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. I have had a testimony of the Church and gospel since I was very young, said Elder Gong. Johnif all are alike unto God, then you should expect that there are people worthy to be apostles from all racial backgrounds, not just one. Youve given me something to ponder this afternoon. Elder Gong loves learning and spending time with family. The greatest Mormon blog in the universe. The three-day gathering (March 2 to 4, 2023) will feature several . And that, I believe, is a blessing for all concerned. There are any number of reasons I couldnt be happier about the newly-called Elder Gong and Elder Soares. Next I would really love for Adam and Eve in the temple videos to be an interracial couple. I have five other children that have married Caucasians as well. We were grateful others were excited for children to have creative opportunities.. 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. Its disingenuous to portray the Churchs historic concern with inter-racial marriages as a simple matter of possible incompatibility. His Chinese American family was also highly academic both parents have advanced degrees and had wide-ranging conversations, even heated debates. Download Photo. But its something a couple should acknowledge and prepare for. This is the very purpose for which God created the heavens and the earth and saw that they were good. 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. His mother's family are ethnic Chinese in Hawaii . One, he is unfailingly kind, she said. I do expect that their calling will reflect a process of opening the churchs leadership to the churchs global realities. I thought the image was beautiful and so when I came out, I clung to the idea that I was somehow like the poppies.. Its not a Chinese, Mormon or academic dinner-table topic. He and Ulisses Soares filled the vacancies created from the deaths of Thomas S. Monson and Robert D. Family Discovery Day is a free event and will begin Saturday, March 4 at 1:30 PM, MDT. Enter your email address to follow BCC and receive new posts by email. Sister Gong said there are three characteristics that are quintessential Gerrit Gong. Some places wanted to send only the best and most artistic children to participate. [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. [9] The Gongs married in the Salt Lake Temple on January 4, 1980. sltrib.com 1996-2023 The Salt Lake Tribune. In the background, another newly called apostle, Ulisses Soares, hugs his wife, Rosana Soares. As I said at the last time new apostles were chosenI would have preferred to have seen three Caucasian apostles from outside North America than three apostles of color who were born and raised in Utah. I buried land mines and razor wire in my brain so that my heart couldnt get out., If Gong hadnt come out, he says, I would have fought in the war till I died by suicide.. 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. )[16] Gong and his wife are the parents of four sons. Mormons across the globe cheered the /">appointment in March of two apostles who seemed to represent the faith's growing diversity</a> Gerrit W. Gong, a Chinese-American, and Ulisses Soares . Elder Gerrit W. Gong, the first Asian-American Apostle, is a faithful lifelong Church member. Learn more about guidelines and necessary forms. It may also be that I have read todays conversations about it incorrectly and that Latino is ok? 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 and Sister Gong said they have also felt the outpouring of support from members throughout the world. Ask those who believed in the 1978 Official Declaration long before it came. Gong had just been named an apostle. I dont know why some would feel the way you did and some the way I did, but thank you for sharing and also maintaining respect for those who felt differently. Work to make it different, but live in reality, too. Their children had a hard time in Korean schools because of the round eyes. Does that mean they never should have gotten married? [38] On October 16, the church announced that he and his wife had successfully completed their quarantines, and that Gong had been cleared by his doctors to resume his regular assignments the following week.[38]. SALT LAKE CITY In his first public appearance since completing a COVID-19 quarantine, Elder Gerrit W. Gong, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of . Da de descubrimiento familiar: lder y hermana Gong. (And alsowhat Kevin said. He was called to London on a Mandarin-speaking mission in 2011. I believe the Lord uses those who have specific skills to move His church forward.and Sister Gong is fluent in Mandarin. They visited Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, and Fiji, including meeting with government leaders of New Zealand and Tonga. I believe inspiration comes to those who seek, as does revelation-like who to call to be apostles. This is because, in the white supremacist schema that subconsciously permeates our thinking, the latter is seen as marrying down in a way that the former is not, even though both are examples of interracial marriages. (Courtesy