LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
When David F. Holland wakes up each morning, he is excited to head into work. The history professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), loves the opportunity he has to share with others his passion — American history.
Bishop of the Las Palmas Ward in the Las Vegas Nevada Warm Springs Stake for the past three years, he said, "I couldn't think of a better way to make a living than what I'm doing right now. ... I love to see that light bulb go off in students' heads, when finally they understand how these stories they have been hearing since grade school actually relate to the lives they are living today."
His love for history and teaching earned him the honor of being named the 2011 Nevada Professor of the Year, a recognition that took place during a ceremony held in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 22. This award — given by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education — recognizes professors for their influence on teaching and commitment to undergraduate students.
"When I received news of the award, I immediately felt a deep sense of gratitude to my department and university, both which had created an atmosphere conducive to good teaching," Bishop Holland said. "I also felt grateful to the long line of excellent teachers I have had who provided models of pedagogical excellence I can only hope to approach someday."
It was the influence of his parents, as well as some influential teachers, that helped him decide to become an educator.
"I think my parents (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve and Sister Patricia Holland) had a huge impact on that," Bishop Holland said. "They have always emphasized the importance of learning, and a love of reading and being informed about the world we live in.
"That was probably the single most influential factor in my professional choices, but I was also heavily influenced by my own teachers."
Two different high school teachers — each with different political views and teaching in two different countries — helped him look from different perspectives and realize the importance of the past. But it wasn't until after his mission to Czechoslovakia that he really started to study the history of America.
"I decided I needed to know a little bit more about the history of my own country and have been studying American history every since," he said. "History is essential to citizenship. I think nations are a lot like people. And to understand people in their maturity you need to understand what they went through in their childhood. ... If you have that historical understanding, you understand the present in a much more complete and useful way.
"As human beings we benefit from understanding how people have dealt with life and its challenges in different eras. We learn from them — both from their positive examples and their negative examples — in order to live better lives today."
In addition to his research and personal study, Bishop Holland said his gospel background gives him a unique perspective as a historian.
"The gospel is about hope," he added. "A lot of my colleagues who study history spend a lot of time dwelling on faults of humanity and mistakes people have made in the past. ... But the gospel has imparted to me the ability to see the good in humanity and see people who are striving to make sense of the lives of which we find ourselves. ... That helps with hope and the ability to see in people of all generations and all places are God's children and in many ways are trying to make the best of what they know and what they have got."
One of his favorite parts of teaching, he said, is when he witnesses students understanding and applying what they are studying — especially when the student isn't initially excited about studying history.
"I take that as a personal challenge to help them see the real value and intrinsic interest of the American past," he said. "And to successfully see that transformation in a student's mind is worth all the hours and effort put in."
Bishop Holland has been teaching at UNLV for six and a half years, after earning his bachelor's degree from BYU, and master's and doctoral degrees from Stanford University.
He taught at Stanford as a lecturer for a year before moving to UNLV.
His role as a teacher has helped him become a better student, he said.
"[Teaching] is the best way to learn," Bishop Holland noted. "I understand history better when I teach it than when I simply research it on my own. Having to impart something to someone else is an opportunity to grow. I am certainly a better thinker, I'm a better historian, because I'm a teacher, than I would otherwise be."
Bishop Holland and his wife, Jeanne, live in Las Vegas where they are raising their four children.
When asked how he stays balanced with the many responsibilities he has, Bishop Holland said he makes prioritizing a matter of prayer.
"There's plenty to do, there's no question about that," he said. "I pray hard. I really do trust this idea that God can guide our every footstep. I've relied on that — there is no way for me to make this life work without that principle. I've got a rock solid testimony of His goodness and guidance and that you need to be open to His voice. ... Some days He'll tell you to put in a little more time at the office, and some days he'll tell you to knock off early and go home and help with the kids. You've got to be open on a daily basis to what the Spirit may be guiding you to do."
Whether it is teaching a class at UNLV or serving as the bishop of his ward, he says his background in history helps in every aspect of life.
"One of the things I study is the Puritans. Early Puritans had a very profound sense of glorifying God in everything that you do. So instead of seeing my Church life as something separate from my family life, or my professional life, I see all of those as interlocking ways to love and serve and glorify my Heavenly Father.
"It helps me see them as not in conflict of each other, but as complementary to each other."
As a teacher at one of the most diverse campuses in the United States, Bishop Holland said it is by living the principles of the gospel that he is able to best serve as an ambassador of the Lord.
"I hope that I represent my faith and my commitments well simply by doing a good job, being a prepared teacher, caring about students, conveying that care," he said.
"That for me is the essence of our Christian duty, to live the principles of our faith in everything that we do. ...
"I just try to be the very best teacher I can be and the very best man I can be and let that speak for itself."
