Love Pours in as People Share Personal Stories of President Jeffrey R. Holland
A rush of people and emotion have spread across social media, remembering and lauding the life of President Jeffrey R. Holland. We need to say what he meant to us and how his words carved out our souls, landing in that space where we have no words. He ignited that spiritual depth of pure light inside.
I first knew him when he was a counselor in the stake presidency while a student at Yale. He was the speaker at girl’s camp in New England, and I was a camp counselor, but the day he spoke, the rain arrived first, pelting our tents and drenching everyone. It was so mucky and wet, we were invited to stay put, so I was sheltered by a thin tent and lounging on a sleeping bag, when Jeff Holland spoke. He was only a voice as we didn’t venture out to see him. Yet, nearly immediately as he began to speak, my soul stood up, and my mind was quickened. Something like memory of another time, or power that I yearned to feel, or words that went straight to my soul, was carried by a voice only. Who was this young man with so much light in his words?
I don’t remember what he said, but the expanded meaning and sense of Spirit didn’t just linger with me for a few days. It changed my life. I wanted to keep what he gave me, and though I had been an ardent student of the gospel by that point for a few years, he embodied for me the light that a person could carry.
Imagine my joy when I was able to sign up for an Institute class from him in Salt Lake City only two or three years later. That class was the jewel of my week, my solace and joy. The gospel was so delicious as he taught it, but I also thrived on the love I felt from him. He made me feel like a star student, that my ideas mattered, that he was my personal friend. I think he felt like everybody’s best friend, because he talked to the center of your soul that is usually so often inaccessible.
A few years ago, Scot and I met in his office for an hour with him, and he had just been through a serious crisis with Pat’s health, but she had emerged from the brink of death to share more years with him. He said that the Lord will give you what you want if He possibly can. We took that to mean within the limits of what is ultimately good for you and the laws of eternity with which he is also bound as a perfect being. Yet, those words rang with us about a Lord who cared about our yearnings, and when we went to the parking lot, we took out our iPad and recorded notes for another hour on all he had taught us. Scot said, “We have just been with someone who knows the Lord personally, and I felt that presence in his office.”
For decades, I have counted President Holland as someone close to me, though our actual paths rarely crossed. When we did meet, he knew all about my work and my life. How can one person affect another so deeply and so long?
Here’s a sampling of what so many others have said about him, many taken from Facebook, beginning with our prophet:
President Dallin H. Oaks
I grieve the passing of President Jeffrey R. Holland. Our relationship in education and Church service began more than 50 years ago. It was a long and loving relationship in the work of the Lord.
During my service as President of Brigham Young University, I had the privilege of inviting him—then a young scholar in his early 30s—to serve as Dean of Religious Education.
From the beginning, his influence strengthened the university’s sacred mission to unite spiritual purpose with academic excellence.
Over the last three decades as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he lifted the weary, encouraged the faithful, and bore a powerful witness of the Savior—even through seasons of significant personal trials.
We honor his unwavering devotion, his steadfast witness of the Savior, and his inspired ability to strengthen faith and deepen understanding.
We thank our Father in Heaven for the blessing of shared service and for our united witness that Jesus Christ lives and directs His Church today.
See it on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dallin.h.oaks/posts/pfbid02KpNUjE99zeJme9FEHci6oYT7TNRCeWSymr783gfzcXHaFUZkjJqTMYS1bV1HAhv9l
Jason Wright
The Day Jeffrey R. Holland Helped Dig a Grave for a Young Missionary
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland is known for his talks and the powerful principles and crisp, undeniable doctrine.
But for residents of Hiko, Nevada, nothing Elder Holland says inside the Conference Center could have a greater impact than what they witnessed nearly 20 years ago. It’s a story they recall often, like a sacred memento you would never hide in a box.
The experience begins in an apartment building in Russia.
Where does it end? In a rocky grave in Nevada.
On Saturday, October 17, 1998, Elder Jose Mackintosh, 20, of Hiko, and his companion, Elder Bradley Borden, also 20, of Mesa, Arizona, were violently attacked while leaving an evening appointment in Ufa, Russia. The stabbings seriously injured 20-year-old Elder Borden, and he was sent to recover at a hospital in Germany.
Elder Mackintosh died at the scene.
Word traveled fast to the tiny town of Hiko, and by Sunday afternoon, a joint sacrament service was scheduled between the two local wards, and Elder Holland was assigned to visit, preside, and give comfort.
One week later, Elder Holland was back for the funeral.
Just 12 hours before Elder Mackintosh would be eulogized and laid to rest, friends gathered at Schofield Cemetery in Hiko to finish digging the grave. The ground had proved too tough for the backhoe to finish the job, and much of the work needed to be completed with shovels, steel bars, and pickaxes.
As evening fell, a car entered the cemetery and rolled to a quiet stop. A man stepped out by himself and took off his suit coat. His white shirt and tie drew a memorable contrast with the dusty Nevada dusk.
“May I help?” the man asked, and the crew was speechless. The volunteer was Elder Holland.
