PART FOUR JOHN C. BENNETT AND ELIZA R. SNOW

Chapter 8

Dr. Bennett and Eliza R. Snow

It has been shown that polygamy did not enter the Church

through the Prophet Joseph Smith's teachings, but through other

avenues. One of the most devastating roads was the one paved

by Doctor Bennett. There is evidence that Bennett seduced

Eliza R. Snow and caused her to conceive a child during the

Nauvoo period. There is also evidence that because Joseph and

Emma Smith both felt that Eliza was a victim of Bennett's

deceit, they shielded her from disgrace.

However, after becoming one of Brigham Young's many

wives, Eliza allowed the rumor to spread in Utah that she had

been a plural wife of Joseph the Prophet and had become pregnant with his child. Brigham sorely needed this type of rumor

to be circulated in order to attach Joseph's name to the doctrine,

and justify his own plural marriages and those of other church

leaders. Therefore, the church officials, which included members of the Snow family (in both the presidency and the historical

department), promoted this new rumor with such vigor in Utah

that one hardly dared mention that President Brigham Young's

wife, Eliza, had apparently been romantically linked with Doctor

Bennett.

In order to piece together the account of what really happened at Nauvoo, it is necessary to give more of Dr. Bennett's

background:

John Cook Bennett was born in Fairhaven, Bristol County,

Massachusetts, August 4, 1804 . .. In 1808 he moved with his

parents to Ohio. There . . he acquired a knowledge of the

classical languages and excelled especially in mathematics.

Thereafter he was trained for the practice of medicine under

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Dr. Samuel Hildreth, a prominent physician of Marietta,

Ohio . .. He had a marked interest in founding colleges and

universities and promoted the formation of such institutions

in West Virginia, Indiana and Ohio. The last institution he

was successful in organizing in Ohio was the medical school

of Willoughby University, located only four miles from

Kirtland. He was first dean of that college and at the same

time professor of Gynecology and the diseases of children.

At Willoughby he became acquainted with the Mormon

leaders and knew Sidney Rigdon very well as he was for a

time a licensed preacher in the Christian sect along with

Rigdon. He moved to Illinois in 1838 . .. He soon won

appointment as brigadier general of the Illinois Invincible

Dragoons. In 1840 he was made Quartermaster General [ of

the state militia] of Illinois by Governor Carlin. That same

year he joined the Mormon church at Nauvoo in which he had

a meteoric career, within eighteen months attaining popularity

and power second only to that of Joseph Smith. In addition

to his positions of mayor of Nauvoo and "acting counselor"

in the First Presidency of the church, he was made Chancellorof the University of Nauvoo, [and] did an excellent job

of organizing and training the Nauvoo Legion. (Ralph V.

Chamberlin, The University of Utah: A History of Its First

Hundred Years, 577-578)

The Church headquarters was at Kirtland from 1831 to

1837, which was only four miles from where the doctor lived

while in his twenties. Being a medical doctor and a fellow

preacher with Sidney Rigdon in the Disciples of Christ Church

(Campbellite), he had ample opportunity to hear and accept the

gospel. But he chose not to join at that time.

Since he was Sidney Rigdon' s close friend and fellow

churchman, he was well-known in the five congregations over

which Rigdon presided at the time Sidney heard and obeyed the

gospel. No doubt Bennett was also well acquainted with many

of Rigdon' s followers who were baptized into the Church led by

Joseph Smith, including Parley P. Pratt, Orson Hyde, Lyman

Wight, Newell K. Whitney, and Isaac Morley. All of these lastnamed later became polygamists.

Bennett also knew the family of Oliver Snow, which in-

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eluded his poetic and scholarly daughter, Eliza-who was already noted for her writing ability. Bennett and Eliza Snow had

many things in common at Kirtland-they were the same age,

both teachers, intellectual, widely read, writers, liked poetry,

and both were interested in the war between Greece and Turkey

which occurred while the Church headquarters was at Kirtland.

Eliza, using the pen name Narcissa, wrote a poem about the war,

which was published in the Ravenna Courier. Dr. Bennett, who

"acquired a knowledge of the classical languages," studied the

Turkish practice of polygamy, for he mentioned it in his book,

along with the polygamy practiced by Oriental and African

rulers (see Bennett, History of the Saints, 218-219). His discussion of polygamous rulers and harems in his book demonstrates that he had more than an ordinary interest in the

subject, and an extensive knowledge of it being practiced in

various places.

When Doctor Bennett arrived in Nauvoo, he claimed to

accept the gospel and was baptized by Joseph. Housing was

scarce when he arrived, so he roomed for thirty-nine weeks

(nine months) with Joseph and Emma and their children in the

tiny Jog cabin with only three rooms, known as the Homestead.

The account book for Joseph Smith's store shows that John C.

Bennett owed Joseph $117 for thirty-nine weeks of board at a

charge of three dollars a week (see Joseph Smith's Red Brick

Store Daybook [December 8, 1843], account number 59).

Joseph Smith III had some vivid memories of Dr. Bennett.

He recalled:

While Doctor Bennett was boarding at our house every

effort was made for his comfort, however. Mother would set

a loaf of bread down in front of the wood fire until its end

would be toasted a pleasing brown. Then she would slice that

part off, thinly, and replace the loaf before the fire. In this

manner she would get a goodly supply ready for his supper of

browned bread and milk, prepared just as he liked it. (Saints'

Herald 82 [January 8, 1935]: 49)

At the time Bennett came to Nauvoo, he had a wife and

children in the East, but he posed as a single man. Immediately

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after arriving in August of 1840, he was dating a young woman

in Nauvoo, whom he seduced. Joseph published on June 24,

1842, that "more than twenty months ago [September or October

1840] Bennett went to a lady in the city and began to teach her

that promiscuous intercourse between the sexes was lawful and

no harm in it" (LOS History of the Church 5:42-43). This act,

along with other incidents of immorality, made it necessary to

expel him from the Church in May 1842.

Joseph Described Bennett's Adulterous Activities

Joseph published:

It becomes my duty to lay before the Church of Jesus

Christ of Latter Day Saints, and the public generally, some

important facts relative to the conduct and character of DR.

JOHN C. BENNETT, who has lately been expelled from the

aforesaid church; that the honorable part of [the] community

may be aware of his proceedings, and be ready to treat him

and regard him as he ought to be regarded, viz: as an imposter and base adulterer.

