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President Russell M. Nelson, leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is marking his 101st birthday on September 9, 2025. As he reaches this milestone, his recent messages and actions as a religious leader have emphasized the importance of compassion and peacemaking among followers.
“As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are to be examples of how to interact with others — especially when we have differences of opinion. One of the easiest ways to identify a true follower of Jesus Christ is how compassionately that person treats other people,” President Nelson said.
During the April 2023 general conference, President Nelson urged members to act as peacemakers. “The Savior’s message is clear: His true disciples build, lift, encourage, persuade and inspire — no matter how difficult the situation. True disciples of Jesus Christ are peacemakers,” he stated.
The phrase “peacemakers needed” has become closely associated with President Nelson’s leadership and legacy in the Church.
On March 24, 2023, President Nelson was honored with the Gandhi-King-Mandela Peace Prize by Morehouse College in Georgia. The award recognized his efforts to promote understanding across racial lines. “You have worked tirelessly to build bridges of understanding rather than create walls of segregation,” said Rev. Lawrence Edward Carter Sr., dean at Morehouse College’s Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel.
In a prerecorded acceptance message for the award, President Nelson remarked: “God does not love one race more than another. His feelings of inclusion are very clear. As recorded in the Book of Mormon, which I esteem as companion scripture to the Holy Bible, the Savior ‘invite[s] all to come unto Him and partake of his goodness; … he [denies] none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; … all are alike unto God.’”
President Nelson’s work has included collaborations with faith leaders such as Rev. Amos C. Brown from San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church and a board member of the NAACP. Their partnership began in 2018 with initiatives aimed at promoting education and humanitarian efforts.
“These efforts represent an ongoing desire of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to teach and live the two great commandments — to love God and neighbor,” President Nelson said during a June 14, 2021 press conference announcing joint initiatives with NAACP leaders.
At his centennial celebration on September 9, 2024, Rev. Brown praised their friendship: “[At the NAACP National Convention in 2019], I introduced him as my brother of another mother. And I meant that because I felt that kindred spirit immediately when I met him. He came with a track record of leading The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to higher pursuits of racial reckoning, understanding and working to provide a better day for all of God’s children — particularly those who lived in urban communities around this nation. Mr. President, I wish more years upon you and your dear wife, Mrs. Nelson, and that you will go on from strength to strength, keeping the beloved community intact.”
Other faith leaders also commented on President Nelson's influence at his birthday event last year. Rev. Andrew Teal from Oxford University said: “Thank you for being such an approachable world faith leader. Thank you for leading your people as a true pioneer leader, leaving no one behind. And thank you, also, for touching the hearts of people.”
Princeton professor Robert P. George added: “The foundational principle of all sound morality is that of the profound inherent and equal dignity of each and every member of the human family. And by precept and example, you’ve taught all of us what it means to do justice to that principle, to live up to its demands.”
Rabbi Joseph Potasnik from New York offered these words: “You certainly have lived a life of purpose, giving that message of God through your works of goodness throughout the world. Every birthday we often blow out the candles. I suggest [you] keep them burning so we can continue to be the beneficiaries of your light, your love and your loyalty. As we say in New York, mazel tov.”
