Open House and Dedication Dates Released for Bangkok Thailand Temple

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has released the open house and dedication dates for the Bangkok Thailand Temple.

The public open house will begin on Friday, September 1, and continue through Saturday, September 16, excluding Sundays. The Bangkok Thailand Temple will be dedicated on Sunday, October 22, in two sessions, 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will preside at the dedication.

Before the public open house, a media day will be held on Monday, August 28. Invited guests will also tour the Bangkok Thailand Temple from Tuesday, August 29, through Thursday, August 31.

The dedicatory sessions will be broadcast to all units in the Bangkok Thailand Temple district. Additional details regarding the temple dedication will be announced locally as the event approaches.

Former Church President Thomas S. Monson first announced the Bangkok Thailand Temple in April 2015. Construction began in January 2019 with a groundbreaking ceremony.

The first Latter-day Saint missionary arrived in Thailand in 1854, but missionary work did not begin in earnest until the 1960s. The first meetinghouse was dedicated in 1974. Today, Thailand is home to more than 23,000 Latter-day Saints in about 40 congregations. This will be the first temple in the country.

Latter-day Saints consider temples to be houses of the Lord and the most sacred places of worship on earth. Temples differ from the Church’s meetinghouses (chapels). All are welcome to attend Sunday worship services and other weekday activities at local meetinghouses. In temples, faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ participate in sacred religious ceremonies that unite families forever, encourage them to live virtuous lives and follow Jesus Christ.  Members perform these ceremonies for themselves and on behalf of deceased ancestors who were unable to participate while living.