Controversial Church Leader Dead at 85

Jeffrey R. Holland — a senior Mormon apostle whose sermons mixed charisma, controversy, and deep conservatism — has died at 85.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that Holland passed away early Saturday morning in Salt Lake City from complications related to kidney disease. He was surrounded by family, church officials said.

His death closes a turbulent chapter for a man who spent decades shaping the church’s tone on education, morality, and LGBTQ issues — and whose fiery rhetoric often drew national backlash.

“There was nobody better in the Church at teaching,” said fellow apostle Quentin L. Cook. But for many outside the faith, Holland’s lessons were a reminder of how far the church still stands from inclusion.

Holland served nearly 30 years in the church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles — a governing body just below the First Presidency, which oversees the 17-million-member faith.

Educated at Yale, Holland was also president of Brigham Young University from 1980 to 1989, where he reinforced the school’s strict honor code and obedience-first culture.

While his early reputation centered on education and bridge-building — he helped establish BYU’s Jerusalem Center for interfaith learning — later years showed a harder edge.

“Holland was brilliant and compassionate privately,” said one former BYU faculty member, “but publicly, he turned into the Church’s culture warrior.”

In 2021, Holland’s now-infamous “musket fire” speech became a defining moment — and a flashpoint. Speaking to BYU faculty, he urged church members to metaphorically “take up muskets” to defend traditional marriage against LGBTQ advocacy.

Students and alumni denounced the comments as hateful, while Church loyalists hailed them as courageous. The speech resurfaced in 2024 when BYU made it required reading for freshmen, reigniting protests and calls for reform.

“He weaponized religion against his own students,” one former BYU student told the Salt Lake Tribune. “That speech hurt a lot of people who already felt unsafe.”

In recent years, Holland’s public appearances grew rare as his health worsened. He battled COVID-19, endured dialysis treatments, and was seen using a wheelchair in his final months.

Despite his frailty, his influence never waned. By the time of his death, he was second in seniority among the church’s leadership, placing him next in line to lead — a fact that alarmed progressive Mormons hoping for reform.

Holland’s defenders paint him as a man of conviction — a scholar who spoke “hard truths” in defense of faith. His critics, however, see him as a symbol of how the Church clings to outdated teachings and punishes dissent.

“He loved the institution more than the people it hurt,” said one former Mormon activist.

Holland’s wife, Patricia, who died in 2023, once said, “Nobody but me knows the kind of faith this man has. It is pure.”

He leaves behind three children, 13 grandchildren, and a global church still wrestling with the legacy of his words.

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Source: The Salt Lake Tribune