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[00:00:00] Morgan Jones Pearson: In April 2022, President Russell M. Nelson became the oldest president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, having lived 97 years, seven months, and six days. But on September 9th, he will achieve yet another milestone, becoming the first prophet to turn 100 years old. In true President Nelson fashion, he extended a special invitation to us as a way to wish him a birthday.
He said, He said, one of the places where the Savior used the number 100 in the scriptures was the parable of the lost sheep. Though 99 of his flock were safely by his side, the shepherd went in search of the one who was lost. At age 99, I have no need of physical gifts, but one spiritual offering that would brighten my life is for each of us to reach out to the one in our lives who may be feeling lost or alone.
End quote. I loved getting to talk with President Nelson's two youngest children in celebration of his birthday and getting insight into our prophet. And I was grateful for the reminder that sometimes the one in need of extra love or rescuing may be found in our very own home. Marjorie Nelson Louder, the youngest child.
Daughter of President Russell M. Nelson and Dantzel White. Nelson is a devoted disciple of Jesus Christ who expresses her faith through her work as an artist, illustrator, and surface designer, a lifelong Utah resident, she feels blessed to have recently celebrated 11 wonderful years of marriage with her husband, Brad Louder.
They find their greatest joy in spending time with their blended family of seven children, four children in law and 13 grandchildren, and are grateful to call the beautiful. Russell M. Nelson Jr. is the youngest of the 10 Nelson children and the only boy. He is married to the love of his life, Brittany, and will be celebrating their 30th anniversary soon.
Together, they have five children, three children in law, and one adorable granddaughter. They live in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, and love to recreate in the outdoors where they can observe and enjoy God's creations.
This is All In an LDS. Living Podcast, where we ask the question, what does it really mean to be all in the gospel of Jesus Christ? I'm Morgan Pearson, and I am so honored to have Russell Nelson Jr. and Marjorie Lauder on the line with me today. Russ and Marjorie, welcome. Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here.
[00:02:43] Russell Nelson Jr.: Yeah. Thanks for the opportunity.
[00:02:45] Morgan Jones Pearson: Well, I will tell you that I am so looking forward to just getting to hear more about your father from your perspective. I think that it's such a treat when we get a view into. Um, our church leaders and in particular a prophet from the point of view of those that know him best.
And you two definitely fit into that category. And I'm excited to honor him on his 100th birthday, which is absolutely amazing. But I wanted to start on the church news podcast last year. Russ, you were interviewed along with two of your sisters and your sister, Laurie said this, the way he's leading the church, referring to your dad is exactly an example of the way we were raised.
And I wanted to kind of start there. I wondered if you two could tell listeners a bit about the home you were raised in and how you've seen your father lead the church in a similar fashion as he did your home.
[00:03:49] Russell Nelson Jr.: I would just say. The enthusiasm with which we see him leading the church is the same kind of enthusiasm we saw him leading our home.
Of course, together with our mother, we knew that they loved each other. They always worked together and just had a love. Of course, for each other, but also for life and, and the gospel of Jesus Christ. And when they were married, they, they took to heart what we read in Matthew chapter six, verse 33, to seek first the kingdom of God.
And they knew that if they did that. They would have, they would be blessed and, and there, of course, life has its ups and downs and its trials and hardships, but that overall that we'd be doing the right thing. And, and that was, you know, evident in just about everything.
[00:04:48] Marjorie Lowder: Yeah. And his optimism, I think he's always had that optimism and I think that's a product of his faith.
But also I think his personality is a very positive and forward thinking attitude toward life.
[00:05:11] Morgan Jones Pearson: For sure. Well, I, I think, and I, I'm curious whether other people feel the same way. And if, if you two feel this way, I feel like getting to know president Nelson as the prophet of the church where we've heard from him way more often. Um, I feel like you've gotten more of a glimpse into his personality, which I've loved getting to see, and it's made me love him even more.
You two are the babies of the Nelson family. And so I wondered where, where was your dad? What point of his career was he in at the time you all were growing up? And how did that affect your relationship with him?
[00:05:57] Marjorie Lowder: Well, he was a very busy surgeon. And, you know, all my growing up years, he was also a stake president, so he was very busy professionally, but I don't really ever remember, I mean, I don't know, we didn't really feel neglected. We had our mom there all, all the time in the day. And then when my dad was home, he was, he was really home and he was focused on the family and being with us.
But he was, he was operating, I remember what, uh, in high school, we had a go with your parent to work day one day. And I got to go with my dad into the operating room and I got to watch, uh, open heart surgery. So, so that's kind of fun and, and different from my friend's perspectives. But I feel like he was giving his all, which if he was being a state president, he was focused on that and, and really helping out there and, you know, doing his work there.
