Jeffery Holland
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland was ordained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 23 June 1994. At the time of this call, Elder Holland was serving as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, to which he had been called on 1 April 1989. A native of St. George, Utah, he has spent most of his professional life in Church education. He received his bachelor and master degrees from Brigham Young University and a master degree and Ph.D. from Yale University.
From 1980 until his call as a General Authority in 1989, Elder Holland served as president of Brigham Young University. He is a former Church commissioner of education and dean of the College of Religious Education at BYU.
Elder Holland is the author of several books, one of which he co-authored with his wife, Patricia. They were married in 1963 and are the parents of three children and the grandparents of 12 grandchildren.
“God is eagerly waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as he always has. But he can't if you don't pray, and he can't if you don't dream. In short, he can't if you don't believe.”