Russell M. Nelson 881310 225252823 2008-07-12T18:33:00Z Good Olfactory 6454287 Quick-adding category "Regional representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" (using [[WP:HOTCAT|HotCat]]) {{otherpeople2|Russell Nelson}} {{LDSApostleshipinfo| English name =Russell M. Nelson| birth_name=Russell Marion Nelson| birth_date={{birth date and age|1924|09|09}}| birthplace=[[Salt Lake City]], [[Utah]]| death_date=| deathplace=| president_who_called=[[Spencer W. Kimball]]| apostledate={{death date and age|1984|04|07|1924|09|09}}| ordination_reason=Deaths of [[LeGrand Richards]] and [[Mark E. Petersen]]<ref>Nelson and [[Dallin H. Oaks]] were ordained to fill the vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles caused by the deaths of Richards and Petersen.</ref>| end_date=| end_reason=| reorganization=| }} {{TOCright}} '''Russell Marion Nelson''' (born [[September 9]], [[1924]]) is a member of the [[Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church)|Quorum of the Twelve Apostles]], one of the governing bodies of [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church). He is also an [[United States|American]] physician and [[cardiothoracic surgery|cardiothoracic]] surgeon. ===Medical career=== A native of [[Salt Lake City, Utah|Salt Lake City]], [[Utah]], Nelson received an [[Doctor of Medicine|M.D.]] degree from the [[University of Utah]] in August 1947. Shortly thereafter, he began working with the team of doctors which created the first [[heart-lung machine]]. In 1951, the machine was used in the first open-heart operation on a human being. Four years later, Nelson was the first doctor in Utah to perform successful [[Cardiac surgery|open-heart surgery]] using a heart-lung machine. Nelson served a two-year term of medical duty in the [[U.S. Army]] during the [[Korean War]], being stationed in [[Korea]], [[Japan]], and at [[Walter Reed Army Medical Center]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] Later he worked for a year at [[Massachusetts General Hospital]] in [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], [[Massachusetts]]. He received a [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] degree from the [[University of Minnesota]] in 1954. Nelson returned to Salt Lake City in 1955 and was initially on the academic staff of the College of Medicine at the University of Utah, where in November of that year he performed the first cardiac operation in Utah utilizing [[cardiopulmonary bypass]]. That operation was performed at the Salt Lake General Hospital (SLGH) on an adult with an [[Foramen ovale (heart)|atrial septa]] defect. In March 1956, Nelson performed the first successful pediatric cardiac operation at the SLGH, a total repair of [[tetralogy of Fallot]] in a four-year-old girl. In 1959, he joined the staff of the Salt Lake Clinic, became associated with the LDS Hospital, and continued to make major contributions to the development of the thoracic specialty both in the clinical sciences and as the second director of the residency program. Nelson's surgical volume was sufficiently large that it was a critical component of the residents' experience. He was an innovative and facile surgeon responsible for many improvements in cardiac operations. He also established a research laboratory at LDS Hospital. By the late 1960s, Nelson's experience with artificial aortic valve implantation was such that he was able to report a large series of patients with an exceptionally low operative mortality. ==Professional leadership acknowledgments== Nelson became involved with the administrative aspects of medicine and was elected president of the Utah State Medical Association. He was chair of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at LDS Hospital from 1967 to 1974 and director of the University of Utah Affiliated Hospital residency program in thoracic surgery from 1967 to 1984. He was honored nationally by being elected president of the Society for Vascular Surgery and a director of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. ===Past professional positions and honors=== *President of the Thoracic Surgical Directors Association *President of the Society for Vascular Surgery *President of the Utah State Medical Association *Director of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery *Chairman of the Council on Cardiovascular Surgery for the [[American Heart Association]] *Chairman of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at the LDS Hospital *Vice-chairman of the board of governors at the LDS Hospital *"Citation for International Service" from the American Heart Association *"Golden Plate Award" from the [[American Academy of Achievement]] ==Spiritual commitments== In addition to his medical work, Nelson became a leader in the LDS Church. Before being appointed an [[Apostle (Latter Day Saints)|apostle]], he spent over six years ([[December 6]], [[1964]] – [[July 11]], [[1971]]) as a [[stake president]] set apart by [[Spencer W. Kimball]]. [[Joseph B. Wirthlin]] was his second counselor during