Russell Marion Nelson Jr. (9 September 1924-27 September 2025) was President of the LDS Church from 14 January 2018 to 27 September 2025, succeeding Thomas S. Monson.
Biography[]
Russell Marion Nelson was born in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1924, and he served as a US Army captain during the Korean War. He started a medical career after returning to Salt Lake City, developing the heart-lung machine that performed the first successful open-heart surgery in 1951. He worked in cardiothoracic surgery for 29 years, and he served as President of the Utah Medical Association. He became an LDS Apostle on 12 April 1984, serving in the Quorum until 14 January 2018; he served as its president from 2015 to 2018. In 2018, he became President of the LDS Church, succeeding Thomas S. Monson. He died in 2025 at the age of 101.