Blessed be the name of the Lord. Im sorry youve had to deal with this racism, you are a beautiful couple!! I agree that people should go into an interracial marriage being mindful of the challenges. 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. But the Gongs explained their project was an opportunity for all the children. 1. The current government is becoming more repressive about such matters. Whether or not Brazilians are Latinos is complicated. [31][32][33][34], In early 2020, the church announced that Gong would preside at the November dedication of the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple, originally set to occur in mid-November. By Mike Rabus Posted 7/5/2022. Yet in this case and always the Lord calls his Apostles. Representation matters. 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.. AmyT thanks for weighing in! My wife is Japanese and Im Puerto Rican, whoop dee doo. He has deep credentials (both in church service and big worldly accomplishments), and he is born and bred American. Susan and Gerrit Gong (Church News photograph). It will be another important step when we have the first woman of color wife of an apostle, the first black man, more examples of lives lived on more continents and in bodies with different abilities, anddare we hopethe first woman. There was almost no better realistic possibility than these two picks. 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. His religion became a war, he explains in his Affirmation speech, and my soul became a battlefield., Gong believed so fervently in the mantra that God loves the sinner but hates the sin that he committed war crimes" against himself, he says. 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. At that moment you feel very humble, but you are certain in your confidence and love for President Nelson as the Lords prophet and Church President. #progress. deductible, Report a missed paper by emailingsubscribe@sltrib.comor calling801-237-2900, For e-edition questions or comments, contact customer support801-237-2900or emailsubscribe@sltrib.com. He hasnt aged at all. BTW, given that oil often is found in strange places, experience and comfort with a wide range of cultures is a pretty big advantage. [37] A few days later, the church announced that he and his wife had tested positive for COVID-19, with Gong being the first high-ranking LDS Church leader with a positive test. The mural they created, which added light to the once colorless space, wasnt theirs. And definitely in Brazil Soares would be considered white. Im excited for Elder Soares calling as are my Brazilian friends in our ward here in Brazil. Steven J. Lund. 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. Members of Elder Gerrit W. Gongs family stand in front of a mural project with the children who assisted them in Vietnam. And it takes strength to keep sustaining when a shift comes before one is ready. He also on occasion continued to travel to Asia, such as being present for the official recognition of the LDS Church in Vietnam. :). Saints See New Apostles as Symbol of Church Growth, Diversity, Meet Elder Soares: Committed to Serve and Testify Worldwide. Gerrit W. Gong Featured. Ties with ancestors increase family closeness, gratitude, miracles. We were grateful others were excited for children to have creative opportunities.. Patterns of Discipleship. He is also ranked in the richest person list from United States. There is joy and warmth as my boyfriend pulls me close for a hug, and I marvel at the easy laughs and unqualified smiles that we share as we sit on the couch watching TV., There is celebration, he says, in my families of both queer and of birth., Though Gong still claims aspects of Mormonism in his spirituality, he has added theistic Taoism, Zen Buddhism and any parts of a religion that seem resonant civility, care, forgiveness, treating humans with dignity and compassion., He learned those principles from growing up Mormon, he says, but they are not unique to the church., The churchs patterns and behaviors of abuse, he says, dont have to be there; they are not inherent in the doctrine.. I was personally much more disappointed that our previous three apostles had such close ties to Utah than their ethnic backgrounds. After the meeting we entered a large room, where on chairs on three sides of the room priesthood leaders were ordained one by one, recalled Sister Gong. Discover Gerrit W. Gong's Wiki Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Our churchs very highly centralized authority creates a great challenge. Its impossible to have any credibility as a global church if we have almost no cultural and ethnic diversity among the most senior leaders. But theres also a higher divorce rate for couples with an age difference (proportionate to each year of difference, not just big gaps). He had a close almost familial relationship with de Jong and would refer to him as "Grandpa de Jong." (Rick Egan | Tribune file photo) Ours is a worldwide Church, said Elder Gong. LDS Church wants to light up a temple in a place that prides itself on dark skies, For husband-and-wife team, this new restaurant is the culmination of a decadeslong dream, Gong took his place for a lifetime appointment in the faiths Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, asked in 2018 if having a gay son had affected his views on LGBTQ. You were referring to citizenship and location of childhood ambient culture. That our interactions would be nitpicked to brand us as avatars of ideologies, Gong writes on a Facebook post. 