John C. Bennett
Encyclopedia
John Cook Bennett was an American physician and a ranking and influential—but short-lived—leader of the Latter Day Saint movement
, who acted as second-in-command to Joseph Smith, Jr., for a brief period in the early 1840s.
came after several encounters with the community that had left him unimpressed. He nevertheless wrote several letters to Joseph Smith, Jr. in Nauvoo, Illinois
in which he declared his desire to join the movement. Bennett was essential to the passing of the Nauvoo city charter in the Illinois legislature, the provisions of which he had helped craft. He even garnered praise for his lobbying efforts on behalf of the Mormons from the young Abraham Lincoln
.
His efforts on behalf of the Mormons, and the long time he spent living in the Smith mansion in Nauvoo, secured for Bennett the confidence of Joseph Smith. Smith was instrumental in promoting Bennett to ever greater civic and ecclesiastical responsibilities in Nauvoo, Illinois
. Bennett became an Assistant President of the Church
and Counselor in the First Presidency
, the mayor of the city of Nauvoo
, General of the Nauvoo Legion
, and the chancellor of the University of Nauvoo
.
Eventually, however, rumors of adultery
, homosexuality
, unauthorized polygamy
, and the performance of abortion
s emerged. While Bennett was mayor, he was caught in private sexual relations with women in the city. He told the women that the practice, which he termed "spiritual wifery
," was sanctioned of God and Joseph Smith, and that Joseph Smith did the same. When discovered, he privately confessed his crimes, produced an affidavit that Joseph Smith had no part in his adultery and was disciplined accordingly. Although he vowed to change, he continued his behavior. When he was caught again, his indiscretions were publicly exposed and he was removed from his church positions, excommunicated from the church and stripped of public office.
s, who were disguised in drag. He soon became a bitter antagonist of Joseph Smith and the Latter Day Saint church, reportedly even vowing to drink the blood of Joseph Smith, Jr. In 1842, he wrote a scathing exposé of Joseph Smith, entitled History of the Saints, accusing Smith and his church of crimes such as treason
, conspiracy
to commit murder
, prostitution
, and adultery
. Through his newspaper writings and book, Bennett appeared to encourage Missouri's June 1843 attempt to extradite Smith to stand trial for "treason." Ironically, Smith escaped extradition, albeit narrowly, by virtue of the powerful Nauvoo charter, of which Bennett was a principal author in 1841.
In the fall of 1843 Bennett visited George M. Hinkle
, a Mormon who was excommunicated after surrendering Joseph Smith to the Missouri Militia in 1838. Bennett's subsequent letter to the editor of the Hawk-Eye and Iowa Patriot describing the Mormon "Doctrine of Marrying for Eternity" is the first of his writings that discusses eternal marriage, as compared to the free love/spiritual wife doctrine he previously accused Joseph of practicing, where sexual relations weren't in the context of committed marriage. It is unclear whether Bennett learned of eternal marriage from Hinkle or from correspondents inside Nauvoo.
John C. Bennett briefly returned to Nauvoo in December 1843, but the sole record of that visit is a notation in Joseph Smith's Daybook from his General Store showing a payment of the rent Bennett owed for the 39 weeks he lived in the Smith home in 1840-1841. After December 1843 John Bennett is recorded to have lectured only once more against Mormonism during Joseph's life, in Boston, during the spring of 1844. At the 1844 Boston lecture, Bennett was not well received. He was pelted with rotten eggs and chased through Boston by the 'vast assemblage,' who ran over several Boston police officers in the process. After Smith's assassination in Carthage, Illinois on June 27, 1844, Bennett resumed his lectures against polygamy in an attempt to win converts for Strang. Bennett has been accused of having a part in Smith's murder, but, as his biographer Andrew F. Smith states, based on the extant evidence, "Bennett appears to have had no influence on the events that unfolded in Carthage during June 1844"
Following Smith's death, Bennett surprised many by returning briefly to Mormonism and joining forces first with Sidney Rigdon
and then with James Strang
—one of several Mormons contending for leadership of the movement. Bennett united with the "Strangites," who founded their own Mormon community on Beaver Island
in Michigan. With Bennett's enthusiastic support, polygamy was introduced into the Michigan Mormon community. Shortly thereafter, amidst yet more charges of sexual misconduct, Bennett left the Strangite community and Mormonism once and for all.
