Elder Matthew S. Holland was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 4, 2020. At the time of his call, he was serving as president of the North Carolina Raleigh Mission. He is currently serving as the Executive Director of the Church Communication Department.

Elder Holland held a number of Church callings, including full-time missionary in the Scotland Edinburgh Mission, gospel doctrine teacher, youth Sunday School teacher, ward mission leader, ward Young Men advisor, counsellor in a bishopric, high councillor, and bishop.

Elder Holland graduated from Brigham Young University in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. After a year at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as a Raoul Wallenberg Scholar and working several years for an international management consulting firm, he began his career in higher education. He earned a master’s degree and a PhD in political science from Duke University and was a professor of political science at Brigham Young University and a visiting scholar at Princeton and Oxford. In 2009, he was named president of Utah Valley University, a position he held until 2019, when he was called to serve as a mission president.

A schoolteacher once taught that a whale—even though large—could not swallow a human because whales have small throats. A girl objected, “But Jonah was swallowed by a whale.” The teacher responded, “That’s impossible.” Still not convinced, the girl said, “Well, when I get to heaven, I will ask him.” The teacher sneered, “What if Jonah was a sinner and didn’t go to heaven?” The girl replied, “Then you can ask him.”

We laugh, but we should not miss the power Jonah’s story offers every “humble seeker of happiness,” especially those struggling.

What can the humble seeker of happiness learn from the story of Jonah?

God commanded Jonah to “go to Nineveh” to declare repentance. But Nineveh was ancient Israel’s brutal enemy—so Jonah promptly heads the exact opposite direction, by boat, to Tarshish. 

Have you ever felt like Jonah—resisting what the Lord was asking of you?

As he sails away from his calling, a ship-wrecking storm develops. Certain his disobedience is the cause, Jonah volunteers to be thrown overboard. This calms the raging sea, which saves his shipmates.

Miraculously, Jonah escapes death when a “great fish” the Lord “prepared” swallows him. But he languishes in that unbelievably dark and putrid place for three days, until he’s finally spit out on dry ground. 

‘Sometimes we don’t want to hear messages from God. For example, the word of the Lord called Jonah to go to Nineveh and declare repentance. But Jonah ignored the message and ran away to Joppa, where he boarded a ship to Tarshish to get away from the presence of the Lord. However, the Lord caused a mighty tempest to come upon the sea. The mariners were frightened, and in an effort to appease the Lord, they threw Jonah into the sea. A great fish swallowed Jonah, and he was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. Jonah prayed for forgiveness and deliverance, and the fish vomited him onto dry land. The second time the word of the Lord came to Jonah, he listened and went to call the people of Nineveh to repentance.‘  (James E Faust, General Conference, April 2004)

He then accepts his call to Nineveh. Yet, when the city repents and is spared destruction, Jonah resents the mercy shown his enemies. God patiently teaches Jonah that He loves and seeks to rescue all His children.

Why do you think Jonah resented the mercy shown to his enemies?

‘Here Jonah demonstrated a second weakness:he pouted because the people did repent and God turned His wrath away. Jonah was so upset that he wished he were dead. Though he had repented of his desire to escape the call of the Lord and went to Nineveh, Jonah had not substantially changed his attitude toward the Gentiles.

The Lord taught Jonah in a way that he could understand that all things are in His hand—the gourd, the worm, even life itself. First, the Lord sent the dreaded east wind, which was very destructive, for it blew off the hot, dry Arabian Desert. Then the Lord caused the sun to beat upon Jonah, making him so uncomfortable that he wished for death. Once Jonah was in that position, the Lord was able to teach him the worth of souls in Nineveh. Because the thousands who lived in Nineveh were ignorant of the saving gospel principles, they could not fully “discern between their right hand and their left hand” (Jonah 4:11). Surely the Lord felt more pity for them than Jonah felt for the gourd (see Alma 26:27, 37). By means of this simple plant, the Lord taught Jonah about the way in which God loves all of His children.’ (Old Testament Institute Manual)

Stumbling more than once in his duties, Jonah provides a vivid testimony that in mortality, “all are fallen.” We don’t often speak of a testimony of the Fall. But having a doctrinal understanding and spiritual witness of why every single one of us struggles with moral, physical, and situational challenges is a great blessing. Here on earth, ugly weeds grow, even strong bones break, and all “come short of the glory of God.” But this mortal condition—a result of choices made by Adam and Eve—is essential to the very reason we exist: “that [we] might have joy”! As our first parents learned, only by tasting the bitterness and feeling the pain of a fallen world could we even conceive of, let alone enjoy, true happiness.

A testimony of the Fall does not excuse sin or a lax approach in life’s duties, which always call for diligence, virtue, and accountability. But it should temper our frustrations when things just go wrong or we see a moral failing in a family member, friend, or leader. Too often things like this cause us to wallow in contentious criticism or resentment that robs our faith. But a firm testimony of the Fall can help us be more like God as described by Jonah, that is, “merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness” to all—including ourselves—in our unavoidably imperfect state.