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. I genuinely feel this way and am not in any way trying to be disruptive or to be a troll. If my voice is silenced (deleted) I will take the hint that Im not welcome here and will quietly go away. Y Magazine is published four times a year by Brigham Young University for graduates and friends. Even at school, Gong, who easily passed as straight, grew increasingly silent, afraid of hugs and falling in love. Pressure from Mormon Blogosphere/Political Correctness: 0. Members of Elder Gerrit W. Gong's family and the army of street children they enlisted to help them paint the scene stood back and examined the work. Thanks, New Iconoclast. I dont know where his wife was born but with Susan as a first name I would assume she is American as well. 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. 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. [20][21] Among other activities while Gong was president of the Asia Area, he created the second and third stakes in Thailand. When I refer to my Merriam Webster Dictionary and the Encyclopedia Britannica online, Elder Soares happily fits those definitions of Latino. That isnt to say father and son agree on all things. Elder Gong loves learning and spending time with family. 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. We were grateful others were excited for children to have creative opportunities. Shout out to Jusok. When the family moved to Utah, the young Gong found himself in a much more homogeneous community with a dominant culture, he says, where his peers and teachers werent exactly sure about his ethnicity. That was later postponed indefinitely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fred: and that is the value of diversity, across every possible category. He was called to London on a Mandarin-speaking mission in 2011. My sister (who is white) is married to a Korean man and I have never ever considered the fact that they have probably experienced bigoted comments, because their interracial marriage didnt even faze our family. Well, my point was that the churchs mission requires deep, sensitive and reciprocal engagement with all of the worlds cultures in a way that most commercial organizations do not. If there are, I would love to meet them for a nice cup of group therapy., When the senior Gong took his place for a lifetime appointment in the faiths Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the younger Gong thought: Today is the day I lost my father. The authors presentation assumes an intellectual supremacy that we all should come to the same interpretations.though I guess thats what opinions are. Download Photo. Also on the whole model minority thing we dont exactly need to go very far back in history, especially California history, to find plenty of horrific discrimination against Asians. 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. 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. That is something the Gongs also learned from the children involved in their mural projects, undertaken during the Christmas season. He later served as a special assistant in the United States State Department, as well as special assistant to the ambassador at the United States Embassy in Beijing, China. 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. John. Revelation: 2 When I realized that they were the new Apostles, I had chills all through my body, the hair on my arms stood up, and I felt so joyous. Good going church! Oh goodness. Winter 2003 Contact Us Advertising News & Alumni. Although the family had provided the sketch, paint, and brushes, something had shifted. I dont know of anything further back in the family tree than that. He served as an LDS Church missionary in Taiwan. Gerrit W. Gong. Feel free to delete this comment after the edit.). 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. Gong reflects on September 11th and reviews perspectives on war. Similarly, we were happy and hopeful to learn of President Nelsons ties to this wonderful land. Blood. The mural they created, which added light to the once colorless space, wasnt theirs. Instead, the purpose of . Love your family. 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. Come discover yours. As far as Soares goes, He looks like a fairly typical Euro-Brazilian. Come find your voice, your song, your harmony in Him. 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. Elder Gerrit W. Gong and his wife, Sister Susan Lindsay Gong. Thank you for sharing! You can produce it under its own pressure; you can lift it out with a pump jack; you can energize it by reinjecting the gas cap; you can push it out by injecting water down a nearby well; you can melt it by injecting steam. I have five other children that have married Caucasians as well. The in-person Family Discovery Day event will also feature free classes, activities and access to the expo hall. I know several members of Elder Gongs extended family, and they couldnt be a more dynamic, talented, kind family. [5][1][2] As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Gong is accepted by the church as a prophet, seer, and revelator. Much of this post is good, though the backdrop of white supremacy is a bit much. 