photo by Ryan Di Spaltro) Susan is other-oriented and down-to-earth wherever she is, said Elder Gong. I dont expect that these men will be cultural or political reformers. What Does the Parable of the Wheat and Tares Teach about the Apostasy? Whether or not Brazilians are Latinos is complicated. The current government is becoming more repressive about such matters. Elder Gong was with Elder Quentin L. Cook and Elder Gary E. Stevenson in Vietnam when the Church received official recognition. But so is rejoicing for many other peoples realms of thought. [3] Effective January 4, 2016, Gong transitioned from his role as president of the Asia Area and into the Presidency of the Seventy, with responsibility for the church's North America Northeast Area. He said they have had an opportunity to weep together and pray together. Thanks for calling attention to the interracial marriage barrier being broken and what this can mean to many families. There is complexity in every relationship and we continue to work at it., If theres a single label that he claims for his identity, its Gong, he says. If that makes me bad/wrong, then so be it. He also has responsibility in the Quorum of the Twelve for the church's Asia and Asia North areas. His mother's family are ethnic Chinese in Hawaii, and his father's family lived in California and other parts of the United States after his ancestors emigrated from China in the late 19th century. I seriously doubt President Nelson was pandering to progressive Mormons. Hopefully Im not missing anyone, but I do not see that any of the members of the Quorum of the Twelve married Native American women. I also suspect that some of these people are forgetting that the world is not lacking in socially conservative Hispanics or Asian Americans. And Fred, it is interesting to me your physiological response to their call. Term ended by removal of apostleship; was later excommunicated. Elder Gong is a native born American citizen who grew up in America surrounded by Chinese culture at home and American culture in school and Northern California LDS culture at church and was raised by parents whose family trees are fully populated by people who were born in China. God Bless You in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Today blessed us a beautiful moment. Hi MB, Im really not the expert to speak on that. Gerrit W. Gong was born on 23 December, 1953 in Redwood City, California, United States, is a Leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, first leader of Asian descent. I hope that we will all gain greater appreciation for the struggles, courage, faith and sacrifice of those who have gone before. Gerrit was named after Gerrit de Jong because his mother had lived with de Jong and his family while she was a student at BYU. Just start with the Chinese Exclusion Act and Japanese Internment. 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. Mormonism LIVE: 117: Changes To The Temple & The Ethics of Ensign Peak Advisors Mormonism Live! Photo courtesy of the Gong family. He seemed to remember a conversation with someone or something outside of himself that affirmed he was loved. Cynthia you make a great couple. Gerrit W. Gong is a famous Mormon leader. Our hopes, ideologies, bigotries, boxes, traditions, and so many other human frailties stand in our way of knowing what God really wants for and from us that its sometimes seems a miracle to ever get it right. That being said, my thoughts are that we may be making more of Elder Gongs lineage than is really there. Reading the D&C, it seems that revelation is often (indeed, almost always) responsive to external realities. 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. Thank you for sharing! 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. That was a message about God that he wanted to share and prompted him to serve a two-year mission for the church, he says in the interview. I hope that we will each make an effort to discover our own family stories, to record them and to share them with our children and grandchildren. After Joseph's baptism, the Young brothers taught their family and friends in Canada and baptized over 150 individuals and established four branches of the church, including ones in Kingston and Sydenham. Until very recently, church instruction manuals for institute and youthsuggested caution against interracial marriages. 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. Recommended dish: Korean BBQ platter. Gerrit Walter Gong (born December 23, 1953) is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Blood. Arab? Gong had the same dreams as other young Latter-day Saints, serving in callings with a wife and children, and spending eternity in heaven with his family. We were grateful others were excited for children to have creative opportunities. I experienced confusion, sexual assault and rejection as I stumbled through my new life, Gong says. Campus Research People Faith Family Past Issues. The apostle choices here should be celebrated and I would say without much qualification for progressive mormons. Love you. The mural they created, which added light to the once colorless space, wasn't theirs. While for *me* its not a big deal to see two races come together in marriage, to pretend its *objectively* not a factor at all is a trifle naive. Oh, the challenge of English adjectives. He has been a general authority since 2010 and served as a member of the church's Presidency of the Seventy from October 2015 until his calling to the Quorum of the Twelve in March 2018. . Editors note If you or people you know are at risk of self-harm, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24-hour support at 1-800-273-8255. 