I have known Jeffrey R. Holland for over two-thirds of my life, and just over half of his. It is hard to express what a good friend he has been to me. A few years ago, he sent me a very kind note, out of the blue, just before a very difficult time. Before another very difficult time, he personally gave me some reassurance that helped with what, unbeknownst to him, would happen.
I first met President Holland (and he will always be that to me) because my mother, looking through the course offerings at BYU said that if Jeffrey Holland was teaching a class, I should enroll in it, even if I did care for the subject.
President Holland was a fantastic teacher. When I first entered his literature class, I hated the subject. That I did not at the end is a testament to his teaching ability. We even asked if he would make up the classes that he had to miss. He was sincere when he said that he hoped to retire from being a university president to become a college professor. The Lord, however, had other things in mind.
I remember that President Holland took time out of his busy schedule as president of a large university to let a student tell him about his mission call. While on my mission, there were many General Authorities called who were then serving as mission presidents. There were two vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve at the time, and speculation was rampant among the missionaries in my mission that our mission president would be called as one of the next apostles. No question my mission president was a great man, but I had had a class from President Holland, and I said that although I did not think our mission president would become an apostle, I think I had met someone who would one day be one. It is the only time I have ever been right about such things.
President Holland was always extremely busy and anxiously engaged. I remember once when he met with my wife and me, he said that it was the first bit of free time that he had had that month. It was the last day of the month. From that I drew an important lesson. Apostles are special ambassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ in all the world. Do not waste their time! I hope I did not.
I lost a number of my professors last year, but I miss President Holland already the most.
