‘An irresistible force for righteousness’: President Jeffrey R. Holland’s funeral

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (KIFI) – The family, friends, and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said goodbye to President Jeffrey R. Holland on Wednesday.

Holland, 85, was serving as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles when he died from complications of kidney disease.

His funeral was held at the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Temple Square.

Holland is the husband of Patricia Holland, proud father of three children and grandfather of thirteen.

He was ordained an apostle in 1994 and previously served for nine years as President of Brigham Young University.

Holland was known for his firebrand missionary work and touching sermons that reached out to millions around the world.

"My father was an irresistible force for righteousness," said his son Elder Matthew S. Holland, of the Quorum of the Seventy. "His unique gifts for friendship, intellect, language, and mirth disarmed and drew in virtually anyone who came within his orbit."

His daughter Mary Alice McCann emphasized her dad was gave his life to "succor the weak, lift up the hands that hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees."

"Jeffrey R. Holland was an apostle of hope," she said. "He believed in the redemption of Jesus Christ, and that through him and because of him all things would be made right."

The church's prophet, President Dallin H. Oaks, paid personal tribute to the man with whom he served as an apostle for more than three decades.

“President Jeffrey R Holland left a huge mark – loving personal memories of his influence and his unforgettable testimony of God – on all that he touched,” Oaks said.

President Holland will be buried Thursday in his home of Saint George, Utah, next to his wife who died in 2023.

President Jeffrey R. Holland smiles in his office in Salt Lake City. | Courtesy The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints