Tag Archives: Jeffrey R. Holland

Painted into a Corner: Prophets, Revelation, and the Mormon Church’s Integrity Crisis

The Mormon Church has painted itself into a theological and historical corner. Its unwavering position—that all teachings and policies come from direct revelation from God through a living prophet—has created a system resistant to introspection and allergic to correction. For nearly 200 years, this stance may have worked for the institution. But in the age …

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Jeffrey R. Holland, Logical Fallacies, Manipulation, Guilt, and Fake Testimonies

In his MTC address, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s statement is filled with logical fallacies that manipulate emotions rather than provide actual evidence for the LDS Church’s truth claims. The “Borrowed Testimony” Fallacy “If there is anyone in the room who’s struggling with a testimony, you have one — mine!” This is similar to advice from …

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Would You Die For The Church?

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland illustrates the extreme, manipulative, and abusive expectations that LDS leadership places on its members—especially young missionaries. He spoke at the MTC to all missionaries in training in 2001. He set the expectation that serving a mission for the church, the church “wants you to run all the way, every day, every …

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"Some things in life we have little or no control over. These have to be endured. Some disappointments have to be lived with in love and in marriage. These are not things anyone wants in life, but sometimes they come. And when they come, we have to bear them." - LDS Apostle, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, BYU Devotional 2000 | wasmormon.org
"Some things in life we have little or no control over. These have to be endured. Some disappointments have to be lived with in love and in marriage. These are not things anyone wants in life, but sometimes they come. And when they come, we have to bear them." - LDS Apostle, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, BYU Devotional 2000
"Musket fire? Yes, we will always need defenders of the faith, but “friendly fire” is a tragedy—and from time to time the Church, its leaders, and some of our colleagues within the university community have taken such fire on this campus. And sometimes it isn’t friendly, wounding students and the parents of students—so many who are confused about what so much recent flag-waving and parade-holding on this issue means." - Elder Jeffrey R Holland, 2021 | wasmormon.org
"Musket fire? Yes, we will always need defenders of the faith, but “friendly fire” is a tragedy—and from time to time the Church, its leaders, and some of our colleagues within the university community have taken such fire on this campus. And sometimes it isn’t friendly, wounding students and the parents of students—so many who are confused about what so much recent flag-waving and parade-holding on this issue means." - Elder Jeffrey R Holland, 2021
"We just don't know, in the historical context of the time, why it was practiced. That's my principal [concern], is that we don't perpetuate explanations about things we don't know. We don't pretend that something wasn't taught or practice wasn't pursued for whatever reason. But I think we can be unequivocal and we can be declarative in our current literature, in books that we reproduce, in teachings that go forward, whatever, that from this time forward, from 1978 forward, we can make sure that nothing of that is declared." - PBS: The Mormons. Elder Jeffrey R Holland Interview, March 4, 2006 | wasmormon.org
"We just don't know, in the historical context of the time, why it was practiced. That's my principal [concern], is that we don't perpetuate explanations about things we don't know. We don't pretend that something wasn't taught or practice wasn't pursued for whatever reason. But I think we can be unequivocal and we can be declarative in our current literature, in books that we reproduce, in teachings that go forward, whatever, that from this time forward, from 1978 forward, we can make sure that nothing of that is declared." - PBS: The Mormons. Elder Jeffrey R Holland Interview, March 4, 2006
"Some of the folklore that you must be referring to are suggestions that there were decisions made in the pre-mortal councils where someone had not been as decisive in their loyalty to a Gospel plan or the procedures on earth or what was to unfold in mortality, and that therefore that opportunity and mortality was compromised. I really don't know a lot of the details of those, because fortunately I've been able to live in the period where we're not expressing or teaching them, but I think that's the one I grew up hearing the most, was that it was something to do with the pre-mortal councils." - PBS: The Mormons. Elder Jeffrey R Holland Interview, March 4, 2006 | wasmormon.org
