‘God Is in Charge,’ President Holland Testifies in Podcast Interview

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By Mary Richards, Church News

Speaking during April 2024 general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Jeffrey R. Holland, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said he felt he had received “an admonition to return to my ministry with more urgency, more consecration, more focus on the Savior, more faith in His word.”

In an interview for the Church News podcast, President Holland honored his commitment to comply with that admonition by sharing his testimony of Jesus Christ and His restored gospel.

Listen to this related podcast from the Church News Church News podcast: President Jeffrey R. Holland on the gospel of Jesus Christ and life’s challenges, with guest host Sister Sheri Dew

The Savior is everything, President Holland said. “He is the beginning, and He is with me right now, and He is the end. It is His gift. It is His atoning gift, especially the gift of life and of happiness and marriage and the things we have, the highs and the lows. He knows all about it.”

If someone has questions or concerns about the Church, President Holland would have them start with the Book of Mormon.

“I am saying the substance and the power and the significance of what we do know that is true. What we do have is 535 pages of content that you can touch it and feel it and bite it and tear it and open it and mark it,” he said.

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Everyone may have challenges, problems or questions at some point. To them, he said to keep what they have, cling to what they have, believe in what has been given and then go on from there.

“My declaration is: Keep the faith you have. But if there is faith you don’t have, great; join the human race, but keep the faith you have,” he said. “Answers will come, and gifts will be given, and we will sort it out, and we will make it.”

President Holland’s Challenging Year

President Holland has had what was perhaps the most difficult year of his life. At 83 years old, he has battled past an extended illness; spoken at the funeral of his dear friend and fellow quorum member, the late President M. Russell Ballard; and dealt with the passing of his wife of 60 years, Sister Patricia T. Holland.

To this day, he thinks about his wife all of the time, he said — he hears a noise in another room and thinks that is her, or he reaches for her next to him and remembers that she is not there.

But he is not grieving as much as he did, because he knows he is not far from being with her again.

“I think lovingly and adoringly of her,” he said, mentioning how he changes his phone screen saver to a new picture of Sister Holland every month or so. “She was remarkable in this little girl from Enterprise, Utah, who just marched onto the stage of life, and she could do everything.”

Being in the hospital for weeks is a tender subject for him to talk about. His family came every day and refused to let him go. Faith, prayers and blessings kept him alive.

“That is the way miracles happen, in or out of this Church,” he said. “It is people’s prayers and people’s faith and the power of the priesthood and administration. It really happens. … Sometimes it is answered the way you want. Sometimes you do get what you want. And that can coincide with what the Lord wants for you.”

One of his favorite scripture passages is Ether 3:3-5, where the brother of Jared needed help and prayed: “Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this. We know that thou art able to show forth great power, which looks small unto the understanding of men.”

Said President Holland: “It is all about His power. And it is all about His blessings. And He can do it. And He does do it.”

That is his answer to those who struggle or have challenges — that the Lord has power to remedy all.

Leading the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

After President Ballard died, President Holland became the Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which he said contains “the most remarkable, gifted, spiritual, kind men” he has ever met. They did not plan on the calling or seek it out; they could have been doing something else at this time in their lives, taking vacations and having fun with grandchildren, but it is a lifetime call.

He pointed out that leading the quorum is different from being a member of the quorum — mainly in the sense that he does not want to get in the way. All of the Apostles have different backgrounds, experiences, heritages and languages — and all have equal voices.

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“They are very smart, and they are very gifted. … You love them and give them resources and give them encouragement and a little direction, if anybody is seeking direction or needs it. But for the most part, you let them be what God ordained them to be. You let them be Apostles,” he said.

When he was president of Brigham Young University, he learned that people in the Church can have differing experiences and strong opinions; sometimes to the point of pounding the table. But in the end, all are brothers and sisters, “gospel bound and gospel tied,” and nothing matters as much as love and the truth.

Read more in this related Church News story Despite the challenges of the world, Elder and Sister Holland affirm: ‘The gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer’

Concerns and Hopes for the Future

The future — and the delight and the hope — of the Church is its young people, President Holland said. At the same time, the young people are also his greatest concern and worry.

He wants them to grow up in the gospel, go to the temple, go on missions as they choose and marry in the temple. When they are doing these things, he is ecstatic and thrilled. When they are not, or when they are troubled, he worries and lies awake at night.

“I would say here, when we have to create 36 missions in one year just to accommodate the missionaries who want to go, do not tell me that young people are not serving and loving and growing into the beauty of the gospel,” he said.

Thousands of youth and young adults are often in the temple doing baptisms, lining up before school or taking trips to the temple if it is farther away. Young people are magnificent, he said. While demographics of the world might be changing, everything being done in the Church is increasing — more success is coming from a smaller pool.

Speaking of missionaries and the temple, President Holland would like to see more teaching being done to prepare young people for the temple endowment — not just about looking forward to going on a mission.

He would also like to see more acknowledgement and open talk about depression or mental health challenges with less guilt about getting professional help. It is something he has spoken about in general conference.

His fondest hopes for the rising generation are that they will not be afraid, rather that they will be happy and confident.

“God is in charge of this. He is our Father. This is His plan. We are His children. We do not need to fear,” he said.

In his experience, the only way to be happy is to keep the commandments and love the Lord and love each other. “This is solid confidence that lets you get up and go to work the next day and know that it is going to be OK.”

At the conclusion of the interview, President Holland said he hoped his words would help somebody in some way, “because it is all true. It is all true, and I am not leaving.”