Jeffrey R. Holland on God's love for each of us

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (born December 3, 1940 - 75 years ago today!) served as Church Commissioner of Education from 1976-1980, as the president of BYU from 1980-1989, as a Seventy from 1989-1994, and as a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles since 1994.

"Jesus did not come to improve God's view of man nearly so much as He came to improve man's view of God and to plead with them to love their Heavenly Father as He has always and will always love them. The plan of God, the power of God, the holiness of God, yes, even the anger and the judgment of God they had occasion to understand. But the love of God, the profound depth of His devotion to His children, they still did not fully know—until Christ came.

"So feeding the hungry, healing the sick, rebuking hypocrisy, pleading for faith—this was Christ showing us the way of the Father, He who is 'merciful and gracious, slow to anger, long-suffering and full of goodness' (Lectures on Faith, 42). In His life and especially in His death, Christ was declaring, 'This is God's compassion I am showing you, as well as that of my own.' In the perfect Son's manifestation of the perfect Father's care, in Their mutual suffering and shared sorrow for the sins and heartaches of the rest of us, we see ultimate meaning in the declaration: 'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved' (John 3:16-17).

"I bear personal witness this day of a personal, living God, who knows our names, hears and answers prayers, and cherishes us eternally as children of His spirit. I testify that amidst the wondrously complex tasks inherent in the universe, He seeks our individual happiness and safety above all other godly concerns. We are created in His very image and likeness (see Gen. 1:26-27; Moses 2:26-27), and Jesus of Nazareth, His Only Begotten Son in the flesh, came to earth as the perfect mortal manifestation of His grandeur."

- Jeffrey R. Holland, "The Grandeur of God," Ensign, Nov. 2003, pp. 70-73
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Elder Holland is a master of hope and encouragement. In this message, he helps us understand our relationship with God, and His enduring love for us.

The key is understanding how the Jesus' mortal experience demonstrated the "profound depth" of God's devotion to His children. Every aspect of the Savior's life showed us "the way of the Father"—"In His life and especially in His death, Christ was declaring, 'This is God's compassion I am showing you, as well as that of my own.'" What a beautiful witness.