EXCLUSIVE: Lester Holt Tells How God Gets Him Through Tough Times As He Opens Up About 'Moral Struggle' of Being an Anchor
Lester Holt has opened up about the 'moral struggle' has has faced as an anchor.
March 25 2025, Published 4:15 p.m. ET
Lester Holt has admitted his faith in God is what keeps him going through global turmoil and tragedy.
As the anchor of NBC Nightly News prepares to step down after a decade and transition full-time to Dateline this summer, RadarOnline.com can reveal he previously shared how faith "permeates everything he does" and keeps him grounded in his life's purpose.
Holt recently said his faith in God has helped him along his journey.
Holt, 66, said in a past interview: "It's a question any person of faith struggles with, not just a journalist or newscaster. You see misery in the world, terrible suffering, and wonder how it can be fair.
"How can you go on living your life of abundance when others suffer such deprivation? How can some have so little while others have so much?"
The anchor revealed he had a church upbringing and his parents gave him a 'good grounding' in the bible.
Holt, who is married with two grown sons, grew up in Northern California.
Of his upbringing, he revealed: "My dad was in the Air Force for twenty-some years, and he retired near Sacramento, where he immediately went back to school, got his degree and returned to the workforce. Same with Mom.
"She went to school while working full-time in her government job. I was one of four kids, and the unspoken message was: 'You've got to make something of yourself.'"
He continued: "Church on Sundays? No arguing about that. My parents were two-times-on-Sunday-and-Bible-study-on Wednesday folks, and they remained faithful.
"I can also thank my parents for giving us a good grounding in the Bible. I credit my church upbringing, in part, with helping me become comfortable working in front of a crowd. Valuable training for a future broadcaster."
These days, Holt attends the Manhattan Church of Christ in New York, where he's been asked to serve as song leader.
He explained: "My answer is, 'There are more capable song leaders there to do the job'... Usually in church, I'm content to sit and worship.
"My work has taken me to places that have been devastated by war and natural disaster. I've stared into the hollowed-out faces of people suffering hunger and thirst. I've seen refugees living in abominable conditions."
On the more difficult moments in his career, the crisis following the earthquake in Haiti hit him especially hard.
He said: "Nothing was worse than reporting from Haiti after its catastrophic 2010 earthquake, in which more than 200,000 people perished.
Through tough times as a reporter, Holt realized he was changing lives by spreading the word of important topics.
"Here was death on a scale I'd never seen before: mass graves, whole neighborhoods leveled, survivors living on the streets and desperate for food and medicine. All of this less than 700 miles away from the richest country on the planet."
The newscaster began to question his role covering these tragic events, saying: "My God, I thought, I don't ever want to be in a position of exploiting people's suffering.
"Was that what I was doing? In journalism, there is always another story to cover.
"The network offered counseling to any of us who needed it. In the past, I'd always figured I was fine. A pro. I'd covered plenty of horrible events and been always able to file it away.
"This time I needed to talk to a professional. Of course, I prayed, but I needed to know that our work helped, rather than hindered."
He even went and spoke to the counselor for help with his moral dilemma.
"The counselor I met with asked, What would have happened if you hadn't gone to Haiti? What if no one had covered that story? What if the devastation hadn't appeared anywhere and people knew nothing about it?'
"I thought back to all the donations people made and were still making. All those huge transport planes that landed at the airfield, even when we were still there, delivering medicine, food, water, clothes.
"What if no one had reported the story? No one would know about it."
Holt knew in that moment he was making the right choice, and his conscience was at ease.
"This was my calling; this was what I was expected to do. To shine a light in dark places. To give a voice to the voiceless. To make the invisible visible. That light illuminates our condition as human beings."
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The anchor of NBC Nightly News is preparing to step down after a decade and transition full-time to Dateline this summer.
He added: "I definitely have the family and work ethic.
"As for my faith, it is not something I share on the air, though I hope it permeates what I do. When I was working on the 'Weekend Today' show a couple of years ago, I mentioned on air that I had to hustle after leaving the studio to get to worship on time.
"I don't know what viewers thought, but Mom was quick to say, 'Lester, you just showed the world that you are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.'"
Holt makes sure to end his broadcasts with a heartfelt message: "Take care of yourself – and each other."
