With hard work and sacrifice, more than 200 members of the Church in Thailand recently reached a longtime goal of attending the temple for their own endowments or to be sealed to their families.

In June, 201 members - some families with three generations - traveled to the Manila temple in the Philippines to receive the blessings of the House of the Lord.Almost 10 months ago, Pres. Anan Eldredge of the Thailand Bangkok Mission began to encourage the Thai saints to attend the temple. As of last October, 99 percent of the Thai members had not been to the temple.

During an October training meeting for leaders and their wives in the Northeast Thailand District, Pres. Eldredge felt he should speak on the importance of temple attendance rather than follow his prepared topic.

He emphasized to the leaders that they needed to go to the temple, and set June 1990 as the date to travel to Manila. All agreed on the date.

Firesides in each branch followed, and similar leadership meetings in the other districts were held to tell members of the temple day. Members were enthusiastic about the idea and set up temple preparation classes and meetings to help them prepare both spiritually and financially.

As June came closer, the goal that seemed out of reach for so many years now seemed a possibility. In addition to achieving self-improvement, members obtained passports, completed necessary paperwork, arranged interviews with branch and mission presidents and continued to save money.

Pres. Eldredge's objective was to have all the worthy leaders and their families attend the temple. He expected about 50 members to go, but the enthusiasm helped bring more than 200 members to the temple.

Nine-year-old Ketsarin Kringkai was just one young member who helped earn money for the temple trip. For many years the Kringkai family had talked about going and had saved money to travel to the temple, but the birth of each additional child into the family had increased the cost to make the trip.

This time, however, it was different. Each family member found a job and even Ketsarin and her 11-year-old sister, Ketsananart, went door-to-door selling charcoal to raise funds. Their father, Kringkai Pitukpong, is first counselor in the Northeast Thailand District presidency and has been a member of the Church for 21 years.

Because of the large numbers attending the temple, members were divided into smaller groups with 74 going from May 30-June 4, 33 from June 4-9, 37 from June 6-9, and 57 going from June 25-28.

Twelve couples were married during the temple excursions and all branch, district and mission presidencies and auxiliary leaders were together with their spouses and children on one of the trips.

The groups were the first to stay in the newly completed patron housing facility at the Manila temple.

"The majority have been members for 10 or 15 years, and this is the first time for them," Pres. Eldredge said. "You should feel the Spirit right now. It's just unbelievable. Missionary work is going really well.

"The Spirit touched their hearts as they received their endowments and were sealed in the House of the Lord. The Thai members attended as many sessions as possible during their stay, performing baptisms and endowments for their kindred dead."

When they returned, many told Pres. Eldredge, "Now I know why you wanted me to go to the temple."

"As these brothers and sisters have achieved a vision of the true mission of the Church, they have had a change of heart," he said. "They have come back with renewed dedication to the gospel and a greater desire to see the Church prosper and grow in Thailand.

"They have gone back to their various branches, up-country and in Bangkok, and are talking to the other members there, urging them to make a goal of attending the temple. A temple excursion in June may become an annual event for the Thailand Bangkok Mission." - Sheridan R. Sheffield