| Jeffrey R. Holland | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Holland, speaking atBrigham Young University, April 2018 | |
| Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles[1] | |
| November 15, 2023 (2023-11-15)[2] | |
| Called by | Russell M. Nelson |
| Predecessor | M. Russell Ballard |
| Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | |
| June 23, 1994 (1994-06-23) | |
| Called by | Howard W. Hunter |
| LDS ChurchApostle | |
| June 23, 1994 (1994-06-23) | |
| Called by | Howard W. Hunter |
| Reason | Death ofEzra Taft Benson; reorganization ofFirst Presidency |
| First Quorum of the Seventy | |
| April 1, 1989 (1989-04-01) – June 23, 1994 (1994-06-23) | |
| Called by | Ezra Taft Benson |
| End reason | Called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles |
| 9th President ofBrigham Young University | |
| In office | |
| September 1980[3] – 1989 | |
| Predecessor | Dallin H. Oaks |
| Successor | Rex E. Lee |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jeffrey Roy Holland (1940-12-03)December 3, 1940 (age 84) St. George, Utah, U.S. |
| Alma mater | |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children |
|
| Parents | Frank D. and Alice Holland |
| Signature | |
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Jeffrey Roy Holland (born December 3, 1940) is an American educator and religious leader. He served as theninth president ofBrigham Young University (BYU) and is theacting president[2] of theQuorum of the Twelve Apostles ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Holland is accepted by the church as aprophet, seer, and revelator. Currently, he is the third most senior apostle in the church.[4]
Holland was born and raised inSt. George, Utah. After graduating from high school, his college education began atDixie College and he also served as amissionary for the LDS Church in Great Britain. After returning from his mission, he transferred to BYU and graduated with abachelor's degree in English. He later earned amaster's degree in religious education at BYU. Holland received a second master's degree and later aPhD in American studies atYale University. In 1974, Holland was appointed BYU's dean ofreligious education, then two years later he was appointed as the eleventh commissioner of theChurch Educational System (CES), replacingNeal A. Maxwell. In 1980, Holland became BYU's ninth president, replacingDallin H. Oaks.
Holland was born inSt. 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.[5] As a youth, he worked as a newspaper carrier, a grocery bagger, and a service station attendant.[6] As a young man, Holland served in what was then known as the British Mission. Hismission president wasMarion D. Hanks, a churchgeneral authority. He andQuentin L. Cook were missionary companions.[7]
Holland graduated fromDixie High School in 1959. He helped the Flyers capture state high school championships in football and basketball.[5] He began his college education at Dixie College before his mission. After returning from his mission, he served as co-captain of the Dixiebasketball team.[6] 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.[8] The completed building was dedicated in September 2012.[9]
Holland transferred to BYU, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in English. He did graduate study in religious education, receiving aMaster of Arts (M.A.) degree in 1966 with a thesis on selected changes to the text of theBook of Mormon,[10][11] while also teaching religion classes part-time.[5] After earning his master's degree, Holland became anInstitute of Religion teacher inHayward, California. He later worked as an institute director inSeattle, Washington. Holland then studied American studies atYale University, where he received a second M.A. and aPhD in 1972.[12] At Yale, Holland studied with American literary scholar and criticR. W. B. Lewis and authored a dissertation on the religious sense ofMark Twain.[13] He was an instructor at the LDS Church's institute in Hartford while he was a student at Yale.
While studying at Yale, Holland served as a counselor in thepresidency of the LDS Church'sHartfordConnecticutStake.[14]
Holland served as an institute director in Salt Lake City after earning his PhD. He also served as director of theMelchizedek Priesthood MIA and as chair of the Young Adult Committee for the LDS Church.[6][15] In 1974, at age 33, Holland was appointed Dean of Religious Education at BYU. As dean, Holland founded BYU’sReligious Studies Center and became its first director.[16] From 1976 to 1980, he served as the eleventh commissioner of CES, replacing Neal A. Maxwell, who wascalled to theFirst Council of the Seventy.[17]: 40–42 [18][19] During this time, Holland also served on the board of directors of bothLDS Hospital and thePolynesian Cultural Center.[20]
In 1980, Holland was appointed to succeed Dallin H. Oaks as BYU's president. After a search committee was formed, as a favorite candidate ofN. Eldon Tanner, First Counselor in the LDS Church'sFirst Presidency, and the protégé of the chair of the executive committee of the BYU Board of Trustees,Gordon B. Hinckley, Holland was appointed less than two days later. As the church's commissioner of education at the time Oaks was released, Holland was supposed to compile a list of candidates to be the next BYU president. Instead, he was unexpectedly notified of the First Presidency's intention to make him president. After his appointment, rumors on campus cited the decision as "politically motivated".[17]: 40–41 Before he arrived at BYU, Holland reduced the number of vice-presidents to four and increased the number of assistant and associate vice-presidents over academics.[17]: 42
Holland easily transitioned into the role of president. He was familiar with the president's duties, since he had worked closely with Oaks as the commissioner of education.[17]: 41 He placed emphasis on upgrading programs and improving relationships with faculty rather than focusing on physical expansion of the campus.[17]: 42 In order to supplement the school's funds, Holland launched a fundraiser called "Excellence in the Eighties" which sought to raise $100 million from 1982 to 1987.[5] Specific funds were raised for student scholarships, academic programs, faculty salaries, and extension programs. He emphasized hiring more qualified faculty and purchasing more library and research materials. He supervised the building of the Crabtree Technology Building, but didn't promise more than ten new buildings during his presidency.[17]: 43
