If you love Elder Holland
and who doesn’t?!
then you are going to love his newest book To My Friends: Messages of Counsel and Comfort.
This book is a compilation of some of his best talks that have been given in General Conference and devotionals over approximately the last 20 years. Many of these talks I have read or listened to before, but they are a reminder of how powerful they were and still are!
One of my favorite things about Elder Holland’s talks is the passion you can feel in his words. He truly believes every word he says and it’s almost tangible. There is so much emotion put into these words – but always with love and earnest.
And I love his humor. Elder Holland is great at making comparisons and adding little humorous comments to keep his talks from being too overwhelming. For example, in his talk from a BYU devotional in 2009 entitled “Remember Lot’s Wife” he says, “Now as a passing comment, I don’t know whether Lot’s wife, like Miniver, was a drinker, but if she was, she certainly ended up with plenty of salt for her pretzels.” Haha, I love that!
He’s also great about adding in dialogue that may have happened in the scriptures to make it more real. One of my favorite examples of this is in the talk “The Laborers in the Vineyard” given in General Conference in April 2012. I remember this talk very well because I too thought this story was unfair for the laborers who worked all day. Why were they paid the same? But he gives you an amazing perspective of the Master of the vineyard and Elder Holland explains in a conversational way what the Master may have said and helps us realize that we should not be jealous when others are blessed. Such a powerful talk.
I’ve been using this book with my scripture study over the last few weeks and I have loved it! I looked forward to scripture study every day because I couldn’t wait to read another Elder Holland talk. His talks are motivating, powerful, and completely applicable to everyone. Even talks that I thought, oh this probably won’t apply to me, I don’t really struggle with that. Wrong. He makes everything applicable to everyone!
To My Friends is a great book to have on your shelf at home. It’s great for studying, sharing with family members and friends, and as a reference for your lessons and talks.
You can find To My Friends: Messages of Counsel and Comfort at Deseret Book.