Jeffrey R Holland

Early life and education

Holland was born in St. George, Utah. His father, Frank D. Holland, was a convert to the LDS Church while his mother, Alice, came from a long line of Latter-day Saints. As a young man, Holland served a mission to England; his mission president was Marion D. Hanks, a general authority of the church. He and Quentin L. Cook were missionary companions.

Holland graduated from Dixie High School. He helped the Flyers capture state high school championships in football and basketball. He began his college education at Dixie College before his mission. After returning from his mission, he served as co-captain of the Dixie basketball team. In 2011, the school broke ground for the Jeffrey R. Holland Centennial Commons Building, a building to honor both Holland and the school's 2011 centennial. The completed building was dedicated in September 2012.

Holland transferred to Brigham Young University (BYU) where he graduated with a BA in English. He wrote a thesis on selected changes to the text of the Book of Mormon to complete his MA in Religious Education from BYU, while also teaching religion classes part-time. After earning his master's degree, Holland became an Institute of Religion teacher in Hayward, California. He worked as an institute director in Seattle, Washington. Holland attended Yale University and earned a second master's degree in American Studies, and later a Ph.D in the same subject. At Yale, Holland studied with American literary scholar and critic R. W. B. Lewis and authored a dissertation on the religious sense of Mark Twain.

While studying at Yale, Holland served as a counselor in the presidency of the LDS Church's Hartford Connecticut Stake.

Leadership at BYU and the Church Educational System

Holland served as an institute director in Salt Lake City after earning his Ph.D. He served as director of the Melchizedek Priesthood MIA. In 1974, Holland was appointed Dean of Religious Education at BYU; during which period of time, he was the youngest dean at BYU. He served as the eleventh commissioner of the Church Educational System from 1976 to 1980.

In 1980, Holland was appointed to succeed Dallin H. Oaks as president of BYU. A significant achievement during Holland's presidency was the founding of the BYU Jerusalem Center. Holland also led a $100,000,000 fundraising campaign. During his presidency, the BYU Center for International Studies was renamed the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies and had its role at BYU re-emphasized.

As president of BYU, Holland encouraged academic excellence in an atmosphere of faith. Like future BYU president, Cecil O. Samuelson, Holland emphasized that BYU could not do everything, but would seek excellence in what it did choose to do.

Holland served as the president of the American Association of Presidents of Independent Colleges and Universities (AAPICU) and as a member of the NCAA's presidents' committee. He also received the "Torch of Liberty" award from the Anti-defamation League.

LDS Church leadership

Holland was called as a general authority and member of the First Quorum of the Seventy on April 1, 1989, bringing an end to his term as president of BYU. As a member of the Seventy, Holland was a counselor in the general presidency of the church's Young Men organization from 1989 to 1990. Prior to his call as a general authority, Holland served as bishop of a single adult ward in Seattle, as a counselor in the presidency of the Hartford Connecticut Stake, and as a regional representative.

Holland was ordained an apostle of the LDS Church on June 23, 1994, by Howard W. Hunter. He was selected as an apostle following the death of church president Ezra Taft Benson and was sustained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 1, 1994. In 2000, Holland became the chair of the Missionary Curriculum Task Force which worked to develop Preach My Gospel.

Holland lived in Santiago and served as president of the church's Chile Area from 2002 to 2004.

In church general conferences in the fall of 2007 and spring of 2008, Holland gave sermons that directly answered accusations that Latter-day Saints are not Christians. At the April 2009 general conference, Holland gave a sermon about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the importance of Christ's statement, "my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me". This talk was later reformatted with music and put on an LDS Church website, where by August 2009 it had been viewed over 500,000 times.

In 2012, Holland was the member of the Quorum of the Twelve with responsibility for the affairs of the LDS Church in Africa. In early 2012, he went to Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ghana to meet with members and missionaries. He also met with the Vice President of Sierra Leone, Samuel Sam-Sumana. In December 2012, Holland organized the LDS Church's 3000th stake in Freetown, Sierra Leone. On March 12, 2012, the Harvard Law School hosted Holland for a Mormonism 101 series. On June 10, 2015, he addressed the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Foreign Affairs in the House of Lords at the UK Parliament. As of August 2017, among his other assignments, Holland continues his service on the Church Board of Education and Boards of Trustees, where he also serves as a member of the Executive Committee.

Family

Holland and his wife, Patricia Terry, were married on June 7, 1963, in the St. George Temple. They are the parents of three children. Their son, Matthew S. Holland, was appointed in 2009 as president of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. A younger son, David F. Holland, is a professor at Harvard Divinity School.

Works

Awards