Thursday August 26, 2023

For the first time in my life, I am using a Mac Book Pro mini. It packs power in a tiny form factor. It is small and rugged. Perfect for travel.

I started the day by working the morning shift at the Draper Utah Temple. Every time I go I feel that my happiness level is boosted. It was great today to welcome two sisters through the veil with beautiful smiles.

It’s 8:25 p.m. at Salt Lake International Airport. I am at gate A27, just east of the center of the airport, in what is known as the east extension of Concourse A. The airport opened this extension recently. Today, there was minimal walking to my gate. Hurray! That was the good news..

The bad news was that my Delta flight to Los Angeles had been delayed one hour and twenty minutes. At 9:15 p.m., they announced that a crew was arriving shortly from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and would be operating our flight. There should be just over an hour after we land to change planes for the long Pacific crossing. That could be a challenging connection.

I’m excited and somewhat concerned about the Open House and Dedication activities. I am excited to return to Thailand, where I landed fifty years ago this month as a missionary. I am concerned about things I’ve heard from different people suggesting that not everyone involved in the open house and dedication is on the same page.

I’m taking eight copies of “The Light Breaks on Southeast Asia.” President Burgener (with whom I feel I have a great relationship, though we’ve never met in person) will decide how the books will be distributed.

President Burgener and I devised an excellent idea for the open house. It would allow members and former investigators who attend the open house to search poster boards of former missionaries with their mission photos, current photos, and e-mail addresses. They could then use the e-mail address to reconnect with former missionaries. Elder Tyler Haslam (no confirmed relation) would work with me on this project. The temple department canned the idea, saying it constituted “proselyting,” which is no longer allowed with temple open houses.

I’m excited about the Missionary Reunion in Bangkok. It should be a great time. I organized an “Old Heads” missionary reunion outdoors at Draper Park over a year ago. I have no idea how many former missionaries may be attending, but I know the mission presidents who will speak.

I’m also excited to hear Elder Gong speak at the auxiliary building on Sunday. The original Salt Lake Temple was enlarged with additional buildings, known as the temple annex, because it was a part of the Temple itself. The building behind the Bangkok Thailand Temple will never be an annex of the Temple.

The auxiliary building chapels are apparently on the first and third floors. I can’t wait to explore this massive building.

Friday August 26, 2023

One travels east or west from the United States to get to Thailand. West is a little shorter, but east gives you the wind at your back. Singapore Airlines has a flight from Singapore that always goes east. First, it will go from Singapore to New York and then from New York to Singapore. The old Pan American World Airways had two flights, Flight 2 going west and Flight 1 going east, and both visited the same cities.

My trip took me west to Los Angeles. The arrival of my flight from Salt Lake was too late to take the air-side shuttle bus to the International Terminal. So, I had to walk very fast from Terminal 3 (Delta) to Terminal B (International) and go through screening again. Then, I had to find the right gate. I was sweating profusely when I sat on the plane, just about the last one to board. Connecting to a Bangkok flight from Taipei was simple, but again, they had us do a simple screening, even though everyone had already cleared security elsewhere.

I rode the Boeing 777 from Los Angeles to Taipei. In economy, the seating is 3-4-3. It has just two engines but is very LONG. It seemed to me that the engines were quieter than usual, but perhaps that was because I was sitting in front of them. My nephew, by marriage, is a pilot for Delta. He has flown many aircraft, including the Boeing 777, from the United States to Australia. He sent a photo of him sitting in the front of one of the engines. I don’t know how he got there, but it was an exciting photo. Since then, he has opted for shorter routes, flying the Airbus 320 series. He has the seniority now that he can choose his routes.

It was before dawn when we arrived in Taipei. After a two-hour layover, we boarded an Air Bus A330 for the trip to Bangkok.

Saturday August 26, 2023

I arrived in Thailand on August 11, 1973, as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Today was my arrival in Thailand, arriving in Bangkok on August 26, 2023, just a little more than 50 years after my first arrival. My flight from Taipei arrived at about 9:30 a.m. in Bangkok. Suvarnabhumi Airport looked like a ghost town. I only saw old Thai International Airlines planes parked around the airport. The airport seemed deserted, but it must have just been a slow time of the day. After determining which group of transportation providers I had signed up with, I was in a big SUV on the way to the Asoke Residence UHG (not far from the Asoke Chapel).

