D&C 111-114 I Kirtland Bank & British Missions I Come Follow Church History I Lynne Hilton Wilson

Scripture Central

Religion & Spirituality

4.8 • 852 Ratings

🗓️ 2 October 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

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Summary

The story of the early Latter-day Saints in the 1830s is one of both trial and triumph. In Kirtland, Ohio, the Saints faced a heartbreaking financial crisis with the collapse of the Kirtland Safety Society Bank. Hopes of building Zion seemed threatened as many lost money, and critics pointed to the failure as evidence against Joseph Smith and the Church’s future stability. It was a season of doubt, testing, and refinement for the faith of the Saints. Yet, at the very same time, remarkable success unfolded across the Atlantic. Missionaries sent to England began preaching the restored gospel with such power that entire congregations were converted. In less than a year, over 1,600 baptisms took place—an astonishing outpouring of faith that infused the struggling Church with new life and strength. In this episode with professor Lynne Hilton Wilson, listen to details about how both the trials of Kirtland and the miracles in England shaped the destiny of the Church. The failures of man stood in stark contrast to the Lord’s triumphs, showing how God’s hand continued to guide His people through opposition, ultimately moving the work forward in miraculous ways.

Transcript

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0:00.0	With the inflation rising and all the banks collapsing, Joseph says, we have got to take care of this debt.
0:07.0	They're going to take our temple away from us. The Kirtland leaders organize a crediting institution.
0:13.0	In Joseph's mind, he didn't want to bank just for the wealthy. He didn't want to bank just for men.
0:19.0	He said, why not allow the women to be involved? Why not to have the rich and the poor and the black and the white?
0:25.6	Real estate rose from 1 to 800 percent and every article of food is rising nearly 100 percent.
0:32.6	And they have people who are trying to destroy the church going around buying up all the builds. They take a run on the bank. This Newell Grandson is already gathering mob forces.
0:44.3	My life was threatened by Joseph Smith. He should be tried for murder.
0:48.3	Joseph was in the temple and he spoke for hours. He said there's a spirit present right now where people are just trying to get rich quick.
0:57.0	There's a lot of people borrowing without paying back.
1:00.0	There's a lot of dishonesty.
1:01.0	But Joseph still says, if we had been living the law of consecration, we would have been okay.
1:07.0	But we weren't following the prophet.
1:14.6	Hello. but we weren't following the prophet. Hello, welcome back to Scripture Central.
1:16.6	I'm Lynn Hilton Wilson, part of the team that wants to build enduring faith in Jesus Christ
1:22.6	by illuminating the restored scripture.
1:25.6	And as we step back into church history today, I want to
1:28.9	invite you to almost a year period of time for sections 111, 112, 113, 113, as we look from August
1:39.6	1836, clear through July of 1837, these are difficult days. I'm going to focus on the
1:47.5	Curtland Safety Society. Lots of hard questions here. And a little bit on the British
1:53.4	mission. I wish I could spend a whole week on the British mission. It's wonderful. But the hard
1:58.2	questions are difficult. And I've got handouts attached. and I hope that you're able to spend time on your knees and in your text, finding some of these answers for yourself as well.
2:09.7	But many people during this period of time, many of the noble and great ones, had hard questions.
	...

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