Latter-day Saint Life

20 Quotes from Elder Holland for When You Need a Good Pep Talk

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When momentary discouragement arises or overwhelming trials are staring us in the face, it can make a world of difference to feel like someone is in your corner cheering you on. And these 20 quotes from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland do just that.

Whether you need a quick pep talk or to have your eyebrows singed with coach-like fire, these quotes will help motivate you to keep going no matter the challenges you may face. 

Don't You Quit

“Don't you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come.” ― Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "Good Things to Come"
"If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now. Don’t give up when the pressure mounts. You can find an apartment. You can win over your mother-in-law. You can sell your harmonica and therein fund one more meal. It’s been done before. Don’t give in. Certainly don’t give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your happiness. He wants everyone to be miserable like unto himself. Face your doubts. Master your fears. 'Cast not away therefore your confidence.' Stay the course and see the beauty of life unfold for you. ―Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence"
“We have neighbors to bless, children to protect, the poor to lift up, and the truth to defend. We have wrongs to make right, truths to share, and good to do. In short, we have a life of devoted discipleship to give in demonstrating our love of the Lord. We can’t quit and we can’t go back. After an encounter with the living Son of the living God, nothing is ever again to be as it was before. The Crucifixion, Atonement, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ mark the beginning of a Christian life, not the end of it.” ―Elder Jeffrey R. Holland "The First Great Commandment"

You Have Heavenly Help

“God doesn't care nearly as much about where you have been as He does about where you are and, with His help, where you are willing to go.” ―Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Created for Greater Things "In the gospel of Jesus Christ, you have help from both sides of the veil, and you must never forget that. When disappointment and discouragement strike—and they will—you remember and never forget that if our eyes could be opened we would see horses and chariots of fire as far as the eye can see riding at reckless speed to come to our protection. They will always be there, these armies of heaven, in defense of Abraham's seed.” ―Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Created for Greater Things

This Church Needs You

“Be a woman of Christ. Cherish your esteemed place in the sight of God. He needs you. This church needs you. The world needs you. A woman's abiding trust in God and unfailing devotion to things of the Spirit have always been an anchor when the wind and the waves of life were fiercest.” ―Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Created for Greater Things
"This is a life-and-death contest we are in, young men, so I am going to get in your face a little, nose to nose, with just enough fire in my voice to singe your eyebrows a little—the way coaches do when the game is close and victory means everything. And with the game on the line, what this coach is telling you is that to play in this match, some of you have to be more morally clean than you now are. In this battle between good and evil, you cannot play for the adversary whenever temptation comes along and then expect to suit up for the Savior at temple and mission time as if nothing has happened. That, my young friends, you cannot do. God will not be mocked. . . . "So we need young men already on the team to stay on it and stop dribbling out of bounds just when we need you to get in the game and play your hearts out!" —Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "We Are All Enlisted"

When Times Get Difficult

“Fighting through darkness and despair and pleading for the light is what opened this dispensation. It is what keeps it going, and it is what will keep you going.” ―Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Created for Greater Things
“However late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines.” ―Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "The Laborers in the Vineyard"
“I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are the Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him?” ―Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Created for Greater Things

You Were Created for Greater Things

“God expects you to have enough faith and determination and enough trust in Him to keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing. In fact, He expects you not simply to face the future (that sounds pretty grim and stoic); He expects you to embrace and shape the future—to love it and rejoice in it and delight in your opportunities.” ―Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Created for Greater Things
“God wants us to be stronger than we are—more fixed in our purpose, more certain of our commitments, eventually needing less coddling from Him, showing more willingness to shoulder some of the burden of His heavy load. In short, He wants us to be more like He is and, if you haven't noticed, some of us are not like that yet.” ―Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Created for Greater Things
“What is the best that lies within us? Of how much are we capable? None of us yet knows. An old Arabic legend tells of a rider finding a spindly sparrow lying on its back in the middle of the road. He dismounted and asked the sparrow why his feet were in the air. Replied the sparrow, 'I heard the heavens were going to fall today.' 'And I suppose you think your puny bird legs can hold up the whole universe?' laughed the horseman. 'Perhaps not,' said the sparrow with conviction, 'but one does whatever one can.'" ―Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Created for Greater Things

Submitting to God's Will

“May we declare ourselves to be more fully disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, not in word only and not only in the flush of comfortable times but in deed and in courage and in faith, including when the path is lonely and when our cross is difficult to bear.” ―Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Created for Greater Things
“We must be willing to place all that we have—not just our possessions (they may be the easiest things of all to give up), but also our ambition and pride and stubbornness and vanity—we must place it all on the altar of God, kneel there in silent submission, and willingly walk away.” ―Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Created for Greater Things

Be Kind

“Lesson number one from the Lord’s vineyard: coveting, pouting, or tearing others down does not elevate your standing, nor does demeaning someone else improve your self-image. So be kind, and be grateful that God is kind. It is a happy way to live.” ―Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "The Laborers in the Vineyard"
“Let people repent. Let people grow. Believe that people can change and improve. Is that faith? Yes! Is that hope? Yes! Is it charity? Yes! Above all, it is charity, the pure love of Christ. If something is buried in the past, leave it buried. Don’t keep going back with your little sand pail and beach shovel to dig it up, wave it around, and then throw it at someone, saying, 'Hey! Do you remember this?' Splat!” ―Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "The Best Is Yet to Be"

Keep Trying and Keep Going

"Hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes. You have more faith than you think you do.” ―Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "'Lord, I Believe'"
“If for a while the harder you try, the harder it gets, take heart. So it has been with the best people who ever lived.” ―Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "The Inconvenient Messiah"
"So keep loving. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever." ―Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "Tomorrow the Lord Will Do Wonders Among You"

Lead image from ChurchofJesusChrist.org

Get more life-changing advice from Elder Holland in To My Friends and For Times of Trouble.

"If you need a burden lifted, I want you to imagine I am in a personal, private, closed-door chat with you. I want to help you if I can." With those words, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland invites every reader of his book to become a friend, to receive instruction and encouragement, counsel and comfort.

Elder Holland addresses these powerful messages "to my friends who love the Lord," "to my friends who want to change," "to my friends who face opposition," and more. Each chapter begins with a beautifully designed quotation to help convey the message in an artistic way, making the book a lovely gift for friends to share. Throughout, Elder Holland's powerful witness of the Savior shines through, for, as he writes, "I am grateful for the greatest friend any of us could ever have, in time or eternity, the Lord Jesus Christ."

Our Father in Heaven wants us to be happy. And yet, we all have times of trouble. As Elder Jeffrey R. Holland writes, "One of the unfailing facts of mortal life is the recurring presence of trouble . . . When these difficult days (and nights!) come—and they will—it will help us to remember that 'it must needs be,' that in the grand councils of heaven before the world was, we agreed to such a time of challenge and refinement. We were taught then that facing, resolving, and enduring troublesome times was the price we would pay for progress. And we were committed to progress eternally."

A large percentage of the psalms that appear in the Bible were written for such times of trouble. From petitions for relief to acknowledgments of God's power, these psalms provide comfort, perspective, and spiritual solace when we are going through our own trials.

In this tender book, Elder Holland explores dozens of scriptural passages from the psalms, offering personal ideas and insights and sharing his testimony that "no matter what the trouble and trial of the day may be, we start and finish with the eternal truth that God is for us." Elder Holland's reflections on the psalms provide a powerful witness of that comforting truth.

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