It is a matter of notoriety that said Dr. J. C. Bennett,

became favorable to the doctrines taught by the elders of the

church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and located himself in the city of Nauvoo, about the month of August 1840,

and soon after joined the church . .. He had not been long

in Nauvoo before he began to keep company with a young

lady, one of our citizens; and she being ignorant of his having a wife living, gave way to his addresses, and became

confident, from his behavior towards her, that he intended to

marry her; and this he gave her to understand he would do. I,

seeing the folly of such an acquaintance, persuaded him to

desist; and, on account of his continuing his course, finally

threatened to expose him if he did not desist. This, to outward appearance, had the desired effect, and the acquaintance

between them was broken off.

But, like one of the most abominable and depraved

beings which could possibly exist, he only broke off his

publicly wicked actions, to sink deeper into iniquity and

hypocrisy [by continuing to date her secretly]. When he saw

that I would not submit to any such conduct, he went to some

of the females in the city, who knew nothing of him but as an

honorable man, & began to teach them that promiscuous

intercourse between the sexes, was a doctrine believed in by

the Latter-Day Saints, and that there was no harm in it; but

this failing, he had recourse to a more influential and desperately wicked course; and that was, to persuade them that

myself and others of the authorities of the church not only

sanctioned, but practiced the same wicked acts; and when

asked why I publicly preached so much against it, said that it

was because of the prejudice of the public, and that it would

cause trouble in my own house [ with Joseph's wife, Emma].

He was well aware of the consequence of such wilful and base

falsehoods, if they should come to my knowledge; and

consequently endeavored to persuade his dupes to keep it a

matter of secrecy, persuading them there would be no harm if

they should not make it known. This proceeding on his part,

answered the desired end; he accomplished his wicked

purposes; he seduced an innocent female by his lying, and

subjected her character to public disgrace, should it ever be

known.

But his depraved heart would not suffer him to stop here.

Not being contented with having disgraced one female, he

made an attempt upon others; and, by the same plausible tale,

overcame them also; evidently not caring whose character

was ruined, so that his wicked, lustful appetites might be

gratified.

Sometime about the early part of July 1841, I received a

Jetter from Elder H. [Hyrum] Smith and Wm. Law [a member

of the First Presidency], who were then at Pittsburgh, Penn.

This Jetter was dated June 15th, and contained the particulars

of a conversation betwixt them and a respectable gentleman

from the neighborhood where Bennett's wife and children

resided. He stated to them that it was a fact that Bennett had

a wife and children living, and that she had left him because

of his ill-treatment towards her. This Jetter was read to

Bennett, which he did not attempt to deny; but candidly

acknowledged the fact.

Soon after this information reached our ears, Dr. Bennett

made an attempt at suicide, by taking poison; but he being

discovered before it had taken effect, and the proper antidotes

being administered, he again recovered; but he very much

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resisted when an attempt was made to save him. The public

impression was, that he was so much ashamed of his base and

wicked conduct, that he had recourse to the above deed to

escape the censures of an indignant community.

It might have been supposed that these circumstances

transpiring in the manner they did, would have produced a

thorough reformation in his conduct; but, alas! like a being

totally destitute of common decency, and without any government over his passions, he was soon busily engaged in the

same wicked career, and continued until a knowledge of the

same reached my ears. I immediately charged him with it,

and he admitted that it was true; but in order to put a stop to

all such proceedings for the future, I publicly proclaimed

against it, and had those females notified to appear before the

proper [Church] officers that the whole subject might be

investigated and thoroughly exposed.

During the course of investigation [by Church officials],

the foregoing facts were proved by credible witnesses, and

were sworn and subscribed to before an alderman of the

city, on the 15th ult. The documents containing the evidence are now in my possession. (Times and Seasons 3 [July

I, 1842]: 839-840; RLDS History of the Church 2:585-587;

italics added)

From the above it is seen that Dr. Bennett "seduced an innocent female by his lying, and subjected her character to public

disgrace, should it ever be known." She was "a young lady, one

of our citizens." He also "went to some of the [other] females

in the city" and "accomplished his wicked purposes."

Lorenzo Wasson Testified of

Bennett's Guilt and Joseph's Innocence

One of Joseph's primary witnesses to his fidelity and Bennett's immorality was Emma's nephew, Lorenzo D. Wasson, a

son of Emma's sister, Elizabeth Wasson. Lorenzo joined the

Church and lived with his Aunt Emma and Uncle Joseph, where

Bennett also boarded. During the summer of 1841, Lorenzo was

upstairs in Joseph and Emma's bedroom at the Homestead, and

heard Joseph berating Bennett in the room below. The next

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summer, on July 30, 1842, while on a missionary journey,

Lorenzo wrote Joseph these words:

Uncle, . . If I can be of any service in this Bennett affair I am

ready. I was reading in your chamber last summer-yourself

and Bennett came into the lower room, and I heard you give

J.C. Bennett a tremendous flagellation for practicing iniquity

under the base pretence of authority from the heads of the

church-if you recollect I came down just before you were

through talking. There are many things I can inform you of,

if necessary, in relation to Bennett and his prostitutes. I am

satisfied of your virtue and integrity. I have been with you to

visit the sick, and time and again to houses where you had

business of importance, you requested me to do so-many

times I knew not why, but I am satisfied it was that you might

not be censured by those that were watching you with a

jealous eye, and I now solemnly protest before God and man,

I never saw a thing unvirtuous in your conduct. . . I am your

most obedient nephew, L. D. WASSON. (Times and Seasons

3 [August 15, 1842): 892)

Lorenzo was Joseph's faithful attendant in life and in death.

In 1843 Joseph was taken prisoner by Sheriff Reynolds of Missouri at the Wasson home in Dixon, Illinois. Lorenzo and his

father's quick action provided Joseph with attorneys and prevented Joseph from being taken to Missouri (see Saints' Herald

82 [January 22, 1935): 112). It was Lorenzo who hastened to

Nauvoo with a message from Emma, bearing the news to the

Saints of Joseph's arrest. And alas, it was Lorenzo that Joseph

III remembers seeing "covered with dust, bringing the news"

that Joseph and Hyrum had been murdered at Carthage (ibid.

[January 29, 1935): 143).

After a mock funeral and entombment for Joseph and Hyrum

in June of 1844, Lorenzo and others, carefully chosen by Emma,

secretly buried the bodies of the Martyrs in the basement of the

Nauvoo House (see George Q. Cannon, The Life of Joseph

Smith the Prophet, 529-530). Lorenzo refused to follow the

leadership of Brigham Young.

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Who Was the "Young Lady"

Whom Bennett "Disgraced"?

