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The notion of Christianity as a white religion was deeply embedded in Thai culture long before The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made its way into Thailand. Labeled by the Thai people as “Fa-Rang” (meaning “something Western”), Christians were viewed as groups of white people who wore weird clothes, spoke an unfamiliar language, and brought a message that always pointed to one Jesus Christ. As early as 1567,[1] King Mahathammaracha allowed the first generation of Westerners to live, work, and preach their Christian gospel in Thailand. Foreign missionaries (primarily from Spain and Portugal) arrived in Ayuttaya—once considered the greatest kingdom in Thailand; however, their proselytizing was initially restricted to fellow foreigners.[2]

Later, when a new king, Narai, was crowned, his strong relations with King Louis XIV of France opened the way for Western missionaries to begin preaching among the native Thai peoples. Missionary labor was challenging because most foreign missionaries spoke only English.[3] This limitation often restricted their efforts to those citizens working in the Thai palaces, where English was more likely to be studied.[4]

After 1782 the influx of Western colonization in other Asian nations expanded the preaching of Christianity in Thailand. The king of Thailand, believing that his country’s failure to progress like other surrounding nations was the result of restricting foreign influence, began to encourage Western assistance and input.[5] Some notable contributors included Dr. Dan Beach Bradley, Dr. Samuel R. House, and Reverend and Mrs. Stephen Mattoon, who helped the king and the Thai people establish the hospital, social work system, and Christian school. The Christian school, particularly, had developed as the king invited foreigners to teach English, science, math, and other subjects for a school he wanted to establish. The missionaries’ willingness to educate the Thai children prompted the king to open Thailand’s first public school—Wat Mahannapharam Worawihan. Despite being founded by Christian missionaries, the school remained under the ownership of the Buddhist temple. [6]

The Church Comes to Thailand

The introduction of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints into Thailand occurred quite early in the Church’s history. In 1854 President Brigham Young called Elam Luddington to serve in Thailand, then known as Siam.[7] He labored for four months despite the challenging language barrier and no existing Thai language translation of the Book of Mormon. In the end Luddington returned home without baptizing any Thai converts. He was, however, able to baptize a British captain and his wife. It would be more than a century before the Church would again send missionaries into Thailand.[8]

Keith E. Garner, president of Southern Far East Mission, 1965–68, with Marilynn Garner and son, Kent, and daughter, Susan. Courtesy of Larry White

In the 1950s and 1960s, the Vietnam War led to the arrival of numerous American members of the Church to Thailand. Church members conducted informal services before officially receiving authorization to hold meetings in Bangkok. At 6:30 a.m. on November 2, 1966, then-Elder Gordon B. Hinckley and several other leaders stood in Lumpini Park and dedicated Thailand for preaching the gospel. In that early-morning hour, he prayed that the hearts of the Thai people would soften as they would be taught the gospel in their native tongue. His hope, expressed in that prayer, was that “thousands and tens of thousands [would] hear the missionary message.”[9]

By 1968 a substantial English-speaking branch had been established in Bangkok. This branch, along with six American military service groups, formed a district of the Church in Bangkok. These units included the families of US citizens employed by the US government and Church members serving in the US armed forces.[10] In that same year, President Keith E. Garner sent a group of six missionaries to reopen Thailand for the preaching of the gospel.[11]

Learning the Thai language was a slow process for the new missionaries, and their work was made more difficult by the lack of a Thai translation of the Book of Mormon and any other Church literature. Despite their limited language abilities, the missionaries went door-to-door hoping to find a few people with whom they could communicate, introduce the restored gospel, and practice their Thai language skills.[12] Unbeknownst to those six missionaries, God was preparing one of Thailand’s native daughters to assist in the missionary labor among his Thai children.

A Fortuitous Encounter

One hot day in March 1968, Larry White and Carl Hanson, two of the original six missionaries, were proselytizing through their Thai neighborhood. Brother White relates the following story:

It was a very hot day in March, my companion and were going door to door contacting at houses not far from where we lived, although we had no Thai language literature and could only speak enough Thai to give a door approach and briefly relate that Joseph Smith first vision story. We rang the bell at the gate of a large house surrounded by a wall. A female servant opened the gate. We introduced ourselves in Thai as missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She rather excitedly urged us to come in, which was not a normal experience for us. My companion, Elder Carl Hanson, and I were rather confused by her enthusiasm, but did as she invited us to do and walked up the gravel driveway to the front door. She ran to the back of the house, went through the house, and let us in the front door and invited us to sit down in an empty room.

