Church Leaders Gather to Remember President Nelson, a ‘Prophet of Love’

Six leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints shared personal reflections about the Christ-focused life and teachings of the late Prophet and President Russell M. Nelson on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, during a tribute broadcast from the Tabernacle on Temple Square.

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President Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was joined by Primary General President Susan H. Porter, Presiding Bishop Gérald Caussé, Elder Carl B. Cook of the Seventy and Elders Jeffrey R. Holland and Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Their remarks highlighted President Nelson’s tender personal ministry to people everywhere, his invitation to be peacemakers, and his gift for receiving revelation from God.

The event, which was closed to the public, was live streamed to the world in 13 languages.

Below are highlights from each speaker.

Dallin H. Oaks, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

President Oaks, who was President Nelson’s First Counselor in the First Presidency for more than seven years, described his colleague as a “prophet of love.”

The last time he and Elder Henry B. Eyring (President Nelson’s Second Counselor) were on the receiving end of President Nelson’s love was two days before the prophet died.

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“We expressed our love for him and gave him assurances that we were carrying on with the decisions he had made,” President Oaks said. “He smiled and tried hard to communicate with us. Words were difficult, but his efforts and his smile conveyed the love he felt for us as his counselors and for each of you in this great work.”

President Oaks said President Nelson “showed us the meaning of love in a world with billions of people in many nations. He caused our Church humanitarian efforts to reach out beyond our membership to include many nations with whom our earlier relationships have been frayed or non-existent.”

President Oaks noted that the prophet “preached the gospel of love, which is paramount in the gospel of Jesus Christ.” He referenced the prophet’s general conference address, “Peacemakers Needed,” and he read from an op-ed the prophet coauthorred about racial harmony.

“Whether you are a believer or not, Jesus Christ taught an inspired model that leads to peace and harmony — to love God first, and then to love our neighbor as ourselves,” the op-ed said.

President Oaks also quoted from President Nelson’s teachings on love in a recent TIME magazine op-ed published four days before the prophet’s 101th birthday.

“Each of us has inherent worth and dignity. I believe we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father,” President Nelson wrote in TIME. “Love your neighbor and treat them with compassion and respect. A century of experience has taught me this with certainty: anger never persuades, hostility never heals, and contention never leads to lasting solutions. … My faith teaches me that over two millennia ago, Jesus Christ preached these same laws of happiness: to love God and to love our neighbor.”

President Oaks concluded, “I pray that we will always remember and be influenced by the great teachings of love from our prophet, President Russell M. Nelson.”

Susan H. Porter, Primary General President

President Porter shared experiences she had with President Nelson over the course of nearly 30 years. Her first encounter came when then-Elder Nelson invited her and her husband, Bruce, to his office a few months before Bruce was called as a General Authority Seventy.

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“He greeted us with quiet dignity and was kind and unhurried,” she said. “As we conversed, we could feel him looking deeply into our eyes and listening intently, not with judgment, but with love.”

The Porters didn’t know that President Nelson’s daughter Emily had died only days before from cancer.

“Even though his soul was sorrowing, he had ministered to us with the Savior’s lovingkindness,” President Porter said.

President Nelson continued to minister to the Porters two years later when Elder Porter’s kidney failure brought them back to Utah from their assignment in Germany. President Nelson met them at the airport. That pattern of ministry continued through other difficult moments, including the death of his first wife, Dantzel, and another daughter, Wendy.

“Elder Nelson continued to answer the call of the Savior, ‘I was sick and ye visited me,’” President Porter said. “He visited many, including Bruce, who underwent multiple surgeries over a decade. Elder Nelson’s visits followed a remarkable pattern. He would enter very quietly, tenderly hold Bruce’s hand, and if he was awake, he would speak softly and gently to him. He always took time to encourage and uplift me.”

Gérald Caussé, Presiding Bishop

Bishop Caussé said it was a “sacred privilege” to serve under President Nelson’s leadership. The Presiding Bishopric reports directly to the First Presidency, and over seven and a half years he “witnessed firsthand a prophet of God at work — learning from his inspired words, remarkable leadership, and Christlike example,” he said.

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One example of inspired leadership came during a meeting in which the Presiding Bishopric presented recommendations on a sensitive matter.

“True to his pattern, President Nelson invited every person in the room to share their thoughts,” Bishop Caussé said. “When the time came to decide, he spoke with love and gentleness. The Spirit filled the room. Though his decision differed from our proposal, its truthfulness impressed itself upon my mind with unmistakable clarity as the will of God.”

Another example came prior to Bishop Caussé’s call as a General Authority. In Paris, France, in 2005, Bishop Caussé (then a stake president) met President Nelson at the airport late one evening because of several flight delays.