all his time as stake president. Nelson also served for eight years as the general president of the church's [[Sunday School (LDS Church)|Sunday School]], and four years as a [[regional representative of the Twelve]]. Nelson was called to be an apostle by [[President of the Church (Latter Day Saints)|Church President]] [[Spencer W. Kimball]], to whom he had served as a personal physician for many years. Nelson was sustained as a member of the [[Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church)|Quorum of the Twelve Apostles]] on [[April 7]], [[1984]] in an LDS Church [[General conference (Latter Day Saints)|general conference]]. He was ordained apostle on [[April 12]], [[1984]] by [[Gordon B. Hinckley]]. At the same conference, [[Dallin H. Oaks]] was also sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve. Nelson and Oaks filled the vacancies in the Quorum that were created by the deaths of [[LeGrand Richards]] and [[Mark E. Petersen]]. As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Nelson is accepted by the church as a [[prophet, seer, and revelator]]. ==Family== Nelson married Dantzel White on [[August 31]], [[1945]] in the [[Salt Lake Temple]]. They have 9 daughters and a son.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Nelson |first=Russell M. |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1993 |month=February 23 |title=Integrity of Heart |journal=BYU Speeches |volume= |issue= |pages= |id= |url=http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=7102 |accessdate= 2008-02-18 |quote= }}</ref> Dantzel died unexpectedly at her home in Salt Lake City on [[February 12]], [[2005]]. She was survived by nine children. On [[April 6]], [[2006]] Nelson married '''Wendy L. Watson''' in the [[Salt Lake Temple]]. Watson—originally from [[Raymond, Alberta|Raymond]], [[Alberta]], [[Canada]]—is the daughter of the late Leonard David Watson and Laura McLean Watson. At the time of the marriage, Watson was a [[professor]] of marriage and family therapy in the School of Family Life at [[Brigham Young University]] (BYU). Watson retired from her career on [[1 May]] [[2006]]. She received her [[R.N.]] in [[Calgary, Alberta]], Canada, her [[B.A.]] from the [[University of Hawaii at Manoa|University of Hawai{{okina}}i at Mānoa]], her [[M.Sc.]] from BYU, and her [[Ph.D.]] from the [[University of Calgary]]. She served as chair of BYU Women’s Conference for 1999 and 2000, and is the author of several books and addresses recorded on CD, including ''Rock Solid Relationships'' and ''Things Are Not Always as They Appear.'' ==See also== * [[Church Educational System]] * [[Council on the Disposition of the Tithes]] ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== *[http://www.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=b1a1790fbf69f010VgnVCM100000176f620aRCRD&vgnextchannel=67509c643826e010VgnVCM1000004e94610aRCRD LDS Church biography] *[http://www.utahmedalumni.org/book/Medicine_in_the_Beehive_State-22.pdf University of Utah School of Medicine Alumni Association] *Gardner, Marvin K. (June 1984). [http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Ensign/1984.htm/ensign%20june%201984%20.htm/elder%20russell%20m.%20nelson%20applying%20divine%20laws.htm?f=templates$fn=document-frame.htm$3.0$q=$x= Elder Russell M. Nelson: Applying Divine Laws.] ''Ensign'', p. 9 *''Church News'', [[July 17]], [[1971]], p. 7. *''Church News'', [[July 3]], [[1971]], p. 3. *Heart to Heart, an Autobiography, p. 344. ==External links== *[http://www.gapages.com/nelsorm1.htm Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages: Russell M. Nelson] {{start box}} {{succession box | title= [[Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church)|Quorum of the Twelve Apostles]] | years= [[April 12]], [[1984]]&mdash; | before=[[Neal A. Maxwell]] | after= [[Dallin H. Oaks]] | }} {{end box}} {{Qof12}} {{LDSApostles}} {{LDSsundayschool}} <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] --> {{Persondata |NAME= Russell M. Nelson |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= |SHORT DESCRIPTION= Medical doctor |DATE OF BIRTH= [[September 9]], [[1924]] |PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Salt Lake City]], [[Utah]] |DATE OF DEATH= |PLACE OF DEATH= }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Russell M.}} [[Category:1924 births]] [[Category:American cardiologists]] [[Category:American Latter Day Saints]] [[Category:American surgeons]] [[Category:Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] [[Category:General presidents of the Sunday School of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] [[Category:Latter Day Saint writers]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People from Salt Lake City, Utah]] [[Category:Stake presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] [[Category:University of Minnesota alumni]] [[Category:University of Utah alumni]] [[Category:University of Utah faculty]] [[Category:Regional representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] [[fi:Russell M. Nelson]]