Heart of the Matter: What 100 Years of Living Have Taught Me

by Russell M. Nelson · 2023

First published 2023 · 224 pages · English

10 quotes ★ 4.86 (3,350) Nonfiction

Quotes from the Book

As you make your testimony your highest priority, watch for miracles to happen in your life.

Gratitude is key to happiness

Saints can be happy under every circumstance.” We can feel joy even while having a bad day, a bad week, or a bad year!

Your ultimate safety lies in never taking even the first enticing step in a direction you do not want to go.

As we treat our bodies as temples, our bodies will radiate the light and love of Jesus Christ and we will receive “his image in [our] countenances.

Jesus Christ frequently expressed gratitude. Before raising Lazarus from the dead, before miraculously multiplying loaves and fishes, and before passing the cup to His disciples at the Last Supper, the Savior prayed and gave thanks to God, His Heavenly Father.

As grand as the Creation of the earth was, it is only part of something even more magnificent. The earth was created that families might be. For a husband and wife 'shall be one flesh, and all this that the earth might answer the end of its creation.

Divine law is reassuring. It gives us a firm foundation upon which to stand and provides a sense of security, because absolute truth is completely dependable. If you adhere to the laws or truths that govern any particular behavior, discipline, or activity, you will achieve the outcomes you desire. Jesus Christ admonished us to “know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”3 Truth literally frees us from the bondage

Loving God more than anyone or anything else is the condition that brings true peace, comfort, confidence, and joy.

Joy is a gift for the faithful.

Did you know?

The book was released as its author, Russell M. Nelson, approached his 100th birthday.
Nelson was a pioneering heart surgeon who helped develop technology used in early open-heart surgery before his religious leadership.
Much of the book expands on major addresses Nelson delivered as a church leader.
Nelson recounts learning Mandarin Chinese at age 54 as an example of lifelong learning.
The book frames science and religion as compatible disciplines.

About Russell M. Nelson

Russell Marion Nelson (1924-2025) was an American cardiothoracic surgeon and religious leader who served as the seventeenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2018 until his death. Before his ministry he was a pioneering heart surgeon who helped develop technology used in open-heart surgery and was sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1984.

More about the author →

About the book

"Heart of the Matter: What 100 Years of Living Have Taught Me" is a reflective memoir-and-teaching volume by Russell M. Nelson, the heart surgeon who became the seventeenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Published as Nelson approached his hundredth birthday, the book draws together stories from his pioneering career in cardiothoracic surgery and his decades of religious leadership to set out the core truths he says have mattered most across a century of living. As he puts it, the principles he shares are "not merely ideas I have studied and examined; they are the very essence of my life's experiences."

Its themes are explicitly spiritual and practical: the reality of God as a loving Father, Jesus Christ as Savior, and the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Nelson weaves in reflections on lifelong learning, the place of temples and covenants in his faith, the roles and influence of women, civil discourse across differences, and the framing of trials as opportunities for growth met with gratitude. Much of the material expands on major addresses he delivered as a church leader.

The book reflects on a life that spanned from early radio technology to the space age, viewed through the lens of a religious figure. Within its Latter-day Saint audience it was warmly received and very highly rated by readers, while reviewers noted both its value as a synthesis of Nelson's teachings and points of critique, such as the disparity between its message about valuing women and how often women are actually cited in the text.

Book details

First published: 2023
Length: 224 pages
Reading time: 4 hours
Author: Russell M. Nelson
Genre: Nonfiction
Goodreads rating: 4.86 (3k ratings)

Critical reception

Highly rated by its readership, with a Goodreads average above 4.8 stars across thousands of ratings.
A Times & Seasons review by Chad Nielsen praised the book as a synthesis of Nelson's teachings while noting that it cites women far less often than men despite emphasizing women's distinctive contributions.
Coverage in Deseret News distilled the book into seven central teachings, including civil discourse, lifelong learning, and finding joy through Christ.