Next in line to guide Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dies at 85 | EUROtoday

Jeffrey R. Holland, a high-ranking official within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who was subsequent in line to turn into the religion’s president, has died. He was 85.

Holland died early Saturday morning from issues related to kidney illness, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints introduced on its web site.

Holland led a governing physique known as the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which helps set church coverage whereas overseeing the various enterprise pursuits of what’s recognized extensively because the Mormon church.

He was the following longest-tenured member of the Quorum of the Twelve after President Dallin H. Oaks, making him subsequent in line to guide the church beneath a long-established succession plan.

Henry B. Eyring, one in every of Oaks’s two high counselors, is now subsequent in line for the presidency.

Holland had been hospitalized in the course of the Christmas vacation for therapy associated to ongoing well being issues, the church stated. Experts on the religion pointed to his declining well being in October when Oaks didn’t choose Holland as a counselor. He attended a number of church occasions that month in a wheelchair.

His demise leaves a emptiness within the Quorum of the Twelve that Oaks will fill in coming months, probably by calling a brand new apostle from a lower-tier management council. Apostles are all males in accordance with the church’s all-male priesthood.

Holland grew up in St. George, Utah, and labored for a few years in schooling administration earlier than his name to hitch the ranks of church management. He served because the ninth president of Brigham Young University, the Utah-based religion’s flagship college, from 1980 to 1989 and was a commissioner of the church’s world schooling system.

Under his management, the Provo college labored to enhance interfaith relations and established a satellite tv for pc campus in Jerusalem. The Anti-Defamation League later honored Holland with its Torch of Liberty Award for serving to foster better understanding between Christian and Jewish communities.

Holland is extensively remembered for a 2021 speech wherein he known as on church members to take up metaphorical muskets in protection of the religion’s teachings in opposition to same-sex marriage. The discuss, recognized colloquially as “the musket fireplace speech,” turned required studying for BYU freshmen in 2024, elevating concern amongst LGBTQ+ college students and advocates.

Holland is survived by his spouse, Patricia Terry, their three kids, 13 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.

Associated Press author Jeff Martin in Atlanta contributed.