SALT LAKE CITY | Friday, 05 September 2025 |

As President Russell M. Nelson approaches his 101st birthday on September 9, 2025, his message of compassionate discipleship resonates more than ever. During the April 2023 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he urged followers of Jesus Christ to act as peacemakers—offering encouragement, building others up, and inspiring goodwill, even amid disagreement.

This sentiment—“peacemakers needed”—has become deeply associated with his leadership and enduring legacy.

In April 2023, President Nelson received the inaugural Gandhi-King-Mandela Peace Prize from Morehouse College. Dean Lawrence Edward Carter Sr. commended him for tirelessly building bridges of understanding rather than erecting walls of division. In his acceptance message, Nelson emphasized divine inclusion: “God does not love one race more than another,” he quoted from the Book of Mormon, affirming that all—“black and white, bond and free, male and female”—are alike unto God.

His long-standing commitment to racial harmony is also seen in his friendship with Rev. Amos C. Brown, pastor emeritus in San Francisco and NAACP board member. Together, since 2018, they’ve championed educational and humanitarian initiatives. In a 2018 news conference, President Nelson alongside his counselors called for greater civility and unity.

At Nelson’s 100th birthday celebration in September 2024, Brown affectionately called him “my brother of another mother,” praising his leadership in fostering racial understanding—especially within urban communities. Voices from diverse faith communities also praised him: Oxford theologian Rev. Andrew Teal thanked him for being approachable and inclusive; Princeton professor Robert P. George recognized his teaching on the equal dignity of all; and Rabbi Joseph Potasnik praised his lifelong purposefulness, adding with warmth, “keep the candles burning so we can continue to be the beneficiaries of your light.”

See more at the Church Newsroom.