And then for his medical practice, he was, you know, operating and seeing patients and, and traveling. And when he would have to travel, he would usually take one or more. Of the children with him. And that was an opportunity. We had to have some special time with him. Russ, you remember one time he took us to Chicago, both together, the two of us, and we had a great time there.
[00:07:56] Morgan Jones Pearson: That's awesome. Russ, anything you'd add about that?
[00:08:00] Russell Nelson Jr.: I was fairly young when he received his call to the quorum of the 12. I was a newly ordained deacon, actually, uh, just a couple. weeks prior And so I caught him at the tail end of his professional career. And much like Marjorie said, it's yeah, when he was home, he was very reliable with his schedule by that point in his career as a, as a doctor and a surgeon.
And, and of course the, the. Pager would go off from time to time and take him away, but we could count on him being home at a certain time for dinner. And we enjoyed that time together. And then when he received his call to the 12, it just kind of changed from my perspective. It, it just changed where he.
Went to work, he still went to work in the morning and came home at night and, but he wasn't going to the doctor's office in the operating room anymore. And, and as he put it, instead of operating on people's hearts, he was, he was touching their hearts and saving their hearts in a different way with his testimony and his service.
As an apostle and, and so that was, uh, as I grew up a little bit, I was able to, of course, notice that there was a difference, but that was,
[00:09:24] Marjorie Lowder: but you're right, his consistency, his consistency of, it was just where he went to work was different. And he was home on Mondays. That was different.
[00:09:38] Morgan Jones Pearson: And Marjorie, how old were you when he received his call to the Quorum of the Twelve?
[00:09:43] Marjorie Lowder: I was 19. So I was living at home, but I was attending the University of Utah in my first year there.
[00:09:53] Morgan Jones Pearson: And then obviously your dad has been serving in a church capacity for decades now. But I wondered what changes or differences did you observe in your dad after he became the prophet?
[00:10:12] Russell Nelson Jr.: Honestly, very little. He is this, was the same weeks, months, years after his call to the twelve as he was before. Consistent with our Our pattern, I, back when it was called home teaching, I got to be his home teaching companion and I got to turn the film strips as we visited, uh, some of our neighbors and got to know them. And, and it was a, it was a really sweet experience later because he would come to our home ward.
Uh, on occasion, when he wasn't away on assignment and he would see, here's just an example, he would see some of those families that we used to home teach and either, you know, they'd have a down look on their face or something. And he'd still go. Minister to them and still cared about them, even though, even though it wasn't necessarily his home teaching assignment anymore, but you know, he just continued to show that love and that caring for the neighbors, the, those he had served with and, and those he had served previously.
[00:11:32] Marjorie Lowder: Yeah, we really learned that was about relationships and not. So much about, because it's your assignment, the assignment gives us the opportunity to introduce ourselves, you know, and start that up. But that's, that was a good example to us as, and, and mom was that way with visiting teaching as well, um, is about the relationships and, and all of that.
I feel like when he became prophet or through these years that he's. He's he's been the same, but I just feel like it's been a beautiful to see he's Himself, but just more, I, I am not sure I know how to explain it, but it's, I don't know, just the edges are shinier or something. I don't know. How would you describe it, Russ?
But he's still himself. It's just more of himself. I don't know.
[00:12:42] Russell Nelson Jr.: Yeah, I, and I, I would just add that it's, it honestly is the way we see him lead and the way we see him teach. And extend his love and the saviors loved us. It is very similar to the way we were raised at home. And so from my perspective, it's neat to see the whole world getting to experience that same thing.
[00:13:07] Marjorie Lowder: Yeah. And he and mother would be the first ones to say, they're not perfect. You know, they're not perfect people and aren't ever comfortable with it. Anyone thinking that because we're all human, but yeah, just genuine.
[00:13:29] Morgan Jones Pearson: I love what both of you said, and I think Marjorie, it makes me think about. The idea of, like, magnifying a calling and how, when we, we try to do our best in a calling, it's actually like us that are magnified. And so when you said, like, he just, it just got bigger. I think that's a great example of that. Um, and then Russ, what you were saying reminded me.
Thank you. I had the chance to get to know Ardeth Kapp a little bit because I interviewed her for work and would go visit her sometimes after I did that interview and two different times, two years in a row, she showed me the puzzle that President Nelson put together for her, for her birthday. And I just thought it was so sweet that in the middle of everything that he was doing, that he would take the time to put together a puzzle and write a note on the back for artists.
And it meant so much to her. And so I think that that's a great example also of just maintaining those relationships. And I think that's a great example to all of us.
