Jeffrey R. Holland

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Jeffrey Roy Holland (born December 3, 1940 in St. George, Utah) was ordained an Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on June 23, 1994, following the death of President Ezra Taft Benson, and sustained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 1, 1994. Other prominent service in the Church predating his ordination as an Apostle included serving as president of Brigham Young University and as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. As a young man he served a mission to England.

He was the youngest Apostle in the Church from his ordination by President Howard W. Hunter until the sustaining of David A. Bednar ten years later, being eight years younger than Apostles Dallin H. Oaks (also a former president of BYU) and Robert D. Hales, at that time the only Apostles born after 1928. In 2002, Holland and Oaks were both sent to preside personally over the Church's area presidencies in foreign countries: Oaks to the Philippines and Holland to Chile. In an interview, Holland pledged to involve himself deeply in the local congregations that he supervised.

Elder Holland is well known in the Church for his passionate writing and powerful intellect. A graduate of BYU (B.A.) and Yale (M.A. and Ph.D.), he is recognized even from within the Quorum of the Twelve as one of the most outstanding writers among the Brethren. His talks leave no doubt as to his abundant enthusiasm for the Gospel and extraordinary desire to share it with others. Known also for his very animated speaking style, many of his talks have become favorites among missionaries and other groups of people inside the church. Links to a few of his most memorable talks are given below.

Elder Holland and his wife, the former Patricia Terry, have three grown children.