The only missionary to arrive was Elam Luddington, whose only baptisms during his four-month service in Thailand were a non-Thai ship captain and his wife on April 9, 1854.

Baptisms grew after 1992, when the law was repealed, and missionaries were required to renew their visas only once during their two-year service.

[4] Elam Luddington and Levi Savage attempted to sail to Siam from Burma, but were forced to return to India when their ship encountered problems.

[5] In 1962, Robert S. Taylor, president of the South Far East Mission, organized the first official congregation of church members.

[6] A Mutual Improvement Association was organized in September 1964, meeting in a private restaurant after having outgrown the living room of a home.

[8] On March 27, 1966, Keith E. Garner organized the Thailand District of the Southern Far East Mission with Stirling Merrill as president.

[7] The country was officially dedicated for missionary work by Gordon B. Hinckley on November 2, 1966, in Lumphini Park.

[10] Due to struggles receiving Thai government approval, it wasn't until February 2, 1968, that missionaries were allowed to enter the country.

[9] Six missionaries from Taiwan and Hong Kong were transferred to Bangkok: Peter Basker, Craig Christensen, Alan Hess, Carl Hanson, Larry White, and Robert Winegar.

Re-translations of the missionary lessons were initiated, but this was difficult because the hired translators were unfamiliar with LDS Church terminology and the Thai language doesn't have equivalent words for Christian subjects.

[14] In December 1968, Ezra Taft Benson, of the [[Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, attended a quarterly district conference in Bangkok.

[16] In 1970, construction began on the Asoke Chapel, on the property that was purchased in 1967, mostly funded by Latter-day Saint servicemen stationed in Thailand.

Smith created a missionary basketball program in 1969 to increase the church's visibility in the surrounding areas.

In August, Music and the Spoken Word from Salt Lake City was aired over Thai radio in Korat and an open house program was initiated in Chiang Mai.

The general missionary approach at the time was to introduce non-members to the LDS Church in a casual and non-threatening manner.

[22] In 1975, Morris started a missionary singing group called Sidthichon Yuk Sud Tai ("the Latter-day Saints").

They performed on television in Bangkok and received good reviews, increasing interest in the LDS Church.

After the visa problems improved and the LDS Church was viewed more positively, the group was disbanded by Brown in July 1979, having fulfilled its intended purpose.

Eldredge attended college in California and met and married a Latter-day Saint woman from England.

In 1988, Anan Eldredge became the first Thai president of the Thailand Bangkok Mission, influencing a steady increase in church membership during his service.

Regardless, a paid translator was chosen and along with help from a committee of Thai church members including Srilaksana.

[33] After reviewing and revising, the Book of Mormon translation into Thai was complete in August 1975 and the first copies were printed in October 1976.

[1] After the repeal of the restrictive visa laws, missionary work increased throughout Thailand as more mission areas were opened.

[36] After Troy L. Corriveau became mission president, the Thailand Stake was organized on June 18, 1995, by Neal A. Maxwell, containing five wards, three branches, and 2,260 members.

[40][41][42] According to R. Lanier Britsch, Thai people are very devoted to their country, king, traditions, and religion, particularly Buddhism.

[43] According to the Government's National Statistics Office, Theravada Buddhism makes up about 94 percent of practiced religions in Thailand.

[43] Although the LDS Church is not recognized by the Thai government as an official religion, practice is allowed freely.

When the Laotian border was later closed, foreign missionaries were forced to make expensive and long journeys to Malaysia for visa renewal.

Larry R. White, the mission president at the time, warned missionaries to stay in their apartments; he also canceled a scheduled district meeting in Khon Kaen.

The intent to build the church's first temple was announced by Thomas S. Monson on April 5, 2015, during general conference.