A gem from Russell Nelson's 98th birthday celebration

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Dr Moore
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Re: A gem from Russell Nelson's 98th birthday celebration

Post by Dr Moore »

Gadianton wrote:
Tue Sep 20, 2022 2:41 pm
Gabriel wrote:Surprisingly, Russell can't seem to remember who gave him the message(?) Criminy, how many options are there?!
You know, this is a fantastic point. Anybody who receives a message from a heavenly messenger in a vision is going to remember who it was.
Like Joseph Smith did when visited by Nephi and "The Lord"? :D
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Re: A gem from Russell Nelson's 98th birthday celebration

Post by Morley »

Gabriel wrote:Surprisingly, Russell can't seem to remember who gave him the message(?) Criminy, how many options are there?!
Gadianton wrote:
Tue Sep 20, 2022 2:41 pm
You know, this is a fantastic point. Anybody who receives a message from a heavenly messenger in a vision is going to remember who it was.
Dr Moore wrote:
Tue Sep 20, 2022 4:20 pm
Like Joseph Smith did when visited by Nephi and "The Lord"? :D
Pure gold.
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Re: A gem from Russell Nelson's 98th birthday celebration

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Morley wrote:
Wed Sep 21, 2022 1:21 am
Gabriel wrote:Surprisingly, Russell can't seem to remember who gave him the message(?) Criminy, how many options are there?!
Gadianton wrote:
Tue Sep 20, 2022 2:41 pm
You know, this is a fantastic point. Anybody who receives a message from a heavenly messenger in a vision is going to remember who it was.
Dr Moore wrote:
Tue Sep 20, 2022 4:20 pm
Like Joseph Smith did when visited by Nephi and "The Lord"? :D
Pure gold.
Great setup and knock-down!
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Re: A gem from Russell Nelson's 98th birthday celebration

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Dr Moore wrote:
Tue Sep 20, 2022 4:17 pm
I think Nelson's modus operandi is to edit himself after the fact. He expresses maximum conviction only on reflection, once results are known. In the moment, as described by others, he comes across rather scared and cowardly.
The aeronautical death spiral account of his is another example that supports your view (which I agree with).
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Re: A gem from Russell Nelson's 98th birthday celebration

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RFM's latest episode, DEMYTHOLOGIZING Mormonism, addresses Eyring's comment in the OP, plus two additional instances of erasing magical stories from church history. It is a wonderful episode - well done!

https://radiofreemormon.org/2022/09/rad ... Mormonism/
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Re: A gem from Russell Nelson's 98th birthday celebration

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Danke sehr, Herr Doktor!
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Re: A gem from Russell Nelson's 98th birthday celebration

Post by Gabriel »

malkie wrote:
Wed Sep 21, 2022 1:25 am
Great setup and knock-down!
Round 2

TLDR: In a different chapter of his book, Russell refers to his heavenly visitation by the unremembered messenger as a dream.

”Russell M. Nelson” wrote: On January 22, 1972, I was in Sun Valley, Idaho, speaking at a meeting of the Idaho Heart Association. I was given a very lovely room in the Sun Valley Lodge—a fire in the fireplace and all that went with it. All alone in that room, I retired for the evening. In the middle of the night I was awakened with a very real experience. I cannot remember who gave the message—that is of no importance. But I do remember as surely as I live that it was announced to me that this time Dantzel’s pregnancy was with a son, he who had been appearing to her through the years. Furthermore, it was impressed upon my mind that his name should be Russell Marion Nelson, Jr.

The following morning I called Dantzel long distance and told her of the experience. She was moved by it, for she knew that with each of the nine children prior to this, the discussion of an alternative name, should it have been a boy, had never included Russell Marion Nelson, Jr. We had a bit of prejudice against having a young man called “Junior.” But we knew this had been an experience that deserved considerable attention and so we planned accordingly.
Source: Russell M. Nelson's Autobiography From Heart to Heart, pp. 261-263 https://archive.org/details/from-heart- ... -m.-nelson

In the Journal for the Collegium Aesculapium…an organization for LDS physicians, Sister Dantzel Nelson wrote a very interesting article titled, Stress in the Mormon Medical Marriage: A Wife’s Perspective.
Regrettably, this remarkably candid article is no longer available to the hoi polloi. I regret that I didn't download the pdf when I had the chance. But I do remember Dantzel admitting that she never argued with Russell. What Russell wanted, Russell got. So, rather than engage in direct contradiction, Dantzel preferred the use of "honey" to influence her husband when she wanted something. She also referred to a surgeon's "God Complex" in less blasphemous terms as a "King Complex". That being said, I wonder to what degree it took divine revelation to get her to agree to have "a young man called 'Junior'".
Source: http://ldsdoctor.com/Journals/journals_1985.htm

