President Nelson’s lasting legacy beyond the Church: A surgeon who transformed thousands of lives

Russell M. Nelson, a heart surgeon and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died on September 27, 2025 at the age of 101. The church confirmed his death in a statement but did not specify the cause, according to a New York Times report.

Nelson died at his home in Salt Lake City, church spokesperson Candice Madsen said in a statement.

Who was President Nelson?

Dr Nelson was a renowned heart surgeon at one time and he was installed as president of the church in 2018 at the age of 93. Nelson spent four decades in the highest levels of church leadership after he was selected in 1984 to join a top church governing body called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

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Sen. Mike Lee of Utah posted a warm tribute to Nelson on social media shortly after the announcement.

“For as long as I’ve known him, he has exuded — and for me, he’s come to personify — the kind of faith, humility, and quiet confidence that tends to be the constant companion of a devoted servant and follower of Jesus Christ,” Lee wrote.

He rose to the presidency in January 2018 following the death of Thomas S. Monson and, in 2024, became the first leader in the faith’s history to reach 100 years of age.

A former heart surgeon, Nelson’s tenure was both vibrant and transformative. In his first year, he made headlines with a startling announcement urging members to stop using the shorthand labels “Mormon” and “LDS,” insisting instead on the full name of the church—a dramatic departure from decades of previous leaders’ efforts and millions spent promoting the nickname.

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The following year, he drew further attention by reversing policies that had barred baptisms for children of same-sex couples and labeled gay couples as sinners subject to expulsion. While these 2015 rules had sparked widespread backlash, Nelson’s administration adopted a gentler, more welcoming approach toward LGBTQ+ individuals, though the church’s stance on same-sex marriage remained unchanged.

At the same time, his leadership tightened restrictions on members pursuing gender-affirming medical care or changing their names, pronouns, or attire, drawing criticism that such measures marginalized transgender members. Nelson and one of his top counselors described their approach as a careful balance between the “love of the Lord and the law of the Lord.”

Nelson also guided the church through the COVID-19 pandemic and ended its century-long affiliation with the Boy Scouts of America, launching a new church-run youth program designed to serve the more than half of the faith’s 17 million members living outside the U.S. and Canada. This move followed the Boy Scouts’ decision to admit LGBTQ+ youth members and adult volunteers.

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President Nelson helped save lives

President Russell Nelson’s enduring legacy extends well beyond his leadership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Long before his calling, he made a profound impact as a heart surgeon, touching thousands of lives, reports Fox News.

Over a career spanning four decades, Nelson performed more than 7,000 surgeries, concluding his surgical work in 1985. He was also among the pioneers in developing the heart-lung machine, a breakthrough that remains essential in modern heart surgery.

"When we were in medical school, we were taught that one must never touch the beating heart, for if you touched it, it would stop beating," Russell said. "Any surgeon who would attempt an operation on the heart would lose the respect of his colleagues. So that's the background against which I entered this field."

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Working in Minnesota, Nelson's career started by helping to develop the heart-lung machine. Then, he brought heart surgery back to Utah in 1955, making it only the third state in the country to accomplish the feat.

"...so the first open-heart operation in Utah was done on November 9, 1955, at the Salt Lake General Hospital, which was our teaching hospital then," Nelson recalled. "The patient's name was Vernaell Worthen. And she lived for many years after that, [but] ultimately succumbed to cancer." "I'm very grateful for the privilege it's been to be a one who could make a contribution to medicine," he said.