Church historian Matt Grow was used to writing the histories of people who had been dead for years, such as Joseph Smith and Parley P. Pratt.
He was presented with an entirely new challenge when President Jeffrey R. Holland, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and later president of the quorum, asked after his 2023 health crisis if Grow would write his biography.
“I mean, an amazing opportunity, but how do you capture the life of someone like him?” Grow said on a recent episode of the Church News podcast. He was joined on the episode by guest host and fellow Church leader biographer Sheri Dew, executive vice president of the Deseret Management Corp. and a former member of the Relief Society general presidency.
Grow said his main burden in writing Elder Holland’s biography was to honestly and fairly portray President Holland’s “amazing life” in a way that paid tribute to the late Apostle.
“But he wouldn’t want tribute paid to him,” Grow said. “He would want people to know through his life the Lord Jesus Christ. He would want people to understand the miracles of his life. He would want people to understand what faith did for him.”
The gift of candor
Instead of sifting through old documents for information like other projects he’s worked on, Grow got to write this biography by interviewing the living subject. For the last two and half years of President Holland’s life, the Apostle met with Grow most Friday mornings for interviews.
“It was just amazing to sit with him, because he was always candid, he was always open, he was vulnerable,” said Grow. “He wanted to share the highlights, the lowlights, the learnings, the life as it was lived.”
Grow believes President Holland’s vulnerability about mental health was particularly meaningful to many people.
In the podcast episode, Grow referenced President Holland’s October 2013 general conference talk, “Like a Broken Vessel,” where the Apostle shared his own experience with depression.
“I think the power that that story had for Church members all across the globe, to understand that in this age where so many people struggle with depression or anxiety, there’s this man who I really admire who’s willing to say in a culture where we haven’t often, we haven’t always been willing to say that,” Grow said.
Hope in Jesus Christ
Along with being open about life’s hardships, President Holland also often talked about hope, said Grow.
“And it’s of course hope in the good things that will come in our lives, but a hope centered in Jesus Christ,” Grow said. “That hope in Jesus Christ, I would hope, would be one of the main things that people would know about President Holland.”
Grow emphasized President Holland’s hope and resilience by referencing a story the Apostle shared in his October 1999 general conference talk, “An High Priest of Good Things to Come.”
When President Holland was a young husband and father, he and his wife packed up their children and belongings to move across the country. Only 34 miles into their journey, their car broke down. After what President Holland describes as a painstakingly slow car repair, the family embarked on their cross-country trek once more, only to break down in the exact same spot.
When President Holland revisited that spot on the freeway 30 years later, he wanted to shout to his past self, “Don’t give up, boy. Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead — a lot of it — 30 years of it now, and still counting. You keep your chin up. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come.”
Grow said that was the message of President Holland’s ministry.
“We’re all going to experience those challenges,” Grow said, paraphrasing President Holland. “With the faith in good things to come, this is a gospel of happy endings.”
A legacy of connection
Grow said President Holland, who held a Ph.D. from Yale University, was blessed with a “remarkable intellect.” According to Grow, part of that intellect was the ability to remember people’s names and details about their lives.
Grow talked to nearly 60 people besides President Holland in writing the biography.
“A common theme was people saying, ‘I felt like I was his best friend,’” Grow said. “He made people feel that way. And that’s a gift.”
One of President Holland’s most cherished relationships was with his wife, Sister Patricia T. Holland, according to Grow.
The historian said that while President Holland served as the president of Brigham Young University, he and Sister Holland were renowned for giving joint devotionals, which eventually became known as “The Jeff and Pat Show.”
Once again, this choice came back to President Holland’s openness, said Grow.
“He wanted everyone to see this married couple at the stand, being candid about sometimes they could irritate each other, but they have this kind of fun back-and-forth that they do, but at the core of it this love for each other and this love for the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