We waited alone for a few minutes. Elder Hanson suggested that maybe we should leave. Then, a woman came down from upstairs and greeted us in English. We introduced ourselves as representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We told her that we had a special message we would like to share with her. It was my turn to give an introduction which I did in English in this case because this woman spoke to us in English. I had not proceeded very long until the Spirit forcefully told me that this woman would join the church. I was so overcome by the Spirit that I could not continue speaking. I handed the book I was using to provide the introduction to Elder Hanson and asked him to finish.[13]

Left to right: Elders Alan Hess, Robert Winegar, Carl Hanson, Peter Basker, Larry White, Craig Christensen, 1968. Courtesy of Larry White.

The woman they had taught was Srilaksana Suntarahut, a Thai princess who had been adopted by Queen Indrasakdi Sachi (widow of King Rama VI of Thailand) and raised with her sisters in the Thai royal household. Srilaksana, also called Lady Sri, had attended elite private schools where she learned—and spoke—in English. Lady Sri was considered the queen’s favorite daughter[14] and “slept in the queen’s bedroom on a mattress in front of the queen’s bed.”[15] Lady Sri explains, “Each morning I got up with the queen, dressed, ate breakfast, and read to her. After breakfast I went to a school taught by European nuns. I could speak only English while there. After school I returned to the palace, shared a meal with the queen, and again read to her. This was my routine for eight years. As a result, I developed a better education than many who have earned a degree.”[16]

Finding Something Good

Brother White remembers that Lady Sri was not interested at first but still allowed them to return to share more messages about Jesus Christ and the restored gospel. “The fifth time meeting with us, we gave her a Book of Mormon in English. My companion and I testified to her that she would understand the message through this book. However, she put the Book of Mormon on her shelf.” White continued, “One day, she decided to read and say a little prayer, ‘If there is something good in here for me, let me know it.’” [17] Mother Sri then opened the book to a random page, and it fell on page 287 (Alma 37).

In his journal, White records that Lady Sri told him of her experience finally opening the Book of Mormon. She shared, “Tears came to my eyes. Then, I held the book to my chest. Soon, I went upstairs to my room and closed the door. It was the first time I knelt down and prayed, I cried, ‘My Father, my Father.’ I knew He could hear me. I prayed and cried for a long time. When I got up, I began to read again without stopping.”[18] Over the next few weeks, Lady Sri continued to read the Book of Mormon during her spare time. “At mealtime, she would eat with one hand and hold the Book of Mormon with the other. She was very thirsty for knowledge of the gospel.”[19]

Young Srilaksana Suntarahut. Courtesy of Larry White.

The first time the missionaries visited after Mother Sri’s experience, Brother White saw that “she was holding her copy of the Book of Mormon tightly.” He asked, “Have you read from the Book of Mormon?” “Yes,” Lady Srilaksana replied, “I have been reading that book.”[20] White continues, “I was pleasantly surprised by her answer, but to see if her response was true, I asked some questions about the early chapters of the book. [Lady] Srilaksana gave the correct responses. I turned to my companion and said, ‘She really has been reading it.’”[21] He adds, “Mother Sri read the Book of Mormon [at a rate of approximately] eight to ten pages per day and finished it in six weeks. She said to us ‘I must be baptized.’ We both were so happy and surprised. We started to plan her baptism.”[22]

On her forty-fourth birthday, July 4, 1968, Lady Sri and her daughters Korani and Khomkham were baptized in a swimming pool at the condominium complex where the Farmers, an American member family, lived.[23] (Her third daughter, Thonggon, would be baptized at a later date after she turned eight.)[24] After being baptized, Lady Sri bore a powerful testimony of her desire to contribute to God’s kingdom. “When I read the Book of Mormon,” she explained, “I already understood and knew what baptism was in English. I completely knew that I had to get baptized. When I was immersed in the water, I felt that I wanted to serve God immediately, I really wanted to serve!”[25]

