Thailand: Church Chronology

April 6, 1854 • Bangkok, ThailandElam Luddington, a missionary sent to the Kingdom of Siam, arrived in Bangkok and stayed for four months.

Early 1960s • BangkokLatter-day Saint expatriate families met together, holding Sunday School, Mutual Improvement Association, and Relief Society meetings along with sacrament services.

September 11, 1966 • BangkokThe first Thai convert, Ningnoi Thitapoora, was baptized.

November 2, 1966 • Lumpini Park, BangkokGordon B. Hinckley of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated Thailand for the preaching of the gospel.

December 24, 1967 • BangkokAnan Tubtimta was baptized. He changed his name to Anan Eldredge after being adopted by the Eldredge family who had introduced him to the gospel. Shortly thereafter, he became the first local Thai member to serve a full-time mission.

February 1968–January 1969 • BangkokOn February 2, 1968, the first six missionaries arrived in Bangkok, assigned to preach in Thai. Anan Eldredge helped with culture and language learning, and, in January 1969, he became the first local full-time missionary.

November 30, 1968 • BangkokEzra Taft Benson, of the Quorum of the Twelve and secretary of Agriculture for the United States government, visited Bangkok. He presented an English copy of the Book of Mormon and a Thai copy of “Joseph Smith’s Testimony,” to the King of Thailand, His Majesty King Bhumiphol Adulyadej. The interview was broadcast on television.

group of people outside church meetinghouse

November 5, 1969 • Chiang Mai

Natthamon D. Limsukon was baptized, becoming the first member of the church from Chiang Mai, the largest city in northern Thailand. She became instrumental in getting the first missionaries established in Chiang Mai in the following months.

January 19, 1970 • BangkokSrilaksana Suntarahut, a Thai convert, joined a committee charged with reviewing an ongoing professional translation of the Book of Mormon into Thai. She soon became the key member of the committee.

June 1972 • Sukhothai, ThailandTwo missionaries took a photograph with a statue of Buddha that was considered inappropriate and offensive to the people of Thailand. Their photo was discovered and published in a Thai newspaper, which attracted headlines around the world. The two missionaries were arrested and given a six-month jail sentence.

August 28, 1974 • Asoke, BangkokThe first meetinghouse in Thailand was dedicated in an assembly of 350 local members and Elder David B. Haight.

June 1976 • Songkhla, ThailandMissionaries were sent to Songkhla at the southern tip of Thailand.

October 1976 • BangkokThe Book of Mormon was published in Thai. The principal translator was Srilaksana Suntarahut.

September 1977 • Chiang MaiA tiny branch in Chiang Mai of northern Thailand supplied half the local full-time missionaries serving in the Thailand Bangkok Mission.

October 28, 1977 • Los Angeles, CaliforniaMani Seangsuwan and Noodchanadda Lojaya were the first Thai couple to be sealed in the temple. They traveled to Los Angeles for the ordinance.

1979 • Salt Lake City, Utah, USAThe translations of the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price into Thai were published.

1979 • Salt Lake City, UtahSrilaksana Suntarahut traveled to Utah, where she labored in the Salt Lake Temple, translating the temple endowment into Thai.

1980 • BangkokA Welfare Services Unit (WSURT) was organized to assist refugees in Thailand. By 1982, the unit was completely staffed by members of the Thailand Mission.

October 25–28, 1981 • Salt Lake City, UtahHer Majesty Queen Sirikit and Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn of Thailand visited Church headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah. They were welcomed by Gordon B. Hinckley of the First Presidency and attended a performance of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

1982 • BangkokSeminary and institute programs were established in Thailand. Suchat Chaichana, a Thai member who translated seminary manuals in the 1970s, started the program, traveling throughout the country, teaching seminary and training other teachers, over the course of a few years.

August 8, 1984 • Korat, ThailandMembers of the Korat District participated in a service project to paint the fence at Suan Rak, in correlation with the queen’s birthday.

