Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was born on Dec. 23, 1953, to professional teachers in Redwood City, California. Elder Gong inherited his parents’ love for learning, studying at Brigham Young University and receiving master’s and doctorate degrees at Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.
Elder Gong married Susan Lindsay in January 1980 in the Salt Lake Temple after both served full-time missions in Taiwan. They are the parents of four sons and have three grandchildren.
Elder Gong worked for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., the U.S. State Department and as special assistant to the U.S. ambassador in Beijing, China. Before becoming an Apostle, he was in the Presidency of the Seventy. He also served as Asia Area president and as an Area Seventy, stake president, stake mission president, bishop and seminary teacher.
In honor of his birthday today, here are nine of his quotes from the past year.
1. Religious believers are happier, healthier and more fulfilled
“Growing evidence highlights this striking fact: Religious believers are on average happier, healthier and more fulfilled than those without spiritual commitment or connection. Happiness and life satisfaction, mental and physical health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, close social relationships, even financial and material stability — on each measure, religious practitioners flourish.”
— “Holiness to the Lord in Everyday Life,” October 2024 general conference
2. A missionary’s purpose
“Teaching to build faith in Jesus Christ flows from our missionary purpose. It is spiritual.”
— 2024 Seminar for New Mission Leaders, June 22, 2024
3. The house of the Lord
“I used to describe what I was doing as going to the temple. Now I think less in terms of going to a place and more in terms of coming to the Lord through sacred covenants with Him in the house of the Lord,”
— Taylorsville Utah Temple dedication, June 2, 2024
4. ‘To learn, to be sanctified and to become’
“We are to come, to learn, to be sanctified and to become more like our Father in Heaven and His Son. It is a very real invitation to bring holiness into our lives through the Atonement of Christ and service to others.”
— Puebla Mexico Temple dedication, May 19, 2024
5. ‘Serve and bless with a fulness of joy’
“May you preserve the best of your BYU experiences in your heart with gratitude and appreciation. May you fill your life’s journey with a covenant and sacramental life deepened in meaning and enriched by your capacity and desire to serve and bless with a fulness of joy.”
— BYU commencement, April 25, 2024
6. ‘Trust in the Lord’
“We increase faith and trust in the Lord that all things can work together for our good as we gain eternal perspective; understand our trials may be “but for a small moment”; recognize affliction can be consecrated for our gain; acknowledge accidents, untimely death, debilitating illness, and disease are part of mortality; and trust loving Heavenly Father does not give trials to punish or judge. He would not give a stone to someone asking for bread nor a serpent to one asking for a fish.”
— “All Things for Your Good,” April 2024 general conference
7. Christ’s redemptive promises
“The world pursues enlightened self-interest. Yet the power is not in us to save ourselves. But it is in Him. Infinite and eternal, only our Savior’s Atonement transcends time and space to swallow up death, anger, bitterness, unfairness, loneliness and heartbreak.”
— Easter video message, March 19, 2024
8. Rely on the Spirit when using AI
“While generative artificial intelligence may be quick to offer information, it can never replace revelation or generate truth from God. If something does not feel right or is inconsistent with what you know is true, seek to discern before believing.”
— Presentation to Church employees around the world, March 13, 2024
9. Truest, most important identity
“I hope you leave tonight knowing that you are a child of God, a child of the covenant and a disciple of Christ.”
— Young adult devotional in Chorley, England, Feb 25, 2024
