Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

Spafford Christmas Letter - 2008

What a special privilege we have, once again, to celebrate the birth of our Savior. During this season of gratitude and reflection, our wish is that we all rejoice in the gift of family, friends, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ during the holidays and all through the New Year.

We have had another fiendish year health-wise. After five months either in the hospital or rehab facilities, our Christmas Card picture is my Welcome Home. I was thrilled to be back home after these bouts to fix my right knee for the third time. It has been a time of anxiety as one doctor said he didn’t think he could operate again on my knee. So, Sterling did some research and found a doctor in Salt Lake (Dr. Marc Mariani) who said he thought he could put it together one more time. (Since surgery fell two days after my 75th birthday, many thought it was the best birthday present I could receive). Through it all, I feel I have had blessings from on high throughout the healing process. Then, too, I have had the most wonderful "care giver" in the world. Sterling has been fabulous. We have each taken our turn when needed.

That experience seems to have taken up a huge chunk of our year. Because I was incapacitated we were unable to spend time in our summer haven - Laguna Beach. We hope to make up for that next year with my new knee taking me through the sand right down to the ocean. That will be awesome.

Grandson Derek Whitney graduated from Ponderosa High School (Parker, Colorado). Grandson Jake Spafford graduated from Alta High School (SLC, Utah) with high honors and is attending BYU in Provo, Utah (Thomas S. Monson Scholarship). Wow!

We had two grandsons get married this summer. JD, son of Susan and Dale Buxton, married Kallie Harrison of San Diego, on July 5th while in Laguna Beach. Another grandson, Adam Spafford, son of Michael (deceased), married Tynette Iverson on August 16th in our daughter, Susan’s, back yard in Oakley, Utah. It was a peaceful, serene, and romantic setting. They honeymooned in our condo in Laguna Beach. During the summer, other members of our family took advantage of the condo in Laguna Beach and loved the ocean and the beach.

Dare we try to celebrate Thanksgiving again in Palm Springs, California, where two years ago, Sterling suffered a heart attack, had triple by-pass surgery and then broke his ankle? We think we’re going to spend a few weeks there again. We’re hoping to share this time with my sister and her husband (Roy and Arline Arnold) who live in Whittier, California. That’s always a plus for me.

It is worth noting that on December 28, 2008, Sterling and I will celebrate our 55th Anniversary. We’re getting up there, aren’t we?

We cherish this time of year and send warmest thoughts and best wishes for every happiness throughout the holiday season and for a very Happy New Year.

President and Sister Spafford

P.S. We always look forward to our missionary

Christmas photos, cards and letters at this time of year.

What a difference two years can make!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Two years ago today, I was having open heart triple bypass surgery (the day after Thanksgiving) in Palm Springs, California. It was a pretty grueling few days and upon returning to our condo, I fell and broke my ankle and had to return to the hospital. After a brief stay in a local rehab facility I was life flighted back to St. George. Recovery was slow, but steady. My heart seems to be back to normal.

The next challenging year (2007) brought a death of a son, a divorce of a grandson, a horrific ATV accident of a son-in-law (who still struggles with constant pain).

In 2008, two grandsons graduated from high school, two other grandsons got married and I attended my 60th High School Reunion in June. In reflection of just the past year, it is amazing to note that many things have happened to our family.

I guess most notable is the fact that Sister Spafford was rushed to the ER on April 6th, 2008 and infection was found in the right leg. (Cellulitis and Cdiff). She was in the hospital and rehab for several weeks with antibiotic infusions. On May 6th, tests were done in SLC and it was determined that the knee prosthesis should be removed. Our daughter, Susan, flew down on May 29th, and drove us to Salt Lake on June 1st. Removal of the right knee prosthesis took place on June 2nd. By June 6th, we were on our way back to St. George. Sister Spafford spent more time at the Coral Desert Rehab in St. George and then returned home for a few weeks prior to the 3rd knee replacement, which ultimately took place on July 25th back in Salt Lake City at St. Mark's Hospital. There were several trips back and forth from St. George to Salt Lake City during the summer months. As of this writing, she is walking and has even driven us to Palm Springs for the month of November. Everyone is grateful for this outcome and are praying for continued success.

