Joseph Smith’s Bank of Faith: The Rise and Fall of Mormonism’s Kirtland Safety Society
Mormon Discussions Podcasts – Full Lineup
Bill Reel
4.3 • 618 Ratings
🗓️ 13 March 2025
⏱️ 194 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary

[Mormonism Live 222] 💰 Faith, Finances, and Fraud? Buckle up, because this episode dives into one of the wildest financial moments in Mormon history! (And that’s saying a lot) What happens when a prophet ventures into banking? In the 1830s, Joseph Smith and other early Mormon leaders launched the Kirtland Safety Society, a financial institution… Read More »Joseph Smith’s Bank of Faith: The Rise and Fall of Mormonism’s Kirtland Safety Society
The post Joseph Smith’s Bank of Faith: The Rise and Fall of Mormonism’s Kirtland Safety Society appeared first on Mormon Discussions Podcasts - Full Lineup.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | It's the winner of 1837 in the small town of Kirtland, Ohio, Joseph Smith, the prophet |
| 0:07.5 | of the restoration has just launched a brand new financial institution, the Kirtland Safety Society. |
| 0:14.4 | His followers believe it will fund the kingdom of God. His critics say it's destined for disaster, |
| 0:19.5 | and within months, the entire thing implodes, |
| 0:23.6 | leaving broken trust, empty pockets, and an exodus of disillusioned believers in its wake. |
| 0:29.8 | How did the profit end up running a failing bank? Why did members lose their savings while leaders |
| 0:35.5 | scrambled to defend their actions? And did Joseph Smith truly believe this would work? |
| 0:40.7 | Or was it a faith-based financial gamble from the start? |
| 0:45.0 | Today we're pulling back the curtain on one of the most fascinating and controversial chapters in Mormon history. |
| 0:49.9 | Whether you see Joseph as a visionary, a victim of circumstance, or something else entirely, |
| 0:56.7 | the story of the Curtland Safety Society is one that you won't want to miss. |
| 1:01.3 | So grab your ledger books, keep an eye on your wallet, get ready to follow the money. |
| 1:06.7 | This is Mormonism live. |
| 1:08.6 | And today, we're talking about the bank that broke Mormonism. |
| 1:41.4 | Oh. Wow, great intro, Mr. Real. |
| 1:43.8 | There you go, my friend. How are you doing? |
| 1:44.8 | I'm fine. |
| 1:42.1 | Thank you. I'm fine. Thank you. How are you? Excellent. Folks, tonight's going to be, I think, on the long side anyway. So we want to jump right into it. I will just note on the front end. There will be some slides that we may sort of skip through the main jargon. And I would suggest highly if you want to read every slide. |
| 2:01.2 | Push pause on your phone, on TV wherever it is and and read the image on the |
| 2:07.8 | screen tonight we're going to talk about the curtland safety society bank or anti-banking company |
| 2:12.6 | we'll get to the bottom of that bill has been burning the midnight oil i've got to tell everybody |
| 2:17.1 | it's been amazing. I can't |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Bill Reel, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Bill Reel and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

