“I declare my devotion to God our Eternal Father and to His Son, Jesus Christ. I know Them, love Them, and pledge to serve Them—and you—with every remaining breath of my life.” (President Russell M Nelson, January 16, 2018)
I felt a powerful spirit as President Nelson spoke these words yesterday. This is a man who is devoted to God and to serving us. I felt the love he has for us – a new level of love as he became steward over us all. I felt the weight of that responsibility and that he has truly dedicated his life to the Lord.
It reminded me of a very special experience I had when I was 19 years old. I left for a study abroad in Paris, France on September 7, 2001. I was young and heading to a foreign land to live alone with a family I could barely communicate with. 4 days later, 9/11 happened and the world changed. Within the week, the church held a special devotional for American members of the church who were living in Paris. It wasn’t a large group. Elder Nelson came to speak to us. I sat in one of the front rows of people to listen to him speak. During one of his pauses while he waited for the translator to finish he looked directly into my eyes, held my gaze, smiled and nodded. I felt an overwhelming feeling of love pouring from him and was hit by a wave of the spirit. I have had very few experiences like that in my life, but at that moment it was abundantly clear that this was a man of God. That He knew Christ and that he was truly an apostle of the Lord. I will never forget it. As I watched him change from apostle to prophet today that testimony rang true. This man is of God. He is a prophet on earth and he will lead us on our path to eternal life with our Father in Heaven.