Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke on Saturday morning of April 2018 conference after President Russell M. Nelson, the First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve and other church officers were sustained. He said in a talk called ‘The Heart of a Prophet’:
“With the ordination of President Nelson and the reorganization of the First Presidency, the apostolic interregnum [i below] ended, and the newly constituted First Presidency began to operate without, remarkably, even one second of interruption in governing the Lord’s kingdom on the earth.
Solemn Assembly
Elder Stevenson said: “This morning, this divine process is culminated in accordance with scriptural mandate outlined in the Doctrine and Covenants: “For all things must be done in order, and by common consent in the church, by the prayer of faith,”4 and “three Presiding High Priests, … upheld by the confidence, faith, and prayer of the church, form a quorum of the Presidency of the Church.”5
Elder David B. Haight described a previous occurrence of what we participated in today:
“We are witnesses to and participants in a most sacred occasion—a solemn assembly to act upon heavenly things. As in olden times, there has been much fasting and prayer offered by the Saints throughout the world that they may receive an outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord, which is so much in evidence … on this occasion this morning.
“A solemn assembly, as the name implies, denotes a sacred, sober, and reverent occasion when the Saints assemble under the direction of the First Presidency.”6
Brothers and sisters, we can rejoice—even shout, “Hosanna!”—that the Lord’s mouthpiece, a prophet of God, is in place and that the Lord is pleased that His work is being done in the way that He has divinely prescribed.
President Russell M. Nelson
This divinely ordained process leads to another divinely called prophet. Just as President Monson was one of the grandest inhabitants to grace this earth, so is President Nelson. He has been profoundly prepared and specifically tutored by the Lord to lead us at this time. It is a great blessing to now have dear President Russell M. Nelson as our loving and devoted prophet—the 17th President of the Church in this final dispensation.
President Nelson is truly a remarkable man. I had the privilege of serving in the Quorum of the Twelve with him as my quorum president for just over two years. I have traveled with him and marvel at his energy, as one must move quickly to keep up with his pace! In total he has visited 133 countries in his lifetime.
His outreach is to all, young and old. He seems to know everyone and is particularly gifted at remembering names. All who know him feel that they are his favorite. And so it is with each of us—because of his genuine love and concern for everyone.
My primary association with President Nelson has been in ecclesiastical roles, yet I have also become familiar with the professional life that President Nelson led before he was called as a General Authority. As many of you know, President Nelson was a world-renowned heart surgeon and, early in his medical career, a pioneer developer of the heart-lung machine. He was on the research team that supported the first open-heart operation on a human being, in 1951, using a heart-lung bypass. President Nelson performed a heart operation on President Spencer W. Kimball not long before President Kimball became the prophet.
A Christlike Heart
When I envision a Christlike heart in daily practice, I see President Nelson. I have not met anyone who exemplifies this trait at a higher level than he does. It has been a remarkable tutelage for me to be in the position to observe firsthand the manifestations of the Christlike heart of President Nelson.” (continued on Friday)
[i] The period of time between the death of a prophet and the reorganization of the First Presidency is referred to as an “apostolic interregnum.” During this period, the Quorum of the Twelve, under the leadership of the quorum president, jointly holds the keys to administer the leadership of the Church. President Joseph F. Smith taught, “There is always a head in the Church, and if the Presidency of the Church are removed by death or other cause, then the next head of the Church is the Twelve Apostles, until a presidency is again organized.”3 below
The most recent interregnum period began when President Monson passed away on January 2 and ended 12 days later on Sunday, January 14. On that Sabbath morning, the Quorum of the Twelve met in the upper room of the Salt Lake Temple in a spirit of fasting and prayer, under the presiding direction of President Russell M. Nelson, the senior Apostle and President of the Quorum of the Twelve.
3. Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith (1998), 223.