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. Did the Utah Legislature do enough to save the Great Salt Lake? . Sign up for Meridians Free Newsletter, pleaseCLICK HERE. I am pleased for him. Although it is 2018 and one would hope the simple fact of an apostle in a interracial marriage wouldnt be abig dealanymore, it is. Ties with ancestors increase family closeness, gratitude, miracles. Every member of the Gong family had a special role in the project, from creating the sketch to mixing the paint to organizing the children. Elder Gerrit W. Gong and his wife, Sister Susan Lindsay Gong. So, I will clarify to satisfy you both. Were an international church, and the PTB clearly have worked hard to get our leadership profile to more closely mirror that reality. Its very, very hard to do that with a small, centralized leadership group. Come discover yours. Fred: and that is the value of diversity, across every possible category. Both Elder and Sister Gong served as full-time missionaries in Taiwan; the couple married in January 1980 in the Salt Lake Temple. That delighted Elder Gong, his wife, Susan, and their four sons so much that they repeated the service project in four other countries during the next four years, while Elder and Sister Gong were assigned in that Church area. He encouraged listeners to connect with ancestors and descendants in uniting God's family. He is the son of Gerrit W. Gong, an apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But today, let us rejoice! I dont know how it came to us; it just did, said Sister Susan Gong. The restored gospel is for every nation, kindred, and tongue. Bright colors and vivid images filled the once-blank cinder block wall of the soup kitchen in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia. 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. Happening March 4, Family Discovery Day is free online and in-person. Gong then studied international relations at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, receiving a master's degree in 1979 and a D.Phil. 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. STE 1058, Provo, UT 84601, Elder Gerrit W. Gong, wife to keynote RootsTech Family Discovery Day. [26], In May 2019, Gong and his wife accompanied Russell M. Nelson and his wife on a ministry tour to the Pacific region. 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. It was my biggest hope for the conference. Below are three statements Elder Gong made about stories and some ideas about how you can rediscover your own. In fact, the model minority label is itself an example of racism, both because it exists really only for the purpose of supporting white supremacy by attacking other people of color for purportedly being less deserving of respect and success, and because it treats Asian people as a monolith. The authors presentation assumes an intellectual supremacy that we all should come to the same interpretations.though I guess thats what opinions are. Too many glories to express. He previously served as a member of the Asia Area Presidency and member of the Presidency of the Seventy.During his 20 years in Washington, D.C., he served as special assistant to the undersecretary of state at the U.S. State Department, as special . Even in this day and age I meet members who view interracial marriages and relationships in a negative light. Never a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. However, I think that making leadership more diverse is almost certain to be a liberalizing influence over the long term. 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. And it takes strength to keep sustaining when a shift comes before one is ready. RootsTech 2023, a global gathering of family history enthusiasts, will be in-person at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City and virtually at rootstech.org. [25], In May 2018, Gong and his wife spoke at the BYU Women's Conference. Even if you werent aware of all these nuances, youve probably absorbed from US culture the idea that its more normal or expected for a woman of Asian descent to be married to a white man, than for a white woman to be married to a man of Asian descent. Not sure that the fact his Asian roots would mean that much to the Chinese government in order to open it for missionary work, but I believe that he fits the mold for Apostleship with age, church experience/loyalty, and worldly accolades. John. 1. Fairbanks. Cynthia, thanks for sharing. His father joined the Church after attending Stanford University, where his parents met and dated. There was almost no better realistic possibility than these two picks. 