September seems to be a month of important birthdays. And that of President Russell M. Nelson is up there with them. If The Byway’s birthday is a symbol of freedom of speech, President Nelson’s birthday is a legacy of healing.
Russell M. Nelson, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was born on September 9, 1924. On Saturday he celebrated his 99th birthday. During his time as prophet, President Nelson has taught with a special emphasis on healing and peace with one another.
But even before he was the prophet, President Nelson had already devoted his life to healing.
Healing Hearts as a Surgeon
Since high school, Russell M. Nelson had known he wanted to go into medicine. Nelson started, intent on being a doctor, at the University of Utah School of Medicine in 1944. Here he worked simultaneously on a Bachelor’s and M.D. degree until he graduated in 1947.
After receiving a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, he returned to Utah in 1955, where he was offered a job as assistant professor of surgery at the University of Utah. It was here that he finished the development of an artificial heart and lung machine small enough for an operating room.
In November 1955, Nelson performed Utah’s first open-heart surgery, with the help of the heart-lung machine.
“I think a surgeon is in a unique position to understand one of God’s greatest creations — the human body,” he once said. “Every segment of the body motivates me to faith.”
Donating 30 Years of Medical Journals
From 1954 to 1984, President Nelson did more than 7,000 surgeries, including most notably one on President Spencer W. Kimball, a previous president of the church.
In August of 2023, President Nelson donated 35 volumes of his medical journals to the University of Utah.
“I am deeply grateful for the important role the University of Utah played in my education and surgical career,” the prophet said at the short meeting. “Wendy and I are pleased to donate these valuable records to the University of Utah. Thank you for accepting these tangible tracts of my surgical career.”
Healing Spiritual Rifts
Until 1984, Russell M. Nelson was a healer by profession; when he was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he had a different calling. This one involved the healing of spiritual hearts, a job he took up with the same careful devotion he gave to his medical career. Then in 2018, he became president of the church.
In several recent general conference addresses, President Nelson has stressed the importance of healing our relationships with one another. “How we treat each other really matters!” he said. “How we speak to and about others at home, at church, at work, and online really matters.”
“Contention is a choice,” he later added. “Peacemaking is a choice. You have your agency to choose contention or reconciliation. I urge you to choose to be a peacemaker, now and always.”
His whole life’s legacy speaks to healing; hopefully President Nelson’s birthday will inspire healing in little ways throughout the world. It would be the best gift we could give him.
Happy 99th birthday, President Nelson!
– by Abbie Call
Feature image caption: President Nelson celebrates his 98th birthday at the Church Office building in 2022. Courtesy Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Abbie Call – Cannonville/Kirksville, Missouri
Abbie Call is a journalist and editor at The Byway. She graduated in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in editing and publishing from Brigham Young University. Her favorite topics to write about include anything local, Utah’s megadrought, and mental health and meaning in life. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hanging out with family, quilting and hiking.
Find Abbie on Threads @abbieb.call or contact her at [email protected].