"It's really all-consuming," he said. "The cases are fascinating and complex."

BYU President Cecil Samuelson introduced Griffith at the devotional as "our dear friend, Judge Griffith."

Griffith told the campus audience that as president of a BYU LDS stake — a group of student congregations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — he created a rule that all church talks and lessons must be related to the atonement of Jesus Christ "in a direct and express way."

He said the rule was based on statements by church leaders and was part of an effort to create deeper understanding of Christian doctrine.

"If you cannot figure out a link between the topic you are to teach and the atonement of Christ, you have either not thought about it enough or you shouldn't be talking about it at church," he said, underscoring points throughout the speech with vigorous hand gestures. "Your topic may be fine for the city council, your neighborhood organization or the commercial break during SportsCenter, but in our limited time in church, we must be talking about the atonement of Christ."

Griffith maintains a residence in Provo because his wife is completing her degree at BYU. The Griffiths also reside in McLean, Va., their hometown.

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