Post # 217 -- Part 2 -- Counsel from members
of the Twelve Apostles“Shelter in Place” Spiritually
and Physically, Elder Holland Says as
Isolation Orders Continue around the World
Contributed By Sarah Jane Weaver, Church News editor
- 1 APRIL 2020
Dear Family and Friends
I pray that each of you are healthy and doing well during
these times of uncertainty. I wanted to share the second
in the series of counsel from the Members of the Quorum
of the Twelve Apostles, today's counsel comes from
Jeffrey R. Holland. Let’s see what he has to teach us today.
I left the date on the top of the page of the date this'
counsel was given. As I share it with you today in my post
today, my thought is to remind each one of you that this
counsel is still good for us to follow, even though we are no
longer in a shelter in place mode, at least for most of us.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland speaks during a meeting at the Hyde Park Chapel of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in London on Thursday, April 12, 2018. Photo by Ravell
Call, Deseret News.
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
- The pandemic presents a “precious opportunity
to demonstrate faith.”
- Provide, care for, and reach out to another while
maintaining physical distance guidelines.
- Be “positive and optimistic,” doing what you can,
and trust the Lord for the rest.
“Such times invite us to look into our soul and
see if we like what we see there.” —Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
RELATED LINKS
Editor’s note: This is part two in a series of counsel from
members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during the
COVID-19 outbreak. Click on the following names to read
The continuing and growing COVID-19 pandemic is an opportunity
for soul-searching and self-examination, the kind of personal
reflection that refines faith, strengthens character, and “increases
“This is a rare time of enforced solitude when we don’t have a lot
of trivia or superficial busyness distracting us from considering the
truly important things in life,” said the member of the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles. “Such times invite us to look into our soul and see
if we like what we see there.”
When was the last time you looked into your soul to see
if you like what you see there? Did you like what you saw
staring back at you? If not, now is the perfect time for
another look, as well as for making a plan for how you can
improve the image you saw there? What changes will you
make? Where will you begin? Where will I begin?
Elder Holland spoke to the Church News on March 28 as millions of
Latter-day Saints worldwide respond to government mandates aimed
to flatten the spread of the coronavirus that has caused illness and
death, stifled economies, closed schools, and curtailed daily routines
across the globe. In response to the pandemic, Church leaders have
suspended meetings, closed temples, and transported thousands of
suspended meetings, closed temples, and transported thousands of
missionaries to their home countries.
The result is a “kind of mandatory Sabbath—a time when we step away
from our normal routine, from life as usual, and consider our dependence
on God and the blessings from Him we so often take for granted,” said
Elder Holland.
Quoting a favorite British phrase, he reassured the Church News
audience that “things are going to ‘come right.’ They are undoubtedly
on their way to ‘coming right’ already. But we owe it to our Father in
Heaven to be a little more grateful, a little more thankful, and a little
more inclined to remember how many problems are resolved because
of God, angels, covenants, promises, and prayer.”
Did you hear that? /Problems are solved because of God, angels.
Covenant promises, and prayer,” So what part of this are we to
do? I know that i can do my best to keep the promises that i
made with the Lord and i can pray,
“Shelter in Place”
“The opportunity to respond to trouble and turmoil with ever-greater
faith is documented over and over again in scripture—where the love
of God, the sacrifice of Christ, and their many manifestations of mercy
are the great constants when we face adversity of one kind or
another,” said Elder Holland.
This present pandemic presents a “precious opportunity to
demonstrate faith,” he said. “Often those opportunities seem rare.
In our modern age we don’t have to worry about parting the Red
Sea, because we have engineers that can build a bridge over it.
We need some reminders from time to time that those beautifully
engineered bridges can collapse, so to speak. This pandemic is
just such a collapse.”
Are you and your family members and friends demonstrating
faith? What are you doing to strengthen your faith? How are
you helping one another to strengthen your faith? What do
you need to do to strengthen your faith if you feel that it
isn't strong enough?
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speaks at the Stirling
Smith Art Gallery and Museum in Stirling, Scotland, on July 5, 2018. Photo by Simon
D. Jones.
As millions across the world face “shelter-in-place” orders, Elder
Holland noted that the term has both spiritual and physical
opportunity Latter-day Saints have to look to the Lord for shelter:
“Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.
“From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart
is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
“For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from
the enemy.
“I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of
thy wings.”
That is “shelter at its best,” Elder Holland said, noting that society
should also be obedient to the governmental directives regarding
temporal sheltering as well.
“The Lord is our ultimate shelter,” he explained. “He is our tower.
