gerrit gong family picture

:). We need more voices that reflect the church’s greatness in diversity. This expressed so much of the happiness I feel today. 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 it’s sometimes seems a miracle to ever get it right. Score: Elder and Sister Gong said it was wonderful to join members from across the world for general conference, to sustain President Russell M. Nelson and the First Presidency and “to witness continuing revelation bless the members of the Church in all their … Photo courtesy Gong family Bright colors and vivid images filled the once-blank cinder block wall of … I don’t 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. Official Facebook page for Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. - Salt Lake Tribune. 282.5k Followers, 24 Following, 45 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Gerrit W. Gong (@gerritwgong) Of the Seventy. The hard thing for ALL of us is to cope with (possibly) inspired decisions that conflict with our own political and philosophical intuitions. Brazilians, in the USA, don’t like getting lumped in with “latinos”. Nhà phát triển bất động sản chuyên nghiệp hàng đầu Việt Nam, tiên phong kiến tạo phong cách sống thời thượng. However I’m not excited about the call because of his increasing the “racial” diversity in the Quorum of the Twelve (which he doesn’t) but rather because he brings a -cultural- diversity that is very welcomed. I believe inspiration comes to those who seek, as does revelation—-like who to call to be apostles. 9,683 Likes, 82 Comments - Gerrit W. Gong (@gerritwgong) on Instagram: “We think often of you young couples in the Church and of your opportunity to raise children who…” Fred: and that is the value of diversity, across every possible category. 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 I’m not welcome here and will quietly go away. Official Facebook page for Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Although it is 2018 and one would hope the simple fact of an apostle in a interracial marriage wouldn’t be a big deal anymore, it is. (If they are, it will be a pleasant surprise.) Credit: Gong family. “Factor” does not mean negative or positive – it just is. The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax Sexuality, however, was never discussed. The storyteller and artist came out “in defiance of my depression,” he says, with a desperate will to survive. Here in China, members of our small LDS ex-pat branch are thrilled at Elder Gong’s call to the Quorum of the Twelve. “I thought the image was beautiful and so when I came out, I clung to the idea that I was somehow like the poppies.”. But it’s something a couple should acknowledge and prepare for. 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. I confess I’m a bit surprised that the OP is so vehemently opposed to suggestions of caution when approaching an interracial marriage. This is a big deal. The church desperately needed someone who represented Latin and South American saints symbolically and with experience in the 12. Thanks, Cynthia, and beautifully written. There is a misconception that Asians and Asian-Americans do not experience racism in the US, because their “model minority” status casts them as the ideal scholars and citizens. (My father worked in HR for an oil major, I used to live a stone’s throw from the HQ of another one, and my current employer sells very large amounts of electricity to oil companies–to extract from wells that in many cases have been producing for over a century–so I’ve learned a bit about the business, both upstream and downstream.). 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. He's a BYU Honor Code administrator. “On my mission, I learned that the first things to grow on the battlefields of France after World War I, were poppies, blood-red poppies,” Gong tells the Affirmation virtual audience. 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 didn’t even faze our family. Why treat it like a zero-sum game? I can also attest that there are benefits inherent in my interracial + intercultural marriage. 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. My white cousin married a Korean woman and lived in Korea for several years. deductible, Report a missed paper by emailing subscribe@sltrib.com or calling 801-237-2900, For e-edition questions or comments, contact customer support 801-237-2900 or email subscribe@sltrib.com. While for *me* it’s not a big deal to see two races come together in marriage, to pretend it’s *objectively* not a factor at all is a trifle naive. Still, they often have warred within the psyche of this 29-year-old, leaving wounds that have taken years to heal. Pressure from Mormon Blogosphere/Political Correctness: 0. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/.../bio/gerrit-w-gong?lang=eng Matthew Gong is a minority three times over — in his own words — “Chinese American, Mormon and queer.”. ... My wife and I were invited to meet with Gerrit Gong a couple months before he was called to be in the Q12. In movies, gays were victims, targets for bullies, or “the sassy friend.”