Thanksgiving Tribute #6

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

You don't have to meet a person to be grateful for them. I've never met Elder Jeffrey R. Holland personally but he has had a profound effect on my life... several times.

My first real experience with Elder Holland (I'm not counting watching General Conference for years and years and years) was in September of 2008. I was carrying a burden that I didn't think I could carry. I was broken. I remember sitting down to watch a CES Fireside on Sunday in late September with a fervent prayer in my heart for peace and understanding.

The speaker was Elder Holland. He spoke on "prison temples." He taught that often our most difficult times of trial can also be some our most sacred experiences. Those times that we are the most sad, the most lost, the most broken are the times that our Savior is closest. I felt the power of his words and I knew it was true. Even today, in my mind, I can still hear his declaration that "Heavenly Promises are ALWAYS kept."

Two other experiences that will always stand out to me...

1. When he spoke to the missionaries and outgoing mission presidents at the MTC my last week there. The one statement I will always remember is when he said, "Welcome to the work of angels, welcome to the work of the divinity." Wow.

2. And during my mission when he added his witness of the Book of Mormon during General Conference (and endeared himself to every missionary!) and declared he knew it to be true. I love that talk and have listened to it over and over. (Find it HERE)

What a good man of God and a righteous influence to so many! I really hope I get to meet him someday.