After receiving the revelation from the heavenly (unremembered) messenger, Russell nevertheless decided to run the idea by Spencer to obtain his apostolic nihil obstat. (Out of the mouth of two or three witnesses…). Russell says that they discussed this after Spencer’s open heart surgery.
”Russell M. Nelson” wrote:We became very close during that period of convalescence. Our son, Russell, had just been born. I counseled with him regarding the name that should be chosen. Should he be called Russell Marion Nelson, Jr., or Russell Marion Nelson II? President Kimball indicated that it should be Russell Marion Nelson, Jr. This reaffirmed the message that I had received in January of 1972, three months prior to his birth.
Source: From Heart to Heart, p. 165

What is strange about this conversation is that it occurred just a few days after General Conference where S. Dilworth Young had already given a talk about the recent birth of Russell Marion Nelson, Jr.

Also, note in the following how Russell describes what happened on January 22:
”Russell M. Nelson” wrote: January 19—Ogden Temple dedication. We were in attendance in the main room. President Joseph Fielding Smith presided.

January 22—Sun Valley, Idaho. I had the dream that our baby to be born was the long-awaited son and that his name was to be Russell Marion Nelson, Jr.

January 25—Completed a year of service as president of the Thoracic Surgical Directors Association of the United States and Canada.
...
February 9—Dedication of the Provo Temple. We were honored again to be in attendance in the main room as Presidént Smith presided.
...
February 29—Dr. C. Gordon Frank was resuscitated following a rollover accident near the Utah Biomedical Test Laboratory. Workers nearby took the car off his chest with their heavy equipment, and Dr. Alan F. Toronto and I successfully revived him employing cardiopulmonary resuscitation techniques.
...
March 21—Russell Marion Nelson, Jr., was born by cesarean section at 1:13 p.m. He weighed 12 pounds and was 23 inches long.
...
April 8—General conference. Elder S. Dilworth Young gave an address in which he used as his subject matter the events surrounding the birth of Russell Marion Nelson, Jr. Elder Young subsequently presented that manuscript to us for our records.
[Link Inserted: https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/stu ... y?lang=eng]

April 11—Received a blessing from the First Presidency to prepare me for open-heart surgery on President Spencer W. Kimball.

April 12—Performed open-heart surgery on President Spencer W. Kimball—aortic valve replacement and single coronary graft (left internal mammary artery to the left anterior descending coronary).
...
May 14-17—I sat for my portrait by Alvin Gittins in New York City. The portrait now hangs in the Sunday School office.
Source: Chapter titled Highlights of 1972

On April 30, 1972, in the Yale Ward Chapel, Russell gave his son the name that is above every name and a blessing:
”Russell M. Nelson” wrote: “My son, as we now share the same name, may we share a desire each to honor the name the other possesses.”
Source:p. 266

ETA: Changed Junior's DOB from 31 to 21 March per pdf file of Russell's book.
Last edited by Gabriel on Fri Sep 23, 2022 11:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: A gem from Russell Nelson's 98th birthday celebration

Post by Dr Moore »

Gabriel wrote:
Wed Sep 21, 2022 8:53 pm
malkie wrote:
Wed Sep 21, 2022 1:25 am
Great setup and knock-down!
Round 2

TLDR: In a different chapter of his book, Russell refers to his heavenly visitation by the unremembered messenger as a dream.

”Russell M. Nelson” wrote: On January 22, 1972, I was in Sun Valley, Idaho, speaking at a meeting of the Idaho Heart Association. I was given a very lovely room in the Sun Valley Lodge—a fire in the fireplace and all that went with it. All alone in that room, I retired for the evening. In the middle of the night I was awakened with a very real experience. I cannot remember who gave the message—that is of no importance. But I do remember as surely as I live that it was announced to me that this time Dantzel’s pregnancy was with a son, he who had been appearing to her through the years. Furthermore, it was impressed upon my mind that his name should be Russell Marion Nelson, Jr.

