Bright colors and vivid images filled the once-blank cinder block wall of the soup kitchen in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia. Meet Elder Gerrit W. Gong: "Unfailingly Kind" Family Man. Thanks, New Iconoclast. He had a close almost familial relationship with de Jong and would refer to him as "Grandpa de Jong." * I can attest that there are challenges inherent in my interracial + intercultural marriage, but there are challenges in every marriage. Yes, I have the most beautiful grandchildren. Elder Gong said he and Sister Gong love being with the members in every place they have the privilege to go. Shout out to Jusok. I had won the war in coming out but was left as broken as the battlefield.. Such ties can bring help from the other side of the veil." Gerrit W. Gong We Each Have a Story "If you want a happier family, create, refine and retell the story of your family's positive moments and your ability to bounce back from the difficult ones. But if you would indulge me for a moment, I want to focus on one area of very specific, personal appreciation: the marriage of Elder Gerrit Gong, as an Asian-American man, to his wife Susan Gong, a white woman. He witnessed how the Lord touched many different people in Vietnam. (See related story.) Bright colors and vivid images filled the once-blank cinder block wall of the soup kitchen in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia. I was never so different [that] I couldnt be potentially included.. As someone interested in the photographic impact of light, color, composition, and moment, Elder Gong imagines the childrenand others like them in Nepal, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Utahenjoying the space. Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Susan Gong. However Im not excited about the call because of his increasing the racial diversity in the Quorum of the Twelve (which he doesnt) but rather because he brings a -cultural- diversity that is very welcomed. As someone interested in the photographic impact of light, color, composition, and moment, Elder Gong imagines the childrenand others like them in Nepal, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Utahenjoying the space. Come join us on an international journey of connection and belonging at @Rootstech Family Discovery Day any time March 4 after 1:30 p.m. (MST). [9][10], In 1985, Gong became a special assistant to the U.S. Secretary of State. [1] [Updated x2] There were early, polygamous members of church leadership who had Native or indigenous wives. But theres also a higher divorce rate for couples with an age difference (proportionate to each year of difference, not just big gaps). It makes all the difference to know who my family are." My friend muses, "A bent branch does not mean a bad tree. (Sometimes the emphasis is on achieving a picture-perfect family which involves inflated egos, exclusiveness, feelings of superiority or inferiority, and other unChrist-like behaviors both inside and outside the family. They hadnt earned my forgiveness, but I had.. Hales. Coming out, though, wasnt the happily-ever-after he had hoped it would be. He was born in Redwood City, California. He hasnt aged at all. Donate to the newsroom now. His first name is "Gerrit" and his last name is . And thus he came to see his gay self as a weed in the Latter-day Saint garden. To read the full article on LDS.org, click here. And love that something so small an interracial marriage can yet be so huge for your family and for others. There are over a billion Chinese citizens, and we non-Chinese are forbididen by law from discussing religion with them. I confess Im a bit surprised that the OP is so vehemently opposed to suggestions of caution when approaching an interracial marriage. (Trent Nelson | Tribune file photo) 31 October 2021 by Gerrit W. Gong 16,100 sq ft (1,500 m 2) on a 7.7-acre (3.1 ha) site BTW, given that oil often is found in strange places, experience and comfort with a wide range of cultures is a pretty big advantage. Because my story is happening publicly at the highest levels of the church, people ascribe extra meaning to it, he says in the interview, but from within the story, it feels like a typical narrative., The apostle and the queer son are just family, Gong repeats. Today we both celebrate andlook forward. His memory is foggy, but he says he woke up four hours later, lying on the floor. But sucking it out by reducing the surface pressure below 14.7 psi wont accomplish much. He looks part white to me. When the prophet starts allowing his decisions to be influenced by every wind of political and worldly doctrine everyone loses. Never a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. And I pray that we will live lives of goodness to honor their memories and to show thanks for the gift of life they have given to us, said Susan Gong. At the risk of being a downer: there are still at least two places on lds.org with instructional materials containing a quote that members are encouraged to marry