Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was born in American Fork, Utah, on Jan. 24, 1945. He graduated from high school in New Jersey, 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 from 1972 to 1974 during the trials and other proceedings known as Watergate.
As a young man, Elder Christofferson served a full-time mission in Argentina. He met Kathy Jacob at a BYU football game, where she was on the Cougarette dance team and he was helping with crowd control, and they were married within a year. They have five children.
Prior to being sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in April 2008 general conference, 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. He was called as a General Authority Seventy in 1993 and has also been a bishop and a stake president.
In honor of his 80th birthday, here are nine quotes from Elder Christofferson from the past year.
1. ‘Valiant in the testimony of Jesus’
“My invitation is to act now to secure your place as one who is valiant in the testimony of Jesus.”
— “The Testimony of Jesus,” April 2024 general conference
2. The power of covenants
“The covenants of the gospel of Jesus Christ bring strength for all aspects of life, to deal with both the physical and the spiritual. ... I believe that the Saints here truly respond to what President Russell M. Nelson talks about often — the power of covenants.”
— Ministry in South Africa, May 27, 2024
3. Bear testimony to family
“You know who He is, you are now His disciples, the Holy Ghost has told you,” Elder Christofferson said. “And you need to teach it to your children. You bear that same testimony to your family and to any friends or others who will listen to you. You tell them: ‘I know Jesus is the Son of God, I know The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is His Church. It is His instrument to bring salvation to the whole world.’”
— Ministry in Madagascar, May 19, 2024
4. The temple as a testimony of the Savior
“This temple and all latter-day temples constitute our visible, tangible testimony of the living reality of the Redeemer, since without His Atonement and Resurrection, the temple would serve no purpose.”
— Salta Argentina Temple dedication, June 16, 2024
5. ‘Power that would otherwise not be possible’
“There are certainly commitments made by both parties to a covenant, but what President [Russell M.] Nelson has stressed is that it is more than that. Covenants really are a means that Heavenly Father and His Son use to deepen a relationship with us, so that we have a faith in Them, an assurance, an understanding, a relationship, an association that gives us power that would otherwise not be possible.”
— Sons of Utah Pioneers National Encampment, Sept. 20, 2024
6. ‘Great events’
“The small acts of today will blossom in the not-too-distant future into great events prophesied by biblical and Book of Mormon prophets,” he promised.
— Eurasian Area instruction meeting, Sept. 14, 2024
7. Put away weapons of rebellion
“May we bury — very, very deep — any element of rebellion against God in our lives and replace it with a willing heart and a willing mind.”
— “Burying Our Weapons of Rebellion,” October 2024 general conference
8. ‘What your Heavenly Father feels for you’
“I would hope this younger generation would have a sense of how much we care about them, how much we are working to help them and what we are investing — every kind of resource, including time and prayer and tears and love and everything that we can bring to pass. So I would say to that generation, to this generation that we care about so much, our manifestations, indications of concern and care and interest and love are just a fraction of what your Heavenly Father feels for you, and the Savior who gave His life for you, and the Holy Spirit who can and wants to be with you continually. Those things are real. Those are the basic fundamental truths of our existence. And for me, the most fundamental, really, is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The fact of His Resurrection is proof of all the rest.”
— Church News podcast, Dec. 10, 2024
9. Spirit working in this generation
“I think the Lord is working, the Spirit is working in this generation, and they feel it.”
— Church News video, Dec. 13, 2024
