David Todd Christofferson (born January 24, 1945) is an American religious leader and former lawyer who serves as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church). He has been a general authority of the church since 1993. Currently, he is the eighth most senior apostle in the church. Christofferson grew up in Utah and New Jersey, and after high school served as an LDS missionary in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. He then studied

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

(BYU) before attending law school at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

. After graduating from law school in 1972, Christofferson clerked for Judge

John Sirica John Joseph Sirica (March 19, 1904 – August 14, 1992) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, where he became famous for his role in the trials stemming from the Watergate scandal. ...

on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia while Sirica presided over much of the legal proceedings stemming from the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...

. Christofferson then entered private practice, and eventually became an in-house lawyer for NationsBank (now part of

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...

Early life

Christofferson was born in American Fork, Utah, and raised in Pleasant Grove, Utah; Lindon, Utah; and

Somerset, New Jersey Somerset is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Franklin Township, in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

. As a young man, he served a two-year LDS mission in Argentina. His

mission president Mission president is a Priesthood (LDS Church), priesthood leadership position in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A mission president presides over a geographic area known as a Mission (LDS Church), mission and the M ...

was Richard G. Scott, who would already be a member of the Quorum of the Twelve when Christofferson was called to the same quorum. After his mission, he earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from BYU in English and international relations in 1969, followed by a J.D. from Duke University School of Law in 1972. Christofferson began his legal career as a

law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

to Judge John J. Sirica of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia from 1972 to 1974. Shortly after Christofferson began clerking, Sirica was assigned to preside over the Watergate legal proceedings. After his work as a judicial clerk, Christofferson was an active member of the US military and then served in the reserves for eight years.

Career and family

As a lawyer, Christofferson worked in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

;

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

;

Herndon, Virginia Herndon is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia, it is part of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. In 2020, the population at the census was 24,655, which makes i ...

; and

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. Christofferson was the associate

general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

for NationsBank in Charlotte and was the volunteer chairman of Affordable Housing of Nashville, Tennessee. Christofferson clerked for Judge John J. Sirica during the

Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Nixon's resignation in 1974, in August of that year. It revol ...

trials. Together they were the first outside the White House to hear the Nixon White House tapes. "Judge Sirica and I were shocked as we heard Nixon calmly ask" how much money it would take to keep the Watergate burglars quiet, Christofferson said in a June 2017 address to faculty and students at Christ Church College in Oxford, England. "The judge and I couldn't believe, didn't want to believe what we were hearing … He passed me a note suggesting we rewind the tape and listen again. Up to this point we both still hoped that the president f the United Stateswas not really involved, but this was indisputable." Christofferson married Katherine Jacob in the

Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a Temple (LDS Church), temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the Comparison of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sa ...

on May 28, 1968. They are the parents of five children.

LDS Church service

Prior to becoming a general authority, Christofferson served in the LDS Church as a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

, stake president, and regional representative. At the church's April 1993 general conference, Christofferson was called as a general authority and member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. In August 1998, Christofferson became a member of the Presidency of the Seventy. As a seventy, Christofferson served as the executive director of the church's Family and Church History Department. While in this position he was involved in negotiations with Jewish leaders on policies on

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

work for

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

victims, which concluded with the church stating that its members should only do such temple work for family members. He also was in charge of the department when the church completed the Freedman's Savings Bank Records project. On April 5, 2008, during the

solemn assembly A solemn assembly is a formal and sacred procedure in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) conducted to give added emphasis to the purpose of the occasion. Solemn assemblies are held at the dedications of Temple (LDS Church), ...

session of the church's general conference when Thomas S. Monson was sustained as church president, Christofferson was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Christofferson is regarded by church members as a prophet, seer, and revelator.

Works

Articles * *

Honors

* World Peace Prize (2017)

Notes

References

* *—Reuters interview with Christofferson

External links

General Authorities and General Officers: Elder D. Todd Christofferson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christofferson, D. Todd 1945 births 20th-century Mormon missionaries American general authorities (LDS Church) American lawyers American Mormon missionaries in Argentina Apostles (LDS Church) Brigham Young University alumni Duke University School of Law alumni Living people People from American Fork, Utah Presidents of the Seventy (LDS Church) Regional representatives of the Twelve Latter Day Saints from Utah Latter Day Saints from New Jersey Latter Day Saints from Washington, D.C. Latter Day Saints from Virginia Latter Day Saints from North Carolina Latter Day Saints from Tennessee People from Pleasant Grove, Utah People from Lindon, Utah