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Dozens gather on West Temple Street in Salt Lake City to see the hearse carrying the casket of President Russell M. Nelson leave the Conference Center on Temple Square on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025.

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A person holds the program for the funeral services of President Russell M. Nelson at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025.

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The casket of President Russell M. Nelson arrives at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, passing members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the Presidency of the Seventy and the Presiding Bishopric.

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Elder Jeffery R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speaks at the funeral services of President Russell M. Nelson at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025.

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Russell M. Nelson Jr., son of President Russell M. Nelson, speaks during the funeral services of his father at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025.

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The casket of President Russell M. Nelson is placed on the vault at the Salt Lake City Cemetery in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025.

Courtesy Intellectual Reserve

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Thousands traveled to the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday for the funeral services of Russell M. Nelson, late president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Among the attendees were a notable number of young adults who cleared their busy college schedules to honor the prophet they said had an impact during their formative years.

They included Oregon native and Brigham Young University student Dylan Smith, who said she wanted to honor the late prophet in person.

“He was such a prominent man in every way. He was an example of how we should live and how we should love others, and he made a big impact on my testimony and my faith,” Smith said.

BYU church history professor Mary Jane Woodger told the Daily Herald last week that Nelson had a profound impact on youth by utilizing social media to connect with them and telling them they were the greatest generation in the church.

Utah State student Garrett Spaulding, who had a gap in his classes and went to Salt Lake City for the services, said Nelson was able to connect with young adults through a number of devotionals he directed toward them.

“I can still remember some of those messages that he had, and they had a lasting impact on me,” he said.

BYU student Sophia Toscovich, originally from Virginia, said Nelson was important in growing the youth battalion, showing the church the strength of the youth and teaching the youth how to grow in their faith.

“He was so important in the way he taught the spirit of the law and not just the letter of the law,” Toscovich said. “Like to understand what is right, how to gain our own personal testimonies, how to grow, how to find God. I think he was just a great example of how to build your own testimony and how we as youth can have a really profound impact on others.”

Smith added that Nelson encouraged the youth to attend the temple, build their testimonies young and prioritize the right things.

“That definitely helped shape my life and how I’m choosing to live it, and I know it shaped the lives of those around me,” Smith said.

The college students appreciated learning more about Nelson during the funeral proceedings, as two of his children told stories of their father, while church leaders reflected on his ministry.

Spaulding said he enjoyed hearing President Dallin H. Oaks, president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, share about how Nelson “took on that prophetic mantle” and showed an ability to “make very decisive decisions.”

Toscovich said she appreciated how Nelson’s family is continuing to find joy despite grieving the loss of their father and grandfather.

“I think that really speaks to him as a father, as a prophet and a leader — that even though he’s gone, they still have faith that they’ll see him again, and that he really did teach them they can find joy in Jesus Christ,” she said.