The Mormon Land newsletter is The Salt Lake Tribune’s weekly highlight reel of developments in and about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Support us on Patreon and get the full newsletter, exclusive access to all Tribune religion content and podcast transcripts.
‘Allowing me to serve a little longer’
At the funeral for his friend and fellow apostle M. Russell Ballard, Jeffrey Holland revealed his own close encounter with death.
How sick was Holland during his extended holiday stay last summer?
“Adrenaline-like drugs were being used to support his circulation. He was virtually nonresponsive,” apostle Dale Renlund explained in an Instagram post. “The physicians didn’t know exactly what was wrong and had informed his children that the prognosis was extremely poor.”
What medicine or health procedure does Renlund, a cardiologist by profession, credit for his colleague’s recovery?
He doesn’t. “It was a miracle,” Renlund states. “It was divine intervention. … The only way President Holland would come back to meaningfully fulfill his apostolic calling was through … God’s blessings.”
In response to Renlund, Holland, who turned 83 earlier this month and has been named acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, expressed thanks to “Heavenly Father for the health he has granted, allowing me to serve a little longer.”
That service included the chance to rededicate the renovated historic temple in his native St. George, an opportunity he called “unanticipated, not expected, but dearly, deeply appreciated.”
Holland reported another “miraculous” medical recovery in 2020, emphasizing then that he doesn’t “use that word lightly.”
The best of Patrick Kearon
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Patrick Kearon, now an apostle, speaks at General Conference in April 2022.
Here are key quotes from speeches by newly named apostle Patrick Kearon.
“The abuse was not, is not, and never will be your fault, no matter what the abuser or anyone else may have said to the contrary. When you have been a victim of cruelty, incest or any other perversion, you are not the one who needs to repent; you are not responsible.”
— April 2022 General Conference.
“Being a refugee may be a defining moment in the lives of those who are refugees, but being a refugee does not define them. …This moment does not define them, but our response will help define us.”
— April 2016 General Conference.
“When it comes to how we live the gospel, we must not respond with laziness or rebelliousness ... .We must lay down our weapons of rebellion (and we each know what they are). We must lay down our sin, vanity and pride. We must give up our desires to follow the world and to be respected and lauded by the world. We must cease fighting against God and instead give our whole hearts to him, holding nothing back. Then he can heal us. Then he can cleanse us.”
— October 2010 General Conference.
“Think of … repentance as the gift that it is. Think of it as a present, wrapped in gleaming paper with a bright bow — but unopened. It is time to open it and receive the gift. … Our sisters and brothers suffer from poverty, oppression, injustice, war and corruption — to name but a few of the conditions of this telestial world. As you set goals and make plans for your life, working to relieve the suffering and lift the burdens of others should be present in your endeavors.”
— April 2019 at BYU.
“Spending too much of our time with social media, celebrity or entertainment news, games and the pursuit of online, time-hungry activities constitutes a poor digital diet. When we choose to consume the attitudes and opinions of the mass media, we will find our own values and viewpoints following suit, and most of the time we don’t even realize it is happening.”
— February 2012 at BYU.
“The test of a pluralistic society is to achieve unity without diminishing the diversity within it. Religious freedom means nothing if you protect your own religious practice while neglecting the practice of others, especially those who might be less secure and able to defend themselves. It only works if you protect the rights of everyone. The United States has a Christian majority, but unless it honors the lawful practices of Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Native American religions and everyone else, including individuals and groups who profess no faith at all, it will fail to live up to its own ideals.”
— June 2019 at BYU.
The latest ‘Mormon Land’ podcast: About the new apostle
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Patrick Kearon and his wife, Jennifer, chat with a group of young adults before a worldwide devotional for young adults in Salt Lake City on May 6, 2018.
Plucked from the Presidency of the Seventy, Patrick Kearon may have been a likely pick to become an apostle, but he brings an unlikely biography.
He joined the church at age 26. He has lived and worked in the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. He has no university degree, but, trained in communication, his speeches are earnest, eloquent and evocative.
On this week’s show, Mormon studies professor Patrick Mason discusses how the 62-year-old Brit’s background, passions and personality might influence fellow leaders and the global membership.
Listen to the podcast.
From The Tribune
• Is he another Dieter Uchtdorf? Patrick Kearon, known for his compassion, is the church’s newest apostle.
• Kearon delivers his first sermon as an apostle and speaks about his new position in two videos.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Newly named apostle Patrick Kearon speaks at the fall commencement at Brigham Young University-Hawaii in Laie on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023.
• Why naming a new apostle is a big deal.
• The longtime host of The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square’s “Music and the Spoken Word” will be leaving the broadcast to become a mission president.
• Why new rules allowing smaller stakes (clusters of congregations) may not lead to a lot more stakes.
• Tribune guest columnist Natalie Brown has an idea for helping Latter-day Saint adults gather more often.
• Read excerpts from last week’s “Mormon Land” podcast with two women personally affected by the recent removal of Relief Society leaders from the stand in the Bay Area. Full transcripts are available by joining Patreon.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) The St. George Temple on the day of its rededication, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023.
• Utah’s oldest operating Latter-day Saint temple is now its newest as apostle Jeffrey Holland rededicates the renovated St. George Temple.
• Apostle David Bednar is scheduled to dedicate Utah’s Layton Temple on June 16 after an April 19-June 1 open house.
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