On January 8, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and his wife, Patricia T. Holland, delivered a message to young adults throughout the world from Burns Stadium in Saint George, Utah. They shared teachings about hope, simplicity, and perseverance.
Elder Holland opened bringing notice to many of the difficulties that face the world today. He named the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and acknowledged the endless number of problems we face. In response to those struggles, Elder Holland stated that the young adults in the Church are called to “be in the forefront of the moral force that can resolve these problems, that can turn back the tide of fear and pessimism, and anxiety, surrounding us.”
He summarized that if each member of the Church were to be more loving, kind, and obedient, the impact on the world would be stunning. He continued that message sharing that if each person tries to improve the world around them, then the entire world improves and becomes a brighter place.
Elder Holland concluded his initial address to the young adults by calling them to never lose hope and be able to defend the hope that Latter-Day Saints blessed with and expected to have. He introduced Sister Holland’s message by noting the importance of faith, hope, and charity always. Especially when are tasked with being a light in the world today.
Sister Holland began her message by expressing her love for the young adults of the Church. Her message quickly moved to the topic of simplification. She shared that if there was only one thing she could have done differently in her life, she would have simplified. She suggested that “everything is better when it is simplified.” She encouraged the young adults not to overcomplicate the Gospel, sharing that it is “beautifully simple.”
She shared that Jesus Christ wants everyone to be filled with hope. not anxiety and stress over strenuously attempting to understand and then live the Gospel.
Sister Holland continued that going to Christ humbly and simply will always ease a restless soul and that progress is made by being hopeful and humble. She shared that she understands that hope, as well as the closely related faith and charity, are often overly complicated. She emphasized simplicity in 3 steps: “Faith is the conviction that there is a God. Hope is trusting that he will help us. Charity is His love working through us to bless others.”
Adding that these principles will spread light throughout the world, she ended her message by once again encouraging simplicity and teaching that the blessings of hope, faith, and charity can not be found or worked for. They only come from Jesus Christ.
After Sister Holland’s address, Elder Holland addressed the congregation again. His message this time centered around hopefulness, cheerfulness, and positivity. He expects the young adults in the Church to be of good cheer, and just as President Nelson asks, “look to the future with joyful anticipation.”
Elder Holland declared that positivity is a gift from God, so that is where the young adults of the Church need to go to achieve the positivity that is expected of them. He instructed the young adults of the Church to face their challenges faithfully and to “refuse to accept the world for what it appears to be.” He offered an apostolic blessing to the listeners, where he promised that the simple and powerful principles of salvation will “always be evident and efficacious” in the lives of those that live those principles. He also blessed the young adults to know that the Jesus Christ’s Gospel is “personally precious, everlastingly hopeful, and eternally true.”
Elder Holland ended the devotional with a message regarding faith. He spoke to and blessed those who feel they may be experiencing a faith crisis when he said that real, life changing faith is always in crisis. He promised that “more faith will mean less crisis” and once again alluded to the power of the Gospel in his life.
Written By: Reagan Sumrall
Senior Contributor at the Cougar Chronicle