As he hopped into the deep grave, he asked, “Could anyone lend me a shovel?” Then, with heavy hearts and with dirt and grief on their faces, they dug.
Cortney Dahl, a local priesthood leader and close friend of the Mackintosh family, recalled in an interview this week that it’s as if the scene occurred yesterday and not two decades ago.
“I remember how shiny his shoes were standing in the grave and the reflection of the shovel. How his sleeves were rolled up. How he sweated like the rest of us.”
Elder Holland, with seemingly ninety and nine reasons to leave early, stayed for the one until the work was done.
The funeral was a standing-room-only affair. Dahl recounts people sitting all the way back on the stage in the cultural hall, and still others standing on the edges. Elder Holland and Elder Mackintosh’s family spoke fondly about the marvelous missionary who’d dreamt of serving in Russia since childhood.
After the service, and with the longest funeral procession Dahl has ever seen, Elder Holland returned to the grave he’d helped dig. When the dedication and burial were complete, Elder Holland stayed and shook the hand of every single guest.
Later, Dahl learned that Elder Holland had driven his own car to Hiko both times so he’d have the flexibility to stay as long as necessary. “I can still feel the brotherly love that he sincerely felt for each of us as he participated in that Christ-like service. There wasn’t a doubt among us that he was a chosen servant and personal witness for Jesus Christ.”
Dahl still ponders how embarrassed this Apostle of the Lord seemed by all the attention. “He knew the weekend wasn’t about him; it was about Jose and his family, but he also knew he had a responsibility to mourn with those who mourned.”
This weekend, witnesses to that special week in Hiko, Nevada, will smile when Elder Jeffrey R. Holland steps to the pulpit to address a global audience.
Millions will see him in a clean, dark suit with bright eyes and a beautiful tie.
But a small band of brothers will see him differently. In their minds, this disciple’s sleeves are rolled up, the sun is setting on his face, and he’s literally up to his chest in dirt and service.
See it on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LDSCanales/posts/pfbid0yyWpjWk8qSscZE7vKTZZJ7uTKvYjNtxSE3G76qpKbGth1m89gNsNn4mY6LhCaksil
President Holland’s appreciation for words and his connection to the wordsmiths of history is the stuff of legend. He admired and emulated those who fashioned simple words into penetrating phrases and soul-stirring prose. His own writing transcends time and space. President Holland seemed to be a kind of kindred spirit to Emerson and Thoreau, Shakespeare and C.S. Lewis, Winthrop, Churchill, and Twain, to name only a few. Not to mention his extraordinary spiritual connection to Tyndale and Martin Luther, ancient Apostles Matthew, Peter, and Paul, along with modern disciple-wordsmiths including John Taylor, Eliza R. Snow, and Parley P. Pratt.
None of these wordsmiths did President Holland meet in this life, but he knew them, not just through their works, but in a very personal way. Another wordsmith, James Elroy Flecker, described the connection this way, “Since I can never see your face, And never shake you by the hand, I send my soul through time and space, To greet you. You will understand.”
President Holland understood. He understood because he had paid the price to know these wordsmiths through their masterful words and within the white space between the words, phrases, and printed ink on the page. President Holland, like his fellow wordsmiths, understood pausing and pondering in the “between space” was the passageway to a magical place where grander views are illuminated, inspiring ideas are sparked, and where the Spirit stirs the soul and spurs thoughts toward greater meaning. One can only imagine the heavenly conversations and divine dialogue happening today between President Holland and history’s most extraordinary wordsmiths.
Above all, President Holland recognized and rejoiced in The Word, even the Savior Jesus Christ, whose disciple he was and whose apostolic errand he dynamically carried.
None of these wordsmiths did President Holland meet in this life, but he knew them, not just through their works, but in a very personal way. Another wordsmith, James Elroy Flecker, described the connection this way, “Since I can never see your face, And never shake you by the hand, I send my soul through time and space, To greet you. You will understand.”
President Holland understood. He understood because he had paid the price to know these wordsmiths through their masterful words and within the white space between the words, phrases, and printed ink on the page. President Holland, like his fellow wordsmiths, understood pausing and pondering in the “between space” was the passageway to a magical place where grander views are illuminated, inspiring ideas are sparked, and where the Spirit stirs the soul and spurs thoughts toward greater meaning. One can only imagine the heavenly conversations and divine dialogue happening today between President Holland and history’s most extraordinary wordsmiths.
Above all, President Holland recognized and rejoiced in The Word, even the Savior Jesus Christ, whose disciple he was and whose apostolic errand he dynamically carried.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and friends of other faiths looked forward to hearing the eloquence of the master wordsmith at the Church’s semi-annual conferences. Recognizing the responsibility of his assignment and the legacy his sermons and writings would leave, President Holland routinely spent long hours laboring through countless drafts before he would declare his message sufficiently polished and ready for delivery.
In a seminal address from 2013 titled, “Lord, I believe,” President Holland encouraged all who were struggling in their faith, saying, “When problems come and questions arise, do not start your quest for faith by saying how much you do not have.” His words always seemed to spring from a space of compassion, authenticity, earned empathy, and humility. His passion for compassion made him an irrepressible force and irreplaceable friend. It was easy to discern that where he called his listeners to come from, he himself had been before.