Life outside the Palace Gates

Even the joyous occasion of her baptism could not spare Lady Sri from the onslaught of change that would come her way. By choosing to be baptized, she essentially ousted herself from the Thai royal household. Brother White explains, “Her life was not easy after she was baptized. Her family did not support her decision. Sri was cut off from her palace connections. Had she not joined the church she may have been able to serve in the palace. This was not possible after she joined the church. She sacrificed her position in Thai society as well as financial opportunities because of her conversion and activity in the church.”[26] Moreover, Thai kings and Buddhism have gone hand in hand with Thai culture for a long time. Therefore, the kings are looked up to as the representative of gods, having the highest responsibility to nourish the Buddhist religion. This practice is deeply rooted in historical norms and the close relationship between Buddhism and the Thai monarchy. Members of the royal family are also expected to support the Buddhist religion as failing to do so could result in the Thai people losing faith in their royals.[27]

Mother Sri and her daughters, 1968. Courtesy of Larry White.

Although she was now living outside the palace, Srilaksana continued to use her training and unique experiences to advance the work of the Church in Thailand. Sri would constantly look for people to teach and sought opportunities to share her testimony of the Church and Book of Mormon. After church meetings of the Asoke branch (which would eventually become the first ward in Thailand), many of the younger members would gather at her home to enjoy the food, friendship, and wisdom of Sri. It was in Asoke that she became known as the mother of the Church in Thailand and received the moniker “Mother Sri,” an appellation she is still known by today.[28]

Sister Udomtham Gesorn, a member of Mother Sri’s Asoke ward, described Mother Sri as famous and significant but also “the humblest woman in the church.” Ward members were inspired by her respect and support of Church leaders she had once outranked as a member of the royal household. Sister Gesorn remembers that when Mother Sri would bear her testimony in sacrament meetings, she would first bow her head to the bishopric before she walked to the pulpit.” Mother Sri became for the Thai Saints an example of the significant impact female disciples of Christ can make when they are dedicated to his work.[29]

Translating the Book of Mormon

Although the Church was growing in Thailand, the difficulty of preaching the gospel without a Thai language translation of the Book of Mormon continued to hamper the missionary effort. To address this challenge, the Church first used a professional translator to generate a Thai language Book of Mormon. However, they quickly realized that without an understanding of Christian concepts and the doctrines revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith, such translations were inadequate.[30] Knowing that Mother Sri had sincere desires to serve God and that she had been educated at an English-speaking Christian school, leaders in Thailand invited her to assist with the translation. Mother Sri immediately accepted the request and began translating the Book of Mormon without any expectation or demand for compensation.[31]

The translation work was both rewarding and challenging for Mother Sri. The process required the translators to go beyond exchanging English words for Thai words and instead derive the context and cultural significance of different terms before choosing which Thai words to use. In one such instance, Brother White recalls:

The Thai word for “saints,” as used in the Bible, seemed to be the correct word to use in the formal name of the Church. However, Mother Srilaksana Suntarahut talked us out of using that word. She said it was “not special enough.” Instead, we used the word “sithichon,” (สิทธิชน) for “saints,” which she approved of. Years later, use of “wisutochon” (วิสุทธิชน) the originally suggested Biblical term from the Thai Bible was substituted, and “sithichon” was discontinued. However, Mother Srilaksana Suntarahut suggested the word “sasanaacag” (ศาสนาจักร), later shortened to “sasanacag,” and rejected the word khriscag (คริสตจักร) which sounds redundant in Thai, although we briefly used that word.[32]

Amarita Chansriamee, a girl cared for by Mother Sri, remembers times when Mother Sri would be stressed and hopeless as she tried to translate English words that did not have an equivalent word in Thai.[33] Through divine inspiration, Mother Sri would incorporate into the Book of Mormon translation new Thai vocabulary that had never before been used.[34] Brother White describes a powerful event that occurred while Mother Sri struggled to find a translation for the term priesthood:

There was a frightening moment that occurred in Mother Sri’s house one night. While she was trying to translate a word into Thai, suddenly, her room became dark, her body was paralyzed and could not move. She was shocked and frightened. When she looked out the window, she saw a large shadow outside. Then, she saw a dark personage in her room. This person stared at her, and she could not move or say a word. She could feel Satan trying to stop her from completing God’s work. She felt that she might die and prayed that if she died that at least God’s work would continue.

