A Prophet's Heart

An Introduction to President Russell M. Nelson's New Book "Heart of the Matter"

A short time ago, Russell M. Nelson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reached a remarkable milestone in his remarkable life when, along with the Church, he celebrated his 100th birthday.

President Russell M. Nelson

As part of this milestone, President Nelson published a new book entitled Heart of the Matter: What 100 Years of Living Have Taught Me. I finished reading this book just prior to the October 2024 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which was good preparation for appreciating President Nelson’s most recent talk “The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again.”

In essence, Nelson’s Heart of the Matter contains material that is very similar to his General Conference talks and other addresses. After the Introduction, the titles of the chapters in Heart of the Matter are:

PART 1 LAWS FOR FULFILLING YOUR LIFE’S MISSION

1. “Begin with the End in Mind” (Do not take even one step in a direction you do not want to go.)

2. “Discover the Power of Divine Law” (Divine law is irrefutable whereas relative truth is rarely true.)

3. “Understanding the Everlasting Covenant” (Making covenants with God changes our relationship with Him forever.)

4. “Understand Who You Are and Whose You Are” (Make sure you see yourself as God does.)

PART 2 LAWS FOR NURTURING ENDURING RELATIONSHIPS

5. “Reject the Plague of Contention” (Twenty-first-century animosity is as deadly as COVID-19.)

6. “Treasure Your Family” (Nothing produces the joy that families can.)

7. “Respect the Spiritual Strength of Women” (Women of faith are our hope for the future.)

8. “Respect Priesthood Power” (Righteous exercise of priesthood authority can change the course of the world.)

PART 3 LAWS FOR ACCOMPLISHING THE IMPOSSIBLE

9. “Experience the Healing Power of Gratitude” (Life-altering gratitude is not just for good things.)

10. “Know that with God You Can Accomplish the Impossible” (God uses the unlikely to accomplish the impossible.)

11. “Honor Your Body” (The body is a sacred gift and should be treated like one.)

12. “Listen to the Latter-day Prophets” (The Lord speaks to us through His prophets.)

PART 4 LAWS FOR WALKING THE COVENANT PATH

13. “Immerse Yourself in the Word” (The scriptures are a latter-day survival guide.)

14. “Learn to Receive Personal Revelation” (This spiritual gift opens heaven’s door to countless other gifts.)

15. “Make the Temple Your Spiritual Foundation” (Seek to know more, understand more, and feel more about temples.)

16. “Embrace the Correct Name of the Church” (The Lord honors those who reverence His name.)

17. “Let God Prevail in Our Lives” (You have a role in the greatest work on earth.)

18. “Overcome the World and Find Rest” (The reward for keeping covenants with God is heavenly power.)

For your convenience I have included links to each of the talks that best correspond with the topic of each chapter. Of course there is additional material in the book that is not found in the talks, but the main substance of the book is found in the talks.

I enjoyed President Nelson’s book Heart of the Matter and recommend it to all sincere truth seekers. It reminded me of other books by or about Russell M. Nelson that I have read or sampled, such as

• Russell M. Nelson: Father, Surgeon, Apostle, by Spencer J. Condie

• Accomplishing the Impossible: What God Does, What We Can Do, by Russell M. Nelson

• Daily Joy: A Devotional for Each Day of the Year, by Russell M. Nelson

• From Heart to Heart: An Autobiography, by Russell M. Nelson

President Nelson has written several other books as well.

I recently discovered that a family friend lived with the Nelson’s in her youth, and that she received a special gift from Russell M. Nelson with his signature and a dedication in it…

I have only read a small portion of Russell Marion Nelson’s autobiography, but I was impressed that our family friend has a signed copy, in part because it is a rare edition, and in part because a copy of this book costs more than a thousand dollars on Amazon.

(By the way, when I consider the royalties that must be rolling in from books at Deseret Book and on Amazon, I think that I need to start publishing more books. 😊)

President Nelson’s autobiography has been the topic of much discussion in recent years because of a particular passage in which he records the story of his involvement with the secret society Skull and Bones at the University of Utah. (see here, here, here, and here). This is the passage in question:

University life was wonderful and successful. On April 3, 1944, 
I was elected president of the Sigma Chi fraternity. I was also later 
elected to the honorary societies of Skull and Bones in the junior year, Owl and Key in the senior year, the Beehive Honorary Society in the senior year, and at graduation time to the honorary scholastic socie-ties of Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Beta Kappa. I was awarded my B.A. 
degree in June commencement of 1945, and there on hand was Dant- 
zel, along with our dear parents, brothers, sisters, and other relatives who always did so much to encourage me. Dantzel got her bachelor’s degree a year later in 1946. 

Here it is in a photograph:

While we puzzle over this strange fact, I heartily (pun intended) recommend President Russell M. Nelson’s excellent book Heart of the Matter: What 100 Years of Living Have Taught Me.