He continued this address, as the friend, mentor, and gentle guide he has been to so many, saying, “So if your faith is a little tested in this or any season, I invite you to lean on mine. I know this work is God’s very truth, and I know that only at our peril would we allow doubt or devils to sway us from its path. Hope on. Journey on. Honestly acknowledge your questions and your concerns, but first and forever fan the flame of your faith, because all things are possible to them that believe.”
Such wordsmithing and inspiration were surely the source of one popular social media meme, which declared, “President Holland could spark a flame by rubbing two ice cubes together.” His words sparked flames of hope from the ashes and embers of faith gone cold, kindled light in the midnight hours of darkness and despair, ignited illuminating inspiration in the storm clouds of doubt, and ultimately fanned the fire that warmed weary hearts and minds.
Elder Quentin L. Cook of The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the Church of Jesus Christ served as a missionary companion to President Holland long years ago in England. Their missionary service, the magic of the British Isles, and the souls of the people transformed both men and created a bond that has remained throughout their lives and extended into their global ministry as apostles.
Elder Cook once referenced a quote from Winston Churchill to describe Marion D. Hanks, who tutored and trained the two young Presidents as their mission president. Churchill had given a tribute at the passing of a colleague, saying, “He lighted beacon-fires which are still burning; he sounded trumpet-calls whose echoes still call stubborn soldiers to the field.”
The same can be said of the wordsmith Jeffrey R. Holland. His sermons, writings, and teachings have sparked countless beacon-fires of hope and healing, faith and fortitude, courage and confidence. His clarion and certain trumpet-calls resound with his special witness of Jesus Christ signaling to stubborn, or simply weary, disciples – to come and be strengthened.
It has been said that ideas go booming through the world like cannons, thoughts are mightier than armies, and principles have achieved more victories than horsemen or chariots. Inspiring ideas, transformational thoughts, and powerful principles are exactly what the wordsmith Jeffery R. Holland shaped, crafte,d and sent out into the world.
You learn a lot about a man by the words he decides to say, but you learn more about a man by the words he decides to pray. Concluding an interview on June 8, 2020, with the Elijah Interfaith Institute, President Holland was invited by Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein to offer a prayer. In that heavenly supplication and benediction, President Holland implored, “I pray that something we have said in this interview will be of help to someone who hears this interview. That they will take hope. That they will find faith. That they will see fear diminish and optimism increase. But optimism of a special kind – optimism of a Divine origin that comes because Thou art our God… We thank Thee for the promise of faith and the beauty of the future.”
If you pay attention, you can discover how the ultimate source of the wordsmith’s words was not found in his eloquent oratory or his masterful turn-of-phrase. Understanding the essence of President Holland happened in those moments when the Spirit, the source of his words, overwhelmed him. The wellspring of his words was most clearly seen when words utterly failed President Holland — when the words were absolutely incapable of articulating what he heard when he heard Him – The Word – Jesus Christ.
Now, this will not be the last word on President Jeffrey R. Holland. As apostles in days gone by, the words of his sermons and writings will echo down through the corridors of time and space. His words will be reread by friends and followers and rediscovered by generations yet to come. And as his apostolic colleagues, ancient and modern, there is no doubt that from the pulpit of memory, the recorded writing of his powerful and prophetic hand, and perhaps even a return appearance to some struggling soul on earth – the work of this wordsmith will carry on.
One of President Holland’s signature messages in mortality was given to new mission presidents and companions in a training on June 26, 2020. Delivered under difficult circumstances, this mighty Apostle and wordsmith rose from his bed of affliction to declare the word. Of all the words he could have chosen to inspire and strengthen those leaders preparing to “go and teach all nations” as disciples of Jesus Christ, President Holland’s address can be summarized in a single word, which, in truth, summarizes the entirety of his own life and ministry – LOVE.
The beacon-fires of faith he sparked will continue to light the way, his certain trumpet of hope will resoundingly ring out, and President Jeffrey R. Holland will continue to declare his witnessing words of the good word of the gospel and The Word, Jesus Christ, Himself – now and forever – as the Wordsmith for the Word.
Governor Spencer Cox (Utah)
Elder Holland was a teacher of souls, a friend to the weary, and a steadfast voice of hope in our church and across the world. For decades, he lifted hearts with his powerful testimony of Jesus Christ. We will miss him greatly.
“His legacy lives on in the countless lives he touched and the example he set. We take comfort in knowing that Elder Holland is reunited with his beloved Pat. Our prayers are with their family and all who loved them.”
Abby and I join all who mourn the passing of our dear friend, President Jeffrey R. Holland, a man of faith, generosity, and love. Elder Holland was a teacher of souls, a friend to the weary, and a steadfast voice of hope in our church and across the world. For decades, he lifted hearts with his powerful testimony of Jesus Christ. We will miss him greatly. His legacy lives on in the countless lives he touched and the example he set. We take comfort in knowing that Elder Holland is reunited with his beloved Pat. Our prayers are with their family and all who loved them.