Relief Society Presidents: On the Lighter Side
Relief Society Presidents: On the Lighter Side
Along with the calling of general Relief Society president comes much responsibility for sisters around the world, numerous meetings, 40+-hours a week, many talks to give, and still a family to nurture. Having a sense of humor helps tremendously. Marjorie Pay Hinckley, wife of President Gordon B. Hinckley, once said, “The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache.” (Glimpses into the Life of Marjorie Pay Hinckley,1999, p. 107.)
Bathsheba W. Smith, the fourth general Relief Society president (1901-1910), was married to Elder George A. Smith, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The Smiths lost both their sons— John, in infancy, and George, Jr., killed as a young man by Indians. Bathsheba was devoted to their only daughter, named after her. This daughter later married and provided ten grandchildren, who brought great joy to their grandmother’s life.
As a young wife, Bathsheba endeavored to beautify her various pioneer homes, which ranged from a smoky cabin in Nauvoo to a covered wagon for the trek west. Bathsheba’s wagon was no ordinary one as she described in her journal:
“On this journey my wagon was provided with projections, of about eight inches wide, on each side of the top of the box. The cover, which was high enough for us to stand erect, was widened by these projections. A frame was laid across the back part of our wagon, and was corded as a bedstead; this made our sleeping very comfortable. Under our beds we stowed our heaviest articles. We had a door in one side of the wagon cover, and on the opposite side a window. A step-ladder was used to ascend to our door, which was between the wheels. . . . I had, hanging up on the inside a looking-glass, candlestick, pincushion, etc. In the center or our wagon we had room for four chairs, in which we and our two children sat and rode when we chose. The floor of our traveling house was carpeted, and we made ourselves as comfortable as we could under the circumstances.”
Once, while fording a stream, Bathsheba’s awkward, unwieldy wagon threatened to wash downstream. Unruffled, she yelled, “Behold, Noah’s Ark!”
The three decades that Belle S. Spafford served as the ninth Relief Society general president, from 1945 to 1974, saw sweeping changes in the world and in the status of women. During her administration, the Relief Society grew from a largely English-speaking organization of 100,000 members to a worldwide organization of nearly a million sisters in 65 countries. Belle not only served the women of the Church, she also served women throughout the world as the president of the National Council of Women and as a delegate to the International Council of Women.
Belles’s sense of humor brightened her family life and also helped her to cope with the many demands placed upon her and helped to put others at ease. Often when she received a compliment for something she accomplished, she jokingly replied, “I’ve done pretty well for a little girl who lived on the wrong side of the railroad tracks.” Once at a women’s club luncheon as she began to speak, loud music issued from the intercom. When the music stopped, she started her speech again, but almost on cue, the music sounded out again, and no one knew how to turn it off. When her talk was interrupted for the third time, she said, “Don’t let this trouble you. I’m used to giving musical readings; many people prefer them, so I will just go on.”
Belle enjoyed telling humorous stories, and she and her son, Earl Spafford, particularly liked exchanging jokes. One of her grandsons commented, “Grandma is the only person I know that could tell the same old joke over and over again and get a laugh every time.” She even got the last laugh by attaching a humorous poem to her will.
Elaine L. Jack began her service as the general Relief Society president in April 1990, following three years as a counselor in the Young Women general presidency and twelve years on the Relief Society general board. During her administration, the Relief Society celebrated its sesquicentennial and initiated the Gospel Literacy program. President Gordon B. Hinckley introduced “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” at the general Relief Society meeting in September 1995.
Elaine’s warmth and good humor were evident in the first address she gave as Relief Society president at general conference: “I feel the love and the great strength that come from my four sons and their families. I appreciate their candor and good humor. In fact, I can hear them now, on both coasts, watching this broadcast and saying, “My mother? Oh, sure!” Yesterday, I was telling our oldest son that President [Thomas S.] Monson had said that I might be called on for a few remarks today. President Monson had said, “We don’t want you to preach a sermon.” Dave replied, “Mom, that’s what we’ve been telling you for years!”
“My mother was always a good sport,” said Elaine’s eldest son, Dave. “Sometimes, when we were hiking, we would hide rocks in her backpack. She would discover them after we got to the bottom and laugh right along with us.” Her sons like to joke about having a mother who wore army boots when they went hiking.
Throughout Elaine’s years of service, she described how her husband, Joe, with “his steadiness, his sense of humor, good judgment, and righteous hands,” wholeheartedly supported her—although she said he didn’t “do dinner.” Speaking in the April 1997 general conference at the time of her release, she commented, “I took it as the ultimate compliment when one of [her sons] said,” in typical Jack good humor, “We’ve been training Mom to be a Relief Society president for a long time, and she finally got it right!”
Bonnie D. Parkin, according to her sons, Matt and Jeff, Bonnie has “a quick wit” and “a wonderful sense of humor, though we tested her limits.” David Parkin noted, “My mom loves a good laugh. She loves to interact and have a good time.”Bonnie even made breakfast fun by cooking green pancakes and green scrambled eggs on occasion. Her quips, called “Bonnie-isms” by her family, included such remarks as, “Fair is where you go to see the pigs,” and “The Holy Ghost goes to bed at midnight.”
Bonnie’s outgoing personality and quick wit endeared her to the missionaries in the England London South Mission, where she served with her husband, and to Church members worldwide. Bonnie served as the fourteenth general Relief Society president from 2002 to 2007. She particularly focused on the young single adult sisters, to help them feel an important part of Relief Society, and prayed that all sisters would feel the love of the Lord in their lives daily.
Earlier, Bonnie also had served as a counselor in the Young Women general presidency and on the Relief Society general board. An excerpt from one of her addresses to the Young Women, “Fat-Free Feasting,” reveals her humorous approach to life: “Sisters, I want to tell you a secret. I love to eat. Don’t you? When food has the perfect herbs, when it’s cooked just right, when it’s served like a work of sculpture, I’m in heaven. I can gain weight just reading a menu. And did you know that the Lord doesn’t expect us to diet? Trust me!”