Review
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Title: To My Friends: Messages of Counsel and Comfort
Author: Jeffrey R. Holland
Publisher: Deseret Book Company
Genre: Nonfiction
Year Published: 2014
Number of Pages: 264
Binding: Hardcover, Kindle, and Deseret Bookshelf eBook
ISBN13: 978-1629720296
Price: $23.99
Reviewed by Trevor Holyoak for the Association for Mormon Letters
Jeffrey R. Holland is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This book is a collection of 21 talks he has given over the years in General Conference, devotionals, and firesides. It is another in what appears to be a growing collection of books full of talks by apostles.
The book is small enough to carry around with you, and nice, thick paper was used. It was probably intended to be the sort of book you might give as a gift. Each talk begins with a full-page quote decoration, similar to what is currently popular on social media sites. There is no introduction, but there is an index.
Many subjects are covered, from grace to opposition to chastity to mental illness. Many of Elder Holland’s most loved talks are here, such as “Remember Lot’s Wife,” “The First Great Commandment,” “Like a Broken Vessel,” and “None Were With Him.” However, one of his most famous talks, “Of Souls, Symbols, and Sacraments” is not included.
Most of these talks are available online (although the versions in the book have some minor changes), but this book is a convenient collection. It is likely not meant to be read from cover to cover in one sitting, but it is nice to be able to sit down and enjoy one talk at a time, perhaps even chosen at random.
Here are a few of my favorite quotes that I picked out as I read it:
“I testify from the bottom of my heart, with the intensity of my soul, to all who can hear my voice that those apostolic keys have been restored to the earth, and they are found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To those who have not yet joined with us in this great final cause of Christ, we say, ‘Please come.’ To those who were once with us but have retreated, preferring to pick and choose a few cultural hors d’oeuvres from the smorgasbord of the Restoration and leave the rest of the feast, I say that I fear you face a lot of long nights and empty nets. The call is to come back, to stay true, to love God, and to lend a hand. I include in that call to fixed faithfulness every returned missionary who ever stood in a baptismal font and with arm to the square said, ‘Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ.’ That commission was to have changed your convert forever, but it was surely supposed to have changed you forever as well. To the youth of the Church rising up to missions and temples and marriage, we say: ‘Love God and remain clean from the blood and sins of this generation. You have a monumental work to do. Your Father in Heaven expects your loyalty and your love at every stage of your life.'” (pages 6-7)
“Brothers and sisters, there are going to be times in our lives when someone else gets an unexpected blessing or receives some special recognition. May I plead with us not to be hurt – and certainly not to feel envious – when good fortune comes to another person? We are not diminished when someone else is added upon. We are not in a race against each other to see who is the wealthiest or the most talented or the most beautiful or even the most blessed. The race we are really in is the race against sin, and surely envy is one of the most universal of those.” (page 29)
“At the zenith of His mortal ministry, Jesus said, ‘Love one another, as I have loved you.’ To make certain they understood exactly what kind of love that was, He said, ‘If ye love me, keep my commandments’ and ‘whosoever… shall break one of [the] least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be… the least in the kingdom of heaven.’ Christlike love is the greatest need we have on this planet in part because righteousness was always supposed to accompany it. So if love is to be our watchword, as it must be, then by the word of Him who is love personified, we must forsake transgression and any hint of advocacy for it in others. Jesus clearly understood what many in our modern culture seem to forget: that there is a crucial difference between the commandment to forgive sin (which He had an infinite capacity to do) and the warning against condoning it (which He never ever did even once).” (page 118)
“There’s a lot to worry about in life. But it’s always been that way. Don’t think you’ve been singled out for some particular burden at a uniquely troublesome time in the history of the world. It’s always been a troubling time in the history of the world. This is a fallen world. This is not the celestial kingdom; this is the telestial kingdom. It’s mortal, and it’s filled with thorns and thistles and noxious weeds at local, national, and international levels, at home and abroad, in private and in public.” (page 174)
“Whatever your struggle – mental or emotional or physical or otherwise – do not vote against the preciousness of life by ending it! Trust in God. Hold on in His love. Know that one day the dawn will break brightly and all shadows of mortality will flee. Though we may feel we are ‘like a broken vessel,’ as the Psalmist says, we must remember, that vessel is in the hands of the divine potter. Broken minds can be healed just the way broken bones and broken hearts are healed. While God is at work making those repairs, the rest of us can help by being merciful, nonjudgmental, and kind.” (page 192)
I would definitely recommend this book to those who think Elder Holland gives the best General Conference talks (as seen in a recent Internet meme), but anyone who could use a little bit of encouragement or counsel in their day-to-day life from an apostle could find something here. I felt inspired and uplifted as I read it, and it is a welcome addition to my family’s library.