It is with great sorrow that we mourn the passing of President Jeffrey R. Holland,

president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This special memorial episode of the Church News podcast celebrates his life

and his teachings. Known for his words and the way he expressed them, President Holland

will be remembered for the love he shared in nations around the world. He was indeed a friend

to all. Jeffrey Roy Holland was born in St. George, Utah on December 3rd, 1940,

to Frank D. and Alice Bentley Holland. He and his beloved wife, Sister Patricia Terry Holland,

who died in July of 2023, are the parents of three children and 13 grandchildren.

In addition to the three decades of service as an apostle,

President Holland served as a General Authority 70, Commissioner of Church Education,

president of Brigham Young University, and dean of the BYU College of Religious Education.

We begin this podcast with his remarks in the October 2022 General Conference

when he spoke of the challenges we all bear and of the saving power of Jesus Christ.

Years ago, following a graduate school discussion on American religious history, a fellow student asked me, why have the

Latter-day Saints not adopted the cross that other Christians use as a symbol of their faith?

Inasmuch as such questions about the cross are often really a question about our commitment to Christ,

I immediately told him that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

considers the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ to be the central fact,

the crucial foundation, the chief doctrine, and the ultimate expression

of divine love in God's grand plan for the salvation of his children.

I explained that the saving grace inherent in that act was essential for and universally gifted to the entire human

family, from Adam and Eve to the end of the world.

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