Jeffrey R. Holland has died

President Jeffrey R. Holland, a commanding voice and beloved teacher in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who spent more than three decades as a senior apostle, died early Saturday morning from complications related to kidney disease. He was 85. His death, announced by the Church, came at 3:15 a.m. Mountain Time, with family members at his side.

President Holland, who at the time of his death served as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, was widely regarded as one of the Church’s most gifted communicators — a leader whose sermons blended intellectual rigor, emotional warmth and an unyielding testimony of Jesus Christ. “There was nobody better in the Church at teaching,” said Elder Quentin L. Cook, a longtime colleague and fellow apostle, recalling Holland’s extraordinary ability to explain doctrine with clarity and depth.

Born December 3, 1940, in St. George, Utah, Holland grew up in a close-knit community he often described as loving and formative. That sense of warmth followed him throughout a life defined by teaching — first in classrooms and later from pulpits across the globe. After earning degrees from Brigham Young University and completing a master’s and doctorate in American studies at Yale University, he returned west to dedicate his career to religious education rather than more lucrative academic paths.

Before his call as an Apostle in 1994, Holland held several prominent leadership roles within Church education, including dean of BYU’s College of Religious Education, Commissioner of the Church Educational System, and president of Brigham Young University from 1980 to 1989. At BYU, he oversaw significant institutional growth, navigated national attention surrounding athletics and international programs, and worked to reinforce the school’s dual mission of faith and scholarship.

Once called as a special witness of Christ, President Holland’s influence broadened dramatically. He traveled extensively, including a two-year assignment overseeing Church operations in Chile, and later partnered with President Russell M. Nelson on the prophet’s first global ministry tour in 2018. His sermons — often eloquent, sometimes piercing, but consistently hopeful — addressed faith in times of doubt, mental illness, personal suffering and the redemptive power of Christ.

He spoke candidly about hardship, including his own, and urged members to persist in belief even amid uncertainty. “Life will challenge you. Difficulties will come,” he taught in 2020. “So, wherever you are going, make your way to Christ first.”

President Holland was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Patricia Terry Holland, who died in 2023. He is survived by their three children, 13 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.

In one of his most defining statements, made the day he was ordained an Apostle, Holland summarized his life’s work with characteristic directness: “My total responsibility is to bear witness of the Lord Jesus Christ.” For millions who heard him preach, teach and testify, that witness remains his enduring legacy.