Elder D. Todd Christofferson: 'Consecrated life'

True success in this life will come as Church members consecrate their lives — their time and choices — to God's purposes, said Elder D. Todd Christofferson.

"In doing so, we permit Him to raise us to our highest destiny," said Elder Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve.

Speaking Saturday morning, he said there are five elements to a consecrated life: Purity, work, respect for one's physical body, service and integrity.

Purity: Elder Christofferson said the Savior demonstrated that the consecrated life is a pure life. "While Jesus is the only one to have led a sinless life, those who come unto Him and take His yoke upon them have claim on His grace which will make them as He is, guiltless and spotless."

Elder Christofferson said consecration means repentance. "Stubbornness, rebellion and rationalization must be abandoned, and in their place submission, a desire for correction and acceptance of all that the Lord may require."

Work: A consecrated life is a life of labor, said Elder Christofferson. "By work we sustain and enrich life. It enables us to survive the disappointments and tragedies of the mortal experience. Hard-earned achievement brings a sense of self-worth. Work builds and refines character, creates beauty, and is the instrument of our service to one another and to God. A consecrated life is filled with work, sometimes repetitive, sometimes menial, sometimes unappreciated, but always work that improves, orders, sustains, lifts, ministers, aspires."

Respect for one's physical body: "A consecrated life respects the incomparable gift of one's physical body, a divine creation in the very image of God," said Elder Christofferson.

He noted that a central purpose of the mortal experience is that each spirit should receive a body and learn to exercise moral agency in a "tabernacle of flesh."

"Those who believe that our bodies are nothing more than the result of evolutionary chance will feel no accountability to God or anyone else for what they do with or to their body. We who have a witness of the broader reality of pre-mortal, mortal and post-mortal eternity, however, must acknowledge that we have a duty to God with respect to this crowning achievement of His physical creation."

Service: Elder Christofferson said Jesus demonstrated that a consecrated life is a life of service.