What Elder Gong said at April 2023 general conference
Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke during the Saturday morning session of April 2023 general conference. Everywhere Elder Gong goes, he gratefully learns from those who minister and care for others as the Savior would. The following is a summary of what he said.
Elder Gong’s talk summary
Inspired ministering can bless families and individuals. It can also strengthen wards and branches.
Latter-day Saints might think of their ward or branch as a spiritual ecosystem where the Lord of the vineyard and His servants bring forth precious fruit by binding together the strengths and weaknesses of all the trees. “Together, they bless hearts and homes, wards and branches, through inspired, consistent ministering.” Ministering blesses generations.
“In many places, we can reach out, understand others where they are and build relationships when we regularly visit members in their homes. Inspired invitations change lives. When invitations help us make and keep sacred covenants, we draw closer to the Lord and each other.”
In some places in the Church, there is a ministering gap. More say they are ministering than say they are being ministered to.
The Savior Jesus Christ is the perfect example of ministering.
“Wherever we are in this Easter season, let us reach out and care as our Savior would, especially to those whom we are privileged by love and assignment to minister. In so doing, may we draw closer to Jesus Christ and each other, becoming more like Him and the followers of Jesus Christ He would have us each be.”
Notable quotes
As followers of Jesus Christ, we seek to minister to others as He would because lives are waiting to change.Higher and holier ministering comes when we pray for the ‘pure love of Christ’ and follow the Spirit.
As we minister as He would, we witness His miracles and His blessings.
See the full text of Elder Gong’s talk: ‘Ministering’
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 (Utah) Missionary Training Center to help the 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 the October 2022 general conference, he spoke about finding eternal happiness through the Atonement, repentance, forgiveness and temple covenants.
- Elder Gong and his wife were the featured keynote speakers for Family Discovery Day at RootsTech 2023, after a video crew filmed them visiting locations in Hawaii and Ireland where their families had lived. The Gongs also participated in a temple and family history panel with young adults at RootsTech.
- In March, Elder and Sister Gong ministered to Latter-day Saints in Mexico.
- During January and February, Elder Gong posted four videos in which he taught from the scriptures about Jesus Christ, His Atonement and Resurrection, temple covenants and other gospel doctrines.
- In January, Elder Gong encouraged youth to look for spiritual trail markers that lead to Christ, in a worldwide devotional broadcast.
Read more of Elder Gong’s general conference addresses, or follow him on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEnJ%2BuqpOdu6bD0meaqKVfnLKvsdGao2abn6Ozpr7Ep5qeZ2Jlf3R7k2hoaGpja4N2hZNyZp6klJq%2FbrPOp55mmaCntq15kWlpbGWXmrumvsClZJynnpuys7HNnJxmpZmjtrTAxKugp59dl7mmv9KeqmaflaOys63Toqanqw%3D%3D