I hoped to walk around the Temple and visit the Auxiliary building this afternoon.

I left the hotel for the 10-minute walk up Asoke to the Subway Station on the south side of New Phetchaburi Road. I decided to go down into the subway to (a) find cooler air and (b) avoid any crazy drivers at the Asoke-New Phetchburi intersection. The Bangkok subway system has numerous shops as you walk along on level 1. Coming up the escalator from level 1 on the north side of New Phetchaburi Road, I was just around the corner from “Temple Square.” The Temple and the auxiliary building were built on a lot of land that was anything but square, yet this is Temple Square in Bangkok.

I walked around from the front side of the Temple and arrived at the main entrance to the auxiliary building. The first three floors all have this lovely lobby area in the center of the south side of the building. I sat down in the lobby. I introduced myself to a sister sitting nearby. Her response was, “You are Reed Haslam. The one who wrote the book?” I affirmed that I was indeed the author.

There is signage in the auxiliary building for the Open House, which starts on September 1. The distance between the Temple and the Auxiliary Building is perhaps forty feet. As usual, the tour of the Temple begins at the Stake Center (in this case, the Auxiliary Building).

Sunday August 27, 2023

Seeing how much the Church had grown in Thailand was a true joy today. After 50 years, the country now has four stakes (Bangkok, Bangkok North, Bangkok West, and Ubon) and two districts (Udorn (Northeast) and Chiangmai (North)).

Former mission president Michael Smith was the first to greet me at 9:00 a.m. for the sacrament service of the Asoke (Thai Speaking) ward. The meeting filled the chapel area.

I started to notice how much Thai I had forgotten in the fourteen years since I last visited. I did not catch everything the speakers said. The auxiliary building continues to amaze me. There are two chapels in the building. Both chapels are located in the center of each floor, on the first and third floors. Today, meetings were held on the third floor as Elder Gong will speak in the first-floor chapel this evening.

Later, former mission presidents Larry White and Anun Eldredge arrived for the meeting. The current mission president, Kelly Burgener, also attended and spoke. The first two Thai speakers spoke for over 15 minutes each. That alone was impressive. It was too bad they spoke so quickly that I understood little of what they said. President Burgener spoke at a pace where I understood more of what he said, which was more enjoyable. Today may have been the first time four Thailand Bangkok mission presidents were together in one sacrament meeting.

Next was the International Ward’s meeting. I met Anun Eldredge (the first Thai to serve as a missionary and mission president). He greeted me warmly. I was shocked to find that the Chapel and the overflow area (about half the size of the overflow (gym) in the United States was also packed! ) Some couples planning to be temple workers transferred their membership records to Thailand. They recently augmented the size of the international ward. Nonetheless, it was the largest audience I’ve ever seen at a sacrament service in Thailand. Fifty years ago, the International Branch had only 30-50 foreign members (mostly U.S. military personnel) living in Bangkok.ervice in Thailand. Fifty years ago the International Branch had only 30-50 foreign members (mostly U.S. military personnel) that were living in Bangkok.

Before the meeting started, I had the first chance to speak with Anun Eldredge (the first Thai to serve as a missionary and mission president). He greeted me warmly. I was shocked to find that the Chapel and the overflow area (about half the size of the overflow (gym) in the United States) were also full! Some couples planning to be temple workers transferred their membership records to Thailand and recently augmented the size of the international ward. Nonetheless, this was the largest audience I’d ever seen at a sacrament service in Thailand. Fifty years ago, the International Branch in Bangkok had only 30-50 foreign members (mostly U.S. military personnel) living in Bangkok.

The Senior missionaries in the Bangkok area attend one of these two wards. In my day, we had no senior missionaries. For half of my mission, there are also no sister missionaries. Thailand had yet to be certified as an appropriate place for Sister missionaries to serve. While some of the International Ward comprises American families, others include British and Chinese. A young man sat behind me. He works for Western Digital Corporation, whose disk drives are manufactured in Thailand. He was just on a business trip from the United States.

