SALT LAKE CITY — Leaders of worldwide religions commonly stay at the helm well past retirement age, but it’s not often you find centenarians overseeing major faiths.
That’s what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has as of Monday when church president Russell M. Nelson turned 100. He had already become the oldest president ever of the Utah-based faith three years ago and now becomes its first to hit the century mark.
“Age, wisdom and spiritual authority go together,” said Angie Hong, a program director for Leadership Education at Duke Divinity School.
Pope Francis is 87. The Dalai Lama is 89. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who leads Eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide, is 84. Ali al-Sistani, the grand ayatollah who is the senior religious figure for the world’s 200 million Shia Muslims, is 94.
On Nelson’s 100th birthday, the church is commemorating the occasion with a special broadcast in his honor. Also, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican and church member, declared Monday to be “President Russell M. Nelson Day” in the state.
“President Nelson is a leader not only in Utah, but across the world. He has worked tirelessly to build bridges of understanding and kindness and has led a life full of family, faith and selfless service,” Cox said in a statement.
The president of the denomination, known widely as the Mormon church, oversees everything from the its multibillion-dollar financial holdings to church doctrine and policy. He also is believed to be a prophet of God and serves until death.
By tradition, the new president is chosen from among the Quorum of The Twelve Apostles, one of the faith’s top governing bodies — specifically its longest tenured member. Selected to join the Quorum in 1984, Nelson has spent four decades in the upper echelons of church leadership.
In 2018, he became the church’s 17th president at 93, making him the second oldest at the time to ever assume the role. Scholars and those who have known him for decades say he wasted no time in reshaping the church, including overhauling worship services and constructing new temples.
Nelson’s advanced age has not been a great concern mainly because of his dynamic leadership, said Patrick Mason, a religion and history professor at Utah State University. He depicted the church’s meaningful service opportunities for its older members as one of its strengths.
“There is a general sensibility that there is wisdom and steadiness that comes with age. There are people who’ve been around and seen things. People find comfort in that,” Mason said.
Though the church continues to expand worldwide and grow its membership, Nelson’s 100th birthday reflects the broader composition of its aging white male leadership. Nelson’s top two counselors — one of whom is his presumed successor — form what the church calls “the first presidency” and are both in their 90s. In total, six of the 15 men in the church’s top leadership panels are 80 or older.
Over the years, some have argued the church would benefit from younger leadership in a changing world. Others have defended the status quo and celebrated the wisdom and spiritual maturity the church’s aging leaders bring to their roles.
“The limitations that are the natural consequence of advancing age can in fact become remarkable sources of spiritual learning and insight. The very factors many may believe limit the effectiveness of these servants can become some of their greatest strengths,” said Quorum member David Bednar in a 2015 General Conference sermon.
He also underscored the opportunities he had to learn from the other members, all of whom were older than him at the time.
Hong, the leadership expert from Duke, said good spiritual leaders are those who “always look to mentor and raise up younger leaders.”
This happens across faith traditions. In Hinduism, for example, aging leaders from various sects choose and guide their successors, while still remaining active and involved in day-to-day operations.
Rank-and-file church members say they are impressed by Nelson’s ability to lead at 100 and are blessed to still see him and hear him speak.
“To reach 100 and still be so involved in the day-to-day operations of the church, that’s pretty amazing,” said Hannah Dunn, in an interview outside Temple Square in Salt Lake City the week before the milestone birthday. “I think it goes to show that he’s been sustained by his service.”
Church member Mark Chavez praised Nelson’s administration for building a slate of new temples across the globe and for appointing people from different countries to leadership positions, ushering in a more internationally focused era for the U.S.-based faith.
“He blesses us with both his own generational wisdom and the word of God, and I think he’s made the church feel welcoming to people all over the world,” Chavez said.
Beyond temple building and leadership appointments, Nelson became known for leading the church during the COVID-19 pandemic and cutting its century-long ties with the Boy Scouts of America when the BSA decided to allow openly gay youth members and adult volunteers as well as transgender boys and girls.
The church, under Nelson, said it welcomes LGBTQ+ members but maintains that same-sex marriage is a sin. One of his first commands as president was a call to members of the faith to stop using the shorthand names “Mormon” and “LDS” as substitutes for the full name of the religion.
Born in Salt Lake City in 1924, Nelson joined the religion as a young adult. As a doctor at age 22, he served a two-year Army medical tour of duty during the Korean War after which he resumed a career that included being director of thoracic surgery residency at the University of Utah.
“He walks a very gentle line between underscoring what the doctrine states while expressing love for all involved,” said Sheri Dew, Nelson’s biographer and executive vice president of the Deseret Management Corporation, which is owned by the faith.
“You may not agree with everything he believes,” she said. “But any fair assessment of his life would conclude that he has truly tried to make life better for millions of people.”
