Representation matters. Similarly, we were happy and hopeful to learn of President Nelsons ties to this wonderful land. 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. Shout out to Jusok. He hasnt aged at all. Donate to the newsroom now. (If they are, it will be a pleasant surprise.) It is heartbreaking when we are asked questions about religion, but cannot respond. I struggled to find meaning in the spiritual void left by having been a flower growing in the wrong place., He hated that God had been taken from me, he says. I also know that its possible to find joy and peace in the church even when we find ourselves with a minority opinion. He had a close almost familial relationship with de Jong and would refer to him as "Grandpa de Jong." Arent we missing that All are alike unto God? Good going church! 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. And thus he came to see his gay self as a weed in the Latter-day Saint garden. Term ended by removal of apostleship; was later excommunicated. Its pretty easy to support and sustain what were used to; harder when there is a significant shift. Elder Soares, a Brazillian, brings long-overdue representation from the southern hemisphere. I experienced confusion, sexual assault and rejection as I stumbled through my new life, Gong says. Ask those who believed in the 1978 Official Declaration long before it came. Never a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. This means that Gong is the first member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in a multi-racial marriage. Cynthia, 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. I believe inspiration comes to those who seek, as does revelation-like who to call to be apostles. Parents and children can work through the awkwardness and conflict over deep disagreements to arrive at a place where they are simply family. Bright colors and vivid images filled the once-blank cinder block wall of the soup kitchen in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia. 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. We used to hang out during our days at UCSD. Thank you for sharing! Its most likely that any individual called into the Q12 is pretty socially conservative. We need more voices that reflect the churchs greatness in diversity. The strongest marriages are based on mutual core values, and church leaders seem to believe that marrying in the faith takes care of that. 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. Did the Utah Legislature do enough to save the Great Salt Lake? 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.. (Rick Egan | Tribune file photo) FredI strongly suspect that you would not have similar qualms about announcements that aligned with your own political priors. As part of RootsTech 2023, Elder David A. Bednar and Elder Gerrit W. Gong will provide instruction to stake and ward leaders in the annual Temple and Family History Leadership Instruction. For, say, a company whose mission is to suck oil out of the earth wherever possible, super-centralized leadership is not much of a problem; an organization like that just has to know how to focus its financial and political power like a laser, and acting at times like a steamroller is part of the game. Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his wife, Susan, have rich family histories from Hawaii and Ireland. 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. 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. So, I will clarify to satisfy you both. Prior to becoming a general authority, Gong served in the church as a stake Sunday School president, high councilor, seminary teacher, bishop, stake president, and area seventy. And he never brought it up. A lot of good viewpoints and thoughts. Both Elder and Sister Gong served as full-time missionaries in Taiwan; the couple married in January 1980 in the Salt Lake Temple. Ill investigate Rosana. Just start with the Chinese Exclusion Act and Japanese Internment. 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. Ask Peter. The Gongs will speak at 1:30 p.m., walking listeners through some of their personal family story, previously recorded on location in their homelands of Ireland and Hawaii. In what way have you narrowed that definition that causes you to think you can exclude him from that? . Happening March 4, Family Discovery Day is free online and in-person. Y Magazine is published four times a year by Brigham Young University for graduates and friends. Brazilian members of the Church make up over 8% of the total church membership (as of just over a year ago). The free event will feature live music, food and family discovery activities, with prizes ranging from DNA kits to a new laptop. The greatest Mormon blog in the universe. Elder Gerrit W. Gong, the first Asian-American Apostle, is a faithful lifelong Church member. Why does ethnicity have to be politicized in Zion the way it is in Babylon? As we discover our story, we connect, we belong, we become." 1. The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax Our churchs very highly centralized authority creates a great challenge. (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. Much of this post is good, though the backdrop of white supremacy is a bit much. Christ Church, Oxford; Edit. That our interactions would be nitpicked to brand us as avatars of ideologies, Gong writes on a Facebook post. Donors who contribute . (Courtesy photo by Ryan Di Spaltro) Come find your voice, your song, your harmony in Him. Im very comfortable standing by that statement. Three, he loves the Lord. Members of Elder Gerrit W. Gongs family stand in front of a mural project with the children who assisted them in Vietnam. July 10, 2022. And I suspect their international cred was perceived as a big plus, not a minus. It didnt matter if we agreed about everything; were still family. the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, emigrated from China in the late 19th century, Center for Strategic and International Studies, National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, Church Board of Education and Boards of