[00:14:35] Russell Nelson Jr.: He's, he's done the same for us. As that's his way of winding down a little bit, I think is because his mind is always going, he's always thinking.
And, and so I think the puzzle is, uh, maybe a way to wind down at the end of the day. And he's done so many that. He's they, they mod podge them or, you know, glued them all together. And each one of us has our own puzzle from him that he signed.
[00:15:03] Marjorie Lowder: He and Wendy love doing puzzles together. So that we've done puzzles our whole lives.
New Year's Eve was a big day. We would all do puzzles together and he got us all hooked on them.
[00:15:18] Morgan Jones Pearson: There is something therapeutic about putting a puzzle together. I don't know what it is. Russ, you've said that a point of emphasis that your father stressed throughout your life has been the importance of respecting and honoring women.
And I wondered for both of you, how did your dad teach that both through example and through intentional deliberate teaching?
[00:15:43] Russell Nelson Jr.: It was definitely both. Uh, of course we had the example of him loving and admiring our mother and, and. Putting her first, whenever he would come home from the office, he'd ask, where's your mother? And he'd have to want to go greet her first and always. Having their date nights, whether it was to the symphony or, or whatever it may be.
And then, uh, when she got to accompany him on his trips, that was always a highlight for him, those were some of the, the unspoken lessons that I gleaned. But then as I got older, one simple example of. Direct teaching was, I was, I was in, I was a new driver, hadn't had my license for terribly long, maybe a year.
And we pulled into a parking place and I was driving my, I can't remember whether my mom was in the passenger seat in the front or in the back, but either way, um, he said, you've pulled too close to that car to the side. Your mother's not going to be able to open her door and get out comfortably. Why don't you park better so that she can get out better.
And that one's always stuck with me of, you know, it's better to have me a little inconvenienced if it's going to be more convenient for my mom or for my wife or whoever the women are that are with me.
[00:17:17] Morgan Jones Pearson: I love that example. Marjorie, any thoughts on this?
[00:17:21] Marjorie Lowder: Well, we had a good example every Mother's Day, my father would get my mom a big corsage to wear.
You know, he'd come home Saturday with the flowers and he had a big corsage for my mom to wear to church on Mother's Day and he had a smaller little corsage for each of the girls to wear. We weren't married, we were little, you know, and I just remember he, and I don't remember how many years he did that, but it felt like a tradition to us.
So, we just felt so great to be a woman. I felt so proud and excited to be a woman and honored. By God to be a woman and all that that would represent in my life. And, and he, of course, honored our mother all the time and would never like it if we disrespected her. So. We just always knew that that was a sacred and special thing.
Well, I,
[00:18:37] Morgan Jones Pearson: I love hearing about the way that he was with your mom. As I was preparing for this interview, I was like, just such a good husband. And my husband said the same thing. I told him a few of the things and he said, that's a good husband. Your sister Laurie talked about how your parents never forced you to participate in scripture study or family home evening, and I thought that that was fascinating.
I think that's something that a lot of parents kind of wrestle with is how much do you coerce versus. And, um, she talked about how they made it your choice, but that they made it look so awesome to participate that you didn't want to miss out. So for all the parents listening and wondering how on earth that's possible, I'm curious what your thoughts are on how they did that.
[00:19:27] Russell Nelson Jr.: Oh, as a dad myself, I wish I knew because we, I certainly didn't do it as well as he did. Both our mom and dad had this amazing way of making the mundane seem enjoyable. Whether, of course, I'm not calling family prayer or family leaning or scripture study mundane, that was certainly a highlight, but for example, it was, every one of us has a memory of being excited.
Around New Year's, not because of celebrating New Year's, New Year's day, New Year's Eve, that sort of thing. But because we knew that we could get out a big wooden folding table that we had and help our dad with his taxes. I don't know why that was exciting. We all looked forward to it, but we did, or as, as a young kid, he'd say, We're going to do our Saturday job and it's going to be the highlight.
We're going to drive to the dump and we'd get to the dump and he'd say, this is the best part. We get to just throw things out. So I guess it really just comes down to the enthusiasm with which he did it. Uh, and the intentionality of his parenting and the way he was able to just transfer his love of life.
To us and, and really for him, it also became about being together and having that family time together and that bond and, and I think if I distill it down to what was the core of it, a lot of the time, I would say most of the time we knew why we were doing something. It wasn't just because it's time to read scriptures.
We want to read scriptures because, and we, we would knew why. And so, or we want to keep the Sabbath day holy because we knew why. And we had lessons and conversations about it. And so it made it easier and really more of a drive from within from us to want to. To do that and to be together and, and follow our, follow the commandments.
Marjorie, any thoughts on that?
