Mormons in the Lion City: Grassroots Diplomacy on Race, Gender, and Family, 1968- 1995
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Mormons in the Lion City: Grassroots Diplomacy on Race, Gender, and Family, 1968- 1995 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Keshia Shu-Hui Lai Graduate Program in History The Ohio State University 2017 Dissertation Committee: Paula Baker, Advisor S.R. Joey Long Katherine M. Marino Mytheli Sreenivas Copyrighted by Keshia Shu-Hui Lai 2017 Abstract In 1968, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormons, began missionary work in Singapore. I use oral history interviews, and archival and library sources to examine the informal, non-state sanctioned grassroots diplomacy that took place between Mormon missionaries and expatriates, and local converts in Singapore. These intercultural interactions had a profound impact on the way Singaporean Mormons conceptualized race, gender, and family, more so than on expatriates. Expatriates Mormons viewed Singaporeans and the local culture through a “Cold War Orientalist” lens that bordered on racism. But they were also eager to share their religion, traditions, and other Western cultural elements with Singaporeans, and openly expressed their affection for the local friends they made at church. Their genuine intentions and peaceful efforts to build friendships across racial lines ameliorated the tinges of racism underlying their actions. For Singaporean Mormons already eager to break away from their traditional Chinese and Indian religious beliefs and become Christian, the Church served as the vehicle for their religious conversion. The warm hand of paternalistic guidance and friendship extended to them by the expatriate Mormons, only endeared local converts to the Church, and broke down their reservations toward white people. Church membership also gave them access to American culture in ways that other Singaporeans did not experience, without the parts that Singaporean Mormons deemed immoral, such as sexual ii promiscuity. This multicultural experience in the Church allowed them to assimilate parts of their Singaporean heritage and traditions with the values and practices they picked up from the Church and expatriates. In their minds, they were getting the best of both worlds. Furthermore, the Church instilled in them life skills through Church assignments and missions, and provided opportunities for higher education through Brigham Young University. Church teachings also gave women the rationale to advocate for greater gender equality within their marriages, and strengthened their bonds with their spouses and children. Thus, Singaporean Mormons felt that Church membership improved many aspects of their lives, and explains their loyalty to a church that struggled with a history of racism and sexism. The Church in Singapore also serves as a case study to help scholars better understand how non-Americans at the grassroots level perceived the rise of American global power and hegemony during the Cold War. iii Dedication To my parents & The Mormon pioneers in Singapore iv Acknowledgments They say it takes a village to raise a child. I say it takes several villages to get a history doctoral student through the program. I’m still awed and humbled by how far I’ve come since my disastrous first year of graduate school. I would not have survived this grueling and unrelenting journey without the help of these people: Paula Baker—I had no idea how fortunate I was to have her as my advisor when I started graduate school, and thank my lucky stars that she accepted me as her student. She spent countless hours critiquing my (horrendous) drafts and writing letters of recommendation, and more significantly, saved my sanity with her mentoring and generosity. My committee members—Katherine Marino, Judy Wu, Robert McMahon, Joey Long, and Mytheli Sreenivas. I could not have asked to work with a finer group of scholars. The faculty members and the administrative staff of the history department at The Ohio State University—thank you for your patience and guidance. The Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Committee, the OSU College of Arts and Sciences, the history department at OSU, the Mormon History Association, the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, and Phi Kappa Phi— thank you for believing in and funding my project. The Mormon pioneers in Singapore, both local and expatriates—I hope I did justice to your life histories and stories. All of you are an inspiration to me. v The staff at the Church History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the National Library Board of Singapore, and National Archives of Singapore— I cannot repay your assistance and service. Here is the end product. I hope other patrons find this useful. My fellow graduate students— Aaron, Adrienne, Andrew, Dani, Hideaki, Joe, John, Leticia, Sandy, Sara, Spencer, Will, and so many others. The food, the laughs, the commiserating…thank goodness we have social media to keep in touch. My friends from church and Bible study group in Columbus, especially Breanne, Chris, Christian, Cynthia, Emily, Josh, Liz, Kelsey, Maria, Marie, Rachel, Sarah, and Scott— greater love hath no Ph.D. student than this, than to include their names in the “Acknowledgements” section. I also need to thank Su and Jay, Camy, Stacie and Matt, Amy and Scott, the Dalebouts, Vickie, Francesca, and Shayla for the road trip memories and years of friendship. My sisters—we are the Lai Sisters. *Boomz* My parents—it is difficult to express my love and gratitude for both of you because I will get too sappy. I hope you received the message when I dedicated this dissertation to you. God—He reigns. vi Vita 2011................................................................B.A. History, Brigham Young University 2012 to present ..............................................Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of History, The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: History vii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments............................................................................................................... v Vita .................................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures .................................................................................................................... ix INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 1: SINGAPORE ............................................................................................. 15 CHAPTER 2: MORMONISM .......................................................................................... 59 CHAPTER 3: MISSIONARIES ..................................................................................... 101 CHAPTER 4: CONVERTS ............................................................................................ 165 CHAPTER 5: ASSIMILATION ..................................................................................... 208 CHAPTER 6: RECONCILIATION ............................................................................... 283 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 340 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 350 viii List of Figures Figure 1: Regional map of Southeast Asia ....................................................................... 16 Figure 2: Picture of a kampong in Singapore.................................................................. 105 Figure 3: Alice Tan, the first convert in Singapore ........................................................ 114 Figure 4: Cartoon in February 1971 Echo Asia .............................................................. 244 Figure 5: Second cartoon from Echo Asia ...................................................................... 245 Figure 6: Picture of the Singapore Mission, 1978. ......................................................... 248 Figure 7: The "milking cow" station. .............................................................................. 310 ix INTRODUCTION “The Americans are great missionaries. They have an irrepressible urge to convert others.” --Lee Kuan Yew, The Wit and Wisdom of Lee Kuan Yew I grew up in Singapore in the 1990s. In my young, childish imagination, the United States represented everything that Singapore was not: freedom, adventure, and fun. Everyone drove big cars and lived in big houses. Wealth littered the streets of New York and other major cities. Job opportunities abounded for anyone willing to work for the “American Dream.” The weather, with its four seasons, was perfect year-round. American food, including McDonalds and KFC, tasted better than local fare. There was crime in America, but as portrayed in every Hollywood show, the good cop always caught the villains. American high schools and colleges also seemed so much “cooler” than the staid education system I was going through. Even when confronted with America’s racist history, such as when I read Harper Lee’s