After the sacrament meeting, I met up with Dave Rockwood. He’s been doing business in Thailand for over 25 years. We went off to the Elder’s Quorum meeting together. Things were confusing today since we were using the third rather than the first floor. The layout of the other rooms on the third floor turned out to be different from the first floor. It took a good 15 minutes to get the second-hour meetings started. The Elder’s Quorum instructor spoke about making commitments to temple attendance.

At the end of the meeting, Elder Tyler Haslam came up and introduced himself to me. We had been connected through President Burgener several months ago. He showed me his genealogy, which ties him to the Haslams who settled in Cache Valley. My ancestors are the Haslams who settled in North Salt Lake. Both lines return to the Manchester, England, area, thus joining together at some point.

After the meetings, I had lunch with President Eldredge, his wife, and David Rookwood at the nearby FX hotel. Mark Tippets, his wife, and Brother and Sister White were also at a nearby table. I learned much about Dave’s business acumen over the next several hours. Later, Mark Tippets joined us. Our discussion lasted until 4:45 p.m. when we decided that it was time to walk back to the auxiliary building for the 6:00 p.m. meeting with Elder Gong.

The Chapel on the first floor was about one-third full when we arrived. David Rockwood shared with me some crazy things that he experienced on his mission. These included a snake bite and riding his bike into a canal when the board bridge failed.

At 5 minutes to the hour, the church authorities came in with their spouses for the meeting. The speakers included Elder Johnson (of the Asia Area Presidency and former Mission president in Thailand), the presidents of the three stakes in the Bangkok area, and the current mission president, followed by Sister Gong and Elder Gong. Their translators did a good job translating their messages into Thai, but that task was not simple!

Temple President Wisit Khanakham was not on the stand during the meeting. I had never seen him during my visit to Thailand, and no one explained where he was.

Elder Gong’s remarks were: (1) the blessings of the Temple will bring you joy, (2) they will bind you to Jesus Christ, and they will link families together. After the meeting, he offered to personally greet anyone who wanted to meet him in the courtyard outside between the Temple and the Auxiliary Building.

Monday, August 28, 2023

Today was “FUN DAY.” I took the MRT (Subway) and the Sky Train to the Paragon Shopping Center. The center is far more extensive than the City Creek Center in Salt Lake City. It’s got all kinds of high-end merchandise for sale. During my 2006 visit, I saw a movie there. Back then, they had recliner lounges where you could almost lie flat. Those amazing seats have been replaced with oversized leather chairs. I saw two movies. One was a Korean Film called the “Moon”. It was a fictional story of Korea’s second human-crewed mission to the moon. [Recently, Korea landed an uncrewed plane at the moon’s south pole.] This mission also targeted the South Pole. It was suspenseful, but as the end approached, the reality of rescuing the lone astronaut in the manner portrayed was not feasible. It was fun at times to read the Thai script on the screen. I’ve found that the new curvy font for Thai is hard for me to read.

Several of the VIP visitors brought flowers that had been distributed around the auxiliary building.

Friday, September 1, 2023 - First Day of the Public Open House

I was at the Temple this morning for the opening of the public open house. Many old heads (old missionaries returned) and some younger heads were there. Soon, the classroom where they were to show the introductory movie was full, so they moved us and others to the Chapel on the 1st floor for the movie presentation

The movie was rather long, well over 10 minutes. Once the movie ended, they started to pull rows of people from the Chapel for the tour. Those going on the Temple Tour had to be broken up into groups of about fourteen people so that the whole group could fit in the elevator. Everything flowed well from then on. Unlike the VIP tour, we took an elevator to the third floor. Here, we did see the bride’s room and some of the sisters’ locker area. The bride’s room seems to be a must-stop on every temple tour. From there, we climbed the stairs to the 4th floor, where the endowment and sealing ordinances were performed.