Bennett is often credited with introducing into Mormonism the term "spiritual wifery." Spiritual wifery was the term Bennett used for both his own practice of "free love" and for the Nauvoo practice of plural marriage (polygyny
). The term was occasionally used by Mormon leaders such as Brigham Young, who spoke of the shock he received when introduced by Joseph Smith to "the spiritual wife doctrine," referring to plural marriage. One of Bennett's legacies was the conflation of plural marriage with "free love" in the popular imagination. The term "spiritual wifery," with its mixed connotations of polygyny and promiscuity, was frequently used in the national dialogue against, and in activism against, Mormon polygamy.
Bennett's troubled relationship with the Mormons has overshadowed his other notable activities, including commanding a company for the Union in the Civil War. Bennett was an early champion of the health benefits of the tomato starting in 1835, a pioneer in the use of chloroform as an anesthetic, publishing his findings in 1848, and was the creator of several breeds of chicken, including Plymouth Rock fowl, which he exhibited in Boston in 1849. From 1830 through 1846 Bennett worked to establish institutions of higher learning, many of which were Medical Colleges. Bennett's practice of 'selling diplomas' clouds that achievement, and only one educational institution survived Bennett's connection with it.
Bennett left behind an extensive body of letters and published works on his various endeavors, including two books, History of the Saints, and The Poultry Book.
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
, who acted as second-in-command to Joseph Smith, Jr., for a brief period in the early 1840s.
Early Mormon
Bennett's involvement in the Latter Day Saint movementLatter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
came after several encounters with the community that had left him unimpressed. He nevertheless wrote several letters to Joseph Smith, Jr. in Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...
in which he declared his desire to join the movement. Bennett was essential to the passing of the Nauvoo city charter in the Illinois legislature, the provisions of which he had helped craft. He even garnered praise for his lobbying efforts on behalf of the Mormons from the young Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
.
His efforts on behalf of the Mormons, and the long time he spent living in the Smith mansion in Nauvoo, secured for Bennett the confidence of Joseph Smith. Smith was instrumental in promoting Bennett to ever greater civic and ecclesiastical responsibilities in Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...
. Bennett became an Assistant President of the Church
Assistant President of the Church
Assistant President of the Church was a position in the leadership hierarchy in the early days of the Latter Day Saint church founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. The Assistant President was the second-highest authority in the church and was a member of the church's governing First Presidency...
and Counselor in the First Presidency
First Presidency
In the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency was the highest governing body in the Latter Day Saint church established by Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1832, and is the highest governing body of several modern Latter Day Saint denominations...
, the mayor of the city of Nauvoo
Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...
, General of the Nauvoo Legion
Nauvoo Legion
The Nauvoo Legion was a militia originally organized by the Latter Day Saints to defend the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, . To curry political favor with the ambiguously-political Saints, the Illinois state legislature granted Nauvoo a liberal city charter that gave the Nauvoo Legion extraordinary...
, and the chancellor of the University of Nauvoo
Nauvoo University
Nauvoo University was a private academic institution organized by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo, Illinois...
.
Eventually, however, rumors of adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
, homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
, unauthorized polygamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
, and the performance of abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
s emerged. While Bennett was mayor, he was caught in private sexual relations with women in the city. He told the women that the practice, which he termed "spiritual wifery
Spiritual wifery
Spiritual wifery is a term first used in America by the Immortalists in and near the Blackstone Valley of Rhode Island and Massachusetts in the 1740s...
," was sanctioned of God and Joseph Smith, and that Joseph Smith did the same. When discovered, he privately confessed his crimes, produced an affidavit that Joseph Smith had no part in his adultery and was disciplined accordingly. Although he vowed to change, he continued his behavior. When he was caught again, his indiscretions were publicly exposed and he was removed from his church positions, excommunicated from the church and stripped of public office.
Later life
After Bennett left Nauvoo in May 1842, he claimed he had been the target of an attempted assassination by Nauvoo DaniteDanite
The Danites were a fraternal organization founded by Latter Day Saint members in June 1838, in the town of Far West in Caldwell County, Missouri. During their period of organization in Missouri, the Danites operated as a vigilante group and took a central role in the events of the 1838 Mormon War...
s, who were disguised in drag. He soon became a bitter antagonist of Joseph Smith and the Latter Day Saint church, reportedly even vowing to drink the blood of Joseph Smith, Jr. In 1842, he wrote a scathing exposé of Joseph Smith, entitled History of the Saints, accusing Smith and his church of crimes such as treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
, conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
to commit murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
, and adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
. Through his newspaper writings and book, Bennett appeared to encourage Missouri's June 1843 attempt to extradite Smith to stand trial for "treason." Ironically, Smith escaped extradition, albeit narrowly, by virtue of the powerful Nauvoo charter, of which Bennett was a principal author in 1841.
