Holland, a high-ranking official of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the faith’s next-in-line president under its succession plan, died Saturday at age 85, according to a church announcement. The church said he died early Saturday morning in Salt Lake City from complications associated with kidney disease.
As president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Holland helped set church policy and oversaw business interests of what is widely called the Mormon church. He also held the position of the longest-tenured member of the Quorum of the Twelve after President Dallin H. Oaks, making him next in line to lead the faith.
Oaks, 93, became president of the church and its more than 17 million members in October. The church said Henry B. Eyring, 92, is now next in line for the presidency as Holland’s death leaves a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve.
In a statement on Saturday, Oaks reflected on “more than 50 years of friendship and service” with Holland, calling their relationship “long and loving.” Oaks said that over the previous three decades as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Holland “lifted the weary, encouraged the faithful and bore a powerful witness of the Savior — even through seasons of significant personal trials.”
The church said Holland had been hospitalized during the Christmas holiday for ongoing health complications. Experts on the faith pointed to his declining health in October when Oaks did not select Holland as a counselor after becoming president.
Before joining the ranks of general church leadership, Holland grew up in St. George, Utah, and worked for years in education administration. The church said he served as the ninth president of Brigham Young University from 1980 to 1989 and later became a commissioner of the church’s global education system.
Under Holland’s leadership at BYU, the university sought to improve interfaith relations and established a satellite campus in Jerusalem. The Anti-Defamation League later honored Holland with its “Torch of Liberty” award for efforts to foster understanding between Christian and Jewish communities.
Holland was also known for a style that blended scholarship with personal warmth in his sermons. In 2013, he spoke to church members about supporting loved ones dealing with depression and other mental illnesses, and he described feeling “like a broken vessel” at times.
His death also renewed attention on a 2021 address in which he called on members to take up “metaphorical muskets” in defense of the church’s teachings on same-sex marriage. The talk became widely discussed after it was designated required reading for BYU freshmen in 2024, with some LGBTQ+ students and advocates raising concerns.
Before his death, Holland was preceded by his wife, Patricia Terry Holland, the church said in a report later corrected after an earlier version of the story misstated that detail. Holland is survived by their three children, 13 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said that no church leader has had a more profound impact on his faith than Holland. Cox said, “His words had a way of penetrating my soul like no other,” adding that during times of trial or darkness he returned to Holland’s messages “over and over again” for “light and peace.”