The following morning I called Dantzel long distance and told her of the experience. She was moved by it, for she knew that with each of the nine children prior to this, the discussion of an alternative name, should it have been a boy, had never included Russell Marion Nelson, Jr. We had a bit of prejudice against having a young man called “Junior.” But we knew this had been an experience that deserved considerable attention and so we planned accordingly.
Source: Russell M. Nelson's Autobiography From Heart to Heart, pp. 261-263 https://archive.org/details/from-heart- ... -m.-nelson

In the Journal for the Collegium Aesculapium…an organization for LDS physicians, Sister Dantzel Nelson wrote a very interesting article titled, Stress in the Mormon Medical Marriage: A Wife’s Perspective.
Regrettably, this remarkably candid article is no longer available to the hoi polloi. I regret that I didn't download the pdf when I had the chance. But I do remember Dantzel admitting that she never argued with Russell. What Russell wanted, Russell got. So, rather than engage in direct contradiction, Dantzel preferred the use of "honey" to influence her husband when she wanted something. She also referred to a surgeon's "God Complex" in less blasphemous terms as a "King Complex". That being said, I wonder to what degree it took divine revelation to get her to agree to have "a young man called 'Junior'".
Source: http://ldsdoctor.com/Journals/journals_1985.htm

After receiving the revelation from the heavenly (unremembered) messenger, Russell nevertheless decided to run the idea by Spencer to obtain his apostolic nihil obstat. (Out of the mouth of two or three witnesses…). Russell says that they discussed this after Spencer’s open heart surgery.
”Russell M. Nelson” wrote:We became very close during that period of convalescence. Our son, Russell, had just been born. I counseled with him regarding the name that should be chosen. Should he be called Russell Marion Nelson, Jr., or Russell Marion Nelson II? President Kimball indicated that it should be Russell Marion Nelson, Jr. This reaffirmed the message that I had received in January of 1972, three months prior to his birth.
Source: From Heart to Heart, p. 165

What is strange about this conversation is that it occurred just a few days after General Conference where S. Dilworth Young had already given a talk about the recent birth of Russell Marion Nelson, Jr.

Also, note in the following how Russell describes what happened on January 22:
”Russell M. Nelson” wrote: January 19—Ogden Temple dedication. We were in attendance in the main room. President Joseph Fielding Smith presided.

January 22—Sun Valley, Idaho. I had the dream that our baby to be born was the long-awaited son and that his name was to be Russell Marion Nelson, Jr.

January 25—Completed a year of service as president of the Thoracic Surgical Directors Association of the United States and Canada.
...
February 9—Dedication of the Provo Temple. We were honored again to be in attendance in the main room as Presidént Smith presided.
...
February 29—Dr. C. Gordon Frank was resuscitated following a rollover accident near the Utah Biomedical Test Laboratory. Workers nearby took the car off his chest with their heavy equipment, and Dr. Alan F. Toronto and I successfully revived him employing cardiopulmonary resuscitation techniques.
...
March 31—Russell Marion Nelson, Jr., was born by cesarean section at 1:13 p.m. He weighed 12 pounds and was 23 inches long.
...
April 8—General conference. Elder S. Dilworth Young gave an address in which he used as his subject matter the events surrounding the birth of Russell Marion Nelson, Jr. Elder Young subsequently presented that manuscript to us for our records.
[Link Inserted: https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/stu ... y?lang=eng]

April 11—Received a blessing from the First Presidency to prepare me for open-heart surgery on President Spencer W. Kimball.

April 12—Performed open-heart surgery on President Spencer W. Kimball—aortic valve replacement and single coronary graft (left internal mammary artery to the left anterior descending coronary).
...
May 14-17—I sat for my portrait by Alvin Gittins in New York City. The portrait now hangs in the Sunday School office.
Source: Chapter titled Highlights of 1972

On April 30, 1972, in the Yale Ward Chapel, Russell gave his son the name that is above every name and a blessing:
”Russell M. Nelson” wrote: “My son, as we now share the same name, may we share a desire each to honor the name the other possesses.”
Source:p. 266
Wow! What an incredible discovery, Gabriel. This post alone might be worthy of a dedicated RFM or Mormonism Live episode.

It is maybe the most clear-cut instance on record where Russell M. Nelson can be seen doing his thing -- revising normal events into miracles after the fact, and reordering events to make those events seem even more miraculous. All set against the incredibly benign decision of what to name his son.

