September 5th, 2025, 2:22pm MDT
Recognizing that “live in 101 is a privilege I had never expected,” President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provided the “lasting truth” he learned in Time Magazine, which was released on Friday, September 5th.
“These lasting truths hold us in turbulent times,” President Nelson wrote in an article entitled “We all deserve dignity and respect.”
Citing his professional experience as a cardiac surgeon for 40 years and his role as an apostle for another 40 years, President Nelson wrote his life as “studying both the physical and mental heart.” He explained that he relied on natural law to understand unanimous truths that he could trust and rely on, and that “the human spirit flourishes when it nourishes God’s truth.”
President Nelson, celebrating his 101st birthday on Tuesday, September 9th, said he wanted to share two truths on his birthday.
1. “Intrinsic Value and Dignity”
“Each of us has inherent value and dignity. I think we are all children of our beloved Heavenly Father,” writes President Nelson. “But recognizing the fundamental truth under this belief that we all deserve dignity, regardless of your religion or spirituality, it brings to emotional, mental, spiritual and spiritual equilibrium – and the more you accept it, the less anxiety and fear about your future.”
Life is a horrible thing, and admitting that he is battling anxiety about many, especially young people, that belong and value, President Nelson said, “The heart that knows it is loved remains focused on stability, confidence and hope, regardless of what is happening in life or what is not happening.”
2. “Love your neighbor… with compassion and respect.”
“I love your neighbor and treat you with compassion and respect,” he wrote. “One century experience certainly taught me this: anger never persuades, hostility never heals, conflict does not lead to lasting solutions.
President Nelson recited a call to Peacemakers, “building a bridge of understanding, not a wall of prejudice,” reminiscing of the days when he saw bitter divisions eased when he chose to listen with respect rather than doubt.
“Even small acts that cross lines of faith, culture and politics can open the door to healing,” he writes. “Every children of God have the power to impart the human dignity they deserve to others.”
He emphasized that such efforts will begin at home, saying, “While family is by no means perfect, it remains one of the most powerful sources of stability and meaning in life.
“My own experiences have taught me that faithfulness, forgiveness, and loyalty within my family brings deep and lasting peace. A strong family can help us expand kindness outside and strengthen our communities and society.”
President Nelson said he has determined this is true in decades of studying both the human mind and the human soul over the century and decades of his life.
The President and Prophet concluded by highlighting the role of the Savior in these laws and truths, offering invitations and promising blessings.
“My faith tells me that over two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ preached the same law of happiness: loving God and loving our neighbors,” he wrote. “101 years from now, these are practical wisdom, not abstract theological ideas, they are things that have supported me through loss and victory, uncertainty, peace, war and healing.
“Accepting these eternal truths will make us more stable and joyful when we respect our own values, treat others with dignity, raise our families, and nurture our lives and our world.”
President Nelson finishes his work: “It’s my birthday wish for all of us.”
The Time’s Ideas section states, “We provide commentary on news, social and cultural events and host world-leading voices.”
In addition to using social media to share his thoughts and invitations on critical issues, President Nelson has written and co-written several previous OP-EDs.
On February 10, 2019, in his opinion in the Republic of Arizona, President Nelson wrote about the importance of faith in God, inviting his readers to rely on faith in the increasingly secular world.
On June 8, 2020, in a joint operation on medium titled “The Rocking Arms for Racial Harmony in America,” President Nelson joined the senior NAACP leaders, President Derrick Johnson, Chairman Leon Russell and Pastor Amos C. Brown, saying, “We open our hearts and the solution comes.”