"Some of the folklore that you must be referring to are suggestions that there were decisions made in the pre-mortal councils where someone had not been as decisive in their loyalty to a Gospel plan or the procedures on earth or what was to unfold in mortality, and that therefore that opportunity and mortality was compromised. I really don't know a lot of the details of those, because fortunately I've been able to live in the period where we're not expressing or teaching them, but I think that's the one I grew up hearing the most, was that it was something to do with the pre-mortal councils." - PBS: The Mormons. Elder Jeffrey R Holland Interview, March 4, 2006
"One clear-cut position is that the folklore must never be perpetuated. I have to concede to my earlier colleagues. They, I'm sure, in their own way, were doing the best they knew to give shape to [the policy], to give context for it, to give even history to it. All I can say is however well intended the explanations were, I think almost all of them were inadequate and/or wrong." - PBS: The Mormons. Elder Jeffrey R Holland Interview, March 4, 2006 | wasmormon.org
"One clear-cut position is that the folklore must never be perpetuated. I have to concede to my earlier colleagues. They, I'm sure, in their own way, were doing the best they knew to give shape to [the policy], to give context for it, to give even history to it. All I can say is however well intended the explanations were, I think almost all of them were inadequate and/or wrong." - PBS: The Mormons. Elder Jeffrey R Holland Interview, March 4, 2006
"It probably would have been advantageous to say nothing, to say we just don't know, and, [as] with many religious matters, whatever was being done was done on the basis of faith at that time. But some explanations were given and had been given for a lot of years. At the very least, there should be no effort to perpetuate those efforts to explain why that doctrine existed. I think, to the extent that I know anything about it, as one of the newer and younger ones to come along, we simply do not know why that practice, that policy, that doctrine was in place." - PBS: The Mormons. Elder Jeffrey R Holland Interview, March 4, 2006 | wasmormon.org
"It probably would have been advantageous to say nothing, to say we just don't know, and, [as] with many religious matters, whatever was being done was done on the basis of faith at that time. But some explanations were given and had been given for a lot of years. At the very least, there should be no effort to perpetuate those efforts to explain why that doctrine existed. I think, to the extent that I know anything about it, as one of the newer and younger ones to come along, we simply do not know why that practice, that policy, that doctrine was in place." - PBS: The Mormons. Elder Jeffrey R Holland Interview, March 4, 2006
"From the mid-1800s, the Church did not ordain men of black African descent to the priesthood or allow black men or women to participate in temple endowment or sealing ordinances. Over the years, a variety of theories were advanced to justify the restriction. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has emphasized that those theories given in an attempt to explain the restrictions are “folklore” that must never be perpetuated: “However well-intended the explanations were, I think almost all of them were inadequate and/or wrong... We simply do not know why that practice… was in place.”" - Commemorating the 1978 Revelation, Extending the Blessings of the Priesthood Ensign, June 2018 | wasmormon.org
"From the mid-1800s, the Church did not ordain men of black African descent to the priesthood or allow black men or women to participate in temple endowment or sealing ordinances. Over the years, a variety of theories were advanced to justify the restriction. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has emphasized that those theories given in an attempt to explain the restrictions are “folklore” that must never be perpetuated: “However well-intended the explanations were, I think almost all of them were inadequate and/or wrong... We simply do not know why that practice… was in place.”" - Commemorating the 1978 Revelation, Extending the Blessings of the Priesthood Ensign, June 2018

More Momon Thoughts on Evolution

Alongside statements from previous church president Joseph Fielding Smith that if evolution is true, the church is false and current church president Russell M Nelson that he finds evolution unbelievable because “Man has always been Man,” “it’s just the way genetics works,” we have other leaders offering their “inspired” views on evolution. Can we dismiss …

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"This church means everything to me. Everything. I don’t care what happens; I don’t care what price has to be paid, as painful as that can be; and as much as I don’t want to invite the test as much as I don’t want to sound arrogant, or self-confident, or filled with any kind of pride other than the love of the Lord – this church means everything to me. And I’m NOT going to leave it. And I’M NOT GOING TO LET YOU LEAVE IT." Jeffrey R Holland, Mormon Apostle - wasmormon.org
"This church means everything to me. Everything. I don’t care what happens; I don’t care what price has to be paid, as painful as that can be; and as much as I don’t want to invite the test as much as I don’t want to sound arrogant, or self-confident, or filled with any kind of pride other than the love of the Lord – this church means everything to me. And I’m NOT going to leave it. And I’M NOT GOING TO LET YOU LEAVE IT." Jeffrey R Holland, Mormon Apostle