When young Jeffrey R. Holland arrived to begin his service in the British mission in 1960, he had little idea what he was doing, and little idea of what his future held.
The newly minted Elder Holland was the son of a mother, Alice, who was devout and active in the church and a father, Frank, who was not; he had “no missionary tradition,” he told Deseret News reporter Trent Toone in 2017.
Luckily, he had “wonderful” missionary companions—including his future colleague in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Quentin L. Cook—who helped him gain confidence in his testimony and in teaching the gospel.
Those experiences reshaped his whole life, Holland told the Church News in 1989 upon his call to full-time service in the First Quorum of the Seventy.
“I look back on that as a very pivotal time in my life,” he reminisced to reporter Gerry Avant. “My decision to teach stemmed from my mission experience, which reinforced my love of the Book of Mormon, the Bible and other scriptures. I knew that somewhere, somehow, someday, I wanted to teach the scriptures, to teach the gospel.
"But for years I've had only these administrative assignments, and I thought, ‘Will I ever get to teach, as I set out to 25 years ago?’ One of the joys in anticipating this assignment to the First Quorum of the Seventy, as I understand it, is for the rest of my life I can find ways to teach the gospel and teach the scriptures."
And that is just what this consummate teacher did, right up until his death on Saturday, Dec. 27, at age 85. As BYU’s dean of religious studies, a position he took at just age 33, he founded BYU’s Religious Studies Center to expand access to learning and scholarship. As BYU president from 1980 to 1989, he made sure to teach either an introductory English or Book of Mormon class every year.
And as a general authority, teaching dominated Jeffrey R. Holland’s service. From helping open BYU’s Jerusalem Center to serving as Commissioner of Church Education to delivering gripping, erudite conference talks that became many people’s all-time favorites, Holland was a lifelong learner who eagerly sought to pass along the knowledge he had gained and to make church teaching more effective and impactful.
Here, in his own words and the words of others, are some of the principles of good teaching embodied by Jeffrey R. Holland.
Challenge your students, but be yourself
In a Dec. 27 Substack tribute, Michelle Lehnhardt, who took a Book of Mormon class from Holland during his time as BYU president, recalled his literate and personal teaching style.
“He treated us like we were smart, weaving together Dante, Thoreau, Shakespeare, and a half-dozen scriptures in the space of five minutes,” Lehnhardt wrote. “Yet he remained profoundly personal. Is there anyone in the Church who doesn’t know his wife’s name was Pat? For me, that alone, mentioning your spouse so often we feel we know her, became a quiet hallmark of a leader who truly revered women.”
She added that the class not only taught her about the Book of Mormon, but also about the powerful traditions of religions besides her own.
“As you surely know, Elder Holland quoted C.S. Lewis often and in great depth,” she wrote. “Holland visited Lewis’ Oxford home, The Kilns, and sat in the chapels in Oxford where Lewis worshipped. Holland also quoted many other Christian and Jewish thinkers. In fact, he could be credited with opening our somewhat insular community to the wisdom and counsel of others who worship the Almighty God. He helped us see that other religions did not threaten our faith but helped us to build upon it.”
Salt Lake Tribune sports columnist Gordon Monson echoed this sentiment, calling Holland “an honored and honorable educator” and adding, “On the whole, even in the face of some imperfection, that’s the way I saw him: … an educator, a poet, a good mensch.”
Learn from others
In a forum on effective teaching transcribed in the June 2007 issue of the Ensign, Holland acknowledged his debt to many teachers and mentors who took an interest in him.
“I’m not all that I should be, but whatever I’m going to be, I owe to great teachers, starting with my own beloved parents and every other good person who has touched my life along the way,” he said.
His former mission companion, Quentin L. Cook, said In a July 13, 2017, Deseret News article that he recognized Holland’s “fabulous” teaching talents almost immediately, adding that he was honored to be a part of Holland’s development as a teacher.
“I have loved and admired Elder Holland since those early days and sustain him,” Cook said. “I am so grateful for the bond of love, appreciation, and gratitude for all these many years that we have been dear friends.”
Remember what matters most
In the aforementioned effective teaching forum, titled “Teaching and Learning in the Church,” Holland noted that many lesson outlines include more material than any teacher can possibly cover in the time allotted.
“We are teaching people, not subject matter per se,” he reminded his audience. “So, stop worrying about that. It’s better to take just a few good ideas and get good discussion—and good learning—than to be frenzied, trying to teach every word in the manual.”
When faced with difficult students, he added, respond as Jesus Christ, the Master Teacher, would.
“If those children are unresponsive, maybe you can’t teach them yet, but you can love them,” he said. “And if you love them today, maybe you can teach them tomorrow. ... I think that is totally within our power. None of that is dependent upon them. We can love them from start to finish, and miracles will happen.”
See the power in the material
The best teachers center lessons on the material rather than on themselves, Elder Holland reminded his audience during the teaching forum. This is especially powerful in gospel teaching.
“Avoid self-serving performance and vanity,” he said. “Don’t try to dazzle everyone with how brilliant you are. Dazzle them with how brilliant the gospel is. Don’t worry about the location of the lost tribes or the Three Nephites. Worry a little more about the location of your student, what’s going on in his heart, what’s going on in her soul, the hunger, sometimes the near-desperate spiritual needs of our people.
“Teach them. And, above all, testify to them. Love them. Bear your witness from the depths of your soul. It will be the most important thing you say to them in the entire hour, and it may save someone’s spiritual life.”
Find and reflect joy
In a social media post reacting to Holland’s death, Mormon Women for Ethical Government noted that he was known for bearing “regular and joyful witness of a living and loving Savior”:
“His capacity to use language elevated gospel principles and gave them new life, while reminding us always that noble words and high ideals must be accompanied by action and sacrifice.
“As president of BYU, he led with joy and invited students to conceptualize a life in which they could balance professional and scholarly excellence with faith and gospel learning. During his tenure, he and his wife Patricia offered a visible example of a loving and equal partnership, and their spiritual, relational and intellectual leadership had a profound and lasting impact on students.”
Works cited in this article
- “Quorum of the 12 President Jeffrey R. Holland dies at age 85,” KSL.com
- Lehnhardt, Michelle. “Elder Holland: It’s Personal. We’ve each lost a dear friend”
- Toone, Trent. “Elders Ballard, Holland and Cook look back on missions and gospel legacy of British Isles,” Deseret News
- Monson, Gordon. “Remembering my email from apostle Jeffrey Holland,” Salt Lake Tribune
- “President Jeffrey R. Holland, December 3, 1940-December 27, 2025,” Mormon Women for Ethical Government
- Holland, Jeffrey R. “Teaching and Learning in the Church”