In anticipation of the formal opportunity Church members would have to raise their hands in a sustaining vote of the prophet and other general officers of the Church later that afternoon, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve thanked Church members during the Saturday morning session of general conference for their support of the brethren.

"Because my name will be included on that list, may I be so bold as to speak for all in thanking you for your love and uplifted hands," he said. "Not one of us could serve without your prayers and your support. Your loyalty and your love mean more to us than we can ever possibly say.

"In that spirit, my message today is to say that we sustain you, that we return to you those same heartfelt prayers and that same expression of love. We all know there are special keys, covenants and responsibilities given to the presiding officers of the Church, but we also know that the Church draws incomparable strength, a truly unique vitality, from the faith and devotion of every member of this Church whoever you may be. In whatever country you live, however young or inadequate you feel, or however aged or limited you see yourself as being, I testify you are individually loved of God, you are central to the meaning of His work, and you are cherished and prayed for by the presiding officers of His Church. The personal value, the sacred splendor of every one of you, is the very reason there is a plan for salvation and exaltation."

Elder Holland spoke of the great impact sacrifices, kind words and good deeds have on others.

Speaking specifically about the women of the Church, Elder Holland shared examples of service that follow the Savior. He spoke of Young Women leaders going to girls camp, for example, and said, "We smile sometimes about our sisters' stories — you know — green Jell-O quilts and funeral potatoes. But my family has been the grateful recipient of each of those items, at one time or another — and in one case the quilt and the funeral potatoes on the same day. It was just a small quilt — tiny really — to make my deceased baby brother's journey back to his heavenly home as warm and comfortable as our Relief Society sisters wanted him to be. … Smile, if you will, about our traditions but somehow the too-often unheralded women in this Church are always there when hands hang down and knees are feeble. They seem to grasp instinctively the divinity in Christ's declaration: 'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these. … ye have done it unto me.' "

Elder Holland also spoke of the great priesthood brethren of the Church.

"I am grateful for the Church's army of teachers, officers, advisers and clerks, to say nothing of people who are forever setting up tables and taking down chairs," he said. "I am grateful for ordained patriarchs, musicians, for family historians, and for osteoporotic couples who trundle off to the temple at 5 o'clock in the morning with little suitcases now almost bigger than they are. I am grateful for selfless parents who — perhaps for a lifetime — care for a challenged child, sometimes with more than one challenge and sometimes with more than one child."

Speaking of his own parents, Elder Holland shared a personal story of the sacrifices they made to help pay for his mission.

"To you, Mom and Dad, and to all the moms and dads and families and faithful people everywhere, I thank you for sacrificing for your children, and for other people's children, for wanting so much to give them advantages you never had, for wanting so much to give them the happiest life you could provide. My thanks to all you wonderful members of the Church — and legions of good people not of our faith — for proving every day of your life that the pure love of Christ never faileth.

"No one of you is a small or insignificant thing, in part because you make the Gospel of Jesus Christ what it is — a living reminder of His grace and mercy, a private but powerful manifestation in small villages and large cities of the good He did and the life He gave trying to bring salvation to other people. We are honored beyond expression to be counted one with you in such a sacred cause." — Marianne Holman