[00:21:42] Marjorie Lowder: Yeah, they had a great capacity to just make us want to be together. I don't know. We just wanted to,
we just wanted to be there. And maybe Russ and I, you know, just wanted to be with the big kids. I don't know. You know, we wanted to be part of it, but I know, you know, I remember they were early. They would read the scriptures. We'd read it around the breakfast table. In the morning and I remember when we started doing that and it was early and it was pretty early for us because we didn't have, you know, the high school was super early and but I remember and occasionally, you know, someone would sleep in or whatever, but I just don't remember them making a huge deal of it.
They didn't, you know, go drag them out of bed or something. They missed it. But I feel like overall, it was just, you know, mom was making a yummy breakfast and we were all together and. They just always fostered a real love of being together and just loving Heavenly Father. And
they did a lot of that where it's like, how did they make that so, how'd they make me want to do that?
[00:23:07] Morgan Jones Pearson: Seriously. That was the, that was the question that I had because I think, I don't know, I have a one year old, so we're clearly not to that stage of life. But I'm like, Yeah. How do you, how do you teach that enthusiasm and, and try to instill a love for the gospel in your kids?
And so reading about the way that your dad was able to do that, I was like, that's remarkable. But it did make me think the way that you all described it of like, it was an invitation that was extended. But if you've. Slept or didn't get up like it wasn't, you didn't have to do it. And I think that idea of inviting and extending invitations is something that we've definitely, as members of the church observed in your, Dad's time as the president of the church, we've seen him invite us to do all kinds of things.
And there's been promises made, you know, if we do this, then we'll have this blessing, but there's never a sense of coercion. And so I wondered, why do you think there is power in invitations to act? And why is that something that is important to your father and something that he. Obviously is implemented in different aspects of his life.
[00:24:28] Russell Nelson Jr.: One of the things that we've heard him say a lot recently is that what's important for each one of us to know is what is our identity and what is our purpose. And when we know, and to me, that is, was kind of the building blocks in the lead up to more recent statements from him of thinking celestial, because when we know Who we are, that we are a son of God or a daughter of God, and we're a child of the covenant and what we're here on earth to do, and that's to become like our savior and to love and serve those around us, it makes the thinking celestial and the daily decisions that we make along the way all the easier.
And joyful, as we talked about a little bit. And so I can't remember exactly what your question was, but I, that's, that's the thought that comes to mind when I, when I think of that, the promises that we have in, and it goes back to maybe what I said a little bit before of when we know why we're doing something, it just makes it easier.
We, we know that we make a covenant when we do our part. God does his part and that's blessings in store for us. And so why would we, why would we turn that down?
[00:25:59] Morgan Jones Pearson: Right. I completely agree.
[00:26:01] Marjorie Lowder: Well, I think, I think it's also an example from the savior and the way, the way that he taught. It was by invitation, and it was not by, because I remember, I can't remember if it was a call from Russ.
You might need to correct me on this, but if it was a conversation with daddy or, but we were talking about, Oh, you know, this last challenge that you gave us, blah, blah, and he would always go. Invitation. So it's not a challenge. I'm not challenging, you know, you to a duel or I'm not challenging. This is an invitation, but he wouldn't go into that whole big thing.
He would just say. Invitation, you know, just, just gentle correction that, that it is an invitation because the savior taught that way. He said, come on to me. He's not out there, um, chasing you down to hog tie you in, you know, he's like, he wants us to choose in. And that's, I think the same way that they ended up parenting.
[00:27:20] Morgan Jones Pearson: I love that so much. And I think that's been one of the things that's been most impactful for me personally, during the time that your dad's been the prophet is just seeing what happens when we accept those invitations. And I think that they're certainly inspired and I have seen the results in my own life and have been really grateful to be invited.
Your mom, Dantzel, was obviously an incredible woman, and when she passed, I understand that your father went through a period of mourning. One of your sisters said that that didn't really end until he remarried, she felt like. He has also lost two daughters, your sisters. What have you observed or learned from him about approaching grief?
[00:28:09] Marjorie Lowder: Well, I. I feel like I've learned a few things, like, I feel like he has, that we've seen him. He has the eye of faith. He believes completely in the plan of salvation. He knows God's plan of happiness for us, but that it's right that we mourn. And it shows that we love, we've loved in this life. That's the purpose, like that is why we're here, to learn and to love, and it would be so sad to, to not, you wouldn't give up all that love just to not have the pain of the separation, but I, I've loved.
Seeing how it's okay to grieve and, and it's right to mourn and that you don't need to be talking yourself out of that or shaking that off and thinking that, um, well, if I had more faith, I wouldn't be sad because that's. You know, the Lord himself has taught us that we would live together in love so that we would mourn the loss of those we love.