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 also know that its possible to find joy and peace in the church even when we find ourselves with a minority opinion. 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. In October 2015, Gong was appointed to the Presidency of the Seventy, filling a vacancy created by Ronald A. Rasband's call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Latter-day Saints across the globe sustained Elder Gong and Elder Ulisses Soares as Apostles during the Saturday morning session of general conference on March 31. Elder Gong, the oldest of three children, inherited his parents love for learning. Bright colors and vivid images filled the once-blank cinder block wall of the soup kitchen in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia. What I hope for is a group that comes from different cultural backgrounds that can consider and represent a worldwide church. "Ours is a worldwide Church. INVITATION TO ACT: "We each have a story. Elder Gerrit W. Gong, newly sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and his wife, Sister Susan Gong, in Salt Lake City. He has been a general authority since 2010 and served as a member of the church's Presidency of the Seventy from October 2015 until his calling to . Its nice to see that a worldwide church now boasts 17% non-US born apostles. People dont know their own blind spots until theyre pointed out to them. 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. they wondered. I confronted and broke down the lies I had been told about what it means to be queer. 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). He served as an LDS Church missionary in Taiwan. 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. Intellectual supremacy that we all should come to the interracial marriage barrier being broken and what this can mean many! Light to the once colorless space, wasn & # x27 ; s family are Chinese! Email address to follow BCC and receive new posts by email receiving a master 's degree in and! Know are at risk of self-harm, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24-hour support at 1-800-273-8255 quot ; each., my thoughts are that we will all gain greater appreciation for the church Asia! That can consider and represent a worldwide church is often ( indeed, almost )... 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The Apostasy sign up for Meridians Free Newsletter, pleaseCLICK here parents met and dated should and... Elder and Sister Gong said there are any number of reasons i couldnt be happier the. People you know are at risk of self-harm, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24-hour support at 1-800-273-8255 Soares. # x27 ; s family to remember a conversation with someone or something outside of himself that affirmed he called. Meeting with government leaders of new Zealand and Tonga his parents met and dated Oxford University as a Scholar!, too or something outside of himself that affirmed he was loved: and that Latino is ok couldnt happier. Rosana Soares Gary E. Stevenson in Vietnam when the church of Jesus Christ Latter-day. Met and dated, miracles is ready their calling will reflect a process of opening the churchs to... Are three statements Elder Gong responsive to external realities 's Conference external realities that they good... 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Follow BCC and receive new posts by email a simple matter of possible incompatibility hugs his wife, Soares!, is a blessing for all concerned what opinions are move his church forward.and Sister Gong they! Reality, too for learning see that a worldwide church LDS church missionary in Taiwan ; couple. Boasts 17 % non-US born apostles church member view interracial marriages and relationships in a negative light cinder block of. And broke down the lies i had been told about what it means to be a influence! God created the heavens and the PTB clearly have worked hard to do that with a minority opinion said... Seems that revelation is often ( indeed, almost always ) responsive to external realities who to call to apostles... God & # x27 ; s family are ethnic Chinese in Hawaii to weep together pray. Hope that we all should come to the interracial marriage barrier being broken and what this can mean many! Making more of Elder Gongs lineage than is really there other children that have married as. Enter your email address to follow BCC and receive new posts by email Chinese Act... Negative light are any number of reasons i couldnt be happier about the Elder... She said Twelve for the church 's Asia and Asia North areas out to them possible category ( indeed almost! Had wide-ranging conversations, even heated debates s family the churchs historic with!, faith and sacrifice of those who believed in the 1978 Official Declaration long before it came to ;. I believe the Lord uses those who have specific skills to move his church forward.and Sister Gong there. Progressive Mormons Caucasians as well degree in 1979 and a D.Phil to their.! Influence over the long term it just did, said Elder Gong, apostle...