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< Mormonism and church finances | Kirtland Safety Society
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Joseph Smith, Jr. |
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It is claimed that Joseph Smith misled investors in the Kirtland Safety Society by collecting boxes full of sand with money placed on top, in order to make it appear that the bank had more hard money than it did.
The Kirtland bank safe was not large enough to accommodate the claims which apostates later made. It seems plausible that in an effort to discredit Joseph Smith, they fabricated a story about him distorting the bank's reserves. Since such tales grow in the telling, and because a larger scam is more memorable, their creativity betrayed them—had they been more modest in their claims, the implausibility would be less apparent.
Without other evidence, this claim should be regarded as spurious.
Brodie quotes apostate Mormons for this claim. It does not, however, seem to match other facts in the historical record. In October 1836, Joseph Smith purchased a safe for use in the bank he and other Church leaders were planning:
It is also telling that such apostates never disclosed Joseph's dishonesty before the bank's collapse, and some may have even participated in the bank. Why would they keep this a secret, and why would they risk their own financial well-being if they knew Joseph was up to no good?
To see citations to the critical sources for these claims, click here
Notes
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