And so we've, we've, you know, seen that and experienced that with him and, but that the, that having that faith and that understanding does. Give that thread of sweetness through it, that it's not all, there's not despair in the sadness. It's there's hope in the sadness. Thank you. I that's so beautiful. Russ, any thoughts on that?
[00:30:19] Russell Nelson Jr.: Yeah, we've, we've, I've also seen him, you know, his recent birth birthday invitation, I was about to say challenge, but it's an invitation to go and serve the one. You know, I've seen, I've seen that firsthand. He doesn't, you know, one of the things is he doesn't compartmentalize his life either. He's, I remember at, I always cry. I'm a big cry baby. Anyway, at our sister, at our sister, Emily's funeral, he came straight down from the stand and he scooped up his grandkids in his arms and, you know, and, and gave them each hugs to make sure that they knew that they were loved. And our sister, Wendy, when she passed away a couple of years ago, we live very close in proximity to the, to their house. And, and so my wife and I were just going over there to visit her. Not, I don't know that we had known that she had passed away yet, but, but, but My dad was already there when he had passed and he was, he was there comforting and counseling the family. So, uh, this idea or not idea, this example of modeling the Savior's example of loving one by one, it's been, it's been manifest to us our whole lives. And. It's been especially powerful in these times of grief.
[00:32:40] Morgan Jones Pearson: Well, I love that you brought up his invitation for his birthday. And I've loved seeing the posts that the church has shared.
And I just the other night, I was like, I don't think I've Intentionally done something specifically for this, so I, I still need to, I still need to identify what that's going to be. But I love that that invitation. And I wanted to ask you, your dad talks speaking of. following your mom's passing, your dad talks in his book about how he had to seek personal revelation about whether to remarry.
And I loved reading what he said about that. Um, I think that's an example of many of these life decisions that we all seek. Personal revelation about, but I wondered, what did you all learn from him by observing him during that period of time where he was trying to determine whether or not he should seek to remarry?
[00:33:44] Russell Nelson Jr.: He has always sought the guidance of the spirit in his life and, and followed it. His example that he's given of why he learned Chinese, he was in a meeting with president Kimball back in the seventies. And president Kimball said, you should to, to the group, you should learn Mandarin Chinese. And in his words, he said, or, you know, our dad said back as in retelling the story, he didn't say all of you, but brother Nelson, go learn Chinese.
It was an invitation from the prophet and he took it and, and it opened up a multitude of doors over the course of his life and after that and, and so it's no wonder and not surprising to us that You know, after such a, uh, a hard event, uh, losing your spouse that you've been married to for 60 plus years, the first thing you do is go to the Lord and you ask for help and you ask for support and you ask for guidance. And, and so I guess from our perspective, I don't know that we would have expected anything different from him because that's where he goes for peace.
Yeah. Where we all go for peace, uh, as well as joy and the fact that, you know, some of the, the way he was sustained and, and held up through that grieving and mourning period was definitely a result of his faith and his reliance on the Lord.
[00:35:46] Morgan Jones Pearson: I think that's such a great example. I always feel like when we go through a hard thing, we have. A really important choice to make and that is whether to turn to the Lord and to seek his guidance or to become bitter or frustrated. And, and I think those examples of people who repeatedly turn to the Lord are so powerful.
Marjorie, any thoughts on, on watching your father through that period and that decision to, to remarry?
[00:36:19] Marjorie Lowder: I think Russ said it really well. It just seemed like once he, once he received
You know, like once it was clear to him what he needs that, that yes, he would need to remarry, then he just followed that, you know, and, and he's always been willing to, he, he says, I'm good at following the instructions.
[00:36:55] Russell Nelson Jr.: So he, that was, that's what. That's what my comment about being obedient was about earlier because people will say to him now, Oh, we love all the changes you're making.
He says, I'm just being obedient. I'm just doing what I'm told.
[00:37:09] Marjorie Lowder: I am really good at following instructions, but he seeks, he seeks them. He seeks the guidance. And then when he understands what the Lord's will is, he's brave in moving forward in that direction.
[00:37:31] Morgan Jones Pearson: I think being good at following instructions is a really good quality to have your father keeps up an unbelievable schedule for anyone, but especially for someone his age.
And I have read a handful of different things where. It seems like there have been comments made by different ones of your siblings attributing that longevity and that ability to keep going to different aspects of his life. I wondered to what do you attribute his remarkable ability to keep going at his age?
[00:38:11] Russell Nelson Jr.: Well, without a doubt, uh, following the word of wisdom and looking after his body and his health has certainly contributed to his longevity and his energy. As well as his zeal and his zest for, and love of life. He loves to learn, keeping his mind engaged and always trying to learn something new, whether it's people's names or languages or scriptures and, and preparing talks for them, of course,
[00:38:50] Marjorie Lowder: you know, things developing in the, in the world and, you know, life.