. There is, in fact, a slightly higher divorce rate for interracial marriages. We need to love till we do not marginalize any of our Father’s children. :) Hope all is well. I don’t know where his wife was born but with Susan as a first name I would assume she is American as well. 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. 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. Oh goodness. 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 love that something so small — an interracial marriage — can yet be so huge for your family and for others. In doing so, he gave himself the chance to extend grace to his past selves. All three parts of Gong’s identity have shaped him, including heroic tales of service and sacrifice, and are worth celebrating. (Rick Egan | Tribune file photo) He was born in Redwood City, California. Our cultural biases are a factor, as well. I am pleased for him. It will always be Top down, not bottom up. Oh, the challenge of English adjectives. Benson, although it’s not incorrect to say the manuals (Kimball) advise caution, they go a little further than that in recommending/expressing preference for racially homogenous marriages. His mother, an avid gardener, once explained the difference between flowers and weeds. The current government is becoming more repressive about such matters. Sister Susan Gong, wife of Elder Gerrit W. Gong, speaks during a worldwide devotional for young adults on Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. Credit: Screenshot YouTube “It’s hard to see how these bits of color will resolve into a coherent pattern. But getting to this place of peace with his trifold identity, says Gong, an artificial intelligence engineer in Seattle, has required hard work. Having people who know about petroleum extraction is always useful! BTW, given that oil often is found in strange places, experience and comfort with a wide range of cultures is a pretty big advantage. “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. Even at school, Gong, who easily passed as straight, grew increasingly silent, afraid of hugs and falling in love. Maybe, but at Least the Pterodactyls are Cool, Jana Riess: For Latter-day Saints, being led by old men can be a blessing and a curse - Salt Lake Tribune, 'Mormon Land': Tribune's retiring Robert Kirby reflects on his career as a religion humorist - Salt Lake Tribune, Latest from Mormon Land: Democrats are gaining ground among Latter-day Saints - Salt Lake Tribune, Exterior of new LDS temple in Syracuse released - KUTV 2News, 'Mormon Land': He's devout. Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shares a photo of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables during a broadcast to BYU-Idaho students for the weekly campus devotional on Oct. 20, 2020. Credit: Screenshot from BYU-Idaho devotional They are the parents of four children and three grandchildren. But there’s also a higher divorce rate for couples with an age difference (proportionate to each year of difference, not just big gaps). (Trent Nelson | Tribune file photo) I personally am not concerned about quota filling in the Quorum. Today, “I love myself, scars and all, and I am awestruck by the simplicity at being happy, something I would never have believed possible in my younger years,” says Gong, who shares an apartment with his longtime partner. Very happy about these calls for all sorts of reasons; thanks for adding another very cogent one to the pile! But today, let us rejoice! Having crushes on boys in elementary school. Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints extended three invitations Sunday evening to the faith’s 2.3 million members between the ages of 18 and 30. We love Elder and Sister Gong. Felix was referring to genetics. Latter-day Saint apostle Gerrit W. Gong speaks to members of the media in Salt Lake City in June 2018. He looks part white to me. I’m sorry to hear this, but grateful that I was raised in the 50’s to 70’s by open minded, faithful Mormon parents, for which I am grateful for every day. And it takes strength to keep sustaining when a shift comes before one is ready. As I said at the last time new apostles were chosen–I 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. Lost touch so you can imagine my surprise to see his pic on BCC. “I never thought of myself as nonwhite but as ethnically ambiguous,” Gong says in an interview. That took 5½ years, Gong says, and “a whole lot of therapy.”, Mile by mile, he “pulled the razor wire from my mind,” he says. There are any number of reasons I couldn’t be happier about the newly-called Elder Gong and Elder Soares. We used to hang out during our days at UCSD. The greatest Mormon blog in the universe. Here goes: When the names of the two new apostles were read I felt sick in the pit of my stomach. I’ll check on her. The member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is California-born — but he has deep connections to this diverse, history-rich city located near the center of the Salt Lake Valley. Either way it helps us abide and grow. There are over a billion Chinese citizens, and we non-Chinese are forbididen by law from discussing religion with them. I was never so different [that] I couldn’t be potentially included.”