How can understanding the Fall help us be more compassionate toward ourselves and others?

Even greater than manifesting the effects of the Fall, Jonah’s story powerfully directs us to Him who can deliver us from those effects. Jonah’s self-sacrifice to save his shipmates is Christlike indeed. And three times when Jesus is pressed for a miraculous sign of His divinity, He thunders that “there shall no sign be given … but the sign of Jonas [Jonah],” declaring that as Jonah was “three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” As a symbol of the Savior’s sacrificial death and glorious Resurrection, Jonah may be flawed. But this is also what makes his personal witness of and commitment to Jesus Christ, offered in the belly of the whale, so poignant and inspiring.

From the footnotes to Elder Holland’s talk:

“Jonah’s cry is that of a good man in crisis, one largely of his own making. 

In this way, Jonah contrasts with someone like Job, who appears seemingly innocent with respect to the suffering that comes to him. Both are stories of faith and resilience in the face of catastrophe, but Jonah’s might be more relatable for those who feel their own deeds are the justifiable source of their pain.”

How can we relate to Jonah?

For a saint, when catastrophe is brought on by a regrettable habit, comment, or decision, despite so many other good intentions and earnest efforts of righteousness, it can be especially crushing and leave one feeling forsaken. 

From the footnotes:

“It certainly was for Joseph Smith when his heartfelt empathy and appreciation for his benefactor Martin Harris led him to share with Harris the precious first 116 pages of translation of the Book of Mormon that then went missing, which caused Joseph to wail, “All is lost” (see Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, vol. 1, The Standard of Truth, 1815–1846 [2018], 43–53).”

But whatever the cause or degree of disaster we face, there is always dry ground for hope, healing, and happiness. 

Where can we find hope, healing and happiness?

Listen to Jonah:

“I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord … ; out of the belly of hell cried I. …

“For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; …

“[And] I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.

“The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.

“I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; … yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption. …

“When my soul fainted … I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came … into thine holy temple.

“They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.

“But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.”

Though it was many years ago, I can tell you exactly where I was sitting and exactly what I was feeling when, deep in the belly of a personal hell, I discovered this scripture. For anyone today feeling like I did then—that you are cast off, sinking in deepest waters, with seaweed wrapped about your head and oceanic mountains crashing all around you—my plea, inspired by Jonah, is forsake not your own mercy. 

What does the phrase ‘forsake not your own mercy’ mean to you?

You have immediate access to divine help and healing despite your human flaws. This awe-inspiring mercy comes in and through Jesus Christ. Because He knows and loves you perfectly, He offers it to you as your “own,” meaning it is perfectly suited to you, designed to relieve your individual agonies and heal your particular pains. 

Why is it important that Christ’s mercy is “perfectly suited” to each individual?

So, for heaven’s sake and yours, do not turn your back on that. Accept it. 

How do we accept Christ’s mercy?

Start by refusing to listen to the “lying vanities” of the adversary, who would tempt you into thinking that relief is found in sailing away from your spiritual responsibilities. Instead, follow the lead of the repentant Jonah. Cry unto God. Turn to the temple. Cling to your covenants. Serve the Lord, His Church, and others with sacrifice and thanksgiving.

Doing these things brings a vision of God’s special covenantal love for you—what the Hebrew Bible calls hesed. You will see and feel the power of God’s loyal, untiring, inexhaustible, and “tender mercies” that can make you “mighty … unto … deliverance” from any sin or any setback. 

In the footnotes to his talk Elder Holland writes:

“The original Hebrew word for mercy in Jonah 2 is hesed, which President Nelson explains is a “special kind of love and mercy” for those who have made sacred covenants with God—a mercy that he explained is loyal, untiring, and inexhaustible.”

Early and intense anguish may cloud that vision at first. But as you continue to “pay that that [you] have vowed,” such a vision will shine brighter and brighter in your soul. And with that vision you will not only find hope and healing, but, astonishingly, you will find joy, even in the midst of your crucible. President Russell M. Nelson taught us so very well: “When the focus of our lives is on God’s plan of salvation … and Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening—or not happening—in our lives. Joy comes from and because of Him.”

What is President Nelson teaching us here?

Whether we are facing a deep, Jonah-like catastrophe or the everyday challenges of our imperfect world, the invitation is the same: Forsake not your own mercy. Look to the sign of Jonah, the living Christ, He who rose from His three-day grave having conquered all—for you. Turn to Him. Believe in Him. Serve Him. Smile. For in Him, and Him alone, is found the full and happy healing from the Fall, healing we all so urgently need and humbly seek. I testify this is true. In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

How can Elder Holland’s invitation strengthen our testimonies and help us find joy?

NB: The passages in italics are the text of Elder Holland’s talk.

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