Trustees, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Mormon church names new seventies, Primary presidency", "Elder Gerrit W. Gong: 'A nice guy' A man of faith and learning", "Leadership Changes in Presidency of the Seventy Announced", "Mormon Church Selects 2 Senior Leaders, and Neither Is a White American", "Inquiry, Scholarship, and Learning and Teaching in Religiously Affiliated Colleges and Universities", "A First for the Rhodes Scholars: 13 Women Are Among the Winners", "Apostle timeline: Elder Gerrit W. Gong - BYU-I Scroll", "Trade, Rights Issues Cloud Meeting of Pacific Alliance", "Gerrit Gong and Susan Gong, my marriage, and why #RepresentationMatters", article on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Thailand, "Changes announced for Area Presidencies", "2016 Events LDS Church News Reports on the visit of Elders Stevenson and Gong to Thailand, Viet Nam and Macao", "Latter-day Saints Sustain New First Presidency in Solemn Assembly: Two new leaders named to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles", article on meeting with the Prime Minister of New Zealand, article on Gong and others meeting with the King of Tonga, KSL article on the Pacific Ministry Tour with much emphasis on Gong, Idaho State Journal article on announcement of new youth program, KSL article mentioning Gong's role in the announcement, Postponed: Winnipeg Manitoba Temple Open House and Dedication Dates Announced, Groundbreakings Announced for Two Utah Temples, Elder Gong, quarantining due to COVID-19 exposure, prerecorded his general conference message, Elder and Sister Gong diagnosed with COVID-19, "General Authorities and General Officers: Elder Gerrit W. Gong", The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints titles, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gerrit_W._Gong&oldid=1131500756, Members of the First Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church), American general authorities (LDS Church), Latter Day Saint biography Infobox with missing parameters, Articles containing Chinese-language text, Articles needing additional references from July 2020, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, "Reconceptualising the Divide: Identity, Memory, and Nationalism in Sino-Japanese Relations" (with Victor Teo), "Remembering and Forgetting: The Legacy of War and Peace in East Asia", "Memory and History in East and Southeast Asia: Issues of Identity in International Relations", "Security and Economics in the Asia-Pacific Region" (with Richard L. Grant), "Taiwan Strait Dilemmas: China-Taiwan-U.S. Policies in the New Century", "Change and Challenge on the Korean Peninsula: Past, Present and Future" (with Tae Hwan Ok), "Korean Peninsula Trends and U.S.-Japan-South Korea Relations" (with Seizaburo Sato), "Sino-American Relations at a Time of Change" (with Bih-Jaw Lin), "Areas of Challenge for Soviet Foreign Policy in the 1980s", "The Standard of 'Civilization' in International Society", This page was last edited on 4 January 2023, at 12:10. In movies, gays were victims, targets for bullies, or the sassy friend.. That is something the Gongs also learned from the children involved in their mural projects, undertaken during the Christmas season. The churchs rhetoric against such marriages was very strong in the wake of the 1978 revelation, as if SWK wanted to communicate Hey, lets not go crazy with this thing. That attitude has slowly dissipated, but even now its not quite gone. Its disingenuous to portray the Churchs historic concern with inter-racial marriages as a simple matter of possible incompatibility. God Bless You in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Although it is 2018 and one would hope the simple fact of an apostle in a interracial marriage wouldnt be abig dealanymore, it is. 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. Also, doesnt Sister Rosana Fernandes Soares identify as a woman of color? 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. Now as a newly sustained member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles he will share a different kind of light with Gods children throughout the world. Thank you Jason K. You make an excellent point. Today blessed us a beautiful moment. David A. Bednar. 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. I have personally experienced stinging examples of this bias: confusion about our children, surprise about us being together, and even comments along the lines that I did it backwards by being a white woman married to my Korean-American husband. [20][21] Among other activities while Gong was president of the Asia Area, he created the second and third stakes in Thailand. [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. Hemos detectado que ests en un navegador no compatible. 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. Elder Gerrit W. Gong, the first Asian-American Apostle, is a faithful lifelong Church member. This has been a great day in my long life! He has deep credentials (both in church service and big worldly accomplishments), and he is born and bred American. )[16] Gong and his wife are the parents of four sons. Gerrit W. Gong. 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. [14], Even before joining the administration at BYU, Gong was involved in educational policy issues. They visited Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, and Fiji, including meeting with government leaders of New Zealand and Tonga. Im also the white half of an interracial marriage. Also, only in the USA, would someone with Soaress phenotype be considered not white. Hes white everywhere else on the planet. Was he Mexican? With all the comments here I echo the joy in seeing a diverse Quorum. They will speak at Family . 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. Having people who know about petroleum extraction is always useful! This white British woman with Japanese husband and two children is with you all the way on this one. A pleasant surprise. before joining the administration at BYU, Gong writes on a Facebook post the... Of President Nelsons ties to this wonderful land during our days at.! 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