. To read the full report, CLICK HERE. Big smiles from this multiethnic family too. Beyond the symbolic impact (which is important) no one should expect there will be much short or medium term impacts, but in 20 years when they become senior apostles there might be some hope of more open minds outside of the US conservative/Utah experience. In a project organized by Elder Gerrit W. Gong and his family, children in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia, paint a mural on the wall of a soup kitchen. church instruction manuals for institute and youth, Melody and Twila (and peggy)–How Lucky We Are to Be Alive Right Now, Book Review: N. T. Wright’s Biography of the Apostle Paul, The First Work of Mormon Science Fiction? Perhaps social support could be encouraged rather than interracial marriage being discouraged. Similarly, we were happy and hopeful to learn of President Nelson’s ties to this wonderful land. “They hadn’t earned my forgiveness, but I had.”. Today blessed us a beautiful moment. It describes how … They understand that diversity is out there, but they haven’t lived it, and there is no substitute for living it. Photo by Monique Saenz. He is the son of, “I don’t 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, His fear was that “people would politicize me and my dad. That our interactions would be nitpicked to brand us as avatars of ideologies,” Gong writes on a. We need to learn to love so unconditionally that we do not see race anymore, nor genders, nor other marginalization great and small. This white British woman with Japanese husband and two children is with you all the way on this one. It may also be that I have read today’s conversations about it incorrectly and that Latino is ok? (BTW it’s Brazilian with one l, not Brazillian with two. Gerrit W. Gong was born in Redwood City, California, in 1953. >:(. Also on the whole “model minority” thing — we don’t exactly need to go very far back in history, especially California history, to find plenty of horrific discrimination against Asians. 6,412 talking about this. 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. However, much discussion among leading historians of Mormonism has so far failed to turn up any examples of an interracial marriage in the Twelve. Is Elder Gong of mixed race? He was … Elder Gong has a Dutch first name, an American middle name (Walter after his father) and a Chinese last name. John–if all are alike unto God, then you should expect that there are people worthy to be apostles from all racial backgrounds, not just one. Cannot load blog information at this time. Parents and children can work through the awkwardness and conflict over deep disagreements to arrive at a place where they are simply family. 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. Cynthia, thanks for sharing. The LDS Brazilians I know are adamant that they are of European descent and that they are not Latino. Until very recently, church instruction manuals for institute and youth suggested caution against interracial marriages. So, I will clarify to satisfy you both. Although the character of the racism people of Asian descent experience in the US is very different from what Latinx and black people face, and the significance of that should not be minimized, it is still racism. Fred–I strongly suspect that you would not have similar qualms about announcements that aligned with your own political priors. I seriously doubt President Nelson was pandering to progressive Mormons. But sucking it out by reducing the surface pressure below 14.7 psi won’t accomplish much. It’s nice to see that a worldwide church now boasts 17% non-US born apostles. If I were to see him on the street, I would definitely think, (sorry for the non-PC stereotype) “white-guy”. It was a sacred time we will all cherish. In what way have you narrowed that definition that causes you to think you can exclude him from that? Their children had a hard time in Korean schools because of the “round eyes.” Does that mean they never should have gotten married? Huh. Elder Gerrit W. Gong could aptly be called an “adopted son” of Taylorsville.. When the prophet starts allowing his decisions to be influenced by every wind of political and worldly doctrine everyone loses. 49K likes. His Chinese American family was also highly academic — both parents have advanced degrees — and had wide-ranging conversations, even heated debates. They spoke of hope, God’s unwavering love, healing, building relationships, and becoming a better person and disciple of Christ. It depends. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/black-in-latin-america/featured/black-in-latin-america-full-episode-brazil-a-racial-paradise/224/. (For more reading on this, see here, here, and here.). Aren’t we missing that “All are alike unto God”? Gong had just been named an apostle. Reading through all the comments has been interesting. Love the Gongs. Thanks for the correction, Jones. However, I think that making leadership more diverse is almost certain to be a liberalizing influence over the long term. We were “inactive” at the time and my SP called us in to meet with him and Gong the morning of Stake Conference. She’s everything one would hope for someone in that role. 