Elder Quentin L. Cook on gratitude for our blessings

Elder Quentin L. Cook (born September 8, 1940) was called as a Seventy in 1996, then as a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in 2007.

"I hope you will be grateful for your blessings – especially your heritage. Gratitude and humility are closely intertwined. We live in a very self-centered age. Social media, in particular, can easily be used for self-promotion. It has never been more important to be grateful and humble. Those who possess these attributes express appreciation for their blessings as they follow the Savior’s example....

"I would suggest that we need to be especially grateful for our heritage. I know that your parents and families are very pleased with what is transpiring today. I hope you are appreciative of them. When we are blessed with goodly parents, we should be grateful. This is the debt each of us owes for our heritage. An old Chinese proverb reads: 'When you drink the water, don’t forget the well from whence it came.' It is clear from the scriptures that we are to honor our parents. Proverbs reads, 'My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother…' Ephesians teaches us to 'honor thy father and mother;' The great German philosopher, Goethe, put it this way, 'What from your father’s heritage is lent, earn it anew to really possess it.' It is clear that we need to be grateful for our parents and take positive action to acquire that which they would hope to bestow upon us."

- Quentin L. Cook, "The Good Life," BYU-Idaho graduation address, December 18, 2015
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Elder Cook was speaking to young college graduates in this address. They are particularly challenged by social media's lure, and the temptation of "self-promotion" that Elder Cook warns of. The need to find a proper focus of gratitude and humility is more important than ever:

Elder Cook particularly encouraged his audience to be grateful for their heritage, to recognize the contributions of those who went before them. Truly we can never overestimate how much we owe to those who have helped establish foundations of faith for us.

(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2019)