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Joseph Fielding Smith's statements that men would never walk on the moon

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Question: Did Joseph Fielding Smith state that man would never visit the moon?

Joseph Fielding Smith wrote that he did not believe that man would ever travel through space

In the first edition of his work Answers to Gospel Questions, published in 1957, Joseph Fielding Smith wrote:

The Savior said that preceding his coming there would be signs in the heavens. No doubt there will be appearances of commotion among the heavenly bodies. We are informed by prophecy that the earth will reel to and fro. This will make it appear like the stars are falling. The sun will be darkened and the moon look like blood. All of these wonders will take place before Christ comes. Naturally the wonders in the heavens that man has created will be numbered among the signs which have been predicted—the airplanes, the guided missiles, and man-made planets that revolve around the earth. Keep it in mind, however, that such man-made planets belong to this earth, and it is doubtful that man will ever be permitted to make any instrument or ship to travel through space and visit the moon or any distant planet. [1]

A few years later, at a Honolulu stake conference in 1961, Elder Smith reiterated this idea,

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. [2]

According to Smith's grandson, Joseph Fielding McConkie, Elder Smith felt that travelling to other worlds and discovering that they had the same Savior would eliminate the need for faith:

He reasoned that because the atonement that Christ worked out on this earth applies to all the creations of the Father, that our getting to other worlds and discovering that they had the same Savior and the same plan of salvation would dispense with the necessity of our accepting the gospel on the basis of faith"[3]

Henry J. Eyring: "Elder Smith...felt the necessity of claiming the strategic high ground relative not only to these challenges, but also to any others that science might present"

Henry J. Eyring (son of Henry B. Eyring and grandson of scientist Henry Eyring) had this to say regarding how Joseph Fielding Smith viewed science relative to scripture,

Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, sensed that intellectualism—both within and without the Church— would only increase, and that science might produce discoveries more threatening to faith even than evolution. For instance, given the pace of exploration of invisible phenomena such as the working of the atom, it was perfectly reasonable to assume that scientists might soon explore and explain away spiritual phenomena, or even the human spirit itself....The Church had taken no official position on either evolution or the age of the earth. Elder Smith, though, felt the necessity of claiming the strategic high ground relative not only to these challenges, but also to any others that science might present. He did this by advocating scriptural literalism. In other words, all scriptural accounts— including those of the creation— were to be read literally, regardless of contrary evidence or opinions. The advantage of this position was that it preempted threats not only from existing scientific theories such as evolution, but also from any future discoveries potentially inimical to faith. The scriptures would be taken as authoritative, come what may. The drawback of this position, of course, was that it required scientific findings contrary to scripture to be disregarded.[4]





Question: Was Joseph Fielding Smith issuing a prophecy when he said that men would never walk on the moon?

This was not a prophecy - it was his opinion that reaching other worlds and discovering that Christ was also their savior would eliminate the need for faith

Joseph Fielding Smith wrote that "it is doubtful that man will ever be permitted to make any instrument or ship to travel through space and visit the moon or any distant planet."[5]

According to Smith's grandson, Joseph Fielding McConkie, who actually heard him express this idea,

He reasoned that because the atonement that Christ worked out on this earth applies to all the creations of the Father, that our getting to other worlds and discovering that they had the same Savior and the same plan of salvation would dispense with the necessity of our accepting the gospel on the basis of faith"[6]

Therefore, Joseph Fielding Smith assumed that we were not meant to reach other worlds since Christ's atonement applies to all worlds, and discovering this upon reaching other worlds would eliminate the need for us to accept the gospel on the basis of faith.

Attempting to make this is a "prophecy," or a declarative statement of Church doctrine is improper, for the following reasons:

President Smith was not the president of the Church when this statement was made. Only the President of the Church, sustained by his counselors and the Quorum of the Twelve, may declare new official doctrine.

The statement merely expresses doubt about the idea, clearly an expression of personal belief or conclusion.

about the idea, clearly an expression of personal belief or conclusion. Latter-day Saints do not believe in the doctrine of prophetic infallibility.

Latter-day Saint doctrine allows prophets their own opinions and views, which are not regarded as either infallible or binding upon Church members. Only Jesus Christ was perfect; LDS prophets follow the biblical model of being fallible men of their time called by God to accomplish his purposes. So safeguard against the foibles or mistakes of individuals, God uses the united voice of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve apostles to establish official doctrine and interpretation.

No one need trust a prophet's word alone on any issue—either of great or small importance. All members are encouraged to seek their own revelation from God, and to accept and act on the truth that he reveals to them by scriptures, by prophets, and by the Holy Ghost.