[00:38:58] Russell Nelson Jr.: I, I got a lot of my mom in me, and here's an example, Marge got married my freshman year of high school. So I got to spend my high school years home alone. If you asked our oldest two siblings, you'd probably get a very different, not very different answers, but you'd get a different perspective than the two youngest are giving you today.
But, um, we'd finished dinner and. My dad would be up clearing the table, doing the dishes, loading the dishwasher while my mom and I were still sitting there, leaning back in our chairs, talking about the day. And of course he's participating in the conversation, but he's still going and doing, and, um, it's always one to maximize the time and the opportunities that he's been given.
[00:39:47] Marjorie Lowder: I think he feels like if he's here, I think he said once, did he Russ correct me if I'm wrong, but he said, if I wake up, I figure I'm supposed to be here and there's things for me to do. So I wake up on this side, I'm happy to do stuff on this side, do what I'm supposed to do here. If I wake up on the other side, I'll be busy doing what I'm supposed to be doing there.
We're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, don't be too anxious to get there.
[00:40:23] Morgan Jones Pearson: No kidding. Well, I, I think that that ability to, to keep going. I don't know. I am in awe of the schedule that all general authorities keep up. And I think that that your father is just absolutely remarkable. Russ, you mentioned his love for learning.
And I, as I was preparing for this interview, I learned that he, your sister Gloria talked about how he's always up on the latest technology. And she said that he taught her daughter how to airdrop photos like years before most people knew that that was even a feature on the phone. And I thought that was such a fun thing to know about him.
What is one thing that you both think people might be surprised to know about your dad, but they might not know it?
[00:41:25] Russell Nelson Jr.: It's hard to say something that any that would might not know nowadays because there's been a few books written and things like that. But he really kind of like my comment earlier about doing puzzles. I also think that he found somewhat of a, of a joy and, uh, almost a relaxation, although relaxation may not be the right word in doing yard work.
He would, he liked raking leaves and as he would put it, beautifying the yard. And just not only because most of the days, whether it's a surgeon or an apostle, the mind's engaged and it's going. And so I think. That outside effort, being outside in the sun, being active and using your body and keeping those, that talent and blessings that, that our heavenly father has given us of our, of our miraculous body was something that he liked to do.
And if he didn't like it, he certainly didn't show it because we, we did plenty of it, but, uh, I think deep down, I think he enjoyed it.
[00:42:42] Marjorie Lowder: I think he did. And he, that was his form of exercise. He, he never was one for like going on a treadmill or something. He was yard work and you know, if it's shoveling or housework, you know, he'd help with housework or whatever.
But, um, yeah, it's funny that you mentioned the airdrop. I remember where I was when he taught me how to airdrop. We were on a hike We had gone on a hike one day with several of us, and we were up at the top and had taken a picture, kind of a group selfie, and, uh, we were like, oh, those will be so fun, and he says, yo, let's share those, and we're like, oh, okay, he's like, how about we airdrop it right now, and we were like, what do you mean, and he goes, look, here's what you do, and taught us how to airdrop right there on the mountain, so it was, it was, He, I think that comes with his love of learning and excitement for, I feel like he sees the hand of God in, well, you saw it early in his career where he was led to help pioneer in the field of, you know, cardiothoracic surgery and creating the heart lung machine and making, you know, just trailblazing in that.
And I think that was inspiration and had a big hand in that. And, and I think he felt like throughout his life, he would see how technology and things would advance because of the Lord's light and revelation to people. And in. Progress and, and now, you know, the technology is there and we can use it so much more for, you know, family history work and that and, you know, interconnection and all these wonderful developments and discoveries or inventions and that type of thing.
So I feel like he always sees it that way. And I think that might be part of his excitement about learning. The new the new and the latest ways of how we can be efficient and how we can communicate with each other.
[00:45:22] Morgan Jones Pearson: Well, I think I think the amazing thing about that is, and I'm sure you both know. And I've had experiences like what I'm going to refer to, but I think when you think about what the world was like when your father was born versus what the world is like now and how much it's changed and how much he's had to adapt to a world that's drastically different than the world that he grew up in.
My grandma, she would try so hard with her computer, but she just struggled. And, um, I think that it can be, can be really difficult. And I, I understand why, because it's like, this is, this is a completely different world than what we grew up in. But the fact that your dad has embraced that, I think is an example of what you were just saying, Marjorie, about, you know, being excited and enthusiastic about what's happening in the world and the developments that are, that are happening.
