Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke during the Saturday morning session of October 2021 general conference. He encouraged listeners to come unto Christ completely and wholeheartedly. The following is a summary of what he said.
Notable quotes from Elder Holland
“When difficult things are asked of us, even things contrary to the longings of our heart, remember that the loyalty we pledge to the cause of Christ is to be the supreme devotion of our lives.”
“There is divine help for every one of us at any hour that we feel to make a change in our behavior.”
“If we love God enough to try to be fully faithful to Him, He will give us the ability, the capacity, the will and the way to love our neighbor and ourselves.”
Summary of Elder Holland’s talk
In response to the rich young ruler’s question “What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” Jesus told him to sell all his belongings, take up his cross and follow Him. With or without riches, all are to come unto Christ with the same uncompromised commitment to His gospel.
Divine help is available at any moment one feels to make a change. The people in the Book of Mormon chapter of 4 Nephi had no contention because “the love of God … did dwell in the hearts of the people.”
“When the love of God sets the tone for our own lives, our relationship to each other and ultimately our feeling for all humankind, then old distinctions, limiting labels and artificial divisions begin to pass away, and peace increases.”
For those who love God enough to try to be faithful to Him, He will give the ability, capacity, will and way to love one’s neighbors and themselves. “I pray we will succeed where that rich young man failed, that we will take up the cross of Christ however demanding it may be regardless of the issue and regardless of the cost.”
About Elder Holland
- Elder Jeffrey R. Holland was ordained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on June 23, 1994.
- He served as the ninth president of Brigham Young University. During his presidency, the historic BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies was founded.
- He and his wife, Sister Patricia Terry Holland, were married in the St. George Utah Temple and have three children.
Elder Holland in the news
- Speaking during the BYU annual University Conference on Aug. 23, Elder Holland pleaded with BYU faculty and staff to do their part to ensure the university “stands unquestionably committed to its unique academic mission and to the Church that sponsors it.”
- The words of Christ are the best ‘why’ missionaries need, Elder Holland declared during the Seminar for New Mission Leaders in June.
- During his April 23 remarks as part of “The World’s Principled Leader Series” presented by the Covey Leadership Center at Utah State University’s Jon M. Huntsman School of Business, Elder Holland identified six principles of the Savior’s perfect leadership.
Elder Holland’s recent social posts
- “Because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so,” Elder Holland wrote in a Sep. 17 Instagram post.
- In a June 7 Facebook post, Elder Holland posted in honor of his 58th wedding anniversary, and called his wife, Sister Patricia Holland, “‘the mother of all living’ in my world, my reason to keep living, to keep trying, to keep growing.”
- On May 16, Elder Holland shared pictures of a newly married grandson and a missionary granddaughter, and reflected on how “change and progression are part of God’s plan for us.”
