salt lake city – SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Funeral services will be held Tuesday in Salt Lake City for Russell M. Nelson, the charismatic sentimentalist who oversaw a boom in temple building as president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Nelson led Faith up His death In late September at the age of 101.
The funeral is expected to draw thousands of mourners to the Faith Conference Center in Temple Square. Church spokesman Doug Andersen said about 600 Nelson family members were expected to attend, with 20,000 people quickly snapping up tickets the church offered online within 20 minutes.
The service will be too Broadcasting worldwide On the church website and other online platforms.
Nelson’s funeral will be without formal church rituals, Andersen said. He said it will resemble a worship service with prayers, hymns and talks and will focus on Nelson’s life and purpose.
Both sides of Nelson’s legacy — as a spiritual leader for four decades and as a heart surgeon who saved lives — will be celebrated during the service, Andersen said.
Nelson’s body will be dressed in mostly white temple clothing, the ceremonial clothing worn by adult members. The celebration service, open to Latter-day Saints and non-members, will be conducted by a lay minister. A public presentation was held Monday at the convention center, attended by about 18,560 people, according to Andersen.
“Church funerals are usually characterized by an atmosphere of hope and peace,” he said.
“They don’t generally mix because of the often unbearable grief and despair at other funerals,” he said. “This is especially true in this case with a life lived beyond 101 years.”
Nelson’s funeral will also feature “heartfelt tributes and comforting music” performed by the famous Tabernacle Choir, Andersen said.
It will include a hymn written by Nelson entitled “Prayer to You”, which was First published In the official publication of the church and performed at general conferences in October 2018 and April 2022. One of the musicians described the song as a special sacred representation of the relationship between God and believers.
Nelson’s family members will likely choose which other songs and hymns will be performed at the funeral.
While the funeral will be public, burial will be private with the family. It will take place at Pioneer Cemetery, where Brigham Young’s Andersen and many other pioneers of the faith are buried, Andersen said.
Kathleen Fleck, a Mormon professor at the University of Virginia, said family plays an important role in the faith, not only in this life, but also in the afterlife.
Once the body is escorted to the grave site, those who do not leave a family and a male family member — usually the eldest son — will consecrate the grave, Fleck said.
In the Church, the Temple Sealings, joining together a man, a woman, and their children forever, bind the family as a unit crossing from this life to the next. The sealing must be performed in a temple by a man who has the priesthood.
“The belief is that (Nelson) will join the afterlife with the deceased family members,” she said. “You go from family here on earth to family in heaven, and live together forever.”
The church’s new president – considered a prophet by members – is expected to be named sometime after Nelson’s funeral.
announced behind him, Dallin H. Oaksis largely a formality because the church has Well-defined leadership hierarchy This helps ensure a smooth handover and prevent pressure internally or publicly.
In his first major address since Nelson’s death, Oakes encouraged members on Sunday during the twice-annual Faith Day General conference To get married and have children. The 93-year-old former Utah Supreme Court justice emphasized the importance of family while acknowledging that not all families are the same.
In a departure from his typical sermons, which often appeal more to reason than emotion, Oakes shared an emotional story about the day his grandfather told him at age 7 that his father had died. He went on to describe the value of being raised by a single mother and others who stepped into parental roles for him and his siblings.
Oakes also said Sunday that Faith “will slow down the announcement of New temples – The first major difference of Nelson’s presidency.
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Bharat reported from Los Angeles.
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