President Russell M. Nelson becomes first prophet to give his own second-century address

President Nelson gave his 113th general conference talk on Sunday. Or was it the 114th? It depends on how you count. Either way, his general conference service is one of church’s longest

Published: Oct 7, 2024, 9:55 a.m. MDT

President Russell M. Nelson, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, joins his wife, Sister Wendy Nelson, as they exit the afternoon session of the 194th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. Isaac Hale, Deseret News

Tad Walch covers religion with a focus on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This article was first published in the ChurchBeat newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each Wednesday night.

In October 1975, President Spencer W. Kimball gave a talk titled “The Second Century of Brigham Young University” as the school was celebrating its 100th birthday. BYU and church leaders now refer to it as the “Second Century Address.”

On Sunday afternoon, President Russell M. Nelson, one of President Kimball’s successors, spoke one month after celebrating his 100th birthday, becoming the first Latter-day Saint prophet to give a general conference talk after beginning his own second century.

Sunday general conference: ‘Every sincere seeker of Jesus Christ will find him in the temple’

President Nelson’s personal second-century address is noteworthy for several reasons, but let’s start with a poignant note.

President Kimball was able to give that talk that continues to guide BYU’s destiny only because Dr. Russell Nelson had surgically repaired his heart in 1972 with an unprecedented procedure, extending the life of the 12th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Here are some facts about President Nelson’s historic talk today at the 194th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

How many general conference talks has President Nelson given?

It was his 113th as an apostle, including those he’s given as president or senior apostle. He joined the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1984 and has spoken at every general conference since then — 82 conferences in a row.

But Sunday’s talk was the 114th he’s given in a general conference.

He delivered a general conference talk in October 1968, when he was president of the church’s Bonneville Utah Stake.

What is the longest period between a speaker’s first and last conference talk?

While President Nelson is the oldest Latter-day Saint prophet to serve, his 1968 talk puts him high on another list for longevity: years between a leader’s first and last general conference talk. The following list includes the leader’s name, the year of his first and last conference talk, and the span between them:

President David O. McKay (1906-69): 63 years.
President Heber J. Grant (1883-1945): 62 years.
President Joseph Fielding Smith (1910-72): 61 years.
President Nelson (1968-present): more than 56 years.
President Thomas S. Monson (1963-2017): 54 years.

President Wilford Woodruff, who served as an apostle from 1839 to 1898, served overseas missions early in his tenure and is not listed in conference records as speaking until well after the church arrived in Salt Lake City.

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About the church

Once again, it’s that weekend when Latter-day Saints are holding their general conference and Major League Baseball is holding its league division series playoff games. So we get headlines like this about LDS predictions.

What I’m reading

Comments

I’m sad, but unsurprised, that children are reading less.

Behind the scenes

One of the real treats of general conference is the photography provided by Deseret News photojournalists. Here are the two galleries they produced today.

Sunday morning session: