After being released, Smith took his family to Honolulu, Hawaii, where he continued to raise his family and resumed his academic career as a teacher of English and drama. For 11 years, Smith's stake president in Hawaii was instructed to not allow Smith to speak in church or hold any position, but no formal church disciplinary action was taken, and Smith was reportedly "treated with compassion." Approximately a decade after his release as patriarch, Smith's stake president and bishop wrote to church president David O. McKay asking for restrictions on Smith to be lifted. In 1957, after it was established he had forsaken his homosexual behavior, confessed to his wife, and sent a written confession to the First Presidency, Smith was again allowed to serve in the church. Shortly thereafter, Smith's wife Ruth wrote a letter to church president David O. McKay expressing her gratitude for the church's help, stating, "I know, better than anyone else, the trial our family has been to you and to the authorities." From 1957 until his death, Smith served as a member of his stake's high council.