December 20, 1985 • BangkokStudents of the Bangkok seminary and institute programs put on a Christmas musical production titled “The First Christmas in Zarahemla, the First Christmas in Bethlehem.” The show was the first ever produced by the seminary program and drew an audience of almost 300, half of whom were investigators.

January 18, 1986, October 23, 1987, and December 16, 1988 • BangkokMembers regularly held cultural events at the Asoke Chapel, such as the Sala Thai in 1986, a program consisting of Thai dancing, music, and entertainment, and an arts festival in 1986, 1987, and 1988, featuring handicrafts, flower arrangements, a large orchestra, ballroom dancing, and delicious refreshments.

June 18, 1988 • BangkokA “Thai Returned Missionary Group” hosted a buffet supper and a meeting at the mission home, with 25 local returned missionaries in attendance.

July 1988 • BangkokMargaret and Anan Eldredge answered a call to preside over the Thailand Bangkok Mission.

June 1990 • Manila, PhilippinesApproximately 200 local members of the Church traveled to the temple in Manila, in the Philippines, to perform ordinances.

December 18, 1990 • BangkokAnan Eldredge, Thailand Bangkok Mission president, was arrested for remarks that were deemed offensive to the Buddhist faith. Eldredge apologized for the misunderstanding and was fined and released.

1992 • ThailandMissionaries began to be issued two-year visas, and the number of foreign full-time missionaries allowed into the country was increased to 100. Prior to this, visas needed to be renewed every 90 days, requiring the missionaries to leave and reenter the country.

June 18–19, 1995 • BangkokElder Neal A. Maxwell created the Bangkok Thailand Stake, with Thipparad Kitsaward as president, Phoungpaka K. Willden as Relief Society president, and Pornchai Juntratip as patriarch.

July 1997 • BangkokLatter-day Saint Charities arranged for 20 missionary couples and sisters to work with 3,300 Thai educators in eight school zones in Bangkok, teaching them how to teach English. It was the first time that foreign teachers taught in Thai schools.

June 2000 • BangkokGordon B. Hinckley, President of the Church, and his wife, Marjorie Hinckley, visited Thailand. He spoke to members and investigators gathered at the Thailand Air Force Convention Center and met with the deputy prime minister of Thailand.

July 2000 • Laʻie, HawaiʻiSix scholarships to Brigham Young University–Hawaii were awarded to Thai students in accordance with an agreement between the university and the Thai government.

September 2002 • New York City, USALatter-day Saint musician Bundit Ungrangsee, a native of Bangkok, won the worldwide Maazel/Vilar Conductors’ Competition. The award was announced September 5, 2002, in Carnegie Hall in New York City.

October 2006 • BangkokThe Bangkok Thailand Stake celebrated the 40th anniversary of the dedication of Thailand. Since 1966, the Church had grown to include one stake, five districts, and 3,000 members.

October 2011 • BangkokMonsoon flooding in Bangkok necessitated the evacuation of more than 100 Church members and the cancelation of Church meetings due to damaged meetinghouses. Church humanitarian volunteers, “Helping Hands,” assembled food and sanitation kits to distribute to victims.

April 5, 2014 • Salt Lake CityWisit Khanakham was sustained as the first Area Seventy from Thailand.

March 19, 2016 • BangkokChurch members hosted a family history conference in preparation for the Bangkok Thailand Temple, announced the previous year.

November 11, 2016 • Chaengwattana, ThailandLatter-day Saints celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Church’s establishment in Thailand with feasting, music, and speeches.

April 20, 2018 • BangkokRussell M. Nelson, President of the Church, visited Bangkok, Thailand with his wife, Wendy Nelson, and Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He spoke with several thousand members of the Church about Church growth and temple blessings.

Bangkok Thailand Temple rendering

January 26, 2019 • Bangkok

Members hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the site of the Bangkok Thailand Temple.