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He did it again.
Presiding over a general conference for a second time at age 100, President Russell M. Nelson managed to both speak about and model charity, peacemaking and virtue while attending a single session.
Two poignant examples of him being what he called for wasn’t seen by the millions of viewers watching the broadcast of the Sunday afternoon session of the 195th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The first moment happened just before the broadcast began, when he entered the cavernous Conference Center auditorium in downtown Salt Lake City in a wheelchair. As always, the audience rose to honor the person revered as the church’s prophet and president.
President Nelson stood up to take his seat, but first stood between his counselors and friends in the First Presidency.
Then he wrapped his right hand inside the left elbow of President Dallin H. Oaks, 92, his first counselor. And he reached out with his left hand and grasped and held the right hand of President Henry B. Eyring, 91, his second counselor.
All three beamed.
He also waved to the audience of 18,993 people. But that was just a precursor to what would come after his prerecorded message played and the broadcast ended.
First, it’s important to share three sentences from his message, which he recorded because his aging eyes make it difficult for him to read from the teleprompter at the podium.
“The Savior is the Prince of Peace. We are to be his instruments for peace,” he said.
Later, he added, “Our thoughts, words and actions need to be unfailingly virtuous, and filled with the pure love of Christ towards all men. The great opportunity before us is to become the people God needs us to be.”
President Nelson also expressed optimism for the future and said the church is experiencing great momentum.
Then he closed the conference, but after the closing hymn and prayer and the end of the broadcast, President Nelson remained in his chair for several minutes.
One by one, the entire Quorum of the Twelve Apostles came by to shake his hand and visit with him and his counselors.
Then he stood and sat in the wheelchair again as the 18,993 stood reverently in front of their seats for the man they treasure as Jesus Christ’s spokesperson on earth.
When the wheelchair turned to give him a full view of the vast hall and the people watching, he leaned forward and raised both arms and hands to wave to the audience.
Suddenly, thousands of thousands of hands on all three levels of the Conference Center rose and waved back right back at the smiling church president. Some of those hands can be seen in the blurry foreground of this image:
It was a moment of connection thousands will remember for a lifetime.
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