Obeying Mom and Dad

A story from Elder Nelson’s life.

When Elder Russell M. Nelson was a boy, he learned to obey his parents. Sometimes Russell didn’t want to get out of bed in the morning. His dad had a special way of helping him. He would come into Russell’s room and sing loudly, “Up, up, the sun is up, the dew is on the grass!”

Russell knew his dad was trying to help him. He obeyed his dad and got out of bed, even though he was tired. When Russell became a dad, he followed his dad’s example. He sang to his children in the morning to help them wake up too.

For Christmas one year, Russell’s parents gave him a shiny black bike. When Russell was 10, his dad asked him to come work as his errand boy. He would send Russell on his bike to deliver and pick up things all over town. Russell met lots of new and interesting people. He was excited to help!

5 Facts about Elder Nelson

Born in Salt Lake City on September 9, 1924

The M in his name stands for Marion

Helped to develop open-heart surgery

Has nine daughters and one son

Became an Apostle in April 1984

Later Russell used the money he earned from his job as an errand boy to buy his mom a present on his birthday! He wrote her a note that said, “Thanks for having me!”

Russell’s parents didn’t go to church very often. But they taught him how to pray and sent him to church every Sunday. When he was a teenager, he gained his own testimony. He knew Heavenly Father loved him, and he decided to always obey Him. When he got older, his parents started going to church too.