Thousands of mourners expected to attend Mormon church president's funeral

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A funeral service will be held Tuesday in Salt Lake City for Russell M. Nelson, the charismatic sentimentalist who oversaw a significant temple building boom as president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Nelson led the faith up until his death in late September at the age of 101.

The funeral is expected to draw thousands of mourners to the faith's Conference Center at Temple Square. About 600 members of Nelson's family are expected to attend along with 20,000 people who quickly snapped up tickets that the church offered online within 20 minutes, said church spokesperson Doug Andersen.

The service also will be broadcast globally on the church's website and other online platforms.

Nelson’s funeral will be devoid of formal church rituals, Andersen said. It will resemble a worship service with prayers, hymns and talks and will focus on Nelson's life and purpose, he said.

Both aspects 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 garments worn by adult members. The commemoration service, open to Latter-day Saints and non-members, will be conducted by a lay minister. A public viewing was held Monday at the conference center, attended by about 18,560 people, according to Andersen.

He said church funerals typically are “marked by an atmosphere of hopefulness and peace.”

“They generally are not burdened by the inconsolable grief and despair so often seen in other funerals," he said. “That 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 famed Tabernacle Choir, said Andersen.

It will include a hymn written by Nelson titled “Our Prayer to Thee,” which was first published in the church’s official publication and performed at general conferences in October 2018 and April 2022. One musician described the song as a special, sacred representation of the relationship between God and the faithful.

Nelson's family members likely will select the other songs and hymns that will be performed at the funeral.

While the funeral will be public, the burial will be private with family. It will take place at Pioneer Cemetery, where Brigham Young and many other pioneers of the faith are buried, Andersen said.

Family plays a significant role in the faith, not just in this life, but also in the afterlife, said Kathleen Flake, former professor of Mormon Studies at the University of Virginia.

Flake said once the body is escorted to the grave site, those who are not family will leave and a male family member — usually the eldest son — will dedicate the grave.

In the church, temple sealings, which is the joining together of a man and a woman and their children for eternity, bind the family as a unit that crosses over from this life to the next. A sealing must be performed in a temple by a man who has the priesthood.

“The belief is that (Nelson) would be joining in the afterlife with predeceased family members,” she said. “You go from the family here on Earth to the family that is in heaven, and live together in eternity.”

A new church president — considered a prophet by members — is expected to be named sometime after Nelson's funeral.

Announcing his successor, Dallin H. Oaks, is largely a formality because the church has a well-defined leadership hierarchy that helps ensure a smooth handover and prevent lobbying internally or publicly.

In his first major address since Nelson's death, Oaks encouraged members Sunday during the faith's twice-annual 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 look the same.

In a departure from his typical sermons, which often appeal more to reason than emotion, Oaks 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.

Oaks also said Sunday that the faith will “slow down the announcement of new temples ” — the first major difference from Nelson's presidency.

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Bharath reported from Los Angeles.

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