The signage was excellent in Thai and English. You could take extra time in a room as you felt necessary, as was done at the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple Open House. Just as we finished on the fourth floor, my new best friends, Elder and Sister Tippets, were there. Elder Tippets suggested that I take his place for a few minutes by opening the door to the stairway for return visitors to the ground floor, which I did, and then just hung around to help for the rest of the 9 a.m.-1 p.m. shift.

I became acquainted with several Facebook Friends I had never met during my visit to Bangkok. The way that happened, of course, was that they introduced themselves to me. I think I have 200 or more Thai Facebook friends I have never met. These chance meetings, of course, were simply delightful

The opening hour and a half was busy, but things slowed down after that while picking up during the lunch hour.

Congratulations to the Temple Open House Committee for developing a solid plan to make it possible for people to see all the usual areas one sees at a temple open house and doing so in a very vertical temple.

The Missionary Reunion - The Oldest Chapel - Asoke

September 1 was the Bangkok All Mission Reunion event at the old Asoke meeting house—the first-ever reunion for all former missionaries.

The missionary reunion was held at the Asoke Chapel, a ten-minute walk from “Temple Square.” I had been informed that the auxiliary building could not be used for this event because the Temple Department prohibited it. The Asoke Chapel was completed in 1972, with local funds mostly coming from Latter-day Saints who lived and worked in the Bangkok area during the war in Vietnam. The Church moved the mission offices into a new second-floor addition to the Asoke Chapel in 1976. I visited the Chapel as it probably won’t be around much longer. It has now passed fifty years of service.

After a short walk from my hotel, I arrived a few minutes past 5:00 p.m. The original event was to include a check-in to receive a name tag. Hey, that’s the way we do it in the States, but there were no name tags.

I’ve never attended a mission reunion where the program started with one and a half hours of speakers, but this one did.

At about 5:22 p.m., Elder Chaichana started the meeting. The Asoke Chapel and overflow were nearly full. He invited any missionaries who had arrived before President Morris to come to the stand, and they all had a chance to say a few words.

As the Area Authority Seventy living in Thailand, Elder Chaichana shared his view of the growth of the Church in Thailand and the importance of the new Bangkok Thailand Temple. He spoke of the long wait for a temple to open in Bangkok. He was baptized in 1976, the year after I returned home. His wife had been baptized before I first arrived.

Next, he played a video presentation of the history of the Church in Thailand, featuring many photos that I knew well and adding a few new ones I had never seen. The presentation included the dates on which missionaries had first been sent to various cities. When it came to President Morris’s time, the list of cities opened was lengthy and included the town I opened, “Chaoengsao,” which was closed six months after I left, and I doubt it has ever had missionaries assigned there since then. Eventually, the presentation was past 2012, the year my book was printed, and then the material was all new.

Following Elder Chaichana, he invited three mission presidents to speak, starting with Anun Eldredge, who recently returned with his wife to serve in the Temple. Brother Anun has a beautiful voice and great clarity in spoken Thai. It was clear that he loved to speak. He took jabs at Larry White and Michael Smith in turn. They were the other two former mission presidents to speak. He talked about being among the earliest Thais to receive baptism and the joy he had served as a mission president in his own country [To this day, he remains the only native Thai to serve as mission president.]

Larry White was next to speak. As one of the first Elders who met Sister Srilaksana, he told a little about her story. In my book “Translating Scripture: The Thai Book of Mormon,” I recount her story in detail. I included most of that book in Chapter 3 of the Thailand section of “The Light Breaks on Southeast Asia.” Sister Sri was the mother to early church members in Thailand.

Michael Smith was the last speaker as President Burgener was busy receiving a new set of missionaries. He also spoke of his days as a missionary and the challenges of those times. He reflected on the importance of a Temple in Thailand and the blessings it would bring. Larry White had all of his missionaries on the stand at one point for a photo opportunity. They filled the seats on the stand. It appeared that perhaps just over half of them were native Thais. For the native Thai missionaries, this was their reunion. They sang “Called to Serve” together, which must have been a mission tradition.