He lifts us out of troubled waters and places us on the rock of our
Redeemer. He covers us with His wings, poetically speaking.”
Pausing to reflect on this verse of scripture, Elder Holland said
quietly, “We are always talking about not having enough time to
think about such things,” said Elder Holland. “Well, we have
some time now.”
What a great thing to remember, that “the Lord is our
ultimate shelter.” He is where we should turn to when we
need sheltering, He is where we should turn when we are in
need of counsel and guidance, we can receive this through
the promoting of the Holy Ghost ads well as from His
Prophets and his counselors the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles and those whom He has called.
With that time, members can be “immersed in things of the
soul that we always want to address, and know very well that
we should, but sometimes in the hubbub of daily life don’t seize
the opportunity to do.”
Lamenting the pace of our modern era, Elder Holland recalled,
“Ralph Waldo Emerson said once, ‘Things are in the saddle
and ride mankind.’”
“Let’s realize this is one of the times we can take the saddle off
our backs, a time when not quite so many demands are made
and we can address edifying, eternally important things.”
What are the things that are eternally important that you
have been able to address and edify during this time of
Shelter at home time? Have you taken the time to count
your many blessings? I told my son, who is going through
some tough times right now that he should begin a journal
to keep track of how many blessings he has in his life. In
doing this he can stay focused on the positive things in his
life rather than to focus on everything else that is coming
his way.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles greets members in
Harare, Zimbabwe, on April 17, 2018, as part of the global ministry tour.
“Things of the Heart”
One of those things is looking to the needs of others, said Elder
Holland. Members can find joy as they share the “things of the
heart”—provide, care for, and reach out to another in ways that
are consistent with the physical distance we are supposed to
maintain. “It is a tremendously joyful thing to lift somebody
else spiritually.”
Through ministering, the Lord makes sure every individual is
cared for. At a time when physical contact is limited, members
can rely on technology such as social media, email, Skype, and
FaceTime, he said. “We ought to dedicate a certain part of our
day to communicating with people who need a boost. Of course,
day to communicating with people who need a boost. Of course,
we get a boost from doing that, so everyone is ‘lifted up,’ as the
Savior said He was sent to earth to do.”
I agree with Elder Holland in the that I have had a few
opportunities to reach out to people through texting i have
also been able to uplift others and drop off things that they
were in need of but could not leave their home to get them.
I believe serving others in these small and simple ways are
important for us to continue even after COVID 19 is over.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speaks during a multistake
conference at the Gallagher Convention Center, near Johannesburg, South Africa, on
Sunday, November 10, 2019.
Elder Holland said he is trying to take advantage of his reduced
travel schedule by sending notes or making phone calls, “doing
the unexpected—but much-appreciated and sometimes truly
needed—thing to brighten someone’s day,” he said.
There “is no particular merit in wringing our hands about the
visit we cannot make or the face-to-face presence we cannot
create,” he warned. “Let’s do the best we can.”
Latter-day Saints should lead the way in being “positive and
optimistic, doing the things they can do and trusting the Lord
for the rest.”
Have you each been staying positive and optimistic during
this pandemic we are in? No matter what your circumstances
you can still find something to be positive about. It
sometimes takes a bit of searching, but you can always find
the blessings that the Lord has blessed us with. If you are
having trouble staying positive, counting your blessings is a
very good thing for you to do.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland speaks to missionaries from the Johannesburg and Botswana
missions and the Johannesburg MTC in a Latter-day Saint meetinghouse in
Johannesburg, South Africa, on Monday, November 11, 2019.
As the Prophet Joseph Smith said in Liberty Jail, “Let us
cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we
stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of
God, and for his arm to be revealed” (Doctrine and Covenants
123:17).
Elder Holland said this time of not being able to be with the
Saints across the globe and with his Brethren “is a tremendous
loss” for him personally.
“I am an Irish backslapper,” he said. “I really do love people. So
I do miss being with the members.”
President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, left,
and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stand together at
the BYU Jerusalem Center in Jerusalem on Saturday, April 14, 2018. Photo by Jeffrey
D. Allred, Deseret News.
The other side of the coin, he added, “is how rewarding it has
been for me to have a little more quiet time” to “do a little more
been for me to have a little more quiet time” to “do a little more
searching of my own soul rather than somebody else’s.”
When we are engaged in society, a person’s mind is often
consumed with matters of current affairs and chatty conversation,
he said.
he said.
“But when we’re alone, those are times of character assessment.
That’s when you think about who you really are and what really
matters.” It is “a sobering exercise to be quiet, to be alone with
yourself. The obvious question then is, Do you like the company
you are keeping when you are the only one in the room?”
