October 19, 2025, 5:00 AM MDT
President Jeffrey R. Holland first met President Dallin H. Oaks in early 1974, when President Oaks was serving as president of Brigham Young University.
Unbeknownst to President Holland, BYU needed a new director of religious education. President Holland accepted the dinner invitation and said there was an “instant” connection between the two.
“We hit it off right away and were very impressed,” President Holland said, adding that he was grateful for the unique opportunity to get to know the BYU president better and thought this was it.
A month or two later, President Oaks visited President Holland in his office in Salt Lake City and asked the then 33-year-old to become BYU’s new director of religious education.
President Holland accepted on the spot and moved his family to Provo, Utah, marking the beginning of more than 50 years of warm exchanges and friendships. President Holland then succeeded President Oaks as BYU president in 1980 and joined the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1994.
“I have never been more humbled than following in the footsteps of Dallin Oakes, who always had big, big shoes to fill,” President Holland said, adding that he is grateful for his education.
And he will happily continue to learn and serve.
On Tuesday, October 14, President Oaks was announced as the 18th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. President Holland was appointed President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
President Holland paid tribute to President Oaks, calling him “one of the greatest leaders I have ever known.” He praised President Oaks’ “hands-on” leadership style, calling him “steady, calm, and reassuring,” and emphasized his strong work ethic, attention to detail, determination to complete his mission, and faithful devotion to the Lord.
“He’s not easily irritated,” President Holland said, but when something goes wrong or a problem arises, President Oaks “snaps into action” to deal with it.
President Holland is praying for and supporting President Oaks.
“He is a complete man of God and I love him,” President Holland said.
President Holland was one of several Church leaders who spoke about how the Lord is preparing President Oaks to serve as the new President of the Church.
“He has great faith.”
Reflecting on his years of service, President Holland said that when something was being discussed in a meeting, President Oaks would sometimes ask for prayer in the middle of a sentence.
“So we pray, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t pray to start the conference. We need reinforcements, we need help. He has great faith,” President Holland said. “He is a wonderful person who can trust things to the Lord.”
President Henry B. Eyring, currently First Counselor in the First Presidency, expressed his appreciation for the sacred process by which new prophets are called.
“I am happy to live in a time where I can once again follow God’s prophets with complete trust,” he said.
“A person with action”
President D. Todd Christofferson, who currently serves as Second Counselor in the First Presidency, remembers a meeting several years ago when President Oaks voiced an idea and someone else responded by saying why it wouldn’t work.
President Oakes responded, “Well, here’s another great idea that was stolen by an unruly fact-collection group,” President Kristofferson responded.
“He doesn’t take himself too seriously. He certainly has a sense of humor that doesn’t always come through when speaking at conferences. He’s quick to see the humor in things and the analytical mind he brings.”
President Christofferson expressed gratitude for several admirable qualities in President Oaks, calling him a “man of action.” Ability to express yourself clearly. Deep empathy and consideration for those in need. Openness to other people’s ideas and opinions.
“One of the things that impressed me was that he was a strong leader and a great follower,” he said.
Among President Oaks’ many notable qualities and talents, President Christofferson especially values his openness to the guidance of the Spirit.
“He knows how to stop, how to be quiet, how to listen to the Spirit. And he responds. He is attentive. He knows how to receive those impressions. He knows how to act on those impressions. And I think the Lord is constantly giving him such instructions as he acts on those impressions,” he said.
President Christofferson said that when the world is in turmoil and “there is a man who can articulate the doctrine, position, and direction that the Lord gives, who can and has led in many situations, who has the ability to feel as the Savior feels and to love as the Savior loves, I believe that the Lord has equipped President Oaks, whose talents, gifts, and experience have been honed and expanded by the Lord to lead others as disciples of Christ.”
“To me, he is the perfect person to take advantage of an opportunity during difficult and uncertain times,” President Kristofferson said.
remembering the oppressed
During his time at BYU, Maynard Dixon’s painting “The Forgotten Man” spoke to President Oaks. The painting, which hangs in his office at church headquarters, depicts a man down on his luck during the Great Depression of the 1930s, sitting on the curb with his legs stretched out into the street, paying no attention to him as throngs of people pass by.
“Yet you can see the sun shining on his head,” President Oaks said in an interview with Church News. “His Heavenly Father knows he is there. He is forgotten by the crowds passing by, but in his struggle, his Heavenly Father knows he is there. . . . It speaks to me and reminds me of what I need to remember.”
Relief Society general president Camille N. Johnson said President Oaks was especially sensitive to the downtrodden because he lost his father at a young age and was raised by a faithful and resilient mother. She appreciates his invitation to intervene to help the children and women.
“President Oakes’ upbringing and growing up with a widowed mother naturally inform his concern for oppressed peoples,” Johnson said.
“President Oaks has certainly spoken to women many times in the past and has great concern for them. I have met with the First Presidency and he has expressed particular concern for the women of the Church, saying that they feel loved and that they know how important and important they are. I know he will continue to speak about that.”
observation
Primary general president Susan H. Porter observes President Oaks in various meetings and appreciates what she has learned from him.
“He’s a very warm person. His warmth makes me feel comfortable expressing my thoughts,” she said. “It was very interesting to observe President Oaks because he was always very active and very comfortable expressing his concerns, thoughts, questions, and observations. I also got to see how supportive and respectful he was of President (Russell M.) Nelson. It was a great learning experience for me to see that.”
It was refreshing for President Porter to hear President Nelson speak about his transition from being a “supporter of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles” to a decision-maker in 2018 and becoming President of the Church to the extent that President Oaks “buckled up a little bit more and said to myself, ‘It would be fun to be a counselor in this First Presidency.'”
“I thought, ‘Okay, there’s a flavor that seems to be here to stay.’” That was clearly something he felt was important, which is that we enjoy the calling of the church and the service of the Lord,” she said.
blessing to the church
As a trained lawyer himself, President Johnson knows that President Oaks was a “highly regarded and respected lawyer” before his call to full-time service in the Church. He was part of a short list of names considered by the President of the United States to be a judge on the U.S. Supreme Court. She said his legal experience and background have been and will continue to be a blessing to the church.
“He understands the intricacies of the United States Constitution and the constitutional protections necessary to establish The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” she said. “He also has insight and understanding of the principles that need to be put in place for religious freedom to flourish and for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to grow. … President Oaks’ experience in the judicial community and as a lawyer will be invaluable as he moves forward as President of the Church.”
President Oaks is already using the writing skills he developed as a lawyer to serve others.
“One of the ways President Oaks serves is through the written word,” President Porter said. “Many of us here at church headquarters received beautiful notes after his talk mentioning something he was grateful for or something he thought about or something specific that would be a blessing to all of us. This is a great gift he has and he uses it in his ministry.”