I learned that the Thai people "sleep in on Saturday." How did I know this? The Partchaburi subway station was practically empty! The 9 a.m. subway train had open seats!

I was off to the "Weekend Market at Chatuchak." It is sort is a "must-do" for tourists in Bangkok. There are acres of small family businesses located next to a large city park. It's several stations and 54 Baht from the Petchaburi subway station. This market is claimed to be the world's largest. All I can say is that it is huge. I needed some gifts for the granddaughters (bracelets), grandsons (elephants), and yet-to-be-named gifts for my wife, daughter, three daughters-in-law, three sons, and a son-in-law.

After you walk through a dozen aisles of stuff, you think you have seen everything, and everything seems repetitive. Some stores offer massages, bowls, and plates in remarkable colors, t-shirts with crazy stuff on them, shoes, watches, stuff carved of wood, flowers, etc. What I never found this year was a place that sells neckties. That was so unusual. In 2010, they were easy to find..

Forty-nine years ago, I served in Ayuthaya. Ayuthaya is located about seventy miles north of Bangkok on a major highway. My junior companion was Mani Seangsuwan, the fifth native Thai to serve as a missionary. I did my best gospel teaching while in Ayuthaya. About eight people (aged 16-24) were eventually baptized among those we shared the gospel with. So, rather than stay in Bangkok, I ventured out to Ayuthaya

I hired a car and driver for just about $100 to make the trip pleasant. We were off when he arrived in a late-model automobile at my hotel.

Today, the Ayuthaya branch is part of the Bangkok North stake. The area north of Bangkok has grown over the last 15 years as a place to manufacture technology goods, particularly disk drives.

I recognized little about Ayuthaya from my time as a missionary. The road into town from the main highway is eight lanes wide today. Yes, I said “8” lanes. Ayuthaya was the capital of Thailand from the mid-1300s to 1767, when the Burmese invaded and laid waste to the city. Numerous ruins from that era are still visible today.

The current branch meets in a portion of a commercial building and has done so for several years now. The location is near Wat Yia Chaimongkol, a popular tourist venue. Thanks to today’s mapping technology, finding the location was simple.

There were 35 members in attendance today. The branch acknowledged several baptisms of younger people in recent weeks. One such new member was confirmed during the meeting.

My former companion, Mani Seangsuwan, and his wife served here during one of their senior missions. I had not remembered this, but some members reminded me of it.

During the meeting, I shared my testimony in Thai. It went much better than the blessing on the food at Asoke the other evening,

I was warmly greeted by many of the members. They were surprised that someone would come from Bangkok to visit them. There were no breaks in those offering testimonies. They invited me to stay for lunch, and I did. The branch members invited my driver to have lunch as well. Their Thai food was excellent.

The branch president took a more formal photo of all those present. One member told me that he does this every week. It seemed like an excellent way to document those who attended each week.

Monday September 4, 2023

I returned to the hub of excitement, Bangkok’s Temple Square of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, on New Petchburi Road. That said, the plot of land is nothing close to the square! I offered to volunteer with the first shift (9 a.m. - 1 p.m.) this morning.

I was first assigned to help visitors get around the first corner of the courtyard on their way to the Temple. Doing this might sound like a poor assignment, but it was anything but that. First, I met again with Sister Jirapinya Thareerat, who was in the courtyard. I took the opportunity to get a photo with her. Later, she came by with her father Bunja on her phone, and I was able to say hello to him. Bunja and his wife are now living in Khon Kaen. Bunja was an officer in the Royal Thai Airforce.

Finding the daughter of a young man I helped teach in Ayuthaya 49 years ago, who was now a missionary herself, was the best heartwarming part of this trip to Thailand. There are not that many second-generation families in Thailand that are active saints.

Another Thai sister came forward and recognized me from Facebook. I realized this must be another of my Thai Facebook friends. She was so excited she hugged me. Fifty years ago, giving a hug in public would have been outside cultural norms, but those norms have changed over the years.