As she continued to pray, the darkness in the room was suddenly replaced by light. Mother Sri closed her eyes, and she could feel someone standing beside her. The bottom of his clothing brushed against her. She knew it was Moroni who had helped Joseph Smith. Then, she heard a gentle voice that said, ‘open your eyes and look up’. She was too scared to open her eyes, but finally when she did, the word “priesthood” that she had been trying to translate into Thai appeared in Thai letters on her ceiling, ‘ฐานะปุโรหิต.’[35]

That term would later be registered with the Thai government and become an official part of the Thai language. Other faiths would also come to adopt the word to represent the priesthood among their own churches and congregations.

The Word of God Rolls Forth

Excerpts from the Thai Book of Mormon translation were often circulated among the Thai Saints as they were completed.[36] These partial glimpses into the scriptural text generated excitement and anticipation among members. Mother Sri had to work very hard while facing these high pressures and expectations. Sister Gesorn remembers, “Every time I saw her at church, . . . many members of the church often asked her about her work. ‘How was the translation? Is it done? When is the next chapter coming? What happened to the Nephites? Do you know the ending? And why [is it taking] so long?’ . . . I felt pity on her as well, to face those kinds of questions. However, I also could not wait to read the whole thing!”[37]

Srilaksana Suntarahut finished translating the Book of Mormon in 1975. Courtesy of Larry White.

Mother Sri became increasingly overwhelmed as the translation work continued. In a letter to Ezra Taft Benson, Mother Sri asked for additional translators to assist in the process. The Church responded by sending more people to help, including persons who had previously served in Thailand. The additional support allowed the work of translation and editing to move more rapidly.[38]

In 1975 Mother Sri, Paul D. Morris (president of the Thailand Bangkok Mission), and the translation team, wrote a letter to Irvin B. Nydegger, the administrator of Emerging Languages for Krung Siam Press. They asked for permission to print the Book of Mormon in Thai.[39] They submitted a bid for both five thousand copies at the price of 32.50 baht per copy ($1.62 USD) and ten thousand copies at the price of 27 baht each ($1.35 USD). Kyung Siam Press accepted the bids, and the first edition of the Book of Mormon in the Thai language was published in 1976.[40]

Advancing the Work of the Church

The publication of the Thai Book of Mormon accelerated the spread of the Church in Thailand. Almost a decade earlier, in 1968, Ezra Taft Benson had the privilege of meeting the King of Thailand, King Rama IX, and had gifted him with an English copy of the Book of Mormon.[41] Now the people of Thailand, including Mother Sri’s own royal family, were finally able to receive and read the Thai Book of Mormon for themselves. Mother Sri’s translation included both the vocabulary and definitions in the Book of Mormon that Thai people would have never heard before, as well as ten to twelve images, accompanied by explanations, that helped the Thai people better understand the stories and helped them imagine the book’s events for themselves.[42]

Sister Gesorn recalls her own tender feelings as she took the opportunity to read through the Book of Mormon:

I remember the moment that I got to read the Book of Mormon for the first time, it was a very wonderful experience as well. I remember when I prayed to God about the Book of Mormon and received a warm feeling in my heart. I knew immediately that God was there for me. After I read it, I kept reading and reading when I had free time. There was one time I was working in the hospital as a nurse, I had to face a lot of patients who came up to me to complain, ask for help, and cry in front of me because they lost people who they love. When I had a short amount of free time, I read the Book of Mormon to comfort my heart. And yes! I received so many inspiring words to motivate me to move on and understand how Jesus Christ worked with us in our affliction.[43]

Continuing in Love and Service

Mother Sri’s service did not end with the Book of Mormon publication. She worked on translations for both the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. She also provided loving service in her ward and stake. Amarita Chansriramee shared, “I am so grateful to know Mother Sri. She always read the Book of Mormon to us and fed us with ice cream while we were listening to her reading. And when I read it by myself, I felt the Spirit so strong and appreciated [what] Mother Sri had done for us”.[44]

Elder Suchat Chaichana, who currently serves as an Area Authority Seventy, remembers, “I used to work with her as an assistant. She was very nice, humble, and kind. She never felt she was higher than others. She was not just only a translator, but she was also a Relief Society president in Thailand. From Monday to Friday, she would work in the Church office, but on Friday, she would take the train to the countryside and visit other wards until Sunday. Then, on Sunday night, she would take the train to come back to Bangkok and come to work in the church office. She was a wonderful woman.”[45] Mother Sri also continued to reach out to her royal family as permitted. On one particularly poignant day, Mother Sri received a call from the palace. The queen was ill, and the family anticipated that she would soon pass away. Mother Sri knew that this would be her last opportunity to declare her testimony of Jesus Christ to her beloved mother.[46]

