| Gerrit W. Gong | |
|---|---|
| First Quorum of the Seventy | |
| April 3, 2010[1][2] – incumbent | |
| Called by | Thomas S. Monson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gerrit Walter Gong December 23, 1953 Redwood City, California |
Gerrit Walter Gong (born December 23, 1953) has been a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since April 2010. He is a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. Prior to this he had served as Assistant to the President of Brigham Young University (BYU) for Planning and Assessment.[3]
Gong was born in Redwood City, California, to Walter Gong and Jean Char. Gerrit was named after Gerrit de Jong because his mother had lived with de Jong and his wife and children while a student at BYU.
Gong served as a missionary for the LDS Church in Taiwan. He received his bachelor's degree from BYU and then was a Rhodes Scholar, receiving both his master's degree and D.Phil. from Christ Church, Oxford.[4] Gong was a professor at various times at Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University. He later served as a special assistant in the United States State Department as well as in the United States Embassy in China. He also served as China Chair and Asia Director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Even before joining the BYU Administration as Assistant to the President for Planning and Assessment, Gong was involved in educational policy issues. He served as a member of the United States Department of Education's National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity and participated in multiple National education summits.[5]
Gong is married to Susan Lindsay, a daughter of Richard P. Lindsay. They first met when Gong was a BYU student who would give presentations on Taiwan's culture to missionaries in the Missionary Training Center about to depart for Taiwan among whom was Lindsay. However this was only a brief meeting. They began dating a few years later in the summer when Gong had returned from Oxford to spend a few weeks with his parents during the short time his father was a professor at BYU. They then continued their courtship after Gong returned to Oxford while Lindsay continued her studies at BYU, which has led to Gong humorously asserting that there is no question he got a degree in international relations.[6] Gerrit and Susan married in the Salt Lake Temple on January 2, 1980. They are the parents of four sons.[7]
Prior to becoming a general authority, Gong has served as a bishop, a stake president, and an area seventy.
Gong is the author of the book Memory and History in East and Southeast Asia.
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