency since Feb. 3, 2008.
Elder M. Russell Ballard, next in seniority to Oaks, will serve as acting President of the First Quorum of the Twelve.
Steve Pruden, director of the LDS church’s Tooele Institute of Religion, said he is thrilled to have Nelson as the church’s new president and prophet.
“I have met with President Nelson on a few occasions and feel he is groomed and educated for this calling,” Pruden said. “Sometimes, we get bogged down on the age issue, but President Nelson’s son-in-law said he has the body of a 60 year old. President Nelson still snow skis and that is pretty good for a 93 year old. He doesn’t water ski anymore, though. He is known for his compassion and kindness, and I think he’s developed that working as a heart surgeon in life-and-death situations.”
Charlie Roberts, a former LDS bishop in the Tooele 6th Ward, indicated that Nelson’s drive is impressive.
“One of the things that stands out to me is that he has all this energy for 93 years old,” Roberts said. “I think the work will go forth. It is my understanding that Elder Uchtdorf is prepared to help with a lot of the growth in West Africa. President Oaks will also add a lot because of his background in law, and his experience on the Utah Supreme Court.”
Nelson was called as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on April 7, 1984. He was set apart as president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles by President Thomas S. Monson on July 15, 2015, according to LDS.org.
An internationally renowned surgeon and medical researcher, Nelson received his BA and MD degrees from the University of Utah (1945, 1947). Honorary scholastic societies include Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha. He served his residency in surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and at the University of Minnesota, where he was awarded his Ph.D. degree in 1954. He also received honorary degrees of doctor of science from Brigham Young University in 1970, doctor of medical science from Utah State University in 1989, and doctor of humane letters from Snow College in 1994.
Nelson has served as president of the Society for Vascular Surgery, a director of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, chairman of the Council on Cardiovascular Surgery for the American Heart Association, and president of the Utah State Medical Association.
He is listed in Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in America, and Who’s Who in Religion, according to LDS.org
He served in numerous positions of responsibility in the church. He served as stake president of the Bonneville Stake in Salt Lake City from 1964 to 1971, when he was called as general president of the Sunday School.
According to mormonnewsroom.org, Oaks has served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles since May 1984.
He was president of Brigham Young University from 1971 to 1980, and a justice of the Utah Supreme Court from 1980 until his resignation in 1984 to accept his calling to the apostleship.
Eyring served as a counselor to President Monson from 2008 to 2018 and to President Gordon B. Hinckley from 2007 to 2008.
He was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on April 1, 1995. Prior to full-time church service, Eyring was president of Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho from 1971 to 1977. He was on the faculty at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University from 1962 to 1971.
Ballard, acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, has served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve since Oct. 6, 1985. In 1976 he was called as a General Authority Seventy. Prior to his call as a full-time Church leader, Ballard had interests in automotive, real estate and investment businesses.