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 A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

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 nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

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

LDS missionary Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—widely known as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and communi ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. He then studied English literature at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

(BYU) before attending law school at Duke University. 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 administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's contin ...

. Christofferson then entered private practice, and eventually became an in-house lawyer for

NationsBank NationsBank was one of the largest banking corporations in the United States, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company named NationsBank was formed through the merger of several other banks in 1991, and prior to that had been through mul ...

(now part of

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

Early life

Christofferson was born in

American Fork, Utah American Fork is a city in north-central Utah County, Utah, United States, at the foot of Mount Timpanogos in the Wasatch Range, north from Utah Lake. This city is thirty-two miles southeast of Salt Lake City. It is part of the Provo– ...

, and raised in

Pleasant Grove, Utah Pleasant Grove, originally named Battle Creek, is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States known as "Utah's City of Trees". It is part of the Provo– Orem Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 37,726 at the 2020 Census. Hist ...

;

Lindon, Utah Lindon is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo– Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 10,070 at the 2010 census. In July 2019 it was estimated to be to 11,100 by the US Census Bureau. ...

; and

Somerset, New Jersey Somerset is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Franklin Township, in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States.mission president Mission president is a 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 and the missionaries serving in the mission. Depending o ...

was

Richard G. Scott Richard Gordon Scott (November 7, 1928 – September 22, 2015) was an American scientist and religious leader who served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Scott was b ...

, 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 Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from BYU in English and international relations in 1969, followed by a J.D. from

Duke University School of Law Duke University School of Law (Duke Law School or Duke Law) is the law school of Duke University, a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law is a constituent academic unit t ...

in 1972. Christofferson began his legal career as a law clerk 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. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

;

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

; Herndon, Virginia; and

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. 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 trials. Together they were the first outside the White House to hear the

Nixon White House tapes The Nixon White House tapes are audio recordings of conversations between U.S. President Richard Nixon and Nixon administration officials, Nixon family members, and White House staff, produced between 1971 and 1973. In February 1971, a sound-a ...

. "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 of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the largest Latter-day Saint temple by floor area. Dedicated in 1893, it is the sixth templ ...

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 clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

stake president A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine ha ...

, 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 A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by a ...

. 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 building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

work for

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

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 The Freedman's Saving and Trust Company, known as the Freedman's Savings Bank, was a private savings bank chartered by the U.S. Congress on March 3, 1865, to collect deposits from the newly emancipated communities. The bank opened 37 branches acr ...

Records project. On April 5, 2008, during the solemn assembly session of the church's general conference when

Thomas S. Monson Thomas Spencer Monson (August 21, 1927 – January 2, 2018) was an American religious leader, author, and the 16th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). As president, he was considered by adherents of the re ...

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 Prophet, seer, and revelator is an ecclesiastical title used in the Latter Day Saint movement. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is the largest denomination of the movement, and it currently applies the terms to the membe ...

Works

Articles * *

Honors

World Peace Prize The World Peace Prize was established in 1989 by Robert L. Leggett, Suzi Leggett, and Dr. Han Min Su., and was registered the same year in Washington D.C. as the "World Peace Corps Mission, World Peace Corp Academy and World Peace Prize Awarding Co ...

(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