One of the best-kept secrets in the Church is the identity of

the "innocent female" whom Bennett seduced. Joseph revealed

the names of other women who were involved with Bennett, but

never hers. The young lady's name was known, of course, to

Church officials who tried Bennett's case, such as members of

the Presidency and the High Council. Their official investigation of Bennett's immorality was reported in the Times and

Seasons and the Nauvoo Wasp; yet her identity was kept secret.

Why? Because as Joseph explained, she was "innocent"-she

was looked upon as a victim. This was not the case with President Sidney Rigdon's daughter, Nancy; Apostle Orson Pratt's

wife, Sarah; and several other women whose names were published (see Affidavits and Certificates Disproving the Statements and Affidavits Contained in John C. Bennett's Letters,

published at Nauvoo, Illinois, August 31, 1842). The reason

that their names were made public will be explained in later

chapters.

The Snow Family Left Nauvoo Abruptly

Eliza Snow and John Bennett had known each other in Ohio;

they were the same age; and both had good educations and were

intellectual, as previously noted. Now they were in Nauvoo and

were close friends of Joseph and Emma Smith and Sidney and

Phebe Rigdon. These facts show a natural relationship between

them. During this time an incident occurred which angered

Eliza's father, Oliver Snow. Historian and author, Maureen Ursenbach Beecher, has written:

Spring 1842 was a time of great turmoil for the Snow

family. Apostate John C. Bennett was spreading falsehoods,

dissension was breaking out among the Saints, and persecution

from nearby settlers was mounting. For Oliver Snow, it was

more trial than he had faith to match. Purchasing property at

Walnut Grove, a settlement some seventy-five miles east of

Nauvoo, he moved his family there, those who would go. He

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wrote to his brother Franklin that "Eliza cannot leave our

Prophet. Mother [Rosetta] did not like to. For my part I am

very glad, at present, to be away. Turmoil and confusion,

these stalk abroad at noon day." (Ensign 9 [June 1980]: 67)

Oliver Snow had endured all kinds of hardships with the

Saints in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. Why was the spring of

1842 so much worse that Oliver decided to leave Nauvoo and

the Church? The spring of 1842 was the time that Joseph

brought Dr. Bennett to trial and exposed those who were involved in his seductive activities by publishing the information.

Did those trials reveal to Oliver that Dr. Bennett, one of the

heads of the Church, had seduced his daughter, Eliza? Mormon

Church authorities insist that Eliza did become pregnant during the Nauvoo period. This may have been between the spring

of 1841 when the family moved back to Nauvoo from La Harpe,

and the spring of 1842 when Oliver departed so abruptly. This

was the same time that Bennett was most involved in his promiscuous activities. If Eliza were that "innocent female," it

would explain Oliver Snow's abrupt change of allegiance and

departure from Nauvoo.

Dr. Wyl Implied Bennett Seduced Eliza

The German author and newspaper correspondent, Dr. W.

Wyl, spent nearly five months in Salt Lake City in 1885 collecting material for a book on Mormonism. When the book was

published, it contained information which he had acquired from

his interviews with approximately eighty individuals, including

a number of old-time Saints from the Nauvoo and Kirtland days.

Dr. Wyl implied that Dr. John C. Bennett had seduced Eliza

Snow. He did this by quoting from an article by Eliza, published in the Times and Seasons of February 1, 1844 (5:430-

431), entitled "Missouri," which spoke of polluting "female

virtue." Wyl then suggested that it was "Joab," not Missouri,

of whom Eliza had written. "Joab" was the pseudonym used by

Bennett for some of his articles which were published in the

Church paper (see Times and Seasons 2 [November 15, 1840]:

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222; 2 [December 1, 1840]: 238; 2 [January 1, 1841): 267).

Wyl, who called Eliza's article a psalm, wrote of Eliza and

Bennett:

Sister Snow, in her great psalm . . says of Missouri:

"Thou art a stink in the nostrils of the Goddess of Liberty

. .. Thou art already associated with Herod, Nero and the

bloody Inquisition-thy name has become synonymous with

oppression, cruelty, treachery and blood." Oh, SapphoEliza-Roxanna-Snow-Smith-Young ! But I think I sniff General Joab in this transcendent psalm. "Thou didst pollute the

holy sanctuary of female virtue, and barbarously trample

upon the most sacred gems of domestic felicity," is PistolBennett, sure. (Dr. W. Wyl, Mormon Portraits or the Truth

About the Mormon leaders from 1830 to 1886, 186-187)

Why did Dr. Wyl write, "I sniff' Bennett in Eliza's psalm?

Apparently because one or more old-time Saints, who had lived

in Nauvoo, had confided to him the closely guarded secret that

Eliza had been the "young lady" who was seduced by "PistolBennett, [for] sure."

By applying the name Sappho to Eliza, Dr. Wyl was comparing her to the Greek poetess by that name (see Encyclopedia

Americana 24 [1954]: 291-292). Dr. Wyl was acquainted with

the play by Austria's most talented dramatist, Franz Grillparzer,

which told the story of Sappho, the sixth century B.C. Greek

lyric poet. The drama had received wide acclaim throughout

Germany.

Eliza and Sappho had two things in common: each was the

greatest poetess in her respective society, and each was rejected

by her lover. Sappho was rejected by Phaon, a man who chose

a younger woman (ibid.; see also Frank N. Magill, Critical

Survey of Drama-Foreign Language Series, 2371). Eliza was

rejected by Dr. Bennett after he promised to marry her, for he

went to other women in Nauvoo and "overcame them also"

(Times and Seasons 3 [July 1, 1842]: 840). He rejected her

even further when he divorced his wife, Mary (see Springfield,

Illinois, Sangamo Journal [July 22, 1842], 2), and did not marry

Eliza.

The LOS Church authorities continually claim that the story

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of Eliza being pregnant at Nauvoo is true, and there is no reason

to doubt that she did conceive a child, but if she did, the child

was not born at Nauvoo. However, there is absolutely no foundation for their claim that Joseph Smith was the father.

One month before he died, Joseph the Prophet proclaimed to

thousands of Saints gathered for worship on Sunday May 26,

1844, that he was not a polygamist. He declared, "What a thing

it is for a man to be accused of committing adultery, and having

seven wives, when I can only find one" (LDS History of the

Church 6:411). Also, the fact that Emma did not push Eliza

down the Mansion House stairs (see chapter 9) is proof that the

LDS Church's "tradition" that Joseph was the father, is false.