On 14 September 1971, Apollo 15 astronauts presented to President Joseph Fielding Smith a Utah state flag that had traveled with them to the moon

From the Deseret News, 14 September 1971:

Some 20 general authorities met the spacemen and President Harold B. Lee of the First Presidency told the explorers that "We watched, listened and prayed for you. We're glad you're home safely." Scott responded and said the crew had looked forward to visiting "the mountains of Utah" and had brought a gift back from the moon. He handed President Joseph Fielding Smith a large piece of white cardboard upon which was mounted the insignia Apollo 15, a color photograph taken on the moon and a small flag of Utah. Scott said the small cloth flag, a few inches square, was carried by the astronauts during their enitre journey to and from the moon and also during their travels across the lunar surface in their Rover auto. President Lee gave to each of the astronauts a white volume telling the story of the Church with the names of the astronauts stamped in gold.[7]





Question: Did Joseph Fielding Smith acknowledge that he was wrong when he said that Man would never walk on the Moon?

Smith reportedly stated that he had been wrong

Following the Apollo moon landings and the death of President David O. McKay, President Smith became president of the Church. At a press conference following his assumption of Church leadership, he was apparently asked by a reporter about this statement. According to someone who listened to the press conference, President Smith replied:

Well, I was wrong, wasn't I? [8]

Regardless of whether or not President Smith stated that he had been wrong, he certainly acknowledged that men had landed on the moon when the Apollo 15 astronauts visited Utah on 14 September 1971 and presented him with a Utah flag that they had carried with them across the lunar surface.[9]

Joseph Fielding McConkie: "The illustration he used to dramatize his point has since proven to be in error. It, however, has nothing to do with the point he was making."

A grandson of President Smith noted:

Growing up as a son of Bruce R. McConkie and a grandson of Joseph Fielding Smith had its moments. One of the experiences that my brothers and sisters and I shared regularly was to listen to people make disparaging remarks about our father or grandfather in Sunday School or other church classes. You could pretty well depend on the fact that if someone quoted either Elder McConkie or President Smith, that someone else would immediately respond with some kind of an insulting retort. I don't think it bothered any of us to have someone disagree with our father or grandfather, we just couldn't understand why the disagreement seemed so mean-spirited. One of the classic responses that is made to discredit anything Joseph Fielding Smith said is to remind everyone that he said that men would never get to the moon. The idea being that if he said one thing that was incorrect then how can we possibly be expected to believe anything else he said.... As to the men on the moon issue, I was present on at least one occasion when President Smith said it. It was a Sunday dinner at our house. My grandfather, Oscar W. McConkie, had asked President Smith if he thought the Lord would allow us to get to other worlds and communicate with the people on them. President Smith indicated that he did not. He reasoned that because the atonement that Christ worked out on this earth applies to all the creations of the Father, that our getting to other worlds and discovering that they had the same Savior and the same plan of salvation would dispense with the necessity of our accepting the gospel on the basis of faith. To dramatize the point he said, "I don't even think the Lord will let men get to the moon." I concurred with President Smith's reasoning then and do so now. What he said, in my judgment, was right. The illustration he used to dramatize his point has since proven to be in error. It, however, has nothing to do with the point he was making. To dismiss everything else he said on the basis of one faulty illustration is, I would suggest, a far greater error and may frankly be grounds to question whether those saying it deserve credence, not whether Joseph Fielding Smith does. [10]



To see citations to the critical sources for these claims, click here

Notes



↑ Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions [1st edition] (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1957), 2:190-191 (italics added) ↑ D. Michael Quinn, Elder statesman: A Biography of J. Reuben Clark (2002), 498. ↑ Joseph Fielding McConkie, "On Second Thought: Growing up as a son of Bruce R. McConkie," as quoted by John W. Redelfs on his blog The Iron Rod, Aug 19, 2005. ↑ Henry J. Eyring, Mormon Scientist: The Life and Faith of Henry Eyring (2007) 45-46. ↑ Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions [1st edition] (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1957), 2:190-191 (italics added) ↑ Joseph Fielding McConkie, "On Second Thought: Growing up as a son of Bruce R. McConkie," as quoted by John W. Redelfs on his blog The Iron Rod, Aug 19, 2005. ↑ Hal Knight, "3 Apollo Astros in S.L. For Busy One-Day Visit," Deseret News (14 September 1971). ↑ [ citation needed ] Personal reminiscence of David Farnsworth provided to FAIR (21 November 2010). The press conference took place on 23 January 1970. ↑ Hal Knight, "3 Apollo Astros in S.L. For Busy One-Day Visit," Deseret News (14 September 1971). ↑ Joseph Fielding McConkie, "On Second Thought: Growing up as a son of Bruce R. McConkie," as quoted by John W. Redelfs on his blog The Iron Rod, Aug 19, 2005.











