As an example of Apostle Smith's rejection of science, he instructed a stake conference in 1961: “We will never get a man into space. This earth is man’s sphere and it was never intended that he should get away from it. The moon is a superior planet to the earth and it was never intended that man should go there. You can write it down in your books that this will never happen.” See E, 848 (entry for 14 May 1961) with commentary a few days later in George S. Tanner diary, JWML. Smith wanted this view to be taught to “the boys and girls in the Seminary System.” However, U.S. astronauts walked on the moon six months before he became president of the church in January 1970.