Who then was the father? Dr. Wyl's book, from which LDS

writers have often quoted in their efforts to prove that Joseph

was a polygamist, implies that Bennett seduced Eliza-he could

have been the father.

Joseph Smith said of Dr. John C. Bennett's case, "What I

have stated I am prepared to prove, having all the documents

concerning the matter in my possession" (Times and Seasons

3 [July 1, 1842]: 841-842).

At Joseph's death, those documents pertaining to John C.

Bennett's case, referred to by the Prophet, fell into the possession of Brigham Young and his associates and were taken to

Utah. If those records still exist and could be examined and

made public, they would no doubt reveal that Dr. John C.
Bennett was the father of the child, which the Mormon Church

claims Eliza Snow gave birth to prematurely.





A diagram of the Mansion House stairs, showing that Charles C.

Rich could not have seen Emma and Joseph coming from one bedroom

and Eliza Snow coming from another (see also the photograph on page

126). (Not shown. For diagram of Mansion House showing this and a map of places where Cochranites were evangelized, go to pdf Joseph Smith Fought Polygamy Online at www.restorationbookstore.org

  , chapter 8 for the diagram and chapter 3 for the Map)

Chapter 10

More Evidence Concerning Eliza Snow

Years after Joseph Smith's death, many of the women who

were married to prominent church leaders in Utah, claimed to

have been married to Joseph while in Nauvoo. This was because

Joseph's three sons, Joseph III, Alexander, and David, went to

Utah and challenged the polygamous system there by claiming

their father was not a polygamist. Under this attack, the LDS

leaders had to find women who would swear that they had been

Joseph's wives in order to keep the empire from collapsing.

Eliza R. Snow was Brigham Young's most prominent wife, so of

course she would have desired to uphold the system. And the

best way to do it was to issue public statements that she had been

Joseph's wife. One of Eliza Snow's declarations that she was

married to Joseph is found in Edward W. Tullidge's The Women

of Mormondom, 294-295.

The publication of Emma Smith's last testimony by Joseph

Smith III brought a strong contradictory statement from Eliza

Snow. Emma's testimony, given in February 1879 (two and a

half months before her death) stated that her husband, Joseph,

had not given a revelation on polygamy nor practiced that

doctrine (see RLDS History of the Church 3:352-358). Eliza's

rebuttle to Emma's testimony was published in the Deseret

News (weekly) of October 22, 1879. It was then republished by

Assistant LDS Historian Andrew Jenson in an article entitled

"Plural Marriage" in the Historical Record 6 [May 1887]: 224.

Eliza claimed to have married Joseph on June 29, 1842,

which is interesting in view of this being the approximate date

that Dr. Bennett departed from Nauvoo-the time when Joseph

was making a tremendous fight against polygamy.

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Eliza Abstained from Writing

about Polygamy in Nauvoo

More than thirty-two years later, after being Brigham's wife

for over a quarter of a century, Eliza wrote in the book, The

Women of Mormondom:

Polygamy was undoubtedly introduced by Joseph himself,

at Nauvoo, between 1840 and 1844. Years afterwards, however, a monogamic rival church [the RLDS Church], under

the leadership of young Joseph Smith, the first born of the

prophet, arose, denying that the founder of Mormondom was

the author of polygamy, and affirming that its origin was in

Brigham Young, subsequent to the martyrdom of the prophet

and his brother Hyrum. This, with the fact that nearly the

whole historic weight of polygamy rests with Utah, renders it

expedient that we should barely touch the subject at Nauvoo,

and wait for its stupendous sensation after its publication to

the world by Brigham Young. (Edward W. Tullidge, The

Women of Mormondom, 293)

Why did Eliza find it "expedient that we should barely touch

the subject at Nauvoo," when that which happened there determined the whole matter of the polygamy question? Why did she

say that "Polygamy was undoubtedly introduced by Joseph himself" when she knew Joseph did not introduce it? Eliza Snow

knew exactly what happened in Nauvoo, for as an officer in the

Ladies' Relief Society she gave her support to Emma and

Joseph, and stood with them in Nauvoo as they fought a losing

battle against polygamy.

Eliza knew that Joseph was innocent in 1842, and she knew

it in 1876-1877 as she assisted Edward Tullidge in writing The

Women of Mormondom. Since she was one of the central figures

in the polygamy controversy at Nauvoo and had become a coconspirator with her husband, Brigham Young, in placing the

blame for the introduction of that doctrine upon Joseph, any indepth attempt by her in 1877 to write historically of polygamy

would have been risky. With only a minority of the Saints in

Utah practicing polygamy, and many of the former old Nauvoo

Saints still alive, Eliza no doubt touched lightly on the subject

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of polygamy to keep her past from being unveiled.

Eliza Signed a Certificate Which Said There Was

No Polygamy in the Church at Nauvoo

One of the reasons Eliza wanted to barely touch on the

subject of polygamy at Nauvoo was because she had helped lead

a thousand women in signing a petition, stating that Joseph was

not guilty of polygamy as Bennett had charged (see Times and

Seasons 3 [August 1, 1842]: 869). After Dr. Bennett left Nauvoo in late June 1842 and published many statements declaring

that Joseph was a polygamist, Joseph made a great effort to fight

against that false doctrine. Joseph himself published that he

"preached . . much against it" (Times and Seasons 3 [July 1,

1842]: 840). Also, the Ladies' Relief Society, with Emma as the

president and Eliza Snow as the secretary, made a strong public

stand against polygamy. The Relief Society prepared and published a certificate which declared:

We the undersigned members of the ladies' relief society,

and married females do certify and declare that we know of

no system of marriage being practised in the church of Jesus

Christ of Latter Day Saints save the one contained in the Book

of Doctrine and Covenants .

Emma Smith, President .

Eliza R. Snow, Secretary. (Times and Seasons 3 [October

1, 1842]: 940)

No wonder Eliza said that it was "expedient that we should

barely touch the subject at Nauvoo"! Her stories conflictedshe had signed a statement printed on October 1, 1842, that no

system of polygamy existed in the Church. But years later

(when she was trying to support Brigham's polygamy) she

claimed to have married Joseph on June 29, 1842, which was

only three months prior to her signing the statement by the

Relief Society. Signing the certificate made her 1879 claim of

marriage to Joseph an obvious falsehood.