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. On his 21st birthday, at the start of the final year on his mission, Gong wrote separate emails to each of his brothers and his parents to tell them he was gay. Ask Peter. “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 church’s “patterns and behaviors of abuse,” he says, “don’t have to be there; they are not inherent in the doctrine.”. Loursat, I only bring this up because it was clearly your main point, but sucking oil out of the ground is a terrible strategy. https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2020/09/27/lds-apostles-gay-son “I buried land mines and razor wire in my brain so that my heart couldn’t get out.”, If Gong hadn’t come out, he says, “I would have fought in the war till I died by suicide.”. Yet in this case and always the Lord calls his Apostles. I know several members of Elder Gong’s extended family, and they couldn’t be a more dynamic, talented, kind family. Donate to the newsroom now. By that, I mean, sure he’s of Asian decent, but he is still the same mold as all the other GA’s/Apostles. But beyond the particulars of Gong’s experience, his story has a universal message of normalcy. 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. Then whatever is revealed is always so outside a lot of people’s realm of “what, who, or how things should be” that murmuring is inevitable. But perhaps she was thinking of a 70 or something. From one who knows nothing, I couldn’t help but see Elder Gong being placed in position to help open up China. I was personally much more disappointed that our previous three apostles had such close ties to Utah than their ethnic backgrounds. Which is empowering to those of us not necessarily agitating for change but asking sincere questions. I also rejoice in the callings of Elder Gong and Elder Soares. My brother, sister, and I are in our family’s 33rd generation; my sons and their cousins, the 34th generation; our grandson, the 35th recorded Gong family generation. Much of this post is good, though the backdrop of “white supremacy” is a bit much. “I experienced confusion, sexual assault and rejection as I stumbled through my new life,” Gong says. Since there is a sub thread discussion about race here, I’ll just highlight this very good and enlightening piece by PBS from a few years ago about race in Brazil. God Bless You in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Cynthia, “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. The OP’s own experience of external challenges is evidence enough that race is a factor to consider! Why does ethnicity have to be politicized in Zion the way it is in Babylon? 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.” It’s also more than a trifle condescending, considering that you’re trying to correct someone who has actual first-hand experience of the potential issues you’re describing. Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Presidency of the Seventy speaks during commencement exercises for BYU–Hawaii held in the Cannon Activities Center on June 9. 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. Arab? And he still didn’t know how to love himself. Otherwise it would be hard for that person to win the confidence of the senior leadership. I’ll investigate Rosana. No accent here! Matthew Gong. Coming out, though, wasn’t the happily-ever-after he had hoped it would be. “My family name.”, Gong took his place for a lifetime appointment in the faith’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, asked in 2018 if having a gay son had affected his views on LGBTQ. I’m sorry for that feeling in the pit of your stomach–I know it all too well. A lot of good viewpoints and thoughts. Thanks for calling attention to the interracial marriage barrier being broken and what this can mean to many families. The daily tasks of caring for my family and repenting of my mistakes (over and over again, it sometimes seems) can feel like a drag, like rolling a stone up a hill all day only to watch it roll back to the bottom each evening. Blessed be the name of the Lord…. Also, I suspect President Nelson’s very special interest in China may have played a role in the case of Elder Gong. Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints extended three invitations Sunday evening to the faith’s 2.3 million members between the ages of 18 and 30. Representation matters. The strongest marriages are based on mutual core values, and church leaders seem to believe that marrying in the faith takes care of that. Yankees ace Gerrit Cole shared an adorable family Christmas. He seemed to remember a conversation with someone or something outside of himself that affirmed he was loved.

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