An exceptionally skilled autobiographical sharpshooter, if ever there was. A genuine historical surgeon.
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Re: A gem from Russell Nelson's 98th birthday celebration

Post by IHAQ »

You would be hard pushed to find someone, anyone, who holds a higher opinion of Russell M. Nelson than Russell M. Nelson.

As a side note, did they name any of their daughters after Dantzel?
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Re: A gem from Russell Nelson's 98th birthday celebration

Post by Gabriel »

Dr Moore wrote:
Wed Sep 21, 2022 9:18 pm
It is maybe the most clear-cut instance on record where Russell M. Nelson can be seen doing his thing -- revising normal events into miracles after the fact, and reordering events to make those events seem even more miraculous. All set against the incredibly benign decision of what to name his son.
Thank you, Dr. Moore, for your kind words. It was my collaborator and personal peer reviewer who tipped me off on Dantzel White Nelson’s article in the medical journal about a year ago. I am grateful to this forum for helping me to bump up my game in order to meet its incredibly high standards.

Round 3

TLDR: During Spencer’s convalescence from heart surgery, Russell claims that not only did he discuss with Spencer the incredibly benign matter of what to name his son, but he also told Spencer that during the operation the Spirit had revealed to him that Spencer would one day become president of the Church. This is by far Nelson’s most famous prophecy. But there’s as yet no corroborating evidence that Spencer knew of this until after he had already become president of the Church. This post will close with a letter that can only be described as Classic Russell.

Nelson performed heart surgery on Spencer when Joseph Fielding Smith was president of the Church. A healthy Harold B. Lee was waiting in the wings with a relatively sickly Spencer W. Kimball as third in the line of succession. It must also be noted that Russell printed his autobiography in 1979, two years after President Kimball’s biography. The following is Russell’s description of Spencer’s operation, as well as the matters discussed during his convalescence:
”Russell M. Nelson” wrote: On the eve of the operation, April 11, 1972, I received a blessing, at my request, from the First Presidency under the hands of President Harold B. Lee and President Nathan Eldon Tanner. They blessed me that the operation would be performed without error, that all would go well, and that I need not fear for my own inadequacies, for I had been raised up by the Lord to perform this operation.

On April 12, 1972, the operation was performed. As the skin incision was made, my resident exclaimed, “He doesn’t bleed!” From that very first maneuver until the last one, everything went as planned. There was not one broken stitch, not one instrument had fallen from the table, not one technical flaw had occurred in a series of thousands of intricate manipulations. I suppose my feelings at that time may have been like those of a concert pianist rendering a concerto without ever hitting a wrong note, or a baseball player who had pitched a perfect game—no hits, no runs, no errors, and no walks; for a long and difficult operation had been performed exactly in accordance with the blessing invoked by the power of the priesthood. But even more special than that was the overpowering feeling that came upon me as we shocked his heart, and it resumed its beating immediately with power and vigor. The Spirit told me that I had just operated upon a man who would become president of the Church!

I knew that President Kimball was a prophet. I knew that he was an apostle, but now it was revealed to me that he would preside over the Church! This feeling was so strong that I could hardly contain myself as we performed the routine maneuvers to conclude the operation. Later on in the week as he convalesced, I shared this news with him, and he and I both wept. I know that he did not take this feeling as seriously as I did because he knew that President Harold B. Lee, who stood before him in the Quorum, was younger and more healthy than he. Nonetheless, he honored my expression of the feelings as I had accurately and honestly reported them to him.

We became very close during that period of convalescence. Our son, Russell, had just been born. I counseled with him regarding the name that should be chosen. Should he be called Russell Marion Nelson, Jr., or Russell Marion Nelson II? President Kimball indicated that it should be Russell Marion Nelson, Jr. This reaffirmed the message that I had received in January of 1972, three months prior to his birth.
Source: Russell M. Nelson's Autobiography, From Heart to Heart, pp. 164-165
https://archive.org/details/from-heart- ... -m.-nelson

Does it not seem that Russell doth protest too much when he says that he “accurately and honestly reported them to him?” Ought that not to be a given?