When Mother Sri entered the queen’s hospital room, all the royal ladies-in-waiting were sitting on the floor surrounding her bed in order of their rank. “The queen, who was in great pain, raised up to see me when I entered,” Mother Sri shared explained. “She said, ‘Come to me.’ I stood near her. She said, ‘I still love you.’” Mother Sri further expressed, “I will always be grateful to the queen. Because of the many things I learned while living with her, I was able to read the Book of Mormon and accept the gospel. Because of her, I learned to write and speak in proper Thai language—the language into which the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price are translated.”[47]

After the queen passed away, Mother Sri was invited back into the royal household, an invitation she ultimately declined. Chansriramee explained, “She chose to stay outside of the palace as a ‘normal’ who served God only, and she always said, ‘We are all brothers and sisters, we all are God’s family anyway.’”[48]

A Widespread Impact

In the almost fifty years since the Thai Book of Mormon was translated and published, thousands of Thai people have come to understand Jesus Christ and his gospel through its pages. Total church membership in Thailand now exceeds twenty-three thousand members encompassing four stakes, one mission, twenty-one wards, and twenty-one branches.[49] The Church also continues sharing the gospel by providing a variety of materials translated into Thai, including general conference addresses, the Liahona, the Friend, and material on the Gospel Library app.

Bangkok Thailand Temple, 2023. Courtesy of Wisan Wisanbannawit.

Furthermore, on April 5, 2015, due to the significant growth of the Church in Thailand, then-Church President Thomas S. Monson announced the construction of the Bangkok Thailand Temple. Its groundbreaking took place in January 2019 at the temple site located in a central area of Bangkok conveniently situated near the Makkasan transit station. And on October 22, 2023, Elder Ronald A. Rasband dedicated the Bangkok Thailand Temple as the 185th dedicated temple in operation. Church apostle, Elder Gerrit W. Gong, emphasized that this special building, “is a temple not only for Bangkok but for Southeast Asia and the world.”[50]

Brother White recalls,

Mother Sri’s effort brought so many blessings to Thailand. I am grateful that I followed the prompting to return to her house and keep teaching her even when she showed no interest. I am honored to have known her. After my first mission I had the chance to return and visit her on many occasions. She called me her American son, and I called her my Thai mother.[51]

Of course, the time came when I had to leave Thailand at the end of my mission in 1969 and return to mission headquarters in Hong Kong and then home. At that time to leave all those whom I had come to love, especially my dear Mother Sri was difficult. As I got on the plane Mother Sri handed me [a] letter which I have always treasured.[52]

Included among Mother Sri’s expressions of love and gratitude for Brother White are found these beautiful admissions:

When I joined the church admittedly it was by divine inspiration and by the guidance of the Lord. Admittedly, I have been guided by my own inner concentration and faith and admittedly, I have been guided by the pureness of the Joseph Smith testimony to believe in the true church and the true path to eternal life, guided as I have been by the Book of Mormon in particular.

Nonetheless to show me the glimpse of that eternal light, to show me the clear and unobstructed path, and to bring me to the one chosen to accept the true gospel, who but you have been the instrument. Undeniably, it was from your teaching and expounding of the gospel which cultivated in my baptism in the true church. Undeniably that teaching and guidance did astound not only me but you yourself and your colleagues that I have been able to translate the teaching and essence of the scriptures to others. Of course, it is the guidance from the Lord, no doubt, but I will never forget the first bridge that you erected for my daughters and me to cross that barrier from nonbelief to absolute acceptance of the holy scriptures as laid down in the Book of Mormon, D&C, etc. [53]

Conclusion

Srilaksana Suntarahut, the woman fondly remembered as the mother of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Thailand, passed away on November 7, 2013, in Bangkok, Thailand. A memorial was held in her beloved Asoke Ward on Saturday, November 9, 2013.[54] Although she had been raised as royalty, Mother Sri forsook wealth and privilege to lay claim on an even greater treasure, the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Her efforts and sacrifice as the translator of the first Thai language Book of Mormon accelerated the building of Zion among her beloved people. More than a decade after her death, Mother Sri continues to inspire her fellow Thai Saints as someone who willingly descended from a palace to the dust, and then with dignity and fortitude, built her way back from the dust to the clouds.