As the years go by swiftly for us, we have time to reflect on the goodness of the Lord in restoring the fullness of the gospel in these latter days. Our thrills in life are magnified by the wonderful lives of "our missionaries" and to watch their families mature. We always hope and pray that you are all staying close to the church and faithful in all things. Blessings to you always and our love.

President (and Sister) Spafford

Sister Spafford in

the hospital and rehab center

Calgary Temple Announced-October 4, 2008

At October General Conference, President Monson announced the building of 5 new temples. One will be in Calgary.

Construction Status
As announced by Elder Richard K. Melchin, Area Seventy in the North America Central Area, the Church has a "beautiful site with a panoramic view of the city" for the newly announced Calgary Alberta Temple. The site, adjacent to the Royal Oak Chapel in northwest Calgary, was purchased about four years ago in anticipation of a temple for Calgary where over 18,000 members in 6 stakes live. Designs for the temple will be drawn over the next six months with completion of the building expected in about three years.
Access to the temple will be greatly facilitated by the recently announced Tuscany/Royal Oak C-Train station. C-Train is Calgary's light rail transit (LRT), which provides public transportation to various sections of the city. The Tuscany/Royal Oak station will be located within short walking distance of the temple at the intersection of Crowchild Trail and Rocky Ridge Road, which borders the temple site to the west. The station was originally planned to be completed after 2023, but on November 7, 2007, the Calgary City Council approved and funded completion of the station by 2011—likely the same year or earlier that the temple will be completed.
The Calgary Ring Road—a beltway project that is surrounding Calgary with a high-capacity freeway—will also improve access to the temple. The Stoney Trail/Crowchild Trail Interchange, just a couple of blocks from the temple site, is planned to be completed in 2009.
President Thomas S. Monson announced the temple in the opening session of General Conference on October 4, 2008. Once completed, the Calgary Alberta Temple will be Canada's eighth temple and Alberta's third. The other Albertan temples are located in Cardston, Alberta and in Edmonton, Alberta. In the adjoining province of British Columbia, the Vancouver British Columbia Temple is currently under construction.
Mormons first began to settle in southern Alberta in the 1880s as contract workers on the Canadian Pacific Railroad and as farmers in present-day Cardston. By 1895, the first stake in Alberta was established, and membership in the Church has continued to thrive ever since. Today there are over 75,000 members throughout the province.
Temple Facts
The Calgary Alberta Temple will be the eighth temple built in Canada and the third built in Alberta, following the Cardston Alberta Temple (1923) and the Edmonton Alberta Temple (1999).

Cardston

Edmonton

President Hinckley and President Monson

On February 3, 2008 Thomas S. Monson was selected as the new prophet for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

President Thomas S. Monson,16th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Here are his remarks from the April 2008 178th Annual General Conference

