Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke during the Sunday morning session of April 2025 general conference about finding atonement, resurrection and restoration in Jesus Christ. The following is a summary of what Elder Gong said.
Elder Gong’s talk summary
When one cries out in grief or joy, Jesus understands perfectly. “He can be present in the moments when we most need eternity’s great gifts — Jesus Christ’s Atonement, Resurrection, restoration.”
He answers the longings of one’s heart and the questions of one’s soul. He wipes away tears, except tears of joy. “This is Easter in Jesus Christ.”
“Easter in Jesus Christ helps us mend, reconcile, make right our relationships on both sides of the veil. Jesus can heal grief; He can enable forgiveness. …
“Easter in Jesus Christ lets us feel God’s approbation. … Through spiritual transformation in Jesus Christ, we can escape debilitating perfectionism.”
His Resurrection frees all from death, from time’s frailties and physicality’s imperfections. “In all good things, Jesus Christ restores abundantly — not only what was but also what can be.”
The sacred and symbolic convergence of atonement, resurrection and restoration through Christ each Easter season is not accidental or coincidental. Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter celebrate Christ’s Atonement and Resurrection. April 6 commemorates the organization of His restored Church.
“May we each find in Jesus Christ atonement, resurrection and restoration — peace, becoming and belonging — that which is enduringly real and joyful, happy and forever.”
Read the full text of Elder Gong’s talk: ‘Eternity’s Great Gifts: Jesus Christ’s Atonement, Resurrection, Restoration’
Notable quotes
“This is Easter in Jesus Christ: He answers the longings of our hearts and the questions of our souls. He wipes away our tears, except our tears of joy.”
“He reunites us, whole and holy, with each other and God. In all good things, Jesus Christ restores abundantly — not only what was but also what can be.”
“Each Easter season we celebrate, as a symbolic whole, eternity’s great gifts through Jesus Christ — His Atonement; His (and the promise of our) literal Resurrection; Restoration of His latter-day Church with priesthood keys and authority to bless all God’s children.”
Who is Elder Gong?
- Elder Gerrit W. Gong was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on March 31, 2018, and had served as a General Authority Seventy since April 2010.
- His mother met the missionaries when she was a teenager in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father joined the Church after attending Stanford University, where Elder Gong’s parents met and dated.
- The first time Elder Gong met his wife, Susan Lindsay, was at an evening devotional he volunteered to give at the Provo Missionary Training Center to help missionaries learn more about Taiwan. They briefly met, but Elder Gong said in that moment, he “had a feeling this was somebody I’d always know.”
What has Elder Gong done recently?
- During a devotional in Mexico on Feb. 9, Elder Gong called upon Church members to embrace the blessings of the temple and live their faith.
- Elder Gong and Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles represented the Church at the U.S. presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20.
- Elder Gong participated in the Light the World Giving Machine unveiling in Kansas City, Missouri, in December 2024.
- In the October 2024 general conference, Elder Gong spoke about living holiness to the Lord every day and shared stories of Church members doing just that.
Read more of Elder Gong’s general conference addresses, or follow him on Facebook, Instagram and X/Twitter.