I love that dont you? “Do you like the company you are
keeping when you are the only one in the room?” male sure
that you are answering this question honestly. That way you
can make the necessary changes so that you will like the
person you find when you are the only one in the room. You
know it is possible to change and to better yourself. When
you do decide to make those changes to improve yourself
be sure to invite the Lord into your plans as He will
guide you.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve teaches from the scriptures
during a large group interactive session of the 2015 Seminar for New Mission
Presidents. Photo courtesy of the Deseret News.
“A Lot to Be Encouraged About”
Elder Holland said Latter-day Saints can learn much from looking
back to past turmoil. One such time in the Church was “much more
wrenching than anything we are facing now.”
Latter-day Saints in both Kirtland, Ohio, and Jackson County,
Missouri, were suffering great persecution. Apostasy was beginning
in the former location and mobs had driven the Saints from their
homes in the latter. In both places, the members had lost homes,
farms, livestock, and personal possessions.
In that wretched circumstance, the Lord sent a message to them in
a revelation given to Joseph Smith in Kirtland on December 16–17,
1833:
“Therefore, let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for
all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God.
“Zion shall not be moved out of her place. . . .
“They . . . shall . . . come to their inheritances, they and their
children, with songs of everlasting joy” (Doctrine and
“Songs of everlasting joy” in the middle of such tribulation?
“Yes! And why not? There is a lot to be joyful about as we
refine our faith, trust more in the Lord, and see the miracle
of His deliverance,” said Elder Holland.
This is so true you know? I believe that singing a cheerful
song or hymn vsn does a lot for you! Just as a smile can take
away a frown, singing can help lift you and fill your heart full
of joy, i know that many of you may struggle with depression
or other medical things that nat keep you down, but take
heart, nnd trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and in His
Atonement. He can give you great peace.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Sister Patricia
Holland arrive at Parliament, London, England, on July 2.
There are repeated declarations in the scriptures where we
have the Lord’s promises He “will be with us in all of our
circumstances—good, bad, and otherwise.” For example,
Alma said, “I have been supported under trials . . . of every
Alma said, “I have been supported under trials . . . of every
kind, yea, and in all manner of afflictions . . . I do put my trust
That reassurance can be a source of hope and encouragement,
said Elder Holland. “Whatever else happens, we will never be
said Elder Holland. “Whatever else happens, we will never be
separated from the Savior’s love and His companionship, even
if we don’t recognize it at the time.”
Again i have to agree with Elder Holland. “Whatever else
happens, we will never be separated from the Savior’s love
and His companionship, even if we don’t recognize it at the
time.” The Lord will always love us no matter what!
Whenever there is any separation from the Lord it is us
who have moved or changed things. The Lord is always
there for each one of us, no matter what!! We must do
whatever we need to do to stay close to the lord.
“The Spirit is not blocked by a virus or by national boundaries or
by medical forecasts.” There are “gifts from heaven that are not
limited by trouble in the land or illness in the air. . . .
“He who created this marvelous world in which we live can say
to any of the elements in it, ‘This far and no farther.’ That is what
He will say to this blight we are facing. In the presence of His
majesty, even subatomic-sized creations must bend—if only
figuratively—and each in its own way ‘confess’ that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God, the great Redeemer of all. Under
the direction of His Father, the Savior is in charge of the
destiny of this world. We are in very sure and loving hands.”'
Wow! Isn't that a good truth to hold onto?” ,,, Under the
direction of His Father, the Savior is in charge of the
destiny of this world. We are in very sure and loving hands.”
I believe that we are indeed in very sure and loving hands.
In the hands of our Savior Jesus Christ!
Please always remember that you're in good hands,
your Heavenly Father has given His Son Jesus
Christ complete charge over this world. He is
always there for each one of us. You and your
family and friends can feel His loving arms about
you when you pray, please hold on to your Savior
Jesus Chrlst who loved you ,,, each one of you
more than anyone of us can imagine!!!
Continue praying, every morning and evening.
Continue studying the Book of Mormon with me
and all of our cyber study buddies out there in
cyberspace! If you have not noticed a change in
you and your family members and friends since
you have been studying the Book of Mormon
with me? Keep reading you will find more peace
in your homes and less contention.
Remember who you are and who you are meant
to become. The Lord can make more of us than
we can make of ourselves if we let Him.
Continue with your family home evenings. And
remember to have fun with your family'
members and friends and stay safe. Until my
next post, please make it a great week!!!
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