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President Camille N. Johnson felt unprepared and inadequate when President Russell M. Nelson called her in 2022 to lead millions of women as the Relief Society general president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“He has expressed to me, and really to all of us, that we can do hard things,” she said.
Last week, the Deseret News published insights about President Nelson from insiders — family, friends and colleagues like President Johnson — for his 100th birthday.
Not everything they shared made the story.
More from his family members will appear here next week, but today’s newsletter focuses on President Johnson’s observations.
She said she felt poorly qualified for such a large, international role.
“He gave me confidence just by his genuine and gracious nature,” she said, “but I know the source of that confidence. His confidence isn’t in me. It’s in our Savior, Jesus Christ, and it’s in the Holy Ghost, which he trusted. He trusted that the Holy Ghost and the Savior would help me in fulfilling my callings.”
She said he communicates so personally that it builds trust.
“He’s a wonderful listener, and I think that’s one of the ways he gives each of us confidence in fulfilling our responsibilities, by giving us an opportunity to express ourselves,” she said. “And he does that so beautifully, carefully. He’s also so very gracious and kind.”
President Nelson has taught her and the church, she said, that temple commitments are a crucial source of fortitude.
“He wants us to be blessed by the power and strength that comes through covenant keeping,” she said, adding, “Recently, he told the sisters of the church we can change the world, but the key to that is the power and the strength that comes to us as we make and keep covenants, particularly those in the house of the Lord.”
President Nelson gave his first talk to a general conference of the church 40 years ago. She has studied all 112 of his general conference talks by listening to them 10 minutes a day.
Covenant-making and covenant-keeping are themes woven throughout his talks, she found.
“You can see, and that is fascinating to me, prophetic development happen,” President Johnson said. “If you really study his talks, you’ll hear his prophetic voice being amplified as those messages are developed. It’s remarkable. Part of my testimony that he is who he says he is, is from my study, hearing that, seeing that, feeling it, but you have to get in there and study his words.”
The emphasis on keeping temple covenants is inseparably linked to the 168 temples President Nelson has announced for places around the world, she said. When constructed, those temples will give the church a total of 350 temples.
President Johnson called his temple building “just extraordinary.”
“President Nelson will clearly be remembered for his temple building, bringing temples closer to the people,” she said. “But for me, it’s my more complete understanding of the blessings associated with the covenants we make in the temple that mean the most to me. I have a more clear understanding because of his teaching about what it means to be a covenant woman. And it is a glorious time to be a covenant woman.”
One other lesson President Johnson said she has learned comes from his teachings that repentance and the covenant path are intended to be joyful, and from the source of his positivity.
“He’s an optimist, and I hear him express that optimism over and over again, not only from the pulpit at general conference, but in my personal encounters with him,” she said.
“He looks forward with faith and optimism because of his overriding testimony of the reality of Jesus Christ. You can just feel it when you’re around him. That is where his joy and his optimism come from, from his relationship with our Savior.”
My Recent Stories
About the church
President Nelson celebrated his 100th birthday at the Conference Center. A statement honoring him was added to the Congressional Record. Utah declared Monday “President Russell M. Nelson Day.” The entertainers who performed during his birthday broadcast said, “He exudes so much love.”
The Tabernacle Choir and the glee clubs from Atlanta’s Morehouse and Spelman colleges reunited to sing and testify of Jesus Christ.
The First Presidency announced the October general conference dates and sessions.
Malawi, in southern Africa, gets its 1st stake — and then a 2nd.
Leaders broke ground for the Wichita Kansas Temple.
The First Presidency announced the ceremonial groundbreaking for the Tarawa Kiribati Temple.
The public open house is underway for the San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple.
The fact that he served a mission in Brazil made Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee a big story when the Eagles opened their season in Brazil against the Green Bay Packers. Delaware Online reported that he was the team’s media darling on the trip. CBS News reported what he told his NFL teammates about his mission.
What I’m reading
“The real lives of Latter-day Saint wives,” is an examination by my colleague Hanna Seariac of how the new series, “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” impacts women.
Behind the Scenes
Don’t miss this gallery of photos of President Nelson’s 100th birthday celebration at the Little Theater at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City.
