“And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8:37). As a pioneer in the field of open heart surgery who performed more than 7000 operations and invented a lot of the equipment and procedures still in use today, Russell M. Nelson likely knew more about the mechanical workings of the heart than almost anyone who has ever lived. But as detailed and intimate as his anatomical knowledge of cardiac processes was, this paled in comparison to the understanding that he had of human hearts as revealed unto him through study, service, and the Spirit as a special witness of our Savior Jesus Christ. To everyone who had the privilege to listen and give heed to his words, he opened up our hearts to the love of God with all of the precision and delicacy that he had employed so often at the operating table. His words sometimes cut with the sharpness of a scalpel, but he always followed them up with such gentle sutures of comfort and healing that he hardly ever left any scars. His passion for opening up the hearts of the children and turning them to the fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children, in fulfillment of the promised Spirit of Elijah, can be seen in his efforts in more than doubling the number of temples on the Earth. He truly consecrated his life to expand the borders of Zion, so that with his skilled surgeon's hands all of our hearts could be knit together in unity and love. I thank thee O God for this prophet, for whom in his country there was much honor, a physician who did not stop with healing himself but healed all of us. He truly searched our hearts and knew the mind of the Spirit and made intercession for us. He invited us to take upon ourselves more fully and more seriously the name of Jesus Christ, to think Celestial, to have confidence in God, and to serve Him and each other in a higher and holier way. For all of those of us that he helped to open our hearts and let the Savior in, I hope that we will do all that we can to keep our hearts open and continue on our journey of healing that our open heart surgeon and prophet set us on. I bear my testimony that Russell M. Nelson was a prophet called of God and he loved God and each of us with all his heart. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