Sunday Morning Session

I think this has been a remarkable session. The messages have been inspiring; the music has been beautiful, the testimonies sincere. I think anyone who has attended this session will never forget it—for the Spirit we’ve felt. My beloved brothers and sisters, over 44 years ago, in October of 1963, I stood at the pulpit in the Tabernacle, having just been sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. On that occasion I mentioned a small sign I had seen on another pulpit. The words on the sign were these: “Who stands at this pulpit, let him be humble.” I assure you that I was humbled by my call to the Twelve at that time. However, as I stand at this pulpit today, I address you from the absolute depths of humility. I feel very keenly my dependence upon the Lord. I humbly seek the guidance of the Spirit as I share with you the feelings of my heart. Just two months ago we said farewell to our dear friend and leader Gordon B. Hinckley, the 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an outstanding ambassador of truth to the entire world and beloved of all. We miss him. More than 53,000 men, women, and children journeyed to the beautiful Hall of the Prophets in this very building to pay their last respects to this giant of the Lord, who now belongs to the ages. With the passing of President Hinckley, the First Presidency was dissolved. President Eyring and I, who served as counselors to President Hinckley, returned to our places in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and that quorum became the presiding authority of the Church. On Saturday, February 2, 2008, funeral services for President Hinckley were held in this magnificent Conference Center—a building which will ever stand as a monument to his foresight and vision. During the funeral, beautiful and loving tributes were paid to this man of God. The following day, all 14 ordained Apostles living on the earth assembled in an upper room of the Salt Lake Temple. We met in a spirit of fasting and prayer. During that solemn and sacred gathering, the Presidency of the Church was reorganized in accordance with well-established precedent, after the pattern which the Lord Himself put in place. Members of the Church around the world convened yesterday in a solemn assembly. You raised your hands in a sustaining vote to approve the action which was taken in that meeting in the temple to which I have just referred. As your hands were raised toward heaven, my heart was touched. I felt your love and support, as well as your commitment to the Lord. I know without question, my brothers and sisters, that God lives. I testify to you that this is His work. I testify as well that our Savior Jesus Christ is at the head of this Church, which bears His name. I know that the sweetest experience in all this life is to feel His promptings as He directs us in the furtherance of His work. I felt those promptings as a young bishop, guided to the homes where there was spiritual—or perhaps temporal—want. I felt them again as a mission president in Toronto, Canada, working with wonderful missionaries who were a living witness and testimony to the world that this work is divine and that we are led by a prophet. I have felt them throughout my service in the Twelve and in the First Presidency and now as President of the Church. I testify that each one of us can feel the Lord’s inspiration as we live worthily and strive to serve Him. I am keenly aware of the 15 men who preceded me as President of the Church. Many of them I have known personally. I have had the blessing and privilege of serving as a counselor to three of them. I am grateful for the abiding legacy left by each one of those 15 men. I have the sure knowledge, as I am confident they had, that God directs His prophet. My earnest prayer is that I might continue to be a worthy instrument in His hands to carry on this great work and to fulfill the tremendous responsibilities which come with the office of President. I thank the Lord for wonderful counselors. President Henry B. Eyring and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf are men of great ability and sound understanding. They are counselors in the true sense of the word. I value their judgment. I believe they have been prepared by the Lord for the positions they now occupy. I love the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and treasure my association with them. They, too, are dedicated to the work of the Lord and are spending their lives in His service. I look forward to serving with Elder Christofferson, who has now been called to that quorum and who has received your sustaining vote. He, too, has been prepared for the position to which he has been called. It has also been a joy to serve with the members of the quorums of the Seventy and with the Presiding Bishopric. New members of the Seventy have been called and were sustained yesterday, and I look forward to associating with them in the work of the Master. A sweet spirit of unity exists among the General Authorities. The Lord has declared, “If ye are not one ye are not mine.”(D&C 38:27) We will continue to be united in one purpose—namely, the furtherance of the work of the Lord.President Eyring, President Uchtdorf and President Monson

January 27, 2008
The 15th president of our church, Gordon B. Hinckley passed away

(January 27, 2008) at his home surrounded by family.

He was 97 years old. He truly was a prophet for this day and age. (Quoting from KSL) Since becoming Church President on Mar. 12, 1995, he has directed the most intense temple building program in the history of the Church in an effort to extend temple blessings to more members. He has exhibited vitality and energy as he has traveled about the world meeting and speaking to members of the Church. Through television interviews and national press publications, he has increased media attention and improved the public image of the Church. He has counseled Church members to fellowship new converts, befriend members of other faiths, live exemplary lives, and avoid the evils of the world. He began his role as president of the Church in 1995 by holding a rare news conference, citing growth and spreading the LDS message as the Church's main challenge heading into the 21st century. "We are dedicated ... to teaching the gospel of peace, to the promotion of civility and mutual respect among people everywhere, to bearing witness to the living reality of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the practice of his teachings in our daily lives," he said at the time. President Hinckley was preceded in death by his wife, Marjorie Pay Hinckley, whom he married in 1937. She died April 6, 2004. Family members will meet with Church officials to arrange the funeral. The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is now leading the Church. That body will choose the next leader of the faith. By tradition, it is the senior member of the Quorum, and that is President Thomas S. Monson, who has been President Hinckley's First Counselor.
President and Sister Monson