I wondered, in the Church News podcast that you did, you participated in Russ, Sarah Weaver asked you all, and I'd encourage people to go and listen to that interview as well because I thought it was so fun to listen to, but she asked you all if there was a fun story that you had about your dad. And I thought, kind of as a different approach to kind of the same question, I wondered if The two of you have one memory that you feel like epitomizes who your father is.
[00:46:56] Russell Nelson Jr.: That's a hard one to answer because he's so dynamic and multifaceted. One, one story to encompass all that I think is, is difficult to capture.
[00:47:09] Marjorie Lowder: Well, one idea, I don't know, picture came to mind and it might've been a story that you told me or us, but, but we. We often, we lived nearby our church building. We were, I don't know, within a, within a mile probably of it.
And so we, we sometimes would walk to church and I always loved it when, when daddy would walk with us. And, and so I just remember walking together and, And we'd hold hands and he'd say, let's skip. And we'd, so we'd skip cause he knew maybe it's because he knew we, we love skipping, but I just feel like it's just always been that joy that's in his heart.
Let's skip to church. I feel like that kind of encapsulates.
[00:48:12] Morgan Jones Pearson: Which, which I think really quickly, I think that's so cute. I, so my, my husband, we have one little girl and another on the way. And my husband's like really started to embrace this whole girl, dad thing. And it seems like your dad up until the time Russ was born, your dad was like, The epitome of a girl, dad.
And so I really had to embrace that. I think that's so cute. Cause the little girls do love to skip.
[00:48:41] Marjorie Lowder: Yeah. Was it, was that you rest that said that story about skipping or was that like, did he skip with you too? Okay. I thought, I thought maybe someone else got it too, but I was like, I loved skipping, but maybe he knew I loved skipping and that's what you did it with me.
[00:49:01] Russell Nelson Jr.: I don't, I don't ever remember to walk into church with him. In fact, funny story. We, the first time I sat next to him in church, I was about, uh, 40 years old and he sat next, I was a counselor in the bishopric and he came to our ward. And so sat next to me. One of the fonder memories I have of, of my childhood is, you know, he would come home, After a long day of work as a surgeon, and this is particularly when I was younger, I remember this, and we'd go through the nighttime routine and.
Brush our teeth and say our prayers and things like that. And then when he would tuck me into the bed, he would sit at my bedside and we would read together from the illustrated book of Mormon. There are these old, big, big volumes of illustrated book of Mormon. And, and he would read to me and, or we would read the book of Mormon together. And. It did two things for me. It, it really instilled the love of the Book of Mormon and, and those heroes in the Book of Mormon were my heroes. When I was eight, 10 years old, there was no one cooler than Captain Moroni. And, uh, and that's because he took the time to tuck me in at night and read the book of Mormon with me and, and, and spend that quality one on one time with me.
And, uh, you know, he had, he was a world renowned heart surgeon at that point and had, I'm pretty sure there was a few other of my sisters at home, but
still having that one on one and direct time. Was it was very special. And, and so that's an example to me of, of the, the multifaceted way that we can, you know, have an impact not only on ourselves by participating and being an active, uh, proactive and present parent, but also reading the scriptures and, and introducing just about every aspect of life with.
A simple, a simple act and an irregular act that, uh, ends up being very impactful.
[00:51:38] Morgan Jones Pearson: Well, and I think that's such a good reminder, Russ, of the idea that seeking to minister to the one might even be your own child. And I think that's important to remember. I think sometimes we think we need to do this like grandiose thing, which is what I was thinking the other night when I was like, Hi, I haven't done anything deliberate, but it could be somebody in our own family, in our own home.
I wanted to ask you, Russ, you were asked in that church news interview about being President Nelson's namesake. And you said this, I kind of joke around that it's kept me good, but I think it really has because I don't want to do anything to take away from who he is and what he's done. As I was preparing for this interview, I found myself thinking about that quote.
And then The way that both of you carry Nelson in your name, obviously, Marjorie, a little bit less frequently, I'm sure now, but throughout your life, and then the way that your dad has stressed the importance of the name of the church and that all of those things are kind of related. And so I wonder for you both, why do you think names are so important?
What's in the name?
[00:52:57] Russell Nelson Jr.: I was reading my, I was reading the scriptures yesterday, Saturday. I can't remember. Where was it? I marked it because this came to mind. Our dad always stressed a lot with us and especially with me being able to be relied upon and giving your word and having your name be trustworthy. And, and so that. Uh, has been ingrained very deeply into me.
And so a name is, uh, is a very important thing. We've been, our dad's taught that to us since as long as I can remember. And, and I was reminded of, uh, a scripture as I was reading some scriptures the other day in third Nephi 27, verse six, simple scripture. And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day.