In the fall of 1843 Bennett visited George M. Hinkle
George M. Hinkle
George M. Hinkle was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement.Born in Jefferson County, Kentucky on November 13, 1801, Hinkle joined the early Latter Day Saint church in 1832. He sat on the church's High Council in Far West, Missouri and led the settlement of De Witt, Missouri...
, a Mormon who was excommunicated after surrendering Joseph Smith to the Missouri Militia in 1838. Bennett's subsequent letter to the editor of the Hawk-Eye and Iowa Patriot describing the Mormon "Doctrine of Marrying for Eternity" is the first of his writings that discusses eternal marriage, as compared to the free love/spiritual wife doctrine he previously accused Joseph of practicing, where sexual relations weren't in the context of committed marriage. It is unclear whether Bennett learned of eternal marriage from Hinkle or from correspondents inside Nauvoo.
John C. Bennett briefly returned to Nauvoo in December 1843, but the sole record of that visit is a notation in Joseph Smith's Daybook from his General Store showing a payment of the rent Bennett owed for the 39 weeks he lived in the Smith home in 1840-1841. After December 1843 John Bennett is recorded to have lectured only once more against Mormonism during Joseph's life, in Boston, during the spring of 1844. At the 1844 Boston lecture, Bennett was not well received. He was pelted with rotten eggs and chased through Boston by the 'vast assemblage,' who ran over several Boston police officers in the process. After Smith's assassination in Carthage, Illinois on June 27, 1844, Bennett resumed his lectures against polygamy in an attempt to win converts for Strang. Bennett has been accused of having a part in Smith's murder, but, as his biographer Andrew F. Smith states, based on the extant evidence, "Bennett appears to have had no influence on the events that unfolded in Carthage during June 1844"
Following Smith's death, Bennett surprised many by returning briefly to Mormonism and joining forces first with Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Baptist background:...
and then with James Strang
James Strang
James Jesse Strang was an American religious leader, politician and self-proclaimed monarch who founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , a faction of the Latter Day Saint movement...
—one of several Mormons contending for leadership of the movement. Bennett united with the "Strangites," who founded their own Mormon community on Beaver Island
Beaver Island (Lake Michigan)
Beaver Island is the largest island in Lake Michigan and part of the Beaver Island archipelago. Once home to a unique American monarchy, the island is now a popular tourist and vacation destination....
in Michigan. With Bennett's enthusiastic support, polygamy was introduced into the Michigan Mormon community. Shortly thereafter, amidst yet more charges of sexual misconduct, Bennett left the Strangite community and Mormonism once and for all.
Bennett is often credited with introducing into Mormonism the term "spiritual wifery." Spiritual wifery was the term Bennett used for both his own practice of "free love" and for the Nauvoo practice of plural marriage (polygyny
Polygyny
Polygyny is a form of marriage in which a man has two or more wives at the same time. In countries where the practice is illegal, the man is referred to as a bigamist or a polygamist...
). The term was occasionally used by Mormon leaders such as Brigham Young, who spoke of the shock he received when introduced by Joseph Smith to "the spiritual wife doctrine," referring to plural marriage. One of Bennett's legacies was the conflation of plural marriage with "free love" in the popular imagination. The term "spiritual wifery," with its mixed connotations of polygyny and promiscuity, was frequently used in the national dialogue against, and in activism against, Mormon polygamy.
Bennett's troubled relationship with the Mormons has overshadowed his other notable activities, including commanding a company for the Union in the Civil War. Bennett was an early champion of the health benefits of the tomato starting in 1835, a pioneer in the use of chloroform as an anesthetic, publishing his findings in 1848, and was the creator of several breeds of chicken, including Plymouth Rock fowl, which he exhibited in Boston in 1849. From 1830 through 1846 Bennett worked to establish institutions of higher learning, many of which were Medical Colleges. Bennett's practice of 'selling diplomas' clouds that achievement, and only one educational institution survived Bennett's connection with it.
Bennett left behind an extensive body of letters and published works on his various endeavors, including two books, History of the Saints, and The Poultry Book.