Imagine the responsibility for the people, the buildings, and the finances of what amounts to a major tax-exempt corporation on three continents.

That's the daunting task that faces one member of the LDS Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Religion Specialist, Carole Mikita takes a look at the experiences and feelings of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.

Elder Holland and the other apostles wear many hats. This church position is part CEO, part frequent flyer, part public relations and full-time spiritual guide. Elder Holland simply does the work of an apostle.

The word apostle literally means one who is sent. Jeffrey Holland might be in Madrid, Spain, shaking hands with hundreds of missionaries, encouraging them in the work.

He is also a regular traveler to Africa, where in some countries, the church is in its early stages.

And then again, it could be in Jerusalem, Elder Holland led the efforts to build BYU's Center for Near Eastern Studies.

But the twelve church leaders called apostles often travel alone, overseeing the affairs of the church. So, how do they explain the title and what they do, while sitting next to a stranger on an airplane?

Jeffrey R. Holland, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: "As you get into the conversation, the first impression is, 'You've got to be kidding me.' But it actually allows a wonderful opportunity to talk... about the primitive church in Christ's time, and that those men were everyday, ordinary men, and he could have been sitting next to a fisherman or a carpenter or a tentmaker. It just so happened in this case he was sitting next to an old educator."

Elder Holland used to be Brigham Young University's President Holland. Talking education and college sports is, he says, a great conversation opener. And he has no shortage of opportunities. He is assigned to a vast geographical area... Northern Europe... Western Europe... Eastern Europe... including the Middle East and all of Africa.

Looking at a map, he describes it as daunting.

Elder Holland: "That's what keeps you awake in the day and keeps you awake in the night."

Elder Holland remembers with emotion when he was asked to be an apostle. President Ezra Taft Benson had died and Howard W. Hunter became the next president of the church, so there was a vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in June 1994. President Hunter called him.

Elder Holland: "And then he said, 'Oh, could you manage, would it be convenient to come by my office in the morning about 6:30?' Well, whenever the president of the church wants you to be anywhere, it's suddenly very convenient. It's very easy to do."

Elder Holland: "It was just one of the sweetest experiences in my life. I cried... and he cried, and that was, in a way, one of the harder parts, is when I looked up and the tears were running down his cheeks."

Elder Holland says he will always remember the tender heart of President Hunter, and he and the other 11 are never far from recognizing the tremendous responsibilities their church positions hold.

But, he says, they are buoyed up by the love of the church members everywhere and the support they give each other.

Elder Holland: "This brotherhood and sisterhood, with the association of wives, is just one of the sweetest and rarest and best things, you're going to keep me crying here, Carole... (he laughs) But that's one of the very best things about this calling."