Head of Mormon church Russell Nelson dies at 101

Russell Nelson, who headed the Mormon church since 2018, died on Saturday (September 28, 2025) night time at age 101, the church introduced.

“With sorrow we announce that Russell M. Nelson, beloved President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, passed away peacefully… at his home in Salt Lake City,” it stated in a press release, utilizing the church’s official identify.

The former coronary heart surgeon was “the oldest president in the history of the Church,” the assertion added, with out specifying a reason for dying.

Utah Republican senator Mike Lee lauded Nelson as a “bold, visionary leader prepared by God to testify of Jesus Christ in the very times in which we now live.”

Nelson grew to become the seventeenth president of the Church in January 2018 at age 93, succeeding Thomas Monson.

Before turning into president, Nelson efficiently pushed for the church to label same-sex married {couples} as “apostates” and bar their kids underneath the age of 18 from spiritual rites, together with baptisms — although that coverage was scrapped after he took on the function.

He additionally broke along with his predecessors and cautioned in opposition to utilizing shorthands “LDS” or “Mormons” to discuss with the church.

Nelson’s successor will probably be chosen after his funeral by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who just like the church’s president are thought-about prophets by believers.

The spiritual chief is survived by his spouse, eight of his kids, 57 grandchildren and greater than 167 great-grandchildren, in keeping with the church.

Founded in 1830, the Mormon church considers itself a Christian physique, however bases its doctrines on the Book of Mormon, a textual content purporting to include a fuller model of the phrases of Jesus Christ than that recorded within the Bible.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claims a complete membership of greater than 17.5 million folks.