Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has been released from the hospital, according to a statement from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Friday, June 19.
“He is returning to normal activities. He and his family appreciate the prayers and concern on his behalf,” said Church spokesman Eric Hawkins.
Elder Holland was admitted to the hospital last week following several days of illness, the Church reported on Wednesday. “He has been tested and does not have COVID-19,” said Hawkins in the earlier statement. “Other diagnostic studies are being done.”
Elder Holland, 79, was ordained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on June 23, 1994. He was serving as second counselor in the North America West Area presidency at the time of his call.
From 1980 until his call to the First Quorum of the Seventy in 1989, Elder Holland served as the ninth president of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. While he was president of BYU, he helped establish the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies. He previously served as the Church commissioner of education and dean of the College of Religious Education at BYU.
Elder Holland was recently interviewed by the Elijah Interfaith Institute about what he has learned during the COVID-19 pandemic. He focused on the importance of taking time for personal reflection and how he is determined to return to public service with “a little more sympathy and empathy, a little more insight and feeling for those out in that congregation.”
A few weeks after Church leaders suspended meetings, closed temples and transported thousands of missionaries to their home countries in March due to the pandemic, Elder Holland spoke with the Church News about using the pandemic as an opportunity for soul-searching and self-examination.
‘Shelter in place’ spiritually and physically, Elder Holland says
As millions across the world have faced “shelter-in-place” orders, Elder Holland noted that the term has both spiritual and physical implications. Referencing Psalm 61:1-4, he said, “The Lord is our ultimate shelter.”
“He is our tower. He lifts us out of troubled waters and places us on the rock of our Redeemer. He covers us with His wings, poetically speaking.”
