With reverent spirits and grateful hearts, hundreds of Latter-day Saints and friends of the faith solemnly moved through the Conference Center in Salt Lake City in a line, patiently awaiting their turn to pay their respects to President Russell M. Nelson, the late prophet-president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
President Nelson died Saturday, Sept. 27, at age 101, automatically dissolving the church’s First Presidency and launching the church into an apostolic interregnum.
For many of those who attended his public viewing, held Monday, Oct. 6, this was the first time they stood just feet away from the church president.
Yet, whether they’d interacted with him in person or — like the majority of the church’s 17.5 million members — simply sought to follow his example and Christ-centered teachings, many expressed the closeness and gratitude they felt toward him and his service.
Others — including those outside the Latter-day Saint faith — admired his influence, noting how President Nelson both touched and changed theirs and others’ lives.
“Going through was amazing,” said Thomas Blackwell from Louisville, Kentucky.
Both Blackwell and his wife, Stella, were touring Temple Square in Salt Lake City, when they decided to join the line for President Nelson’s viewing. Neither of them are affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ, but the two told the Deseret News they left the viewing impressed by the church’s following and the apparent influence President Nelson had on Latter-day Saints and others worldwide.
“It’s quite impressive,” said Stella Blackwell. “I’m sure everyone here has been touched in a different way.”
A native from Venezuela, Latter-day Saint Ruber Gonzalez traveled from Idaho with his young family for a “last opportunity to see the prophet” at his viewing. Reflecting on his experience, Gonzalez told the Deseret News that seeing President Nelson in his casket brought him “much peace.”
“I think the prophet there, in that condition, radiated that peace, that tranquility,” he said, adding that he felt President Nelson’s tranquil expression came from the “great efforts” he made to obey God.
“(And) that’s what I took away from it,” Gonzalez continued. “To the degree I obey God more, I am going to feel the peace that he (President Nelson) radiated.”
Latter-day Saints Jodi and Taylor Sparks also attended President Nelson’s viewing with their kids, later reflecting on the late church president’s dynamic leadership and their memory of his teachings.
“President Nelson was a larger-than-life person,” said Taylor Sparks. “In the short time that he was president, he made huge changes, and it was awesome to come and pay respects to the changes he brought to the church that were really positive.”
Jodi Sparks said a “flood of memories” of all of the things President Nelson taught rushed to her mind as she walked the Conference Center.
His teachings “were really impactful for me,” she explained, “and it was just nice to remember all of that.”
As for the Sparks’ kids, they expressed gratitude for President Nelson’s kind demeanor and his repeated invitation “to be peacemakers.”
Similarly reflecting on President Nelson’s teachings and invitations, Aidan Davis, a recently returned missionary who served in the church’s Indiana Indianapolis Mission, shared how following the late church president’s invitations impacted his discipleship and missionary service, which he concluded just three days ago.
He focused specifically on President Nelson’s invitation to study the Book of Mormon daily and said: “I noticed that as I applied that (invitation) in my life, and as I invited others to apply it in their lives, it rang true.
“We do make better decisions when we’re in the scriptures every single day.”
Davis’ father, Scott Davis, added it was a “peaceful experience” to be able to share his respects to President Nelson, along with his son and the rest of his family.
“We loved him so much,” he said, “and we just wanted to be there to show him that we supported him and thank him for his decades of service to the church.”
Aidan Davis’ mission leaders, Gary and Melissa Riding, who also recently concluded their service in Indiana, also attended President Nelson’s viewing and shared how grateful they felt for his influence on their lives.
“I’ve tried to follow his teachings for years and years,” explained Gary Riding. “In fact, he came to our stake conference when I was a stake president years ago and that was a nice experience.
“Today, it felt like a time for me just to say thank you.”
Sharing her own similar expression of gratitude, Melissa Riding said she’s grateful that President Nelson’s teachings increased her “desire to really hear our Heavenly Father and learn to communicate.”
She added that participating in President Nelson’s viewing was a reminder of God’s plan, which according to Latter-day Saint belief, includes death and an eventual resurrection where one’s spirit and body are reunited.
Walking through, she said, was a reminder “that his spirit is not here ... that the body really is just a temple for the spirit.”
Likewise, Latter-day Saint convert Maria Leticia Palma de Rubio shared that seeing President Nelson in a casket strengthened her hope in and testimony of God’s plan.
“I felt a beautiful sentiment of how life goes on after death,” she said. “It was beautiful being able to see him because I have many feelings of gratitude towards him (and) for everything he did for us while leading the church.”
Also a convert to the church, Palma de Rubio’s sister, Maria Luisa Palma, expressed thanks for President Nelson’s teachings to be grateful and “think celestial” in all of life’s circumstances.
“His teachings,” she added, “helped me overcome many of my life’s storms, and seeing him there has reminded me of the purpose I have on this earth to do the best I can and serve my Savior to one day return to him.”