And so, We take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ when we are baptized every week. We renew that covenant when we take the sacrament and, and so we need to try to be representatives of Jesus Christ missionaries, full time missionaries. They do that all the time. They have the name tag to broadcast that we.
We do that on a, in a, in a more subtle way on our day to day basis, but that having that commitment, that covenant that we've made to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, it's, it means a lot. I mean, it means the world to us. And, and, uh, that's something that, that he's helped us understand as he's emphasized that we, everybody in the world should know whose church this is.
By its name, and because there can always be somebody new sitting in the prophet's chair, but this is the Lord's church. This is the church of Jesus Christ. And he guides this church. And like we were saying before, our dad just is demure in it, in the fact that he says that he just takes orders. Uh, he, he does what he's told and, uh, is obedient to the revelation and inspiration given to him.
And, and, and it's been a further Testament to me of, you know, that Jesus Christ is at the head of this church and this is his church and this is his work so that we. Yeah. Can prove ourselves and that we can serve those around us.
[00:55:58] Marjorie Lowder: Thank you, Marjorie. I had just thought about how, uh, growing up and my dad's capacity for learning and remembering people's names.
I think he always felt, he always taught us that. Names are important when, like, our names are important to ourselves, right? And it is, it makes you feel seen and known and important if someone remembers your name and calls you by name and that type of thing. So I think We had that example for learning about why, why names can be important.
And I think it's sort of an extension of that idea of, I loved what you were saying, Russ, about taking upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ and taking that seriously. I think if, I think when he. Was reminding us to use the proper name of the church. It was reemphasizing. Oh, that's right. We do. We take on ourselves the name of Jesus Christ.
We are members of his church. We are believers of Jesus Christ and we strive to be disciples of Jesus Christ and hopefully that shows in our countenance and in the way we treat other people. And I think it's been good to guide us in, in that, in that way to remember that. That's important and this is the Lord's church and he is at the helm.
[00:58:10] Morgan Jones Pearson: Well, I, I've been grateful, especially recently for that emphasis on the name of the church. We're in a place where a lot of people. Are probably more familiar with the title Mormon, um, but we've tried really hard to introduce ourselves as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. And we're around other people that are Christians.
And I think it's just been helpful to just right out of the gate, establish we do follow Jesus Christ and we have that in common. First of all, I just want to say thank you both so much. This has been, I just feel like so neat to have this perspective of our prophet. And it's kind of funny. I I'm sure you both heard about the.
The world record that they tried to break at the YSA conference of wishing a happy birthday. My husband and I went on and it was like, you had to do it in like 50 characters or something. And we were like, This is way too few characters. And I think ever since then, we both have been like, well, how do we relay a longer message?
And so you two have allowed me to say way too much, honestly. But I wondered for both of you as our, as our last question, what does it mean to you to be all in the gospel of Jesus Christ?
[00:59:32] Marjorie Lowder: I'll go first. So Russ can have the last word, you know, he's the last child. So he, we, we give him the last word. He's the wisest and the sweetest. I feel like for me being all in,
Just means for me that I give my whole heart to the Savior and I'm so grateful for the Lord Jesus Christ and all He's done for me and
just want to follow Him and serve Him. And so that's the main part of it. And everything else follows along with it because Then I'm happy to do what's asked of me or, you know, follow the promptings that, that he gives to me.
[01:00:45] Russell Nelson Jr.: For me being all in, it starts with making and keeping sacred covenants. And then as we do that, we look for ways to be like our savior and serving others.
Our dad, when I was asking him advice on what profession should I go into, he never pushed me in any one direction. He just said.
What matters the most is that you do something that you're good at and that you serve others. And, and so that's what I've tried to do. And, and so for me being all in is
life can be hard sometimes. And, but if we rely on our savior, Jesus Christ, and we rely on others, especially those loved ones around us. There's nothing we can't get through and, and that when we honor the covenants that we've made. Anything is possible. We learned that through the Lord, all things are possible.
And, and so that's what it means to me to be all in.
[01:02:13] Morgan Jones Pearson: I think both of you, that's so well said. And, and I appreciate your thoughts and again, appreciate your time so much. And, um, I join with both of you in, in wishing your father, um, our dear prophet, a very, very happy birthday.
[01:02:31] Marjorie Lowder: Thank you so much, Morgan.
[01:02:38] Morgan Jones Pearson: We are so grateful to Russell M. Nelson Jr. and Marjorie Nelson Lauder for joining us on today's episode. To our prophet, President Nelson, I just want to add my personal birthday wish to the countless people all over the world who love you. Thank you for living such a consecrated life and for inviting me to be better.
It has changed my life. We all love you and we sustain you. Happy birthday.