Elder Matthew S. Holland, General Authority Seventy, spoke during the Sunday afternoon session of October 2025 general conference about Jonah and not forsaking one’s own mercy. The following is a summary of what he said.
Elder Holland’s talk summary
There are powerful lessons in Jonah’s experiences in the Old Testament — resisting a call to serve, willingness to sacrifice to help others, surviving a storm by being swallowed by a “great fish,” praying to be delivered, accepting the call to preach and saving a city (Jonah 1:17).
But when Jonah resents the mercy shown to his enemies, “God patiently teaches Jonah that He loves and seeks to rescue all His children.”
Jonah shows how “all are fallen.”
“Having a doctrinal understanding and spiritual witness of why every single one of us struggles with moral, physical and situational challenges is a great blessing.”
A testimony of the Fall doesn’t excuse sin, but it can “temper our frustrations when things just go wrong” and point people to become more like God.
“Even greater than manifesting the effects of the Fall, Jonah’s story powerfully directs us to Him who can deliver us from these effects.”
Jonah’s plea is a cry “of a good man in crisis, one largely of his own making.”
“My plea, inspired by Jonah, is: Forsake not your own mercy. You have immediate access to divine help and healing despite your human flaws. This awe-inspiring mercy comes in and through Jesus Christ.”
Read the full text of Elder Holland’s talk: ‘Forsake Not Your Own Mercy’
Notable quotes
“Having a doctrinal understanding and spiritual witness of why every single one of us struggle with moral, physical, and situational challenges is a great blessing.”
“Even greater than manifesting the effects of the fall, Jonah’s story powerfully directs us to Him who can deliver us from these effects.”
“Whether we are facing a deep, Jonah-like catastrophe, or the every-day challenges of our imperfect world, the invitation is the same, forsake not your own mercy.”
See more quotes, stories, video clips and other study helps for this talk
Who is Elder Holland?
- Elder Matthew S. Holland is the oldest son of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
- Born in Provo, Utah, he also spent time in his growing up years in California, Washington and Connecticut before his family returned to Utah where his father eventually became president of Brigham Young University.
- He has spent two periods of his life in North Carolina: first as a young graduate student at Duke University and then again when he and his wife were called to head the North Carolina Raleigh Mission in 2018.
- He served as president of Utah Valley University from 2009 until 2018.
- He is married to Paige Batemen, and they are the parents of four children.
What has Elder Holland done recently?
- He spoke on “The Exquisite Gift of the Son” in the October 2020 general conference. He also spoke in the April 1983 general conference as a teenager.
- Elder Holland, who leads the Church’s Church’s global communications efforts, was at the Eighth Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, held at the Palace of Independence in Astana, Kazakhstan, in September 2025. He spoke during a special session on preserving sacred spaces, saying protecting holy ground has never been more important.
- Elder Holland represented the Church of Jesus Christ at the inauguration Mass for Pope Leo XIV in May 2025 and delivered the congratulatory letter from the First Presidency to the Vatican.
- He was the keynote speaker at the 2024 Patriotic Service, part of the America’s Freedom Festival at Provo, Utah, in July 2024.
- He was at the rededication of the St. George Utah Temple on Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023. His father, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, rededicated the temple in the area where their family lived.
Read Elder Holland’s previous general conference addresses.