Later, Elder Suchat Chaichana entered the room where I’d take refuge from the heat as long as no visitors approached my corner. His wife soon joined him. After their tour, people who came into the room engaged in Q&A with others. Before I knew it, two females had asked to talk with someone about the Church, so I got Sister Jiraphinya and her Filipino companion to come into the room and speak with them. When that was over, they met Brother Suchat and his wife. I could explain that I had taught her father in Ayuthaya. The sister missionaries were happy to make his acquaintance.

With an hour or so left in the shift, I was asked to replace another sister at the baptismal font inside the Temple. It was 15-20 minutes after the shift ended when Matthew Vogel, a supervisor, came to relieve me. Before I left, he told me he appreciated my books and would like to see them in e-reader formats..

Tuesday September 5, 2023

Today, Open House leaders asked me to usher in the endowment room. That was a sweet assignment because I could sit in a chair until I heard footsteps coming to the door, and then I would stand and smile as visitors entered the room. .

Under current Church Temple Department guidelines, they want visitors to feel the Temple’s peace, calmness, and spirit. Thus, remarks are discouraged, but I could answer questions can be given. Later, Elder Suchat Chaichana did something similar to the visitors who accompanied him.

While I was in the room, missionaries came in with investigators. The two of them shared comments and testimonies with those with them. Later, Elder Chaichana did something similar to the visitors who accompanied him.

One visitor had been to the Washington D.C. Temple. He remarked about it being a true landmark in the capitol area. I explained that the Church hoped it would catch the attention of people working in embassies all over the city.

One gentleman asked what comes after this room. I explained that this room represented our world while the next one would represent where God lived

I’m guessing that the number of guests the Temple receives on weekdays is 650-1000, while Saturdays are much busier.

The Temple will be a marvelous blessing to the members of the Church in Thailand and nearby countries.

Wednesday September 5, 2023

Today was my final day in Thailand. I volunteered to help at the Open House. It was nice that the Thai members could fill all required hosting locations today. I was asked to watch over the refreshment/conversation room for those who stopped by after their tour.

So, members who brought friends came in, got some water, and talked about their experiences.

A young couple came in and told us they were members of the Roman Catholic Church. I could tell that what they had just seen was new and different. Along with a senior missionary, we chatted with them for about ten minutes. We affirmed that we believed in the same Jesus Christ but had more to offer, such as the work done in temples. We also chatted with them about continuing revelation. Hopefully, at a future date, they may come back looking for more information.

A Thai Sister handling the main front door at the auxiliary building had to leave and asked Sister Eldredge to take her place. I noticed she was having trouble opening and closing the door, So I went over to check things out. Before long, I had been the one handling the door!

One of the two doors was not aligned properly. I decided to leave the good door closed and use the broken door to let people in and out. Just before my shift ended at 1:00 p.m. I looked more closely at the door frame. About one-third of the screws in the frame had come loose or were never properly installed.

I discovered that one of the two doors was not correctly aligned. I decided to close the working door and use the broken door to let people in and out. Just before my shift ended at 1:00 p.m., I looked more closely at the door frame. About one-third of the screws in the frame had come loose or were never properly installed.

I decided to go to the fourth floor for lunch. Soon after I arrived, Sister Jiraphinya and her companion from the Philippines arrived. In today’s Bangkok Thailand Mission, there are numerous Filipino missionaries. I am so grateful for the opportunity to meet the daughter of a young man I taught in Ayuthaya 49 years ago. It was even better to find her serving a mission. I wish her all the best as she continues to serve as a missionary

Then, it was back to the hotel and complete packing. I had dropped 28 pounds of books and 4 pounds of candy (for the Thai children’s Halloween - Thai candy is not all that sweet). My bags would be underweight. Next was a chauffeured ride to Suvarnabhumi International Airport for the long trek home. As our plane, an Airbus 330, took off to the south, the clouds parted long enough to see the mouth of the Chao Praya River, which enters the Gulf of Thailand. That was sweet! Fourteen hours later, I would be in San Francisco and back in the valley of the Great Salt Lake a while after that.

This trip was about (a) helping at the Open House, (b) meeting new people, and (c) strengthening existing friendships, particularly with Brother Bunja Thareerat and his family.