Honoring Elder Gerrit W. Gong on His 68th Birthday

Hello again, everyone! I am back two days before Christmas to post a birthday tribute to Elder Gerrit W. Gong, who is celebrating his 68th today. His is the last apostolic birthday to occur this year. The first apostle to observe his birthday in 2022 will be Elder D. Todd Christofferson, marking his 77th on January 24. Let's now turn our attention to today's tribute to Elder Gong.

Gerrit Walter Gong was born in Redwood City, California, on this day in 1953, to Walter and Jean Char Gong. While he was given his father's name for his middle name, his first name was given in honor of and out of respect to Gerrit de Jong, whose family his mother had lived with while studying at BYU-Provo. Both of Elder Gong's parents trace their ancestry back to China, although his father's family emigrated from China to the US during the late 19th century, and his mother's family are ethnic Chinese who lived in Hawaii.

After graduating from high school in Palo Alto, California, young Gerrit served as a missionary for the Church in Taiwan. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree at BYU, then continued his education at Oxford University, where, as a Rhodes Scholar, he earned a master's degree and a doctoral degree in philosophy. He first met Susan Lindsay, the woman he would later marry, while giving presentations at the MTC focused on the culture of Taiwan, to groups of missionaries assigned to serve in that nation (Sister Lindsay, at that time, was preparing to serve her mission in Taiwan).

At some point following her return from missionary service, while he was on summer break from Oxford, the two began dating. After Gerrit returned to Oxford, he and Susan (who was a BYU student) continued their courtship long-distance The couple was married in the Salt Lake Temple on January 2, 1980, and raised 4 sons. They spent most of their married lives in Virginia and Maryland. Brother Gong became a special assistant to the US Secretary of State in 1985. He went on to be a professor at Johns Hopkins University and Georgetown University.

He continued his career as a special assistant in the US State Department and as a special assistant to the US embassy in China. In 1989, he served as China Chair and Asia Director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He was also invited to participate in multiple education summits, in addition to serving on the United States Department of Education's National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity. Towards the end of his professional career, he served as an Assistant to the President of BYU for Planning and Assessment.

As impressive as his career may have been, the far more significant things he accomplished was in the course of Church service over several decades, during which he was a bishop, stake president, and area seventy. During his time in the latter assignment, he accompanied the presiding authority to my parent's Stake Conference. As he spoke, I was impressed by his warmth, knowledge of the scriptures, and ability to teach from them. While I may not remember any specifics of what he said, the power of the Spirit which I felt when he was speaking was unmistakable.

After that conference, I had the opportunity to greet and chat with him informally. What I had seen at the pulpit while he spoke was even more apparent in his personal interactions with me and other members of my parent's stake. This is a man who feels and teaches by the Spirit. During the April 2010 General Conference, Elder Gong was among those called as a General Authority Seventy. He filled various assignments at Church headquarters for the first year or so after his call. From August 2011-August 2013, he served in the Asia Area Presidency as a counselor. In 2013, he was called as president of that same area.

As a result of Elder Ronald A. Rasband's call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during the October 2015 General Conference, Elder Gong was called to the Presidency of the Seventy on October 6, 2015. He transitioned out of his role as Asia Area President and into that new assignment effective January 4, 2016.

During his two years of active service in the Presidency of the Seventy, he had responsibility for overseeing the work of the Church in the North America Northeast Area. He also served on the Church Board of Education and Boards of Trustees, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Boards. Following the October 2017 and January 2018 deaths of Elder Robert D. Hales and Church President Thomas S. Monson, new Church President Russell M. Nelson called both Elder Gong and Elder Ulisses Soares to serve as members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, marking history as the first Asian American and Latin American apostles of the Church. They were sustained as such on March 31, 2018, and both were ordained to the apostleship the following Thursday (April 5, 2018).

Consistent with the general practice of the Church, and for the first time since the October 2015 appointments of Elders Ronald A. Rasband, Gary E. Stevenson, and Dale G. Renlund, with the two apostles called, sustained, and ordained on the same day, Elder Gong, who is older, became the senior apostle to Elder Soares. In June 2018, Elders Gong and Soares met with representatives of the media for the first time as new apostles, at which time Elder Gong reported that he had been asked to chair the Scriptures Committee. He also served as a member of the Priesthood and Family Executive Council, the Leadership and Training Committee, and the Outreach Committee, and has apostolic oversight for the Asia and Asia North Areas. Given the recent shifting of apostolic assignments, it wouldn't surprise me to see confirmation that he is serving on either the Missionary Executive Council or the Temple & Family History Executive Coincil.

Elder Gong has given a total of 10 addresses in General Conference thus far, which includes 1 as a General Authority, 1 other given while he served in the Presidency of the Seventy, and the remaining 8 since beginning his service in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Due to his potential exposure to COVID-19 (for which he tested positive a few days later), he had pre-recorded his remarks in the days leading up to the October 2020 General Conference. 

Having successfully completed his quarantine, he was able to preside at the groundbreaking for the Taylorsville Utah Temple later that month. And after a yearlong delay, Elder Gong presided at the dedication of the Winnipeg Manitoba Temple just over 7 weeks ago. I am grateful to have been able to honor Elder Gong on this, his 67th birthday. Because of my previously-referenced personal interaction with him, I can testify that the Lord has prepared him for his present assignment, and I whole-heartedly sustain him and the other 14 apostles.

That does it for now. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as such comments are made in accordance with the established guidelines. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly-added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.