Morehouse College, a historically Black school in Georgia, has given its inaugural Gandhi-King-Mandela Peace Prize to President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Rev. Dr. Lawrence Edward Carter Sr., dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel, read a citation and presented President Nelson with the award in a pre-recorded broadcast played at an award ceremony on Thursday, April 13, 2023, at the WorldHouse Interfaith and Interdenominational Assembly at the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel. An overflow audience of more than 2,600 people attended.
“We are honored to announce you as the inaugural laureate of the Morehouse College Gandhi-King-Mandela Peace Prize as an internationally recognized medical scientist, revered president, prophet, seer, and revelator for the 17-million-member Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” Carter said, reading the citation. “You have continued the legacy of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter-day Saints movement and the first nationally recognized religious leader in the United States to advocate for the freedom of enslaved Africans by affirming racial and ethnic equality and running for the American presidency on a political platform of compensation emancipation. You have worked tirelessly to build bridges of understanding rather than create walls of segregation.” (Read the full text of the citation.)
You can read the full story on Church Newsroom and watch a sweet video of his acceptance speech in the player below.