“His Spiritual Vision Is Very Profound”
Pornchai Juntratip was legally blind. While this had not stood in the way of his earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in English at BYU–Hawaii and BYU–Provo, it made it too dangerous to walk across a busy highway to get to Church meetings.
Pornchai was deeply grateful when a returned missionary, Kwanjai Muangsub, began driving him to the meetings. In time, the two decided to marry and saved money to join the first group of Thai Saints to go to the Manila Philippines Temple in June 1990. A month before the departure date, Kwanjai was diagnosed with an abdominal tumor and underwent a major operation. Undeterred, she and Pornchai were sealed as scheduled.
The couple wanted children but worried about Kwanjai’s health. They consulted a doctor, who told them to wait six months. “After six months, and after a thorough examination, the doctor said we could think about having a child,” Pornchai recounted. “The following month, and to our surprise, my wife was expecting our first child.” Kwanjai bore a chubby little boy, “another miracle” in their lives. They named him Pituporn, which means patriarchal blessing—a name that would have unforeseen significance.
In June 1995, Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was charged with organizing the Bangkok Thailand Stake. On the Saturday morning before the conference, Pornchai’s name was proposed as one of several who had the spiritual qualities required to serve as stake patriarch. Hours later, Maxwell was inspired to seek a Sunday interview with Pornchai. Early the next morning, Kwanjai and Pornchai were among the throngs arriving for the special conference. Pornchai was taken to meet with Elder Maxwell, who called him to be the first patriarch in Thailand.
The meeting with Elder Maxwell ended just a few minutes before the conference was due to start. Pornchai and Kwanjai joined the congregation. Elder Maxwell turned to his interpreter and declared, “Brother Pornchai may not have any earthly vision, but his spiritual vision is very profound.”
The meeting’s first order of business was creating a stake. The next item would usually be sustaining the stake presidency. Instead, Elder Maxwell announced the calling of stake patriarch. Pornchai stood. Although he could not see them do so, a tearful but smiling congregation sustained him. He was then led to take his place on the stand.
“I felt very surprised. I had no idea that it could happen to me,” Pornchai recalled. “I thought, ‘How could I ever do this?’” He felt his home was too noisy for the requisite outpouring of the Spirit. After preparing the best he could, Pornchai traveled to the church building one Sunday in January 1996. Following the meetings, he gave his first patriarchal blessing.