within their race. His family relationships clarified, my friend said, "I feel free, at peace. A photo of my husband and me should immediately clarify why this is a point of particular personal significance to me: Jusok and Cynthia Lee engagement photo (La Jolla, CA, 2000). There are both benefits and penalties to being racially mixed. Yet in this case and always the Lord calls his Apostles. [36], During the church's general conference in October 2020, it was announced that Gong and his wife had been exposed to COVID-19, and that his address had been pre-recorded as he quarantined at home. I am just grateful to know that this comes one day at a time and that when you are on the Lords errand, you receive the Lords help. His first namesake is Gerrit de Jong, the patriarch of the family that Elder Gong's mother, Jean, lived with when she came to Brigham Young University as a recent convert to the Church. The hard thing for ALL of us is to cope with (possibly) inspired decisions that conflict with our own political and philosophical intuitions. Its not a Chinese, Mormon or academic dinner-table topic. A variety of banchan Korean appetizers are offered to precede the main courses served with white rice. If the supposed universal differences between men and women are assets in a marriage, why not differences in race? Mikayla Thatcher is here with Beehive Girl to tell you that it was amazing beyond your wildest dreams. Ties with ancestors increase family closeness, gratitude, miracles. Please come find your family, all your generations, and bring them home.". [35] The church later announced that Gong, whose wife has ties to Taylorsville, Utah, would preside at the October 2020 groundbreaking for the temple in that city. You may know that the LDS Young Womans program was way cooler in the early 20th century than it has been during the lifetime of anyone alive today. The Church, the Investment Advisor, and theSEC, Worthiness Interviews and MoralAuthority, Inside the UK's Mormon missionary bootcamp - BBC, Linda King Newell, Feminist Scholar of Mormon History, Dies at 82 - The New York Times, 'Mormon Land': Black priesthood ban didn't come from God or - Salt Lake Tribune, Jana Riess: LDS Church's slow shift away from demonizing working - Salt Lake Tribune, Mormon Church fined over claim it hid $32bn of investments - BBC. [20][21] Among other activities while Gong was president of the Asia Area, he created the second and third stakes in Thailand. That means not only that he has experience with multiple cultures, it also means that his grandchildren will likely be raised in the same country where he lives, which means that it will be a little easier for him and his wife to spend time with them as present and well known grandparents. :). I seriously doubt President Nelson was pandering to progressive Mormons. Weve always been struck by the enthusiasm and skill of children who come together to beautify their environment, Elder Gong said. In order to celebrate Elder Gong's birthday, here are some photos showing his life and ministry to Latter-day Saints around the world. I experienced confusion, sexual assault and rejection as I stumbled through my new life, Gong says. We used to hang out during our days at UCSD. Latter-day Saint apostle Gerrit W. Gong speaks to members of the media in Salt Lake City in June 2018. Cautioning against interracial marriage on the grounds of it being challenging seems to contradict every Relief Society lesson Ive sat through about overcoming differences in a marriage. The Q15 are smart men, and they have an intellectual understanding of the churchs diversity, but culturally they are almost all the same: old white men from the Mormon Belt. Here in China, members of our small LDS ex-pat branch are thrilled at Elder Gongs call to the Quorum of the Twelve. [22] While in the presidency of the Asia Area, Gong resided in Hong Kong but supervised the work of the LDS Church in all of continental East Asia except Korea, Taiwan, and all of Southeast Asia, except the Philippines and south Asia. Photo courtesy of the Gong family. During a press conference related to the open house for the rededication of the Washington D.C. Temple, Gong shared that one of his first memories was of being sealed to his parents in a temple of the LDS Church. I dont know how it came to us; it just did, said Sister Susan Gong. That our interactions would be nitpicked to brand us as avatars of ideologies, Gong writes on a Facebook post. Elder Gerrit W. Gong currently serves as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Recommended dish: Korean BBQ platter. But the Gongs explained their project was an opportunity for all the children. Its impossible to have any credibility as a global church if we have almost no cultural and ethnic diversity among the most senior leaders. The strongest marriages are based on mutual core values, and church leaders seem to believe that marrying in the faith takes care of that. 1. By Emily Ashcraft, KSL.com | Posted - Feb. 27, 2023 at 