Today is Elder Christofferson’s 76th birthday. Here are 9 quotes from him this year

24 Jan 2021, 9:05 a.m. MST

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Kathy Christofferson, smile during an interview in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Nov. 21, 2019. Credit: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles turns 76 years old today. He was called as a General Authority Seventy in 1993 and as an Apostle in 2008.

Born in American Fork, Utah, on Jan. 24, 1945, Elder Christofferson earned a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University and a law degree from Duke University. He served as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge John J. Sirica during the trials and other proceedings known as Watergate (1972-74).

Prior to his call to the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Christofferson served in the Presidency of the Seventy, as Executive Director of the Family and Church History Department and as president of the Mexico South Area.

In honor of his 76th birthday today, here are nine quotes from Elder Christofferson during this past year.

1. ‘The Lord had prepared us’

“We’ve been blessed by the Lord. We’ve been blessed by the generosity of the members of the Church and been able to, in this way, help in a great humanitarian cause in a crucial year and situation that none of us anticipated fully. Yet, we were ready. The Lord had prepared us.”

— Church concludes 200 deliveries to food pantries in New York, Dec. 20, 2020

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Katherine, take a tour of The Riverside Church’s food pantry on Feb. 27, 2020. During the global faith leader’s visit, Elder Christofferson announced that 600 tons of food will be delivered to 200 pantries across New York state, including The Riverside Church, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s First Vision. | Credit: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

2. Gratitude

“Gratitude is important to our happiness and peace in the present and our preparations for the future. In fact, if we are not grateful for today’s blessings, our faith in God and our Savior will be weaker as we look toward the future.”

— Devotional for missionaries, Nov. 26, 2020

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speaks with his wife, Sister Kathy Christofferson, during a worldwide missionary devotional. Shared with full-time missionaries, the devotional was taped in Salt Lake City at headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and streamed on Nov. 26, 2020. | Credit: Screenshot

3. Teach and live by God’s truths

“There is much we can do as neighbors and fellow citizens to contribute to the sustainability and success of the societies we live in, and surely our most fundamental and enduring service will be to teach and live by the truths inherent in God’s great plan of redemption. … If enough of us and enough of our neighbors strive to guide our lives by the truth of God, the moral virtues needed in every society will abound.”

— “Sustainable Societies,” October 2020 general conference

Elder D. Todd Christofferson, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, gets ready to speak during the Saturday afternoon session of the 190th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Oct. 3, 2020. | Credit: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

4. ‘Show proper reverence’

“At times we may fail to show proper reverence and care for the sacred things entrusted to us, including the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and of that we need to repent quickly. Nevertheless, if we are striving to teach these things to all who have not yet received them, as He has commanded, and diligently pray for the Spirit so that we may act ‘by constraint of the Spirit,’ I believe the Lord is pleased and that He will hear our prayers and grant His Spirit to be with us.”

— Mission Leadership Seminar, June 27, 2020

Elder D. Todd Christofferson conducts a Friday, June 26, 2020, session of the 2020 Mission Leadership Seminar | Credit: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

5. Small and simple things

“It has always been true, especially with missionaries, that the efforts of each individual matter. There are relatively few of us, and a very significant portion of the world has yet to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. If even one of us gets weary in well-doing, it slows the work. And each one who is diligent affects the work in positive ways that even he or she may not realize or ever see.”

— Devotional for missionaries, May 12, 2020

Elder D. Todd Christofferson addresses missionaries in home MTCs via technology from Brigham Young’s Office in the Beehive House in Salt Lake City on May 12, 2020. | Credit: Sarah Jane Weaver

6. Single adults amid COVID-19

“In all of this, we have to be more sensitive to the isolation and other challenges that single adults face, more than most of us do — especially single parents, who are carrying such a huge load. It is incumbent on us to give some added attention to creating a sense of inclusion, to be thoughtful about the help that they might need.”

— “Being single amid COVID-19: Elder Christofferson asks members to ‘consider what it means to belong,’” Church News article, May 6, 2020

President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, laugh during a media interview in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2019. | Credit: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

7. ‘Rejoice in the fruits of the Restoration’

“Today we rejoice in the fruits of the Restoration, one of the most surpassing being the power once again to bind on earth and in heaven.As expressed years ago by President Gordon B. Hinckley, ‘If nothing else came out of all of the sorrow and travail and pain of the restoration than the sealing power of the holy priesthood to bind together families forever, it would have been worth all that it has cost.’”

— “Sharing the Message of the Restoration and the Resurrection,” April 2020 general conference

Elder D. Todd Christofferson speaks during the Sunday afternoon session of the 190th Annual General Conference on April 5, 2020. | Credit: Screenshot, ChurchofJesusChrist.org

8. Religion is ‘vital’

“Religious faith, freely exercised, promotes civic virtue and is vital to strong, flourishing communities. I am not for a moment suggesting that religion is the only source of virtue within society, or that secular people cannot be highly moral. My point is simply that very often religion does the hard work of inculcating the habits and mores necessary for free and democratic societies to flourish.”

— New York Latter-day Saint Professional Association’s annual banquet, Feb. 27, 2020

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles announced that 600 tons of food will be delivered to 200 pantries across New York state to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s First Vision, which occurred in Palmyra, New York. The announcement came on Feb. 27, 2020, during the Latter-day Saint Professional Association’s annual fundraising banquet in Manhattan. | Credit: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

9. God is aware of His children

“Despite all the difficulties and trials you may face, cherish this time to be alive. Prophets of old have seen our day and wished they could be part of it. … “We know that God is aware of us, that He will help us, and that He will give us strength to help each other. We know that in the end, we will have all the blessings God can give and that He will wipe away all tears.”

— Devotional to Venezuelan Saints, Feb. 2, 2020

Elder D. Todd Christofferson speaks during a prerecorded message for the Feb. 2, 2020, Venezuela Devotional for Latter-day Saints in the northern South America nation. | Credit: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.