"Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God.
"For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, etc."
The Messenger and Advocate (edited by W. A. Cowdery), of July, 1837, contained a long article on the bank and its troubles, pointing out, first, that the bank was opened without a charter, being "considered a kind of joint stock association," and that "the private property of the stockholders was holden in proportion to the amount of their subscriptions for the redemption of the paper," and also that its notes were absolutely void under the state law. The editor goes on to say:—
"Previously to the commencement of discounting by the bank, large debts had been contracted for merchandise in New York and other cities, and large contracts entered into for real estate in this and adjoining towns; some of them had fallen due and must be met, or incur forfeitures of large sums. These causes, we are bound to believe, operated to induce the officers of the bank to let out larger sums than their better judgments dictated, which almost invariably fell into or passed through the hands of those who sought our ruin.... Hundreds who were enemies either came or sent their agents and demanded specie, till the officers thought best to refuse payment."
This subtle explanation of the suspension of specie payments is followed with a discussion of monopolies, etc., leading up to a statement of the obligations of the Mormons in regard to the discredited bank-notes, most of which were in circulation elsewhere. To the question; "Shall we unite as one man, say it is good, and make it good by taking it on a par with gold?" he replies, "No," explaining that, owing to the fewness of the church members as compared with the world at large, "it must be confined in its circulation and par value to the limits of our own society." To the question, "Shall we then take it at its marked price for our property," he again replies, "No," explaining that their enemies had received the paper at a discount, and that, to receive it at par from them, would "give them voluntarily and with one eye open just that advantage over us to oppress, degrade and depress us." This combined financial and spiritual adviser closes his article by urging the brethren to set apart a portion of their time to the service of God, and a portion to "the study of the science of our government and the news of the day."
A card which appeared in the Messenger and Advocate of August, 1837, signed by Smith, warned "the brethren and friends of the church to beware of speculators, renegades, and gamblers who are duping the unwary and unsuspecting by palming upon them those bills, which are of no worth here."
The actual test of the bank's soundness had come when a request was made for the redemption of the notes. The notes seem to have been accepted freely in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where it was taken for granted that a cashier and president who professed to be prophets of the Lord would not give countenance to bank paper of doubtful value.* When stories about the concern reached the Pittsburg banks, they sent an agent to Kirtland with a package of the notes for redemption. Rigdon loudly asserted the stability of the institution; but when a request for coin was repeated, it was promptly refused by him on the ground that the bills were a circulating medium "for the accommodation of the public," and that to call any of them in would defeat their object.**
* "Rocky Mountain Saints," p. 71.
** "Early Days of Mormonism," p. 163.
Other creditors of the Mormons were now becoming active in their demands. For failing to meet a note given to the bank at Painesville, Smith, Rigdon, and N. K. Whitney were put under $8000 bonds. Smith, Rigdon, and Cowdery were called into court as indorsers of paper for one of the Mormon firms, and judgment was given against them. To satisfy a firm of New York merchants the heads of the church gave a note for $4500 secured by a mortgage on their interest in the new Temple and its contents.* The Egyptian mummies were especially excepted from this mortgage. Mother Smith describes how these relics were saved by "various stratagems" under an execution of $50 issued against the prophet.