The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held the funeral service of its late President Russell M. Nelson in the Conference Center on Tuesday. Leaders of the Church and two of President Nelson’s children spoke during the service. The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square also performed.
Daughter Lauri N. Marsh focused her remarks about the joy her father brought into their family and into his ministry as a leader in the Church. President Nelson was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1984 and became the president of the Church in 2018.
"When I think of our dad, I think of joy. Daddy always chose to be happy and that made him so fun to be around,” Sister Marsh said. “President Russell M. Nelson's life was a joyful life because he centered it on our Savior, Jesus Christ."
President Nelson and his first wife, Dantzel, had 10 children. Nine girls and one boy — Russell M. Nelson, Jr. Brother Nelson recalled that as a teenager, he was assigned to his father as his ministering companion, then decades later, when then Elder Nelson returned to their old ward and saw some of them who looked sad and longing.
“My dad felt a prompting. After the meeting, he visited them, ministered to them, and counseled to help them lighten their burden and help let the light of Christ back into their lives,” Brother Nelson said. “There was no assignment, there wasn’t even a request; he could just see it in the faces of those who he knew and loved. He was still ministering because he loved them.”
Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson talked about how she learned to be a better disciple of Jesus Christ because of his love for her, his love for the members of the Church and his ability to remember the names of those he met with each day.
“Every time we were together, he looked me directly in the eyes and I felt deeply, through him, that Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ know and love me,” President Johnson said.
She said that when she was called as the president of the Relief Society three years ago, she began a daily devotional with President Nelson’s talks. She listened to them and learned his words.
“My ability to discern the Spirit has been enhanced,” she said. “My focus is better fixed on the Savior. I am more joyful in challenging circumstances. And I am better prepared to be a peacemaker.”
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland called President Nelson a “gentleman” who was “dignified and courteous” with everyone. He said President Nelson loved everyone and they loved him back, even Elder Holland’s own mother.
“I knew I had lost a little ground when my own mother told me, after yet another of then Elder Nelson’s courtesies to her personally, that I was not to worry. That I was still clear ahead of the rest of the pack as her second favorite apostle,” Elder Holland said.
Elder Henry B. Eyring also spoke. He revealed that President Nelson operated on his mother, Mildred Bennion Eyring, nine times. He said when President Nelson donated his medical papers to the University of Utah, he even looked up the details of those operations.
“President Nelson had the ability to go the extra mile to bless the lives of others and their families,” Elder Eyring said.
President Dallin H. Oaks, the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, was the final speaker in the service. He talked about how President Nelson became his best friend and teacher. The pair sat next to each other for 34 years as leaders of the Church. He called him a quiet member of the Twelve but became the decision maker when he became president of the Church.
“Figuratively speaking, I tightened my seatbelt a few more notches and said to myself, ‘Being a counselor in this first presidency is going to be fun,” President Oaks said.
President Oaks recalled President Nelson warmly greeting world and religious leaders and sharing the Book of Mormon with as many people as possible. President Oaks said President Nelson would hold the Book of Mormon close and would explain how precious it was to him and then would share a passage from 3 Nephi where Jesus Christ visited the Americas.
“Tears would glisten in his eyes. He knew it was true. The Savior lives and He visited and taught on this American continent,” President Oaks said. “All present could recognize the conviction and love he felt. He always ended every visit with a sincere and burning testimony. In all of this, I recognize that I was seeing and hearing one of Israel's most powerful missionaries in action.”