years 1898 and 1903. While surveying for a railroad as a young man, Smith's eyesight was permanently impaired by glare from the sun. After 1903, Smith found his frequent travels debilitating and began to show prominent symptoms of physical weakness. He was eventually diagnosed with lupus erythematosus, a chronic debilitating autoimmune disease. From 1898 to 1902 Smith was chair of the Republican committee for the 28th voting district of Utah. In 1902, there were those who sought to convince Smith to run for the United States Senate. He instead deferred to allow Reed Smoot to be the Republican candidate. In 1920, while serving as president of the church's European Mission, Smith toured England and Scotland as the ZCMI representative to the American Goods Association tour sponsored by the British Chamber of Trade. In 1921, Smith became a member of the Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce. In 1923, he served on the reception committee for US President Warren G. Harding's visit to Salt Lake City. Smith was known for his patriotism and joined various American patriotic groups. He was also an ardent supporter of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). He was among those closely involved in the 1912 decision for the LDS Church to sponsor scout troops. He also was closely involved in its implementation. Especially in the 1920s, Smith would regularly contact Salt Lake City businessmen to personally urge them to donate money to scouting. In the 1920s Smith was elected a member of the BSA Regional Executive Council for the 12th region. This council oversaw scouting in California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. In 1932, Smith was elected a member of the BSA's National Council. He was the first of many leaders of the LDS Church to hold this position. He also received the Silver Beaver Award that year. In 1934, the BSA's National Council awarded him the prestigious Silver Buffalo Award. Smith was an avid genealogist and family historian and was named national vice president of the Sons of the American Revolution in 1922. In 1932, Smith found himself at odds with much of the ZCMI board over plans to cut pensions for retirees as the Great Depression caused disruption for the company. Smith felt that the pensions should be left in place. Being unable to support the chosen course of action, he resigned from the board later that year. Starting in 1933 Smith was president of