'Evidence of divine love': Services honor life, legacy of President Jeffrey R. Holland

SALT LAKE CITY — The children of President Jeffrey R. Holland, the late president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, praised his love, example of fatherhood and testimony during funeral services Wednesday.

"Among my earliest memories are vivid snapshots of everyday heroism," David F. Holland said of his father.

President Holland often dropped everything to help another person, giving young David Holland the impression that his father was Superman.

As he grew up, David Holland started to see the "mortal limitations" of his dad, such as his lack of carpentry skills despite his best efforts, the son joked.

"As it turns out, even in his limitations or maybe especially in his limitations, my dad remained and remains my hero," he said.

Hundreds of people filled the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Wednesday, where the funeral was held for President Holland, who died Saturday from complications associated with kidney disease.

Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles conducted the service and spoke about President Holland's "extraordinary ability to connect with people."

He talked about the various ways President Holland served the church throughout his life and said he will dearly miss his friend. Elder Cook was a former mission companion of President Holland.

"We will miss his loving kindness, his infectious smile and his powerful witness of Jesus Christ," Elder Cook said.

'He has continued to be my teacher'

President Dallin H. Oaks, president of the church, expressed his love for his fellow apostle. President Oaks and President Holland first began their relationship in education and church service more than 50 years ago, when President Oaks, then-president of BYU, asked President Holland to be the dean of Religious Education at BYU.

President Oaks shared that, over the years, their roles have shifted, with him sometimes in charge of President Holland and President Holland's position being above his.

"In our most recent calls, I became his president, but throughout, he has continued to be my teacher," President Oaks said. "The lifetime personal and heartfelt assurance of President Holland's teachings answers our most personal feelings about our mortal failings."

When President Holland's death was announced, President Oaks said the church received "an avalanche of praise" for him. He shared some of the quotes from admirers which highlighted President Holland's compassion, passion for the Lord and unique ability to speak directly to people's souls.

"President Jeffrey R. Holland left a huge mark — loving, personal memories of his influence and his unforgettable testimony of God on all that he touched," President Oaks said.

'Evidence of divine love'

President Holland's daughter, Mary Alice H. McCann, said her father was "physical, tangible evidence of divine love." She shared how her father would lie on the floor of her bedroom every night, comforting her until she fell asleep, as she was too scared to be alone.

As she grew up, her father was always the first to notice when she needed comfort or love and wouldn't give up until he had helped her find peace.

"No matter my despair, my fear or my heartache, his consoling counsel would always end with, 'Mary, be peaceful,'" she said.

While it is frightening to have to live without the physical presence of the man who always made her feel safe, she finds peace knowing her father left her with a testimony of the Prince of Peace.

She called her father an "apostle of hope" who loved the gospel with "all the blazing fire of his being." She compared him to the Book of Mormon prophet Ether, whom the scriptures described as unable to be restrained by his love for the Lord.

"If my mother loved a testimony of the gospel into our hearts, he burned it into our souls," she said. "His conviction was contagious."

McCann said her parents preached the redemption of Jesus Christ, always telling others that because of him, all things could be made right. She said those who loved them now have a duty to "carry on the fire of faith that they flamed within each of us."

David Holland shared how some of his favorite talks from his father always had a theme of a parent running to help their child.

"This image of a father running toward his child pops up again and again in his talks. This was so much more than mere literary motif. This image contains both the essence of my dad's approach to parenthood and his irrepressible testimony of the character of the god who is the father of us all," he said.

Many knew President Holland as a gifted orator, elegant writer, deft leader and devoted minister. While he was all of those things to an astonishing degree, he was an even better father who took after the example of God, David Holland said.

"The kind of god who is first and foremost a parent. I believe in such a god, I know such a god, in large part because I had such a dad," he said.

'Irresistible force for righteousness'

Elder Matthew S. Holland, a general authority seventy, said his father was an "irresistible force for righteousness" who channeled all of his gifts, time and work ethic into bringing others to Christ.

Even during the last two years, when he had intense personal and physical challenges from health complications and losing his wife, he always brought love, laughter and the light of Christ to others in "life-altering ways," Elder Holland said.

"This final and most admirable chapter of his life was a masterclass in being a disciple of Jesus Christ at all times and in all things and in all places," he said.

"His deep, rock-ribbed conviction that Jesus Christ is always and forever the unimaginable generous rewarder of those that seek him," Elder Holland said. "Such faith is the thing we all most need and the thing he most wanted to share."

President Holland had served as an apostle for the church since June 1994. Before then, he was part of the church's First Quorum of the Seventy, spent a decade as president of Brigham Young University and served as a commissioner of the Church Educational System and dean of Religious Education at BYU.

President Holland married Patricia Terry in 1963 in the St. George Utah Temple. President and Sister Holland are the parents of three children. Sister Holland died on July 20, 2023, at age 81, following a brief hospitalization.

President Holland will be buried in his hometown of St. George, next to his wife, on Thursday.

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