President Jeffrey R. Holland, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, spoke during the Saturday morning session of April 2024 general conference. He testified of and shared gratitude for resolute prayers. The following is a summary of what he said.
Elder Holland’s talk summary
God hears every prayer and responds to each according to the path He has outlined for His children. There are no limits to when, where or about what to pray, if one “ask[s] not amiss” (2 Nephi 4:35).
Prayers ought to be vocal. If privacy is not practical, prayers should be silent utterances in one’s heart. “If there be any time we feel not to pray, we can be sure that hesitancy does not come from God, who yearns to communicate with His children at any and all times.” When unsure how or what to pray about, begin and continue until the Spirit guides one into the prayer that should be offered.
The Savior, though perfect, prayed to the Father often. He prayed alone, in the company of others, sometimes standing and sometimes kneeling. In fulfilling His atoning sacrifice, He prayed ever more pleadingly.
With prayer, pleading and personal righteousness, “we really can ascend to Mount Zion. … As we repent of our sins and come boldly to that ‘throne of grace,’ leaving before Him there our alms and heartfelt supplications, we will find mercy, compassion and forgiveness at the benevolent hands of our Eternal Father and His obedient, perfectly pure Son.”
Watch his message
Notable quotes
“I testify that God hears every prayer we offer and responds to each of them according to the path He has outlined for our perfection.”
“It is for reasons known only to God why prayers are answered differently than we hope — but I promise you they are heard, and they are answered according to His unfailing love and cosmic timetable.”
“He needs to recognize us — not as nominal members listed on a faded baptismal record but as thoroughly committed, faithfully believing, covenant-keeping disciples.”
See the full text of Elder Holland’s talk: ‘Motions of Hidden Fire’
Who is President Holland?
- President Jeffrey R. Holland was ordained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on June 23, 1994, and was set apart as acting president of the Quorum on Nov. 15, 2023, after the death of President M. Russell Ballard. President Holland was called as a General Authority Seventy in April 1989.
- He served as the ninth president of Brigham Young University, where he was also a professor of English and ancient scripture. During his presidency, the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies was founded.
- He and his wife, the late Sister Patricia Terry Holland, were married in the St. George Utah Temple and have three children. Sister Holland served as a counselor in the Young Women general presidency.
- President Holland was Elder Quentin L. Cook’s mission companion in summer 1962 during their full-time mission service in the British Isles.
What has President Holland done recently?
- During the October 2022 general conference, he spoke about the religious symbol of the cross.
- In December 2023, President Holland rededicated the St. George Utah Temple, acknowledging that “we are a stronger Church — we are better people — for having been in the temple.”
- In his first assignment outside Utah since his illness last year, he spoke in Arizona to local leaders in the North America Southwest Area on Jan. 20, saying that God keeps His promises.
- On Jan. 27, he offered words of comfort to family and friends at a funeral for a Utah teenager who died in an accident.
- More recently, President Holland emphasized God’s love, mercy and watch care during a Feb. 24 leadership training meeting in Washington, D.C.
Read more of President Holland’s general conference addresses, or follow him on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