A significant achievement during Holland's presidency was the founding of theBYU Jerusalem Center.[21] Also during his presidency, the BYU Center for International Studies was renamed theDavid M. Kennedy Center for International Studies and had its role at BYU re-emphasized.[22] There had been a large amount of debate about BYU's dress code throughout the previous administration. Holland clarified his support for dress code rules.[17]: 115 Regarding violations of theHonor Code, if a student requested their names be removed from the church records, Holland instituted a policy in which they would have to receive special permission from the board of trustees in order to remain enrolled in school.[17]: 122–23
During Holland's presidency, the weekly independent student newspaper,The 7th East Press was shut down due to writing about controversial topics. However, student editor, Dean Huffaker, believed that Holland had tried to prevent them from being banned because Holland was conscious of public relations and didn't want to cause controversy. The students stated that they believed the ban came from one of the LDS Church's general authorities.[23]
Holland had the re-establishment of religious instruction as the "hub" of BYU's academics as one of his significant administrative goals. While he did not initiate any significant changes along these lines, his public communications regularly emphasized the importance of religious education.[17]: 91 As BYU's president, Holland encouraged academic excellence in an atmosphere of faith. Holland emphasized that BYU could not do everything but would seek excellence in what it did choose to do.[21]
Holland served as the president of the American Association of Presidents of Independent Colleges and Universities (AAPICU) and as a member of theNCAA's presidents' committee. He also received the "Torch of Liberty" award from theAnti-Defamation League.[24]
Holland was called as a general authority and member of theFirst Quorum of the Seventy on April 1, 1989, bringing an end to his term as BYU's president.[25] As a member of the Seventy, Holland was a counselor in the general presidency of the church'sYoung Men organization from 1989 to 1990.
Prior to his call as a general authority, Holland served asbishop of asingle adultward in Seattle, as a counselor in the presidency of the Hartford Connecticut Stake,[5] and as aregional representative.[25] He also served in the presidency of two other stakes and as a stakehigh councilor.[15]
From 1990 to 1993, Holland and his wife lived inSolihull,England, where he served as president of the church's Europe NorthArea.[26]
On June 23, 1994, Holland was called and ordained as an apostle by newchurch presidentHoward W. Hunter. The vacancy was created by the death ofEzra Taft Benson and subsequent reorganization of the First Presidency. This timing differed from the typical sustaining of new apostles in ageneral conference and ordaining them afterward. Holland also met with the media on the day of his ordination.[27] His call to the apostleship was subsequentlyratified by the church during the October 1994 General Conference.
In 2000, Holland became the chair of the Missionary Curriculum Task Force which worked to developPreach My Gospel.[28]
Holland lived inSantiago and served as president of the church'sChile Area from 2002 to 2004.[29][30]
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 thecrucifixion 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 a church website where it had been viewed over 500,000 times by August 2009.[31]
In 2012, Holland was the member of the Quorum of the Twelve with responsibility for the affairs of the LDS Church inAfrica. Early in that year, he went toSierra Leone,Liberia, andGhana to meet with members and missionaries. He also met with the Vice President of Sierra Leone,Samuel Sam-Sumana.[32] In December 2012, Holland organized the LDS Church's 3,000th stake, located inFreetown, Sierra Leone.[33][34] On March 12, 2012, theHarvard Law School hosted Holland for a "Mormonism 101" series.[35] On June 10, 2015, he addressed the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Foreign Affairs in the House of Lords at the UK Parliament.[36] In 2016, Holland was keynote speaker at theBoy Scouts of America's (BSA) Duty to God breakfast, as part of his assignment as the LDS Church's chief BSA representative.[37]
From 2015 to 2023, among his other assignments, Holland served on theChurch Board of Education and Boards of Trustees, where he also served as chairman of the Board's Executive Committee from January 2018 to May 2023.[38]
In November 2018, Holland spoke at a major inter-religious conference atOxford University.[39] During the same trip, Holland met withTheresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. This may have been the first official meeting of an LDS Church apostle and a British prime minister.[40]
In January 2019, Holland presided at the groundbreaking for the church'sUrdaneta Philippines Temple. He also spoke at a multi-stake conference in the Philippines that week.[41] In 2020, as chairman of the executive committee of theBYU-Hawaii board of trustees, he announced the appointment ofJohn S. K. Kauwe III as the institution's new president.[42][43]
In August 2021, Holland spoke at BYU's annual conference for faculty and staff and the speech sparked controversy within theLGBTQ+ community.[44] In the address,[45] Holland asked the faculty to defend the doctrine of the LDS Church, BYU's institutional sponsor, with the use of metaphorical "musket fire."[46]
In April 2023, the church reported that Holland would take a two-month hiatus from service to focus on his health. He had been undergoing dialysis for a kidney issue and had also contractedCOVID-19.[47] In early June, Holland began to gradually return to church service.[48]
After the death ofM. Russell Ballard on November 12, 2023, Holland was appointed and set apart as the acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on November 15, 2023.[2]
Holland and his wife,Patricia Terry, were married on June 7, 1963, in theSt. George Temple.[49] They are the parents of three children.[50] Their oldest son,Matthew S. Holland, served as president ofUtah Valley University from 2009 to 2018[51] and has been a general authority since April 2020.[52]Their youngest son,David F. Holland, is the John A. Bartlett Professor of New England Church Historyand Interim Dean ofHarvard Divinity School.[53] Patricia died on July 20, 2023, from causes incident to age and health.[54]
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| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Quorum of the Twelve Apostles June 23, 1994 – | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | President of Brigham Young University 1980 – 1989 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