Notes

[1] Satit Song, “Christianity in Thailand” (unpublished presentation translated from https://slideplayer.in.th/slide/14868960/).

[2] “Holy Supremacy of the Thai Catholic Church,” Chiang Mai Diocese, March 26, 2021, translated from https://www.cmdiocese.org/web/1264.

[3] Song, “Christianity in Thailand.”

[4] Song, “Christianity in Thailand.”

[5] Saman Sudto, “Wat Mahann School Thailand First School,” Post Today, November 1, 2010, translated from https://www.posttoday.com/lifestyle/57793.

[6] Sudto, “Wat Mahan School Thailand First School.”

[7] “First Missionary,” September 14, 2016, https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org., translated from https://�Ա�ɲ�-�ٳ�.����ܰ�����Ǵ������ܲ������������.�ǰ���/บทความ/ผู้สอนศาสนาค�Ȩ��รก.

[8] Larry R. White, interview with author, February 27, 2022.

[9] “First Missionary.”

[10] Larry R. White, “Beginnings in Thailand: 2511–2512” (unpublished manuscript, 2021), 2.

[11] “First Missionary.”

[12] Reed B. Haslam, “The Conversion of Srilaksana Suntarahut (ศรีลักษณา สุนทรหุต),” in Translating Scripture: The Thai Book of Mormon (Sandy, UT: H-town Publishing, 2006), 1–6.

[13] White, interview.

[14] Sierra Wilson, “Srilaksana Suntarahut,” http://www.sierrawilsonauthor.com.

[15] Joan Porter Ford and LaRene Porter Gaunt, “Raised by a Queen,” Liahona, June 1999.

[16] Ford and Gaunt, “Raised by a Queen.”

[17] White, interview.

[18] White, “Beginnings,” 31.

[19] White, interview.

[20] White, interview.

[21] White, “Beginnings,” 45.

[22] White, interview.

[23] Haslam, “Conversion,” 1–6.

[24] White, interview.

[25] “Thai Pioneer Day Event: Witnesses 11–14,” Facebook, October 31, 2021, translated from https://www.facebook.com/ChurchofJesusChrist.th/videos/913135922672950/.

[26] White, interview.

[27] “The Buddhist tradition of kingship has a long history. Royal patronage of Buddhism goes back to ancient South Asia, when several ancient kings patronized Buddhist monks and the Buddha himself came from a royal family.” Akhilesh Pillalamarri, “Bhumibol Adulyadej and Buddhist Kingship in Thailand,” Diplomat, October 15, 2016.

[28] White, interview.

[29] Gesorn Udomtham, interview by author, February 20, 2022.

[30] Haslam, “Conversion,” 1–6.

[31] White, interview.

[32] White, “Beginnings,” 22.

[33] Udomtham, interview.

[34] Udomtham, interview.

[35] White, interview.

[36] White, interview.

[37] Udomtham, interview.

[38] White, interview.

[39] Paul D. Morris and Srilaksana Gottsche to Irvin B. Nydegger, Bangkok, Thailand, 1975, http://lds-thailand.org.

[40] Letter to President Paul D. Morris, authorizing the publication of the Book of Mormon in the Thai Language, October 3, 1975, https://www.thehaslams.com.

[41] Ford and Gaunt, “Raised by a Queen.”

[42] Udomtham, interview.

[43] Udomtham, interview.

[44] Amarita Chansriramee, interview by author, 2022.

[45] Suchat Chicana, interview by author, February 28, 2022.

[46] Ford and Gaunt, “Raised by a Queen.”

[47] Ford and Gaunt, “Raised by a Queen.”

[48] Ford and Gaunt, “Raised by a Queen.”

[49] Annie Wong, “Statistics and Church Facts: Total Church Membership,” https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org.

[50] “Open House Begins for the Bangkok Thailand Temple,” August 28, 2023, https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org.

[51] White, interview.

[52] White, “Beginnings,” 92.

[53] White, “Beginnings,” 92. Gottsche was Srilaksana’s married name before her divorce.

[54] White, interview.