Belle S. Spafford
Belle Smith Spafford was called as Relief Society General President in 1945, when there were about 100,000 members enrolled in the organization. She served for 29 years, longer than any previous president in the organization’s history. By her release in 1974, adult women in the Church were automatically included in the Relief Society and membership was over a million. During this time of growth and transition, Belle Spafford carried on the organization’s involvement in social work and encouraged women to be positive influences in their families and communities. “Women must maintain their traditional roles of homemakers and mothers,” she taught, “but they also must accept new responsibilities in civic life.”1
Marion Isabelle Sims Smith, known throughout her life by her nickname Belle, was born in 1895 to Hester and John Smith. Because her father died before she was born, she was raised primarily by her mother. From Hester, Belle learned to use resources wisely, aiming to be thrifty but not stingy.2 While studying at Brigham Young University, Belle met Earl Spafford, whom she married in 1921. The couple had two children, and while her children were still small, Belle continued her studies at the University of Utah.
Belle Spafford’s experience in Relief Society leadership began in the 1920s at the ward level. She was initially reticent to accept a calling as a counselor in her ward’s Relief Society presidency. More than once, she suggested that her bishop could release her, but after considering her request, he told her he did not feel a spiritual confirmation that the time had come. “I’ll stay,” she replied. “And I’ll quit complaining and do my best.”3 She was subsequently called to serve on her stake’s Relief Society board and, in 1935, to serve on the general board. Two years later, her general board work was expanded to include serving as the editor of the Relief Society Magazine. Her achievements as editor included adopting larger type for older sisters and publishing articles, poems, and fiction by many female Latter-day Saint writers. Earl supported Belle in her church service, providing help at home and keeping gas in her car for her extensive traveling to fulfill Relief Society responsibilities.
In 1942, Relief Society General President Amy Brown Lyman called Spafford to serve as her counselor. During her time as counselor, Spafford gained a deep love and admiration for Lyman, particularly valuing her wisdom and poise in meeting adversity and her strong leadership in bringing professional methods into the Relief Society’s social and welfare work.4
In the final months of World War II, Church President Heber J. Grant called Spafford to succeed Lyman as General President. Her new presidency maintained the Relief Society’s professional standards in social work and welfare and even extended its social services department’s state license to include two new areas: the Indian Student Placement Program (1954) and the Youth Services Program (1956). Spafford was instrumental in getting legislation passed in Utah that established university programs to educate social workers.
At the outset of her presidency, Spafford began efforts to raise money for the Relief Society to construct its own headquarters building on Temple Square. Intent on fulfilling the decades-long hope of previous General Presidencies of the Relief Society, she asked that each of the more than one hundred thousand sisters throughout the world donate $5 (nearly $86 in modern currency) toward the building. The First Presidency of the Church promised to match the donations dollar for dollar to achieve the $1 million necessary for the construction. The donations came in quickly, and even sisters who could not afford to donate held fundraisers to earn the money or, in many cases, sent gifts and handicrafts from their native cultures. In one year the presidency raised $554,016, surpassing their goal of half a million, and added another $100,000 by the time the building was dedicated in 1956.
During her tenure, Spafford worked with other organizations as well. In the mid-20th century, the Relief Society worked with many local and national service organizations and women’s organizations. Spafford served as a delegate at several meetings of the International Council of Women and served as president of the United States’ National Council of Women from 1968 to 1970. She also served on the US president’s national advisory committee on aging in 1961 and 1971.5
In response to the rapid growth in membership and concerns over changing social norms, Church leadership introduced the priesthood correlation program in the 1960s, which led to many changes in the Relief Society. During her later years of service, Spafford oversaw the transition from separate Relief Society fundraising and budget into a shared budget system. During the same period, the Relief Society’s social services work—including assisting unwed mothers and facilitating adoptions along with employment and health services—was shifted to the administration of the Presiding Bishop, with the Relief Society General President serving on the supervising committee. Spafford, who had cherished her work on the Relief Society Magazine, oversaw its discontinuation in 1970 as a new publication, the Ensign, became the shared magazine for all adult members. Though Spafford advocated for the continued publication of a women’s magazine, she supported the change after a decision was made. “My responsibility was to do all in my power to make it work, and that’s the practice I followed,” she later reflected.6
Belle Spafford passed away in 1982. She is remembered for her strong faith, influential leadership, and profound skill in public speaking, but also for her sense of humor and personal kindness.
Related Topics: Relief Society, Amy Brown Lyman