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. His father joined the Church after attending Stanford University, where his parents met and dated. From at least 2002, Gong served as special assistant to the president of BYU for planning and assessment. I never thought of myself as nonwhite but as ethnically ambiguous, Gong says in an interview. Discover Gerrit W. Gong's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. And that, I believe, is a blessing for all concerned. (If they are, it will be a pleasant surprise.) I argued my doubts to a standstill and reclaimed my beliefs from where they lay.. I will update the post as I get further information. His fear was that people would politicize me and my dad. 31 October 2021 by Gerrit W. Gong 16,100 sq ft (1,500 m 2) on a 7.7-acre (3.1 ha) site . Bensen, recounting your personal experience with a few interracial marriages in [your] own family and supposing you can generalize from those experiences with those few particular people to arrive at broad statements about how race functions in marriage is, at the very least, a trifle naive. Its also more than a trifle condescending, considering that youre trying to correct someone who has actual first-hand experience of the potential issues youre describing. For women of Asian descent, this results in a hypersexualized stereotype, an extreme but superficial sexual desirability captured in the ugly term yellow fever. For men of Asian descent, this same underlying stereotype results in media representations and prejudice against them as emasculated and lacking in sexual desirability or prowess. [9] The Gongs married in the Salt Lake Temple on January 4, 1980. With all the comments here I echo the joy in seeing a diverse Quorum. gerrit gong family picture . Brazilian members of the Church make up over 8% of the total church membership (as of just over a year ago). 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. Lasting Discipleship. What Does the Parable of the Wheat and Tares Teach about the Apostasy? (Haight had helped to overcome some of the misgivings some family members had about the interracial marriage. Its not a Chinese, Mormon or academic dinner-table topic. Sister Gong said there are three characteristics that are quintessential Gerrit Gong. Campus Research People Faith Family Past Issues. Oh Lord, hasten the healing of our unbelief. Family Discovery Day is a free event and will begin Saturday, March 4 at 1:30 PM, MDT. Elder Gong was on my list of best case scenarios. Parents and children can work through the awkwardness and conflict over deep disagreements to arrive at a place where they are simply family. I commented on another thread here how much I admire Sister Susan Gong. Either way it helps us abide and grow. Biography. And hopefully those last few references to the evils of miscegenation can soon be purged. Connecting with God and to one another is so important. In movies, gays were victims, targets for bullies, or the sassy friend.. Elder Gong said he and Sister Gong love being with the members in every place they have the privilege to go. The church desperately needed someone who represented Latin and South American saints symbolically and with experience in the 12. The meeting will be available on the Gospel Library app and online in 11 languages beginning July 10, 2022. That took 5 years, Gong says, and a whole lot of therapy., Mile by mile, he pulled the razor wire from my mind, he says. Having crushes on boys in elementary school. However, I think that making leadership more diverse is almost certain to be a liberalizing influence over the long term. Currently, he is the fourteenth most senior apostle in the church.[6]. [12][13] He joined this latter institution in 1989. A former bishop and stake president, Elder Gong has served as a General Authority since 2010 and in that capacity has seen the Church grow and develop across the world. . >:(. Elder and Sister Gong said they have also felt the outpouring of support from members throughout the world. Fairbanks is home to Seoul Gate Restaurant, an unpretentious spot where beef bulgogi, chicken bulgogi, traditional BBQ platters, and crispy, fried chicken are served in large portions. Perhaps social support could be encouraged rather than interracial marriage being discouraged. Elder Gong has a Dutch first name, an American middle name (Walter after his father) and a Chinese last name . A variety of banchan Korean appetizers are offered to precede the main courses served with white rice. If that makes me bad/wrong, then so be it. Elder Gong loves learning and spending time with family. Join thousands already receiving our daily newsletter. 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. All quotes by Gerrit W. Gong and in blue (unless otherwise noted). The storyteller and artist came out in defiance of my depression, he says, with a desperate will to survive. These appointments in terms of age and church experience were right In the sweet spot consistent with recent apostle picks. [25], In May 2018, Gong and his wife spoke at the BYU Women's Conference. They will speak at Family . 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. Keynote speakers will include Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his wife, Sister Susan Gong; actor Sean Astin of Lord of the Rings fame; singer Jordan Sparks; photographer Me Rah Koh; and others. There are both benefits and penalties to being racially mixed. His mother's family were ethnic Chinese in Hawaii, while his father's family had lived in California and other parts of the United States after his ancestors had emigrated from China in the late 19th century. In doing so, he gave himself the chance to extend grace to his past selves. 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. I confess Im a bit surprised that the OP is so vehemently opposed to suggestions of caution when approaching an interracial marriage. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. He is the son of Gerrit W. Gong, an apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Sister Susan Gong are the keynote speakers for Family Discovery Day on the final day of RootsTech, the global family history gathering . 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. I personally am not concerned about quota filling in the Quorum. Ask those who believed in the 1978 Official Declaration long before it came. 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. 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