5:46 p.m. Elder Gerrit W. Gong and Sister Susan Gong will be the keynote speakers for Family Discovery Day at RootsTech on Saturday. . [24], On March 31, 2018, Gong was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Until he was 10, Matt Gong, the family's fourth of four sons, lived in the Washington, D.C., area, where his dad worked at a policy think tank. Looking back, Gong sees plenty of clues to his sexuality that he failed to recognize at the time: Staring at a male underwear mannequin when he was a child. Here are 6 fun facts about Elder Gong. Even at school, Gong, who easily passed as straight, grew increasingly silent, afraid of hugs and falling in love. Hemos detectado que ests en un navegador no compatible. We were grateful others were excited for children to have creative opportunities.. The restored gospel is for every nation, kindred, and tongue. Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Quote #1 (the true litmus test) . Also, I suspect President Nelsons very special interest in China may have played a role in the case of Elder Gong. On my mission, I learned that the first things to grow on the battlefields of France after World War I, were poppies, blood-red poppies, Gong tells the Affirmation virtual audience. A lot of good viewpoints and thoughts. Its nice to have this forum where you can say what you are really thinking rather than in a classroom at church where you pretty much have to say the party line. Some places wanted to send only the best and most artistic children to participate. (And alsowhat Kevin said. Patterns of Discipleship. This is a big deal. John. The meeting will be available on the Gospel Library app and online in 11 languages beginning Elder Gerrit W. Gong and his wife, Susan, participate in a Christmas mural project in Vietnam. Cynthia, From at least 2002, Gong served as special assistant to the president of BYU for planning and assessment. Just start with the Chinese Exclusion Act and Japanese Internment. In the Saturday afternoon session of the April 2022 general conference, Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave a talk titled "We Each Have a Story" in which he encouraged his listeners to work on their family history. Although the family had provided the sketch, paint and brushes, something had shifted. I hope this new leader does indeed provide an example that normalizes your family to our fellow Saints! Gerrit W Gong; Education. One, he is unfailingly kind, she said. Gong was born in 1953 in Redwood City, California, to Walter Gong and his wife, the former Jean Char, and raised in Palo Alto, California. He was called to London on a Mandarin-speaking mission in 2011. The fact that they are an interracial couple didnt even occur to em; I was just thrilled that there is finally some more international representation in the upper-most echelon. As of June 2018, he was serving as chair of the church's Scriptures Committee (which, among other things, oversees the translation of the scriptures) and as a member of the Leadership and Training Committee, the Priesthood and Family Executive Council, and the Outreach Committee. Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Sister Susan Gong will be the keynote speakers for Family Discovery Day on the final day of RootsTech, the global family history gathering taking place virtually and in person March 2-4, 2023. :). Donors who contribute . Weeds, she told him, were plants growing where they werent wanted., His queerness, the opposite of his religious ethnicity, was something I was born with but not into, Gong says in an LGBTQ Affirmation conference speech, I had to discover it, like a secret birthright.. On Buzzlearn.com, Gerrit is listed as a successful leader who was born in the year of 1953. The Gongs were married in 1980, not long after the lifting of the race-based priesthood and temple ban in 1978. Ours is a worldwide Church, said Elder Gong. I commented on another thread here how much I admire Sister Susan Gong. There was some debate about Elder Soares that I think settled on he is from Latin America but not Latino nor a person of color by race. He is also ranked in the richest person list from United States. Elder David A. Bednar and Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; Primary General President Susan H. Porter; Sister Kristen M. Yee, Second Counselor in the Relief Society . Elder Gong has a Dutch first name, an American middle name (Walter after his father) and a Chinese last name . Oh, the challenge of English adjectives. But the churchs mission is to reach throughout the world and serve people in their own languages, in their own cultures, and on their own terms without being destructive. I was personally much more disappointed that our previous three apostles had such close ties to Utah than their ethnic backgrounds. The following is from FamilySearch: SALT LAKE CITY, UTAHElder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his wife, Susan Gong, will be the featured keynote speakers for Family Discovery Day