Russell is mentioned only three times in Edward and Andrew Kimball’s biography of their father, Spencer W. Kimball. In my opinion, it seems that the following paragraph would have been the ideal place for the authors to include Dr. Nelson’s prophecy (if it indeed occurred):
”Edward and Andrew Kimball” wrote:The family waited in the hospital. Their friend Dr. Homer Ellsworth entered the operating room periodically and brought out bulletins on the progress. The critical point was when the repair had been finished and the heart attempted to resume its functioning. Dr. Nelson would later tell Spencer and Camilla that he felt the Lord had guided his hand. The operation went perfectly in the smallest detail, a rare occurrence.
Source: Spencer W. Kimball: Twelfth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Edward and Andrew Kimball from the chapter titled Paying the Price for a Few Extra Years .


In the forward to Russell’s autobiography, see how Spencer W. Kimball describes his own reaction to Harold B. Lee’s death:
”President Spencer W. Kimball” wrote: We became close as I recovered from the open-heart surgery that he performed perfectly. Whenever I became discouraged, there was always his sweet, understanding spirit to buoy me up.

Then President Lee died in December 1973. We never thought it could happen, for he was younger than I and seemingly in good health; therefore, we were all taken by surprise. Brother Nelson, of his own accord, came to my side immediately in case he should be needed. I appreciated his thoughtfulness very much. Shortly thereafter, knowing that I would be faced with questions about my health, he wrote me a letter which read in part: “Your surgeon wants you to know that your body is strong, your heart is better than it has been for years, and that by all of our finite ability to predict, you may consider this new assignment without undue anxiety about your health.“
How I appreciated that reassurance during such a difficult and trying time! And how I appreciate his continuing friendship and his faithfulness to the work of the Lord.
Source: Nelson’s Autobiography From Heart to Heart from Foreword by President Spencer W. Kimball.

In his autobiography, the following is Nelson’s own reaction to the news:
”Russell M. Nelson” wrote:I learned about his passing while I was home playing games with the children, still full of the festive spirit remaining from Christmas the day before. The announcement came on the television that President Harold B. Lee had suddenly become stricken and had died at the LDS Hospital. Shocked and struck with grief, I had an overpowering urge to leave home and go at once to the LDS Hospital. As I rushed there to the side of President Kimball, I quietly mourned for the loss of this giant in the kingdom, my beloved and esteemed friend, President Harold B. Lee.
Source: From Heart to Heart, p. 168

In a dramatic opening, here is paragraph one of Spencer’s biography:
”Edward and Andrew Kimball” wrote:Spencer W. Kimball, tired but composed, spoke deliberately. "President Lee has gone. I never thought it could happen. I sincerely wanted it not to ever happen. I doubt if anyone in the Church has prayed harder and more consistently for a long life for President Lee than my Camilla and myself. I have not been ambitious. I am four years older than President Lee, to the exact day. I have expected that I would go long before he did."
Source: Spencer W. Kimball: Twelfth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Edward and Andrew Kimball from chapter titled Succession in the Presidency.

Be it on family holiday or at the operating table, Russell is ever ready to serve the Brethren.
”Russell M. Nelson” wrote:Over the next day or two, though, I began to sense a mood of anxiety, not only among President Kimball and the other Brethren; but in the whole community, for three presidents of the Church had been buried in the three-year period from 1970 to 1973, and now the mantle was to fall to President Spencer W. Kimball, a man known to have cancer controlled with surgery and radiation, heart disease mended with open-heart surgery, and another illness for which he had just been hospitalized in the preceding month. As I sensed these anxieties, I was impressed to write a letter to President Kimball on the Sunday he was ordained president of the Church. President Kimball read excerpts from my letter to the Brethren in the temple and then at his first press conference. It gave him a great deal of fortification, particularly with the press as they questioned him pointedly, for he was then able to refer to a letter from his surgeon which reassured him that in accepting this new assignment he needn’t have any fear because of his health.
Source: From Heart to Heart, pp. 168-169

Although Russell claims that President Kimball read excerpts from his letter to the Brethren in the temple, this is contradicted by the narrative in Kimball’s biography. The Kimball brothers claim that Russell delivered his letter later that night.

