"Eternity's Great Gifts: Jesus Christ's Atonement, Resurrection, Restoration"

General Conference Applied

S5 E15 – Sunday, June 1, 2025 | “Eternity’s Great Gifts: Jesus Christ’s Atonement, Resurrection, Restoration” by Elder Gerrit W. Gong; April 2025 General Conference

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Podcast Episode Outline

Introduction

Bio

Elder Gerrit W. Gong, “Be Not Afraid, Only Believe“, September 24, 2013, BYU-Hawaii Devotional: “I first met Sister Susan Lindsay when she was preparing for a mission to Taiwan, and I was teaching Chinese culture classes at the Provo MTC. After Sister Lindsay returned from her mission, our first date included climbing trees. We went out every day for 30 days – simple, fun things like flying kites, playing racquetball, having a picnic. After that, I returned to graduate school in Oxford.

“With Susan in Provo and me in England, I say our trans-Atlantic courtship was distance education of the best kind. It is why I can honestly say I earned a Ph.D. in international relations.

“When we sought the Lord’s confirmation about marriage, we learned an important lesson. When I asked, ‘Dear Heavenly Father, should I marry Susan?’ I had warm feelings but not confirmation. It was when I acted in faith, when I said, ‘Dear Heavenly Father, I love Susan and want to marry her, and I promise I will be the best husband I know how’ – and I meant it – that I received the clearest, sweetest confirmation.

“We are to act, and not be acted upon – to study things out, ask and act in faith, and be grateful we can know in our mind and in our heart.”
This was Elder Gong’s 17th general conference address. His most recent address was “Holiness to the Lord in Everyday Life” from the October 2024 General Conference.

Invitations

“Jesus’s life and light testify of God’s love for all His children. Because God our Father loves all His children in every age and land, we find His loving invitation to come find peace and joy in Him in many traditions and cultures.”
- In our own words: Find peace and joy in Heavenly Father.
“Each Easter season, we celebrate, as a symbolic whole, eternity’s great gifts through Jesus Christ: His Atonement; His (and the promise of our) literal Resurrection; Restoration of His latter-day Church with priesthood keys and authority to bless all God’s children. We rejoice in the garments of salvation and the robe of righteousness. We shout, ‘Hosanna to God and the Lamb!'”
- In our own words: Each Easter season we should celebrate Jesus Christ’s Atonement, His Resurrection, and the Restoration of His Church.
- Mitch Application: I will work with my wife and possibly even my extended family to incorporate a celebration of the Restoration of Jesus Christ’s Church into our annual Easter season celebration.
“May we each find in Jesus Christ atonement, resurrection, and restoration—peace, becoming, and belonging.”
- In our own words: Study Jesus Christ’s Atonement, Resurrection, and the Restoration of His Church to find peace, becoming, and belonging.
- Clay Application:

Discussion Questions

What is the Lord, through Elder Gong, inviting us to do? And how do we intend to take action?
It is perhaps self-evident that Jesus Christ’s Atonement and Resurrection are two of “eternity’s great gifts”. But have we also considered restoration to be one of those great gifts? If not, why not?
Elder Gong stated: “Some of our greatest life lessons come from things we would never choose.” What is an example of one of these “life lessons” from your own life?
What can we learn from footnote 22 of this address? “The sacred anniversaries that occur each Easter season sometimes exactly coincide. For example, Easter and general conference occur on the same Sunday in 2026 and 2029. Palm Sunday and general conference occur on the same Sunday in 2031 and 2034. Passover occurs near to Easter and during general conference in 2026 and 2029. Regardless of whether or not these anniversaries coincide exactly, we understand that their convergent proximity is not by coincidence or accident; it is sacred and symbolic.”
Like Christmas, Easter can become more than a one-day holiday. “Each Easter season, we celebrate, as a symbolic whole, eternity’s great gifts through Jesus Christ: His Atonement; His (and the promise of our) literal Resurrection; Restoration of His latter-day Church with priesthood keys and authority to bless all God’s children.” How can we incorporate a celebration of the Restoration of Jesus Christ’s Church into our annual Easter celebration?

External Resources Referenced In This Episode

What will you do?

How will you take action on the invitations extended in this General Conference address?

Conclusion

The focus of our next podcast episode will be the April 2025 General Conference address that was delivered by Elder Ulisses Soares and was entitled “Reverence for Sacred Things.”

As we conclude this episode, we would invite you to refer to the podcast episode details for this podcast episode where we have provided important information for connecting with us and further supporting the General Conference Applied Podcast. The best ways to help us are to like and subscribe to the podcast, to share the podcast with others, to like and share our content on social media, to share your own experiences with us on social media, and especially to contact us on our website.

Please remember that General Conference Applied is meant to be a supplement for your review of General Conference Addresses. We promise that you will get more out of each General Conference Applied episode when you study the General Conference address first.

Thank you for joining us in this effort to become doers of the word and to take action on general conference invitations.

Additional Content

Previous Podcast Episode (“Personal Preparation To Meet the Savior” by Elder Dale G. Renlund)

Next Podcast Episode (“Reverence for Sacred Things” by Elder Ulisses Soares)

All Podcast Episodes