Elder Holland Blesses Members in India
In India earlier this week, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles met with priesthood leaders, young single adults, and other members of the Church.
Article Highlights
- Elder Holland held a priesthood leadership conference with brethren in India and Pakistan.
- Church members were able to ask Elder Holland questions on gospel doctrine and principles for several hours.
- Elder Holland will be visiting Hong Kong and Mongolia later this week.
“You may be a long ways away from us physically or geographically, but you’re not more than a prayer away and a heartbeat away from our affections and our admiration.” —Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited Church members in India earlier this week, where he extended the love of the Church to them and left a blessing on them.
Elder Holland met with brethren in India for a priesthood leadership conference on Sunday, May 22. Brethren in Lahore, Pakistan, participated by video conference, and members in 25 other locations listened in through webcasts.
Elder Holland expressed his pleasure at the maturity of the Saints in India and Pakistan, where the Church is still relatively new. The approximately 9,200 Church members in India comprise 36 congregations.
“I’ve come halfway around the world literally to say basically one thing. … We love you,” he said in his opening remarks. “You may be a long ways away from us physically or geographically, but you’re not more than a prayer away and a heartbeat away from our affections and our admiration.”
Elder Holland—along with Elder Stanley Wan, Area Seventy; Elder Jay E. Jensen of the Presidency of the Seventy; Elder Anthony D. Perkins of the Asia Area Presidency; and mission presidents William Jackson (New Delhi) and Randy D. Funk (Bangalore)—fielded questions on gospel topics for nearly four hours. Elder Holland then asked his own question of members: “What will you do when we leave?”
He counseled Church members to continue to make righteous choices and rely on revelation.
“You have access to far better voices than [our voices],” he said. “You have access to the Almighty. You are chosen, ordained, set apart, commissioned agents of the Lord. You are on the Lord’s errand.”
Elder Holland left a blessing upon all members in the area—present and not present.
“I bless you with strength. I bless you with health, safety. I bless you with food to eat and clothing to wear, a roof over your head and over your flock, over your loved ones, your congregations, to face the challenges that we face and to face them cheerfully and hopefully, prayerfully, joyfully,” he said.
He also asked the brethren to tell the Saints in every ward, branch, district, and elsewhere that they were blessed. “You are known, loved, and numbered,” he said.
Those in attendance enjoyed shaking hands with Elder Holland and Elder Jensen after the meeting.
Elder Holland also visited Hong Kong this week and will visit Mongolia this weekend. Church News and Events will report on each visit.
