Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke during the Sunday morning session of October 2022 general conference. He spoke about finding eternal happiness through the Atonement, repentance, forgiveness and temple covenants. The following is a summary of what he said.
Elder Gong’s conference talk summary
Being “happy and forever” isn’t just in fairy tales. “True, enduring joy and eternity with those we love are the very essence of God’s plan of happiness.”
Drawing closer to the Savior, including through making temple ordinances and covenants, “we have a profound opportunity and gift to discover new spiritual understanding, love, repentance and forgiveness with each other and our families, in time and eternity.”
The scriptures and experiences of healing and peace underscore five doctrinal principles.
- Central to God’s plan, Jesus Christ promises to unite our spirit and body “that we might receive a fulness of joy” (Doctrine and Covenants 138:17).
- “Atonement — at-one-ment in Christ — comes as we exercise faith and bring forth fruits unto repentance.” Joy becomes full when feeling His grace and forgiveness.
- “God knows and loves us perfectly. … With perfect mercy and justice, He encircles in His arms of safety the humble and penitent.” The Lord will judge people according to their works and those who choose to repent will be redeemed.
- Doing proxy saving temple ordinances can help “sanctify both giver and receiver.”
- The Golden Rule teaches “a sanctifying symmetry in repentance and forgiveness invites us to offer others that which we ourselves need and desire.”
Notable quotes from Elder Gong’s conference talk
“Our Savior is our Mediator with God, but He also helps bring us to ourselves and each other as we come to Him.”
“With our Savior’s help, we can surrender our pride, our hurts, our sins to God.”
“God’s work and glory include bringing to pass happy and forever. Eternal life and exaltation are to know God and Jesus Christ so, through godly power, where They are we shall be.”
See the full text of Elder Gong’s talk: ‘Happy and Forever’
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 April 2022 general conference, he encouraged listeners to connect with ancestors and descendants in uniting God’s family.
- Hong Kong Temple — a sacred place of hope, faith and family — to reopen
- Elder Gerrit W. Gong addresses an Inter-American interfaith forum in Mexico’s Senate Chambers
- Watch: Elder Gong narrates video about welcoming all in the Savior’s Inn
Read more of Elder Gong’s general conference addresses, or follow him on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