The statement in the certificate, signed by Eliza and other

leading women of the Church, stated that they knew of no

system of marriage but the one in the Doctrine and Covenants-

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the official law of the Church entitled "On Marriage." It was

Section 101 in the 1835 Edition which Joseph used in Nauvoo,

and Section 109 in LDS editions from 1844 to 1876, but was

removed when the 1876 Edition was printed (see The Doctrine

and Covenants Student Manual [1981], 2). The polygamous

Section 132 was inserted in the LDS Doctrine and Covenants

for the first time in the 1876 Edition (ibid., 327). The article on

marriage is Section 111 in the editions published by the Reorganized Church.

Joseph, who was the editor of the Times and Seasons in

1842, published the Church's official law "On Marriage" in

conjunction with the Relief Society's certificate to prove that

polygamy was a crime and not a doctrine of the Church. Joseph

published that,

Inasmuch as this church of Christ has been reproached with

the crime of fornication, and polygamy: we declare that we

believe, that one man should have one wife; and one woman,

but one husband, except in case of death, when either is at

liberty to marry again . .. We have given the above rule of

marriage as the only one practiced in this church. (Times and

Seasons 3 [October I, 1842]: 939; italics added)

It should be emphasized that Joseph declared here that polygamy was a crime.

Eliza and the Book Entitled

The Women of Mormondom

Eliza's keen intellect and superior writing and executive

abilities, along with being married to the master of Utah, made

her the most prominent woman in the LDS Church. She needed

Brigham, and he needed her. She needed him so she could be

elevated to supreme prominence, and he needed her to convince

the women of Utah, and the world, that polygamy was a divine

doctrine and that Joseph was its author.

After Joseph and Emma Smith's three sons went to Utah to

convert the Saints back to the true faith, Eliza responded by preparing the book, as previously mentioned, to prove that Joseph

105

was the author of polygamy.

Leonard J. Arrington, former LDS historian, wrote that the

idea for the book to be written was Eliza's. Arrington stated:

In 1876- 77 Eliza directed the preparation of a manuscript

which, with the assistance of Edward W. Tullidge, was published under the title The Women of Mormondom (New York,

1877). This book containing the personal histories and important talks of twenty-six LDS women and shorter sketches

of fifty-six additional women was remarkable . .. The idea

of the 552-page book was Eliza's; she induced the women to

write the personal histories that form the basis of the book,

and she raised the funds for its publication. (The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal IO [1990]: 11)

Eliza's self-glorification is seen in many places in the book,

which bears Tullidge's name as the author. Eliza's portrait appears in the front of the book. On page 63 she refers to herself

as "Eliza R. Snow, the high priestess." On page 66 she writes

of the "interesting relationship between the prophet [Joseph]

and the inspired heroine [Eliza] who became his celestial bride,

and whose beautiful ideals have so much glorified celestial

marriage." She refers to herself as "the prophetess, Eliza R.

Snow," on page 69; and on page 194 she calls herself "prophetess and high priestess." The book gives interesting accounts of

the lives of many of the LDS Church's leading women (some

were plural wives of leading men). Interwoven in the accounts

were their testimonies that Joseph Smith brought polygamy into

the Church.

Until Brigham's death, he and Eliza worked very closely together. She always sat on his immediate right at dinner and during evening family worship, and held a place in his life that no

other wife, not even his wives who bore him children, could

challenge.

Brigham's daughter, Clarissa Young Spencer, wrote:

Aunt Eliza R. Snow . . held a most honored place in our

household . .. She always sat on Father's right at the dinner

table and also in the prayer room. He valued her opinion

greatly and gave her many important commissions. (Clarissa

Young Spencer, Brigham Young at Home, 82-83)

106

Another of Brigham's daughters wrote that Eliza was the

last one with whom Brigham counseled prior to his death. Susa

Young Gates stated:

After prayers that evening [August 19, 1877] he sat in

council with Aunt Eliza R. Snow in the prayer-room . .. At

11 o'clock that night he was seized with an attack of what was

supposed to be "cholera morbus" . .. On . . August 29, 1877,

he passed away. (Susa Young Gates, The Life Story of Brigham Young, 360-361)

Together, Eliza and Brigham convinced millions that

Joseph was the author of polygamy. But the truth is finally coming forth-that Eliza lied and that Joseph actually fought against

polygamy.

"Joseph forbids it [polygamy]

and the practice thereof"

The LDS Church history quotes a statement which purports

to be an exact entry from Joseph's journal for October 5, 1843,

to prove that Joseph had commanded that polygamy be practiced.

The statement is monogamous in the original journal, but was

changed by Mormon historians to have a polygamous meaning.

Joseph's October 5,1843, entry as it now appears incorrectly in

the Mormon history is:

"Gave instructions to try those persons who were preaching,

teaching, or practicing the doctrine of plurality of wives; for,

according to the law, I hold the keys of this power in the last

days; for there is never but one on earth at a time on whom the

power and its keys are conferred; and I have constantly said

no man shall have but one wife at a time, unless the Lord

directs otherwise." (LDS History of the Church 6:46)

Modern Mormon scholars, who have had access to records

in the Mormon Church's archives, have found that this statement has been changed. Originally it condemned polygamy.

The original quotation is in "an untitled journal of278 manuscript

pages," which is thought to be in the handwriting of Willard

Richards, one of Joseph's scribes. Richards made the follow-

107

ing entry:

Walked up and down St[reet] with Scribe and gave instructions to try those who were preaching, teaching, or practicing

the doctrine of plurality of wives on this Law. Joseph forbids

it and the practice thereof. No man shall have but one wife.

[rest of page blank] { page 116} (Scott H. Faulring, ed., An

American Prophet's Record: The Diaries and Journals of

Joseph Smith, 417)

Richard S. Van Wagoner, author and historian, agreed that

this is true, saying,

The prophet's most pointed denial of plural marriage

occurred on 5 October 1843 in instructions pronounced publicly in the streets of Nauvoo. Willard Richards wrote in

Smith's diary that Joseph "gave instructions to try those who

were preaching, teaching, or practicing the doctrine of plurality

of wives . .. Joseph forbids it and the practice thereof. No

man shall have but one wife." (Van Wagoner, Sidney Rigdon,

292)

Van Wagoner continued by explaining:

When incorporating Smith's journal into the History of

the Church, church leaders, under Brigham Young's direction,

deleted ten key words from this significant passage and added

forty-nine others. (ibid., 303, note 17)

What a tremendous difference between the way Joseph gave

this instruction against polygamy and the way the LOS polygamists published it in their doctored history! They changed the

history as part of the conspiracy to legalize their own polygamous

crimes by making the dead Prophet the author of it. The original

version of the October 5 entry agreed with all of Joseph's writings which were published during his lifetime-including those

found in the Three Scriptures and his sermon of May 26, 1844,

against the dissenters.