“Seeing his fatigue, I suggested canceling the dinner at our home,” Bishop Caussé said. “With a warm smile, he assured me that dinner with our family was the most important meeting of the conference — and he had no intention of missing it.”

“That evening became unforgettable,” Bishop Caussé continued. “He connected tenderly with each of our children and, learning of our love for music, proposed a family concert. After a few of us played, he concluded with a moving performance of Chopin’s Prelude in C Minor, one of his favorites.”

As he and President Nelson stepped outside, the Apostle delivered a sermon that has stayed with Bishop Caussé.

“He turned to me with piercing eyes and bore a powerful testimony of the blessing of family,” Bishop Caussé said. “Then, with deep conviction, he reminded me that caring for my beautiful wife was my most important priesthood duty. I will never forget that inspired counsel.”

Carl B. Cook, Senior President of the Presidency of the Seventy

Elder Cook also shared stories that highlight President Nelson’s one-on-one ministry. For example, in 2018, the prophet invited all General Authority Seventies, General Officers and their spouses to his office to meet him and his wife, Wendy.

“President and Sister Nelson welcomed us warmly and invited us to come into his office and take a look around,” Elder Cook said. “We felt so honored. The amazing thing to me is that there were well over 200 people who had a similar experience that day. He thanked each of us for our service. It was so personal, so warm, and expressed with so much love. President Nelson was genuinely interested in everyone, in a very Christlike way, and we all felt it.”

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Elder Cook had a similar experience when he once accompanied President Nelson on an assignment. The Apostle engaged him in conversation.

“He was interested. He cared about me, and we ended up talking the entire plane ride,” Elder Cook said.

Later on that same trip, President Nelson noticed that one of Elder Cook’s fingernails was black, the result of smashing it during the week on a work project.

“He gently reached over and touched the nail and smiled. Nothing was said. It was simply a sign of his compassion and love,” Elder Cook said.

President Nelson was conversant in 11 languages. But one language was more important than any of those.

“As a true disciple of Jesus Christ, his primary language was love, and that love is deeply rooted in his soul,” Elder Cook said.

Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Of President Nelson’s many character traits, Elder Holland noted two: his faith in Jesus Christ and devotion to His Church, as well as his role as head of a family.

Speaking of the prophet’s devotion to Christ’s Church, Elder Holland noted that “to be called by God to the most influential role in that Church, one that only 16 other men have held in this dispensation, is evidence enough of his faith, his humility, and his love for everything celestial.”

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And on the topic of President Nelson’s family, Elder Holland said “his family meant everything to him.” Evidence of this was the time when Dantzel sang in The Tabernacle Choir for 20 years and President Nelson was in his busiest time as a heart surgeon.

“Every Sunday morning for two decades, he prepared nine beautiful girls for Church — checking on dresses pressed, combing the hair of the young ones (and in a family of 10 children, there were always young ones), and refereeing competition for use of the bathroom,” Elder Holland said. “True to the Russell Nelson character, they never — well, almost never — arrived late, or failed to smile and sing and pray, or miss the opportunity to make a ministering visit to a neighbor in need.”

These facets of President Nelson made him “something of a living temple,” Elder Holland said — an appropriate reference for the prophet who announced 200 new temples.

“My only disappointment at this bittersweet time of loss and love is that Russell Nelson was not able to rededicate his beloved Salt Lake Temple. But he will have a better view of it all now, and those in charge better do it correctly,” Elder Holland said.

He concluded, “I am honored to have known President Russell M. Nelson and to have loved him and to have felt his love for me.”

Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Elder Eyring, who served as Second Counselor to President Nelson, said the prophet loved everyone and had a gift for remembering people’s names.

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“With this gift, he had the ability to make each person feel loved,” Elder Eyring said. “When a group of Church officials or staff came into First Presidency meeting to make a presentation, he called all of them by name. When the meeting ended, as they were leaving, he would thank each of them, again calling them by name.”

Elder Eyring also counseled people to remember President Nelson’s teachings on revelation. As with so many other areas of his life, President Nelson practiced what he preached, Elder Eyring said.

“Countless times, he would come from his office to begin the meeting of the First Presidency,” Elder Eyring remembered. “He would, at times, hold out a sheet of paper and say, ‘I woke up at 2:30 this morning, got up and wrote this down. Would you read it? What do you think?’ I remember no instance of our making any suggestion. I felt again the quiet and clear assurance that the Lord leads His Church by revelation to His prophets.”

Elder Eyring closed with his prayer that “we will follow President Nelson’s prophetic counsel to trust in the Lord’s revealed guidance to His servants and his example of love.”