Notable quotes:
“With covenants … we feel accountable to God for our choices and our lives.”
“Also known as the Comforter, the Holy Spirit ‘filleth with hope and perfect love.’”
“It is only in pursuing the covenant path that we inherit the blessings of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the ultimate blessings of salvation and exaltation that only God can give.”
Summary points:
- The covenant path leads one to God and includes receiving all the ordinances and covenants pertaining to salvation.
- The overarching covenant commitment is to do God’s will.
- Following the covenant path binds one to God.
Talk summary:
The “covenant path” is the one that leads to the celestial kingdom of God.
In the course of the covenant path (which extends beyond mortality), one receives all the ordinances and covenants pertaining to salvation and exaltation.
Following the principles and commandments of the gospel is the happiest, most satisfying course in life. It helps a person avoid many problems and regrets. Many of life’s problems are often self-inflicted — the result of poor choices.
By diligently pursuing the covenant path “we bypass the people and things that, even if popular, would jeopardize our physical and spiritual well-being. We avoid the choices that harm or disadvantage others and instead acquire the habits of self-discipline and service.”
With covenants, obedience to gospel principles becomes “rooted in our very soul.”
“Another unique aspect of the covenant path is our relationship with Deity. The covenants God offers to His children do more than guide us. They bind us to Him.”
The gift of the Holy Ghost is a key blessing of following the covenant path. The path also brings blessings of forgiveness and cleansing from sin.
Pursuing the covenant path also requires gathering with other Latter-day Saints — including gatherings at the temple.
In the news:
- Elder Christofferson and his wife, Sister Kathy Christofferson, joined President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency and Sister Kristen Oaks in a March 14 devotional for Spanish-speaking young adults throughout Latin America and Spain.
- In December 2020, he expressed thanks on behalf of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to the state of New York and its leaders for the special citation honoring the 200th anniversary of Joseph Smith’s First Vision.
- During a Thanksgiving devotional streamed Nov. 26, 2020, Elder and Sister Christofferson encouraged missionaries to view the blessings of the Restoration through the lens of gratitude.
About the speaker:
- Elder D. Todd Christofferson has been a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles since April 5, 2008. He turned 76 years old on Jan. 24.
- In 1968, he married Kathy Jacob. The two met at a football game — at the time, he had been helping with crowd control, and she was a Cougarette. They are the parents of five children.
- From 1975 to 1980, Elder Christofferson practiced law in Washington, D.C., after serving as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge John J. Sirica during the trials and other proceedings known as Watergate (1972-74).
Recently on social:
- Elder Christofferson posted on Nov. 1, 2020, in honor of Sister Annabelle Nielsen, who passed away while serving as a full-time missionary in Switzerland.
- On Dec. 22, 2020, Elder Christofferson took to social media to provide more details about the official citation from the state of New York that he accepted on behalf on the First Presidency, along with Elder Robert C. Gay and Elder Randall K. Bennett.
- During a radio interview featuring Bishop Desmond Tutu, the Anglican archbishop in South Africa, Bishop Tutu offered an analogy that resonated with Elder Christofferson. The analogy compared the experience of praying with sitting by a fire.