108

Joseph Was Either a Monogamist

or a Hypocrite and Fraud

Presiding Patriarch Elbert A. Smith of the RLDS Church

was the son of David Hyrum Smith, who was the youngest son

of Joseph the Martyr and Emma Smith. Elbert spent a lifetime

studying the polygamy conspiracy. He commented on his

grandfather's May 25, 1844, sermon by stating:

On page 411 of the sixth volume of the church history

published by the Utah Mormon church appears a remarkable

statement, purporting to come from the lips of Joseph Smith

the Martyr. It is found in a synopsis of a sermon delivered by

the prophet from the stand in Nauvoo, Sunday, May 26, 1844

( only a month before his death). He is replying to the charges

made in the Nauvoo Expositor. He says: "What a thing it is

for a man to be accused of committing adultery, and having

seven wives, when I can find only one." Our Gentile friend

may twist the statement as made here in a ridiculous way. But

our Mormon friends claim to present Joseph Smith as a

prophet whose testimony may be relied upon. Clearly his

intention was to say plainly that at that time he had but the

one wife. We are indebted to our Utah friends for having

preserved and published this statement unwittingly.

In the same volume, on page 474, is a report of a sermon

by the prophet from the stand in Nauvoo, June 6 [ 16], 1844.

In one passage they report him as saying: "I have taught all

the strong doctrines publicly, and always taught stronger

doctrines in public than in private." This was about ten days

before his death and effectually disposes of the Utah claim

that he taught the strong (and rank) doctrine of polygamy in

private, not daring to teach it in public. Salt Lake can hardly

repudiate its own version of these sermons . ..

There is no halfway ground. Either Joseph Smith was

true and clean, open and above board, as the Reorganized

Church claims; or else he was a hypocrite and a fraud through

and through, as his enemies claim. The Utah Mormons cannot long continue seriously to contend that he was a real

prophet of God, and a good man, yet blowing hot in private

and cold in public, a monogamist in the pulpit and press and

a polygamist in his home, a pure milk of the word man by

109

daylight and a strong meat man after dark. (Saints' Herald 65

[February 27, 1918]: 204)

Joseph's grandson, Elbert, was correct when he said that Joseph was either monogamous, or he was a hypocrite and a fraud.

Joseph's writings, and the fact that he had no polygamous

children, are proofs that he was not a polygamist. The LOS

Church's position is based upon the theory that Joseph was a

hypocrite-that he denounced polygamy in public and practiced

it in private. This is indeed a fragile foundation for the Mormon

Church, considering that Joseph was a bold man who never

hesitated to proclaim all the doctrines of the gospel, regardless

of the opposition.

Orson Hyde




Parley Pratt




Orson Pratt

Dr. John Bennett




Eliza Snow





Isaac Sheen

Edmund Briggs





Elbert A. Smith






Beautiful Nauvoo as seen from Montrose, Iowa, across the Mississippi

River.



Nauvoo as painted by David H. Smith, son of Joseph and Emma.




Joseph Smith's General Store (Red Brick Store) after reconstruction.

It also served as Church headquarters and a meeting place for various

groups.






The upper room in the Red Brick Store (as reconstructed), where

important meetings were held.




The Homestead at sunset-the first home of Joseph and Emma Smith

in Nauvoo. The Mississippi River may be seen in the background.

(Transmitter's note, while I didn't dig enough to find the exact picture, I'm not sure if what is pictured is a sunset or a sunrise-BLS)



The Mansion House-Joseph and Emma's second home in Nauvoo.

The Mansion House was operated as a hotel, with Joseph and his family

occupying six rooms.



Home of Nauvoo Stake President William Marks, northwest of the Red

Brick Store. William assisted Joseph in the fight against polygamy.




Home of Apostle Brigham Young in Nauvoo. Brigham secretly led the

movement toward introducing polygamy into the Church.


The narrow Mansion House stairs-showing the

falseness of Charles C. Rich's story that while standing in the lobby or parlor behind the wall on the right,

he saw Joseph and Emma coming from their bedroom

and Eliza Snow coming from another, and that Emma

pushed Eliza down the stairs (see page 88).

(I could not find this image on the internet. It is on the JSFP Online pdf in Chapter 11 on   www.restorationbookstore.org  .)

Polygamy Was Not Practiced

by the Church in 1841

In order to stress that the Church was not in favor of

polygamy, an article from the St. Louis, Missouri, Atlas was

republished in the Times and Seasons. It read:

An intelligent friend, who called upon us this morning,

has just returned from a visit to Nauvoo and the Mormons

. .. He believes-just as we do-that they have been grossly

misunderstood and shamefully libeled . .. [l]t is a faith which

they say encourages no vice, nor immorality, nor departure

from established laws and usages; neither polygamy, nor

promiscuous intercourse, nor community of property. (ibid.,

580)

Joseph Preached against Polygamy

The records show that throughout the year 1841 Joseph

made a valiant fight against the encroachment of polygamy into

the Church. Let it be remembered that Bennett even stated that

Joseph preached "much against it" (ibid. 3 [July 1, 1842]: 840).

Where are the records of the many sermons which the

Prophet preached against polygamy in 1841 and 1842? Were

132

his sermons recorded by Church clerks? Do they exist in the

LOS Church Archives in Salt Lake City, Utah? If the missing

sermons do exist and are published in the future, they will

denounce polygamy and further vindicate the Prophet. His missing sermons would give still more evidence that the Prophet

was, and still is, a victim of an insidious conspiracy to attach his

name to a doctrine which he abhorred and vigorously opposed.

Chapter 13

Joseph Sued Chauncey L. Higbee

in Court at Carthage

Joseph Smith took immediate action when he discovered

that Lawyer Chauncey L. Higbee had used his name to seduce

women into practicing spiritual wifery. The Prophet was so disturbed by this news that he not only brought Chauncey before

the Church's High Council and had him expelled from the

Church, but he took the case two steps further: He sued Chauncey in Nauvoo before Justice of the Peace Ebenezer Robinson,

and later in the Hancock County Circuit Court at the county seat

at Carthage. In doing so Joseph provided one of the strongest

evidences that (1) he was not a polygamist, (2) that he had not

had a revelation commanding the practice of polygamy, and (3)

that polygamy had its origin in some other source (which was in

Dr. Bennett's brand of Cochranism).

