President Holland Urges Dominican Republic Saints to ‘Be Believing’

Speaking before the largest gathering of Latter-day Saints in the history of the Dominican Republic, President Jeffrey R. Holland’s message was simple: “be believing.”

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“What The Church of Jesus Christ [of Latter-day Saints] must have to begin our journey and see the Church and the gospel triumph is the commitment to have faith, to believe,” the Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught on Sunday, November 10, 2024, before the crowd gathered at the Carlos Teo Cruz Colosseum in Santo Domingo. “The great cry of all the prophets has been, ‘be believing.’ See it through. Don’t give up when trouble comes. Anybody can guide a ship in calm water. But it takes a commitment and some skills and some preparation to guide a ship in a storm.”

One of President Holland’s messages for youth was that his health challenges of 2023 — he was often unconscious for a full month and nearly passed away — are proof of miracles.

“I want the young people to know there are still miracles in this Church,” he said. “The miracle that I represent in the restoration of my life is as real as any miracle in the Old Testament or the New Testament or the Doctrine and Covenants or the Book of Mormon. Miracles still exist.”

When Latter-day Saints come upon difficult times, they should remember the promises they made and those that were made to them, President Holland said.

“Remember the cycles of life,” he said. “It takes broken clouds to nourish the earth. It takes broken ground to grow grain. It takes broken grain to make bread. It takes broken bread to nourish and feed us. These are the cycles of life. We need to have faith through the difficult times — it’s part of the plan.”

The Apostle urged them to do all they can to preserve their marriages and friendships.

“Live the gospel, see it through, and broken things will be mended through the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,” he said.

President Holland was joined on the journey to the Caribbean by Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Elder Rasband said keeping God’s commandments — and implementing principles found in “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” — are the surest recipe for enduring joy.

“Striving together as parents and families will make us happy,” Elder Rasband said. “As you keep the commandments of God, you will be blessed and prospered in your life. This has been a promise given to God’s house of Israel forever.”

Many were grateful to have two Apostles of Jesus Christ visit their land.

“Our elders love me and all of us,” said 14-year-old Abril Navarro. “It’s incredible to think about Apostles being here. I was here listening to them [even though] I had lots of things to do today. Even though I had many things to do, it doesn’t matter right now. The most important thing is to hear what they want to tell me.”

Rosanna Gomez, who joined the Church 20 years ago, said it was her first time seeing two Apostles in person.

“Keep the commandments of the Lord and focus on the Savior — I think that was the most important thing that I will keep in my mind from his message,” Gomez said.

Nearly 7,000 members and friends of the faith gathered for the special multistake conference, and more than 12,000 people across the nation joined via broadcast.

During his visit, President Holland also held a separate meeting for Church leaders.

“To return after a couple of decades to [teach and learn from] stake presidents [was] really a rich moment,” said President Holland, who last visited the Dominican Republic in 2014. 

Before he left on the morning of Monday, November 11, President Holland spoke to mission leaders in the Caribbean. He encouraged them to persevere through hard times to help the Church grow where they serve.

“You keep trying. You keep working,” he urged mission leaders. “When we’ve been pressed to the edge of our ability and our opportunity, God will then, at the final hour, in the ultimate moment, make a successful inroad here and a winning inroad there. And finally, we’ve seen the Church to grow in the way that you want it to grow and have dreamed it would grow. Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity. He is not going to do this without some price on our part. We do a little, then He does a lot.”

One of the most important lessons President Holland brought to the Dominican Republic came on Saturday in an interview with Fausto Rosario, a popular journalist in the country.

When Rosario asked what message the Church leader would leave with the people, President Holland focused on the love of the Father and the Son.

“We’ve come to say to the people that God loves us. He is our Father. He loves us individually. He knows you by name. And he knows me by name,” President Holland said. “There is an individual love from God to His children. And His children are in the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean area, the Caribbean basin. We’ve come to teach that love, including the love of the Savior Jesus Christ, His Atonement, covering everyone. Not one man, woman or child is left out of the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.”