Land of Zion, moneychargers in Kirtland

[telnetd]

Come Follow Me is discussing Doctrine and Covenants 115-120 in the upcoming week.

Some questions about these verses.

D&C 115:6 - "And that the gathering together upon the land of Zion, and upon her stakes, 
may be for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be
 poured out without mixture upon the whole earth". The land of Zion is again mentioned
in 117:14, 118:2, and 119:5-6.

Is this a reference to all of Missouri?

D&C 115:13 - "Verily I say unto you, let not my servant Joseph, neither my servant Sidney, 
neither my servant Hyrum, get in debt any more for the building of a house unto my name".

Were these three the only ones restrained from entering into debt for that purpose?

D&C 117:16 - And again, verily I say unto you, let all my servants in the land of Kirtland 
remember the Lord their God, and mine house also, to keep and preserve it holy, and to 
overthrow the moneychangers in mine own due time, saith the Lord. Even so. Amen.

Is the sin of moneychangers applied to individuals in Kirtland who corrupted sacred things 
by mixing spiritual leadership with greed, power-seeking, or financial manipulation 
involving church resources and the temple?

Edited October 14, 2025 by telnetd

[Pyreaux]

6 hours ago, telnetd said:

Come Follow Me is discussing Doctrine and Covenants 115-120 in the upcoming week.

Some questions about these verses.

D&C 115:6 - "And that the gathering together upon the land of Zion, and upon her stakes, 
may be for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be
 poured out without mixture upon the whole earth". The land of Zion is again mentioned
in 117:14, 118:2, and 119:5-6.

Is this a reference to all of Missouri?

D&C 115:13 - "Verily I say unto you, let not my servant Joseph, neither my servant Sidney, 
neither my servant Hyrum, get in debt any more for the building of a house unto my name".

Were these three the only ones restrained from entering into debt for that purpose?

D&C 117:16 - And again, verily I say unto you, let all my servants in the land of Kirtland 
remember the Lord their God, and mine house also, to keep and preserve it holy, and to 
overthrow the moneychangers in mine own due time, saith the Lord. Even so. Amen.

Is the sin of moneychangers applied to individuals in Kirtland who corrupted sacred things 
by mixing spiritual leadership with greed, power-seeking, or financial manipulation 
involving church resources and the temple?

D&C 115:6, 117:14, 118:2, 119:5-6 – is the reference to the land of Zion a reference to all of Missouri?

No, it primarily refers to Jackson County, Missouri. In early revelation, Zion was specifically identified as the area centered in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, where a temple was designated to be built (D&C 57:1-3).

Stakes of Zion mentioned in D&C 115:6 are the surrounding areas and communities (such as Far West, Caldwell County, where this revelation was received) that would constitute the geographical, political, and spiritual structure of the larger cause of Zion.

By the time of these revelations (1838-1839), the Saints had been expelled from Jackson County. Therefore, "the land of Zion" was both the specific, sacred location (Jackson County) and the broader ideal and goal of building up God's kingdom wherever the Saints gathered (the stakes).

D&C 115:13 – Were these three [Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Hyrum Smith] the only ones restrained from entering into debt for that purpose?

Not exactly, other Church leaders and members were also instructed to manage their affairs responsibly and to dedicate their means to building up Zion (D&C 117:5, 11-12), but the direct debt-restraint instruction for the temple was specifically aimed at the presiding leaders who had incurred the most significant financial liabilities in the previous efforts.

D&C 115:13 restrains Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and Hyrum Smith from incurring further personal debt for the building of the designated house/temple. This specific command was addressed to them because they were the primary trustees or stewards managing the Church's financial affairs and the temple building effort at that time, and they had already accumulated significant personal debt in Kirtland for those purposes.

This revelation was given in Far West in 1838, following the financial collapses and failures of the Kirtland period, which included great debt over the Kirtland Temple and associated ventures. The Lord was setting clear boundaries for the future work in Missouri.

D&C 117:16 – Is the sin of moneychangers applied to individuals in Kirtland who corrupted sacred things by mixing spiritual leadership with greed, power-seeking, or financial manipulation involving church resources and the temple?

Yes, this is the generally accepted interpretation. The term "moneychangers" clearly references the New Testament to describe financial corruption. In which many individuals, including some high-ranking Church leaders, had involved themselves in speculation, manipulation, and profiting off Church ventures or the temple's building efforts, ultimately leading to significant debt and loss of trust. Therefore, "overthrow the moneychangers" was a call for the faithful remaining in Kirtland to cleanse the Church of corruption caused by mixing sacred duties with unrighteous financial practices.

[Kenngo1969]

I don't know if I have very much to add to this discussion, except to say that I think ("gospel" according to Kenngo1969 here) that, in this context, "moneychangers" refers to a person or to people who put anything (including, but not necessarily limited to, mercantalism/materialism/business interests over and above doing the Lord's will.  His rebuke of Newel K. Whitney for doing that by his failure to liquidate his Kirtland business interests and relocate with the Latter-day Saints to Far West in a more timely manner makes that clear, I think.  For what it's worth.