How the Chauncey L. Higbee Court Case Was Found

The records of Joseph's court case against Chauncey were

kept in the Hancock County Courthouse files at Carthage,

Illinois, under the title, The People vs. Chauncey L. Higbee.

They were deposited in the office of the County Clerk and

Recorder of the Circuit Court. These documents have remained

unknown to Saints and scholars because Brigham Young and

the historians, who rewrote Church history after Joseph's death,

excluded the details of this court case from their history. Therefore, the Carthage records have not been previously treated in

writings on the subject of polygamy.

We (Richard and Pamela Price) began seriously studying the

144

polygamy question in the early 1950s. Our vacations were spent

studying in libraries in Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, Utah,

and Washington, D.C. Notes were laboriously taken in longhand and typed later. Information on the subject of polygamy in

the Church was also discovered by sending inquiries to libraries

throughout the United States, and to Manchester and London,

England (where thousands of Saints were converted in the

1840s). Information gathered from these sources made the story

of Joseph's fight against polygamy more evident. In all of our

studies, the Chauncey Higbee case was one of our most important

discoveries.

Richard recorded in his journal for November 7, 1962:

In our studies in preparation of the book, Joseph Smith

Fought Polygamy, . . Pamela and I felt directed that we

should go to Carthage and study the court records firsthand.

We sent a letter to which they replied that the records were

open to the public. On the above date we . . drove to Carthage, taking two cameras and two typewriters.

Pamela's notes state:

We left Independence, November 7, 1962, after work . ..

We spent the next day in the Hancock County Courthouse,

in the office of the County Clerk and Recorder of the Circuit

Court. There we found that the archives contained the court

records dating back to the beginning of the county. We

searched all day long and found six indictments which were

brought against Joseph in 1844 by some of the Nauvoo conspirators who brought about his death, but nothing pertaining

to the question of polygamy in 1842.

During the first day we had searched through everything

to no avail. We called in Mr. P , the circuit court clerk,

and asked him to help us find more information on Joseph

Smith, but he was unable to do so. We were very disappointed

as we left that evening and retired to the Hotel Carthage

across the street south of the courthouse.

The next day we searched the [Hancock] county public

library and were amazed to find so little that would be helpful.

We went back with prayer to the County Clerk's archives and

began searching the 1842 files again. With great surprise

145

and delight, we found a court case in File Box 18, Case

Number 40, with an innocent-looking title, "People vs. Higbee

Oct. 1842 No 40."

To our amazement we found in File Box 18 a jacket of faded

blue paper with the title of this case on the outside. This was

Case Number 40. Inside the jacket were seven papers which

were the actual court documents of the suit which the Prophet

brought against Chauncey Higbee. This included an affidavit

signed by the Prophet Joseph Smith. What a tremendous find!

There was Joseph's signature on a sworn affidavit that his

character, and also the character of his wife, Emma, had been

defamed by Chauncey L. Higbee "in seducing certain females."

This affidavit has great significance when it is studied in

connection with the testimonies of Margaret and Matilda Nyman,

Sarah Miller, and Catharine Warren, as given in the previous

chapter. The documents within the jacket were:

I. Joseph Smith's affidavit;

2. A warrant for the arrest of Lawyer Chauncey Higbee to

have him appear before Justice Ebenezer Robinson in

Nauvoo;

3. A subpoena for three of the women named above to

appear as witnesses for Joseph, before Justice Robinson in Nauvoo;

4. Justice Ebenezer Robinson's "transcript" with which

he remanded the case to the circuit court in Carthage;

5. Chauncey Higbee's bond that he would appear before

the Carthage Circuit Court;

6. A subpoena for three of the women named above and

one man to appear as Joseph's witnesses at Carthage;

7. Another subpoena to have five women appear as Chauncey's witnesses at Carthage.

THE DOCUMENTS WITHIN THE JACKET OF

THE CASE OF PEOPLE VS. HIGBEE

The documents have been given numbers in this chapter to

assist in their identification. Documents Number 1 through

Number 4 reveal that on May 24, 1842, Chauncey had a hearing

146

before Justice of the Peace Ebenezer Robinson in Nauvoo.

[Document Number 1-Joseph's Affidavit]

State of Illinois } ss

County of Hancock

Before me, Ebenezer Robinson, one of the Justices of the

Peace for said county personally came Joseph Smith, who,

being duly sworn according to law, depose th and saith, that at

sundry times, in the City of Nauvoo, county aforesaid, one

Chancy L. Higbee has slandered and defamed the character of

the said Joseph Smith, and also the character of Emma Smith,

his wife, in using their names, the more readily to accomplish

his purpose in seducing certain females, and further this

deponont saith not.

Sworn to, and subscribed before me, in the county aforesaid, this 24th day of May A.O. 1842. E. Robinson J. P.

[Signed] Joseph Smith

On another sheet inside the jacket which contained the case

was written:

J. Smith's Affidavit Filed September 14th, 1842 . .. Davis

Clerke

We were familiar with photocopies of Joseph Smith's signature, and as we viewed the document we felt certain that it was

indeed the Prophet's signature. We were honored to hold in our

hands a document which had been signed by the Prophet-the

document upon which this entire case was based.

[Document Number 2-State Warrant for the Arrest of

Chauncey Higbee}

State of Illinois } ss

County of Hancock

The People of the State of Illinois, to all sheriffs, coronors

and constables of said State.

Greeting:

Whereas complaint has been made before me, one of the

Justices of the Peace in and for the county aforesaid, upon the

oath of Joseph Smith, that Chancy Higbee, late of the county

aforesaid did, at sundry times, slander the character of the

said Joseph Smith, and also the character of Emma, his wife.

These are therefore, to command you to take the said

Chancy L. Higbee, ifhe be found in your county; or ifhe shall

have fled, that you pursue after the said into any other county

within this state, and take and safely keep the said Higbee

Chancy L. Higbee so that you have his body forthwith before

me, or some other Justice of the Peace to answer the said

complaint, and be further dealt with according to law.

Given under my hand and seal this 24th day of May A.D.

1842.

E. Robinson ss

Justice Peace

On the back of the warrant were the words:

State Warrant

State of Illinois

vs.

Chancy L. Higbee

costs SO

Filed September 14th, 1842

J. C. Davis Clerk

I have taken the within named Chauncey L Higbee and

He is know preasent [now present].

May 24th 1842. fees 31 cts, Lewis Robison Constable.

[Document Number 3-Subpoenafor

Joseph's Witnesses at Nauvoo]

STATE OF ILLINOIS, } S HANCOCK COUNTY, ct.

