Quentin L Cook - LDS Apostle

I took my family on a vacation in Hawaii over the Thanksgiving break. We stayed in Honolulu, where my parents are serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (aka Mormon Church). The timing of our trip was fortuitous. We happened to be in Oahu on the Sunday that the Laie Temple was rededicated after it was out of operation for two years for renovation work.

President Thomas S Monson (president of the LDS Church) came to rededicate the temple and brought with him President Henry B Eyring (counselor to President Monson) and Elder Quentin L Cook, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. When these men were exiting the temple after the dedication ceremony, I had a chance to prop my daughter up along the wall in front of the temple. When Elder Cook walked by, she told him hello. He reached out and shook her hand and said emphatically, "Hello there, Sweetie." She was thrilled about the experience, especially because she felt the excitement and reverence that surrounded these men.

That experience made me decide to put together a Hub dedicated to publishing some information to help the world get to better know Elder Quentin L Cook, the LDS Apostle. I've put together some videos of talks he's given recently, and I'll include some biographical information about him.

Here are some of Elder Cook's talks from recent LDS Church conferences.  Every six months, members of the Church gather to hear messages from our leaders, who we believe to be prophets.  As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Quentin L Cook gives a talk at each of these conferences.  Here are his two most recent conference talks, one from October 2010 entitled "Let There Be Light" and another from April 2010 entitled "We Follow Jesus Christ".  Both are inspiring talks and give great insight into the beliefs and lifestyle of Elder Quentin L Cook.

Highlights

Background/Personal:

• Born in Logan, Utah.
  
• Education: Utah State University (BS in Politic Science) and Stanford (JD - law degree).
• Family:  Wife - Mary Gaddie on November 30, 1962.  Three children.
  

Church Callings:

• Served a mission as a young man in Great Britain.
• Bishop
• Stake president and counselor in the San Francisco California Stake
• Regional Representative and Area Authority in the North America West Area.
• General Authority - called to the Second Quorum of the Seventy in April 1996.  He also served in the First Quorum of the Seventy and in the Presidency of the Seventy.
• Apostle - called in October, 2007.

Business

• Vice chairman of Sutter Health System.
  
• President and CEO of California Healthcare System.
  
• Business lawyer and managing partner of Carr, McClellan, Ingersoll, Thompson and Horn.
  
• Board member of several profit and non-profit corporations.