at RootsTech 2023. Elder and Sister Gong said they have also felt the outpouring of support from members throughout the world. I dont think there are many people who are openly queer and whose dad is now in one of the highest positions of authority in the LDS Church, he quips in an online post that went viral. Elder Gerrit W. Gong and his wife, Sister Susan Lindsay Gong. Home Realizacje i porady Bez kategorii gerrit gong family picture. Y Magazine is published four times a year by Brigham Young University for graduates and friends. Hi Benson, we should definitely all come to the same interpretation of calling the view that a white woman marrying an Asian man is marrying down a white supremacist view. Felix and Carolyn, First hand knowledge here. (The . Ask Peter. ChurchofJesusChrist.org. But so is rejoicing for many other peoples realms of thought. they wondered. Its disingenuous to portray the Churchs historic concern with inter-racial marriages as a simple matter of possible incompatibility. Calling these two men to the Quorum of the Twelve is a landmark moment, but in terms of what the church really needs, its just a halting first step. Both Elder and Sister Gong served as full-time missionaries in Taiwan; the couple married in January 1980 in the Salt Lake Temple. But beyond the particulars of Gongs experience, his story has a universal message of normalcy. I can also attest that there are benefits inherent in my interracial + intercultural marriage. He will be a good fit with the brethren. (Haight had helped to overcome some of the misgivings some family members had about the interracial marriage. That was later postponed indefinitely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. No registration is required. Their marriage was performed by apostle David B. Haight, who had connections to their families from his time in California. This is a grandly unique perspective on this appointment that I had not known, nor considered until reading your article. Although reasonable latter-day saints have long, long since realized there is no place for any disapproval of marriage based on race, this is still a big deal. Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Susan Gong, will attend. To appreciate why this feels especially significant to me that we have not only an interracial couple, but specifically a Chinese-American man and a white woman, we have to have a frank talk about how racism in the United States manifests against Asians and Asian-Americans, specifically in regards to gender and sex. I believe inspiration comes to those who seek, as does revelation-like who to call to be apostles. Although the character of the racism people of Asian descent experience in the US is very different from what Latinx and black people face, and the significance of that should not be minimized, it is still racism. You were referring to citizenship and location of childhood ambient culture. . Elder Gerrit W. Gong's talk from the April 2022 general conference was all about family history, and it gave us lots of good insights. And he still didnt know how to love himself. Having crushes on boys in elementary school. The three-day gathering (March 2 to 4, 2023) will feature several . I think generational biases are difficult to overcome when seeking the Lords will on things great and small. Feel free to delete this comment after the edit.). Pressure from Mormon Blogosphere/Political Correctness: 0. What Does the Parable of the Wheat and Tares Teach about the Apostasy? His Chinese American family was also highly academic both parents have advanced degrees and had wide-ranging conversations, even heated debates. But you probably didnt know how cool it was. And I suspect their international cred was perceived as a big plus, not a minus. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News. [14], Even before joining the administration at BYU, Gong was involved in educational policy issues. It may also be that I have read todays conversations about it incorrectly and that Latino is ok? I suspect that beneath much of the positive chatter Im hearing about these two appointments is the belief that these men will somehow bring more than just racial diversity to church government. Their address will be delivered at 1:30 p.m. MST. Race dynamics and categories in the US and Brazil are each independently complicated and fraught, and also very different from each other in subtle ways. By that, I mean, sure hes of Asian decent, but he is still the same mold as all the other GAs/Apostles. The annual genealogical convention being held this year from March 2-4 at the Salt Palace Convention Center, 100 S. West Temple in Salt Lake City, and open to virtual and in-person visitors features special keynote speakers, classes and an expo of family research merchandise. Acompaa al lder Gerrit W. Gong, del Curum de los Doce Apstoles, y a su esposa, la hermana Susan Lindsay Gong, en un viaje internacional de descubrimiento familiar. 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