'Monk to Missionary' is fascinating but too short

H-town Publishing

"Monk to Missionary," by R. Mani Seangsuwan, HTown Publishing, 2010, $15.00

Don't be deceived by the thinness of "Monk to Missionary."

While the book about the author's transformation from Buddhist monk to Mormon missionary is written on less than 100 pages, the story is one of magnitude.

Seangsuwan walks through his journey from a boy raised in the rural village of Bangka, Thailand, to believe he was simply expected to live through yet another life cycle and respect a few basic truths to an educated Utah man who embraces the gospel of Jesus Christ.

He takes the reader along as he grows, wondering about the basic questions of life and the process that leads him to leave the party life behind and become a monk for a three-month trial and later for three years.

He shows the uninitiated the Thai culture and helps explain why a conversion to a new religion is an absolutely huge step.

(He's taught the wisdom of "right speech," "right action," "right concentration" and "right effort" but nothing about Christianity or eternal life or why right decisions matter in the grand scheme of things.)

Even though it cost him dearly and required that he endure taunts, insults and rejection by his fellow Thai, he stands up for his newfound testimony of Jesus Christ and begins sharing what he learns with his countrymen after he's baptized on a rooftop in a tub of rainwater.

The book is a quick read although it includes the story of Seangsuwan meeting and searching out missionaries, serving his own mission in his homeland (he serves a mission before the Book of Mormon is translated to Thai and before he can go through a Mormon temple), finding his wife and establishing an eternal family within the arms of the LDS Church.

Seaungsuwan is honest and open about his experience, not sparing himself much. His path is truly that of a pioneer in Thailand.

It's a wonderful story of faith and discovery.

It's just a shame that it isn't much longer and infinitely more detailed.

e-mail: haddoc@desnews.com