Thousands of mourners of all ages are passing through the Conference Center on Temple Square today to bid a final farewell to President Russell M. Nelson, who led The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than seven years before he died on Saturday, September 27, 2025.
The public viewing began at 9 a.m. The prophet’s body is lying in repose in an open casket in the Hall of the Prophets on the Conference Center’s third floor, where bronze busts of each of the Church’s presidents line the walls.
Many who came to honor the prophet on Monday described the moment as special and holy.
“It felt very sacred being able to pay my respects to the prophet, a man that we look up to so highly,” said Alan Johnson, 24, who taught the words of President Nelson while he served as a full-time missionary in New Jersey. “He was a really good example in life as a disciple of Jesus Christ. … Being a Native American, we always respect our elders. And he was an elder to us.”
Another patron, Angela Brough, said she’ll remember President Nelson’s kindness and personal ministry.
“[Being here today] was more special than I even imagined,” said Brough, 41, who joined the Church in 2010. “It was powerful to say goodbye to such an impactful man. We love him.”
- 20251006_081305_CBell_CMB_9914.jpg
- CMB_0727.jpg
- 20251006_084418_CBell_CMB_0377-(2).jpg
- 20251006_074318_CBell_CMB_9331.jpg
- 20251006_080934_CBell_CMB_9692.jpg
- 20251006_081015_CBell_CMB_9717.jpg
- 20251006_075842_CBell_CMB_9448.jpg
- 20251006_074026_CBell_CMB_9277.jpg
- 20251006_123206_LNilsson_LES19132.JPG
- 20251006_075930_CBell_CMB_9478.jpg
- CMB_0480.jpg
- 20251006_154449_CPowell_CEP_6580.jpg
- 20251006_110553_LNilsson_LES18095.JPG
- 20251006_111641_LNilsson_LES18181.JPG
- 20251006_112234_LNilsson_LES18244.JPG
- 20251006_175718_HWinterton_HMW_4067.jpeg
- 20251006_121143_LNilsson_LES18811.JPG
- 20251006_120926_LNilsson_LES18745.JPG
- 20251006_112441_LNilsson_LES18281.JPG
- 20251006_114002_LNilsson_LES18379.JPG
- 20251006_123226_LNilsson_LES19134.JPG
- 20251006_133120_LNilsson_LES19636.JPG
- 20251006_135001_LNilsson_LES10042.JPG
- 20251006_152751_NKabiling_CEP_6357.jpeg
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
Some, already in town from out of state for general conference, stayed an extra day in Utah to see President Nelson one last time.
“I felt a little nervous, but also I felt more of the Spirit to know we are able to see the prophet in person up close again,” said Liana Johnson, 27, of Washington. She served a mission in Guatemala and heard President Nelson speak when he visited that country in 2019. “He was a great prophet.”
Bryanna Corrall Corrales, 11, came with her family from Arizona.
“I felt his spirit was around, like he was watching all the people who came to see him,” Corrales said. “I love most that he was a very kind person and a messenger of God. To me, he was the voice of God. He taught us to be kind and love and support each other.”
President Nelson was the faith’s 17th prophet. Viewings for most past Church presidents were held in the Church Administration Building, southeast of the Conference Center. Beginning with the death of President Gordon B. Hinckley in January 2008, public viewings began to be held in the Conference Center (built during President Hinckley’s tenure).
President Nelson’s funeral will be held in the Conference Center on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, at 12 p.m. MDT. The funeral will be open to the public, ages 8 and older. Tickets are required. For standby seating, line up outside the Tabernacle 90 minutes prior to the funeral.
The funeral will be broadcast live in the following languages: American Sign Language (ASL), Armenian, Albanian, British Sign Language (BSL), Cambodian, Cantonese, Cebuano, Chinese (Trad.), Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Mandarin, Mongolian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Portugues (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Samoan, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog, Tahitian, Thai, Tongan and Ukrainian.
.jpg){kind=link}
