Introduction
We now go forward with this semiannual general conference, proceeding as planned and with speakers and music assigned by President Nelson after months of preparation.
My dear brothers and sisters, we meet as we mourn the death of our beloved President Russell M. Nelson. I speak to you as the President of the Quorum of the Twelve, in which position I have already been sustained in each of our ward, stake, and general conferences for the past seven and a half years.
We go forward with this semiannual general conference, proceeding as planned and with speakers and music assigned by President Nelson after months of preparation. The only additions are this, my introductory explanation, and my speaking in place of President Nelson in the closing session on Sunday afternoon.
This is the first time in about 75 years that a Church President has died a few days before a general conference. That has called for us to plan how we could hold the vital leadership meetings in connection with general conference as well as the general sessions of conference, at the same time scheduling his funeral as soon as possible. President Nelson understood the value of general conference to provide direction to the Saints in the coming months. We honor him by following the planned conference schedule he approved.
In this time of grief, we have already held a meeting to pay tribute to President Russell M. Nelson before our general conference meetings and then scheduled his funeral as soon as possible after conference. All of this has been done with the approval of the family of President Nelson and the Quorum of the Twelve.
Since all of us who have been assigned to speak in general conference would like to devote our assigned time to paying a personal tribute to President Nelson, we have therefore asked that all of our conference speakers hold any such tributes to a minimum, deferring elaborate tributes for the funeral, which we have already begun to plan.
My own brief tribute—suitable to this conference and to the tributes we have already paid—is this: I loved Russell M. Nelson and have learned more about the gospel and gospel leadership from my long friendship and association with him than from any other leader I have personally known. He is our model as a servant and follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Of these things I testify, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.