“Thai Officials Visit Church Leaders and Sites,” Ensign, Aug. 1989, 77
Thai Officials Visit Church Leaders and Sites
The First Presidency met with thirteen Thai government officials and their wives in Salt Lake City, March 22. Mr. Sudlabha, adviser to the prime minister, and Mr. Siriwat, secretary to the minister of education, presented President Ezra Taft Benson with a statue of two Thai warriors riding an elephant. The statue represented Thai art and history.
The government representatives were on a ten-day tour to meet Church leaders and to visit Church and community sites in Utah, Los Angeles, and Hawaii. “The purpose of the trip,” said W. Boyd Christensen, director of Church Hosting, “was to improve appreciation and understanding between Thailand and the Church.” President Anan Eldredge of the Thailand Bangkok Mission and his first counselor, Chin Ngam-akson, accompanied the officials.
In Utah, the group visited Temple Square, the Family History Museum, the Museum of Church History and Art, Brigham Young University, the state capitol, and Snowbird ski resort. In several meetings with General Authorities and with the Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary general presidencies, the officials learned more about the Church.
In Los Angeles, the officials visited the Los Angeles Temple Visitors’ Center and several chapels. In Hawaii, the group attended LDS worship services on Sunday and visited the Hawaii Temple grounds, the BYU—Hawaii campus, and the Polynesian Cultural Center.