And notice how dramatically the Kimball brothers close the first chapter of their father’s biography. It’s almost as if Spencer had only now learned for the first time that Dr. Nelson was such a prestigious prognosticator. Who’d ‘ve thunk?
”Edward and Andrew Kimball” wrote:The next day the fourteen apostles met in the temple, as they had done on similar occasions before, and after their partaking of the sacrament and participating in their prayer circle President Kimball posed the question whether there should be immediate reorganization. After the deaths of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young there had been periods of more than three years before the Quorum of the Twelve reorganized the First Presidency. But from the death of John Taylor onward, the longest period had been eleven days. After each apostle had had opportunity to speak, Ezra Taft Benson, the second in seniority, nominated Spencer W. Kimball to be President of the Church and the group unanimously approved. President Kimball reiterated his shocked surprise at the turn of events and acknowledged his limitations, but expressed his wish now to be a fit person to receive the messages the Lord had to give to his people. He announced his wish that Elders Tanner and Romney serve with him as counselors, as they had with President Lee. They accepted graciously. Mark E. Petersen, as third in seniority, nominated Ezra Taft Benson to be the President of the Quorum of the Twelve, and that received unanimous approval. With the ordination and settings apart, the Church stood again fully organized.

That night Dr. Russell Nelson, who also served as president of the Church Sunday Schools, brought to President Kimball a letter concerning his health, knowing the President would be faced with questions about it. The letter commented on the fact that President Kimball had recently undergone a careful physical study which indicated that his body functioned superbly. "Your surgeon wants you to know that your body is strong; that your heart is better than it has been for years; and that by all of our finite ability to predict, you may consider this new assignment without undue anxiety about your health." This information President Kimball passed on at the press conference held the next day.

He did not, however, read to the public another passage of the letter relating to his open-heart surgery: "... in the performance of that critical operation done April 12, 1972, ... I was keenly aware of your apostolic calling, and of my own human frailties, in anticipating one of the most risky and complex operations ever done. This operation turned out to be technically perfect in every detail, and I acknowledge gratefully the help of the Lord, for rarely does a surgeon have this unique experience. Most special of all was the fact that, as the operation was nearly completed, it was made known to me that one day you would become the President of the Church."
Source: Spencer W. Kimball: Twelfth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Edward and Andrew Kimball from chapter titled Succession in the Presidency

We will close with the entirety of Russell’s letter. I wonder if it bothered Russell that Spencer only shared a small portion of it at the press conference. After all, it was a labor of love. One can ask for no more. He truly put himself into it. And especially notice how he frontloads it. As I said, Classic Nelson!
”Russell M. Nelson” wrote:My beloved President Kimball,

On the eve of your elevation to become the President of the Church I have been prompted during the night to share with you some thoughts which are on my mind.

The circumstances which have brought you to this sacred responsibility are many. Those best known to me are those associated with your health which are of remarkable importance. You will recall it was President Lee who encouraged you to proceed with the operation on your heart, even though he (and you) knew the risks were exceedingly great. Again, it was President Lee (assisted by President Tanner) who so willingly and powerfully responded to my request for special Divine guidance in the performance of that critical operation done April 12, 1972, for I was keenly aware of your apostolic calling, and of my own human frailties, in anticipation of one of the riskiest, most complex operations ever done. As this operation turned out to be technically perfect in every detail, I acknowledge the help of the Lord and the power of the holy priesthood, for rarely does a surgeon have this unique experience. Even more special is the fact that as that operation was nearly completed it was made known to me that one day you would be the President of the Church.

Then last month, for us to have the occasion to hospitalize you again and study your body in depth, seems to be another circumstance not to be provided by chance alone for we thereby secured proof, not only of the success of the artificial valve operation, and of the graft to the coronary artery, but we obtained a thorough inventory of every artery to the brain as well as complete assessment of your general medical status. All of our findings were indicative of superb structure and function of your body. No individual has ever been called to preside over the Church with such a thorough medical preparation and examination prior to his ordination.

Your surgeon wants you to know that your body is strong, your heart is better than it has been for years, and that by all of our finite ability to predict, you may consider this new assignment without undue anxiety about your health.

Now may I presume to add a word of caution (which you did for me as you set me apart as stake president in 1964), not to tax your capacity with excessive demands. Just as any fine instrument can be misused, so the fine equipment you bring to this office can be overloaded. You must delegate and then trust to your beloved and capable associates everything that need not be done by you. Accurate medication, periodic checkups, proper rest and pacing will be as important to your total productivity as will your work.

Finally, I want you to know what a privilege I deem it to be to act as your servant, for I know you have been sent, prepared, spared and blessed by the Lord to lead his Church with the special power that is uniquely yours.

I love and sustain you always.


Devotedly,
Russell M. Nelson, M.D.
December 30, 1973
Source: From Heart to Heart, pp. 168-169

ETA: Replaced summary of a quote with the source quote for added emphasis.
Last edited by Gabriel on Wed Sep 28, 2022 12:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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