Work to make it different, but live in reality, too. He witnessed how the Lord touched many different people in Vietnam. (See related story.) These appointments in terms of age and church experience were right In the sweet spot consistent with recent apostle picks. When asked in 2018 if having a gay son had affected his views on LGBTQ issues, the apostle replied, We love each member of our family. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/black-in-latin-america/featured/black-in-latin-america-full-episode-brazil-a-racial-paradise/224/. Elder Gerrit W. Gong and his wife, Susan, participate in a Christmas mural project in Vietnam. In movies, gays were victims, targets for bullies, or the sassy friend.. The authors presentation assumes an intellectual supremacy that we all should come to the same interpretations.though I guess thats what opinions are. So, I will clarify to satisfy you both. 1. 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. Those interested in participating in the conference can register online at https://rootstech.org. The LDS Brazilians I know are adamant that they are of European descent and that they are not Latino. Reading through all the comments has been interesting. AmyT thanks for weighing in! Anyone who thinks otherwise is giving themselves a little too much credit. Susan and Gerrit Gong (Church News photograph). [27][28][29][30], In November 2019, Gong presided over a worldwide broadcast that announced the LDS Church's new youth program. 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. FredI strongly suspect that you would not have similar qualms about announcements that aligned with your own political priors. Sane liberals in the church dont have any illusions about their influence.). Joseph W. Sitati. But the Gongs explained their project was an opportunity for all the children. 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. Family Discovery Day is a free event and will begin Saturday, March 4 at 1:30 PM, MDT. [15] They first met when Gong was a BYU student who would give presentations on Taiwan's culture to missionaries about to depart for Taiwan from the Missionary Training Center, among whom was Lindsay. 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. Come find your voice, your song, your harmony in Him. One Latter-day Saint seminary teacher kept trying to tell him he was Korean, because the instructor knew a Korean kid with a similar last name. They are the parents of four sons and have three grandchildren. Gong had just been named an apostle. . 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. Sign up for Meridians Free Newsletter, pleaseCLICK HERE. As far as Soares goes, He looks like a fairly typical Euro-Brazilian. Its most likely that any individual called into the Q12 is pretty socially conservative. But you probably didnt know how cool it was. Copyright Daily Herald | www.heraldextra.com | 1200 Towne Centre Blvd. Benson, although its not incorrect to say the manuals (Kimball) advise caution, they go a little further than that in recommending/expressing preference for racially homogenous marriages. Their address will be delivered at 1:30 p.m. MST. How can we have a people prepared for the millennium when we have countless exceptions to all are alike unto God? Since there is a sub thread discussion about race here, Ill just highlight this very good and enlightening piece by PBS from a few years ago about race in Brazil. 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. "Ours is a worldwide Church. Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke during the Saturday afternoon session of April 2022 general conference. We need more voices that reflect the churchs greatness in diversity. The free event will feature live music, food and family discovery activities, with prizes ranging from DNA kits to a new laptop. Daily news, articles, videos and podcasts sent straight to your inbox. (Haight had helped to overcome some of the misgivings some family members had about the interracial marriage. Representation matters. The greatest Mormon blog in the universe. It will always be Top down, not bottom up. Mica Nicole is sure she had encountered one but was out and about and couldnt recall the specifics for me. :). 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. 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. [9] The Gongs married in the Salt Lake Temple on January 4, 1980. Its very, very hard to do that with a small, centralized leadership group. Four of my children have married half mixed spouses, two half Japanese and two half Hispanic in Utah. Campus Research People Faith Family Past Issues. Yes, my heart feels especially full today in seeing what I believe is the first interracial couple in the Quorum of the Twelve [1], and in knowing that my son and daughter can see children in the family photo of an apostle that look like them, too! He is the son of Gerrit W. Gong, . [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. 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). 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. Thank you, Cynthia, for your poignant thoughts. July 10, 2022. Gerrit W Gong; Education. 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. 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. Also I agree with Jason K. If the word of Wisdom initiated with Emma, then it appears the Lord expects His prophets to look in every direction when seeking inspiration. The following is a summary of what he said. 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. [4] He also held the Freeman Chair in China studies and was later the Asia Director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Much of this post is good, though the backdrop of white supremacy is a bit much. Meet Elder Gerrit W. Gong: "Unfailingly Kind" Family Man. 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 will try to express my feelings in a more heartfelt way in this post in hopes that it will not suffer the same fate. Having a few interracial marriages in my extended family, Ive seen positive and negative consequences. Then whatever is revealed is always so outside a lot of peoples realm of what, who, or how things should be that murmuring is inevitable. All quotes by Gerrit W. Gong and in blue (unless otherwise noted). The restored gospel is for every nation, kindred, and tongue. Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Parents and children can work through the awkwardness and conflict over deep disagreements to arrive at a place where they are simply family. Once ordained they joined the growing circle of priesthood power.. The church desperately needed someone who represented Latin and South American saints symbolically and with experience in the 12. I believe the Lord uses those who have specific skills to move His church forward.and Sister Gong is fluent in Mandarin. Im thrilled by the picks, but I seriously doubt they had anything g to do with me or others like me. They began dating a few years later, in the summer when Gong had returned from Oxford to spend a few weeks with his parents, during a time his father was a BYU professor. . 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. There are over a billion Chinese citizens, and we non-Chinese are forbididen by law from discussing religion with them. 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. And I suspect their international cred was perceived as a big plus, not a minus. Maybe well get rid of those now. 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. Pressure from Mormon Blogosphere/Political Correctness: 0. Cynthia, 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.. It will always be Top down, not bottom up in reality, too any illusions about influence. That im not welcome HERE and will begin Saturday, March 4 at 1:30 p.m. MST or to a... Genuinely feel this way and am gerrit w gong family in any way trying to a. 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