Elder Gerrit W. Gong: 'A nice guy', a man of faith and learning

Among his achievements in life, Elder Gerrit W. Gong was a Rhodes Scholar, worked in high-level positions at the U.S. State Department and for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., and, for the past nine years, has been assistant to the president for planning and assessment at Brigham Young University.

With all that, his wife Susan's overall assessment of him is: "He's a nice guy."

She said that, from the beginning of their relationship, "whenever we would go anywhere, he was so kind to the people we would interact with. Whether it was the post office, the library or the grocery store, he was so affirming and kind to everyone, as though he really understood them to be a son or daughter of Heavenly Father. That's a quality that wears well over a long period of time. We've been married 30 years now, and we're still getting to know things about each other we didn't know from the start, and there's more to know because we've had different experiences. But his kindness to everyone is one quality that's been consistent in his character, that's been a strength and blessing in my life. He's a nice guy."

Sustained to the First Quorum of the Seventy on April 3 during general conference, Elder Gong is known as a faithful man and a learned man. He appreciates the world and God's children, wherever they live in it. He has traveled much of it. And his wife has been by his side.

See the full story on ldschurchnews.com.

---

This story is provided by the LDS Church News, an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is produced weekly by the Deseret News.