Jeffrey R. Holland, a high-ranking official in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who was due to become the faith’s president, has passed away. He was 85.
The church announced on its website that Holland died early Saturday morning due to complications related to kidney disease.
Holland, who died in Salt Lake City, led a governing body named the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which assists in setting church policy while overseeing the numerous business interests of what is widely known as the Mormon church.
He was the longest-tenured member of the Quorum of the Twelve after President, making him next in line to lead the church under a long-established succession plan. Oaks, 93, became president of the church and its more than 17 million-strong global membership in October.
Henry B. Eyring, who is 92 and one of Oaks’ two top counselors, is now next in line for the presidency.
The church stated that Holland had been hospitalized during the Christmas holiday due to ongoing health complications. Experts on the faith pointed to his deteriorating health in October when Oaks did not select Holland as a counselor.
His death creates a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve that Oaks will fill in the coming months, likely by calling a new apostle from a lower-tier leadership council. Apostles are all men in accordance with the church’s all-male priesthood.
Holland grew up in St. George, Utah, and worked in education administration for many years before being called to join the ranks of church leadership. He served as the ninth president of Brigham Young University, the Utah-based faith’s flagship school, from 1980 to 1989 and was a commissioner of the church’s global education system.
Under his leadership, the Provo university worked to enhance interfaith relations and established a satellite campus in Jerusalem. The Anti-Defamation League later honored Holland with its “Torch of Liberty” award for helping promote greater understanding between Christian and Jewish communities.
Oaks, also a former BYU president, reflected on Saturday his more than 50 years of friendship and service with Holland, describing their relationship as “long and loving.”
“Over the last three decades as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he lifted the weary, encouraged the faithful and powerfully testified of the Savior — even through seasons of significant personal trials,” Oaks said.
Holland was known as a dynamic orator whose sermons combined scholarship with tenderness. In 2013 he spoke to church members about supporting loved ones with depression and other mental illnesses, openly sharing about times when he felt “like a broken vessel.”
Holland is widely remembered for a 2021 speech in which he called on church members to metaphorically take up muskets to defend the faith’s teachings against same-sex marriage. The talk, colloquially known as “the musket fire speech,” became required reading for BYU freshmen in 2024, raising concern among LGBTQ+ students and advocates.
Holland was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia Terry Holland. He is survived by their three children, 13 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.