BORN:
3 December 1940
PLACE
OF BIRTH:
St. George, Utah, United States
FATHER:
Frank Dennis Holland
ELDER JEFFREY R HOLLAND
of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Key Doctrines:
Angels,
their callings, and how they are nearby helping mankind (including each one of us) are a topic Elder Holland often mentions in his talks. He instructs us in the
process of living daily in Christ like ways and having faith. He also
specifically teaches the application this has to each of us personally: “Not
all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and
talk with—here, now, every day. Some of them reside in our own neighborhoods.
Some of them gave birth to us, and . . . indeed heaven never seems closer than
when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people
so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to
mind.”
Elder
Holland reassures, “In times of special need,
[God] sends angels, divine messengers, to bless His children, reassure them
that heaven [is] always very close and that His help [is] always very
near. . . . From the beginning down through the dispensations, God has
used angels as His emissaries in conveying love and concern for His children. .
. . Usually such beings are not seen. Sometimes they are. But seen or
unseen they are always near. Sometimes their assignments are very
grand and have significance for the whole world. Sometimes the messages are
more private. Occasionally the angelic purpose is to warn. But most often it is
to comfort, to provide some form of merciful attention, guidance in difficult
times. . . . In the course of life all of us spend time in “dark and
dreary” places . . . but I testify that angels are still sent to
help us . . . Even the Son of God, a God Himself, had need for heavenly
comfort during His sojourn in mortality. And so such ministrations will be to
the righteous until the end of time (Moroni
7:35–37, 30).” [1]
I learned:
Elder Holland was born and raised in St. George Utah. * As a young man he was on every sports team available. He was missionary companions with Elder Quentin Cook in the British Isles. Eventually he became an educator and taught marriage and family classes with his wife as the “Pat and Jeff Show.”
He has a great sense of humour and often speaks with a twinkle in his eye. In April 2013 General Conference he quipped, “When problems come and questions arise, do not start your quest for faith by saying how much you do not have, leading as it were with your “unbelief.” That is like trying to stuff a turkey through the beak! Let me be clear on this point: I am not asking you to pretend to faith you do not have. I am asking you to be true to the faith you do have.” [2]
Elder Holland, even as a child and young man, was always obedient and diligent. Knowing this, when I hear him say how we all can do better and then describe how he can personally do better, I am motivated to follow his example and counsel. His forthright, and sometimes “fiery, pulpit pounding” preaching and sermons seem to always have something memorable or quotable. I am always inspired by Elder Holland to strive to be more obedient and more faithful. I am also comforted; his words remind me how near and loving Heavenly Father is.
“He never gave me any trouble,” his mother said. “He was always at church, and he always took care of his priesthood duties.” Once when he was a youth, she let him go to a party with the understanding that he would be home by ten o’clock. Later, when he looked at the clock and realized that he had only 15 minutes to make it home, he ran from one end of St. George to the other.”
I enjoyed learning that Elder Holland has a degree with a philosophy emphasis. My husband, who joined me in studying the apostles, has a minor in logic and realized why he relates so well to Elder Holland's talks. We also had a great discussion about the story where Elder Holland and his son Matt took the wrong road. We had not considered that what we think is a "wrong" prompting might be for a good and beneficial purpose even though it seems initially counter-productive. We loved that story.
He served as the President of BYU after Dallin H Oaks from 1980-1989.
He teaches:
Elder Holland, even as a child and young man, was always obedient and diligent. Knowing this, when I hear him say how we all can do better and then describe how he can personally do better, I am motivated to follow his example and counsel. His forthright, and sometimes “fiery, pulpit pounding” preaching and sermons seem to always have something memorable or quotable. I am always inspired by Elder Holland to strive to be more obedient and more faithful. I am also comforted; his words remind me how near and loving Heavenly Father is.
“He never gave me any trouble,” his mother said. “He was always at church, and he always took care of his priesthood duties.” Once when he was a youth, she let him go to a party with the understanding that he would be home by ten o’clock. Later, when he looked at the clock and realized that he had only 15 minutes to make it home, he ran from one end of St. George to the other.”
I enjoyed learning that Elder Holland has a degree with a philosophy emphasis. My husband, who joined me in studying the apostles, has a minor in logic and realized why he relates so well to Elder Holland's talks. We also had a great discussion about the story where Elder Holland and his son Matt took the wrong road. We had not considered that what we think is a "wrong" prompting might be for a good and beneficial purpose even though it seems initially counter-productive. We loved that story.
He served as the President of BYU after Dallin H Oaks from 1980-1989.
He teaches:
“Take
heart, be filled with faith, and remember the Lord has said He ‘would fight
[our] battles, [our] children’s battles, and [the battles of our] children’s
children (D&C 98:37).’ . . . (D&C 90:24).’ The latter days
are not a time to fear and tremble. They are a time to be believing
and remember our covenants. [sic] . . .God never leaves us alone, never leaves
us unaided in the challenges that we face. '[N]or will he, so long as time
shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man [or woman or
child] upon the face thereof to be saved (Moroni 7:36).' On occasions,
global or personal, we may feel we are distanced from God, shut out from
heaven, lost, alone in dark and dreary places. Often enough that distress can
be of our own making, but even then the Father of us all is watching and
assisting. And always there are those angels who come and go all around us,
seen and unseen, known and unknown, mortal and immortal.”
* It was fun to discover that Elder Holland is the 2nd great-grandson of William Snow and Ann Rogers. I am the 2nd great-granddaughter of William Snow and Sally Adams.
Elder Holland is a great-grandson of Jeter and Leonora Snow, a favorite and often visited Uncle of my grandfather Neil Snow Forsyth (son of George James Forsyth and Sarah Sophronia Snow, daughter of William Snow and Sally Adams). Grandpa was born and raised in St. George and often returned there to spend time with his relatives even late in life.
Uncle Jeter Snow is the son of Ann Rogers and William Snow. Jeter's wife, Mary Alice Gardner is the daughter of Robert Gardner 1819 and Leonora Cannon. (Their son, Mary's brother , married Neil's sister Sarah Isabella Forsyth.) Jeter and Mary's daughter, Leonora Snow 1888-1979, married Herbert Roy Bentley. Herbert and Leonora Bentley are the grandparent's of Jeffrey Roy Holland. His mother is their daughter Alice Bentley Holland.
[1]
Elder JEFFREY R
HOLLAND of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles, “The
Ministry of Angels,” 178th Semi-annual
General Conference, October 2008
[2] ELDER JEFFREY R
HOLLAND of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Lord
I Believe,”183rd Annual General Conference April 2013
[3] Elder JEFFREY R
HOLLAND of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “The Ministry
of Angels,” 178th Semi-annual General Conference, October 2008
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