THE PEOPLE OF THE ST A TE OF ILLINOIS To Margaret J.

147

148

Nyman, Matilda Nyman, Sarah Miller,

You are hereby commanded to appear before me at my

office in Nauvoo, forthwith then and there to testify the truth,

in a matter in suit, wherein The State of Illinois is plaintiff and

Chancy L. Higbee defendant and this you are not to omit

under the penalty of the law. Given under my hand and seal,

this 24th day of May, 1842.

E. Robinson J. P. [Seal]

The following is written in longhand on this page:

Names of Witnesses in case of State of Illinois vs.

Chancy L. Higbee

Margaret J. Nyman

Matilda Nyman

Sarah Miller &

Alexander McRae

Issued

The following information is written on the back of the

subpoena:

Subpoena

State of Illinois

vs

Chancy L. Higbee

costs .25 [cents]

50

31

Served on the witnesses named May 24th 1842 Fees

50 [cents]

Lewis Robison Constable

(Adding authenticity to this subpoena are these descriptive words, "E. Robinson, Printer, Nauvoo," which shows that

Ebenezer had printed the subpoenas that were used in Nauvoo.)


Justice Robinson's transcript by which the case of The People vs.

Chauncey L. Higbee was remanded to the county circuit court in Carthage.

(For a copy of this transcript, go to the JSFP Online pdf on     www.restorationbookstore.org   , chapter 11)


[Document Number 4-Robinson 's "Transcript"

Remanding the Case to the Carthage Court]

Joseph pressed the case further and Justice Ebenezer

Robinson prepared the necessary papers to be entered in the

records at Carthage in preparation for the trial. The documents

were entered by a clerk at Carthage on September 14, 1842, in

the office of the circuit clerk. The trial date was set for October

3, 1842. Robinson's transcript stated:

Slander and Defamation of Character.

State of Illinois

vs.

Chancy L. Higbee

Justice fees $1.62 I /2

Const. " 4 Witnesses $2.00

May 24 1842. Upon the affidavit of Joseph Smith, a

Warrant issued against Chancy L. Higbee for slander and

defamation committed against the said Joseph Smith and

Emma Smith his wife, at sundry times in the City of Nauvoo,

and county of Hancock.

May 24, 1842. Warrant executed by Lewis Robison,

Constable, by bringing the Defendant [Chauncey Higbee]

forward. At request of complainant [Joseph Smith] subpoena

issued for Margaret J. Nyman, Matilda Nyman and Sarah

Miller, and was sworn by Constable Robison and the witnesses

attended.

On hearing, the Defendant is required to give bail in the

sum of Two Hundred Dollars, for his appearance at the next

term of the Circuit Court for said county, to answer said

complaint.

Whereupon, the Defendant, and Francis M. Higbee [his

brother] entered into bond accordingly.

State of Illinois } SS County of Hancock

I, Ebenezer Robinson, Justice of the peace, do certify that

151

the foregoing is a true copy from my Docket, of the proceedings in the above case. September 1, 1842. E. Robinson

J.P.

On the cover of this important document these words are

written:

Transcript

State of Illinois

vs

Chauncey L. Higbee

Filed in my office Septem 14th 1842 J.C. Davis Clerke

[Document Number 5-Chauncey's Bond, Agreement

to Appear at the October 3 Trial]

State of Illinois }

County of Hancock ss.

Be it remembered, that on the Twenty-fourth day of May,

in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight hundred and forty

Two Chancy L. Higbee and Francis M. Higbee personally

appeared before me, Ebenezer Robinson, one of the justices

of the peace in and for the county aforesaid, and jointly and

severally acknowledged themselves to owe the people of the

State of Illinois the sum of Two Hundred Dollars, to be levied

of their goods and chattels, lands and tenements, if default be

made in the condition following, to wit:

The condition of this recognizance is such, that if the

above bound Chancy L. Higbee shall personally be and appear before the Circuit Court on the first day of the term

thereof, next to be holden in and for the County aforesaid;

then and there to answer the a charge of slander and defamation

against the characterofJoseph Smith, and abide the judgment

of the Court, and not default without leave; then this recognizance shall be void: otherwise, it shall be and remain in full

force and virtue in law.

C. L. Higbee

F. M. Higbee



The subpoena which was issued to summon Joseph's witnesses to

testify in the Carthage court.

(For a copy of this document, go to Ibid, same website as last document)

Taken and acknowledged before me, on the day and year

first above written.

E. Robinson

Justice Peace

On the outside of the above document is written:

Chancy L. Higbee's Bond.

Filed September 14, 1842, J.C. Davis Clerke C

[Document Number 6-A Subpoena for Joseph's

Witnesses for the Carthage Trial]

Three women and one man were subpoenaed to appear at

Carthage as witnesses for Joseph. The subpoena ordered:

STATE OF ILLINOIS, } Set.

HANCOCK COUNTY.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF Illinois. To THE SHERIFF

OF SAID COUNTY, GREETING: WE COMMAND You To

SUMMON Margaret J. Nyman, Matilda Nyman, Sarah Miller

& Alexander McRae ifto be found in your County, personally

to be and appear before the Circuit Court of said Hancock

County, at the Court House, in Carthage, on the 3d day of

October in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred

and forty two to testify, and the truth to speak, in relation to

a certain matter in controversy, now depending in the said

Court, between The People of of [sic] the State of Illinois

Plaintiffs and Chauncey L. Higbee Defendant at the instance

of the said Plaintiff [Joseph Smith] laying aside all pretences

and excuses whatsoever, under penalty of what the law directs. And make due return of this writ, and of the manner in

which you execute the same.

WITNESS, J.C. DAVIS, Clerk of our said Circuit Court, at

Carthage, this 14th day of September in the year of our Lord

one thousand eight hundred and forty-two.

J.C. Davis, Clerk.

By [ ] Avise D. C.

154

This information was recorded on the back of this subpoena:

1st Day. No.

Pltffs [Plaintiffs] SUBPOENA FOR Matilda J. Nyman et als

IN THE CASE OF

The People of the State Ills

vs

Chauncey L. Higbee

HANCOCK COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT, ILL.

To October TERM, A. D. 1842

SHERIFF'S FEES:

4 Services of Subpoena $1.00

72 Miles travel 4.50

4 Returning Subpoena _j_Q

$6.00

William Backinstos SHERIFF, H. c. ILL

by Henry Marks [ ]

"I have served the within writ by reading the same to the

within named Margaret Neiman, Matilda Neiman, Sarah

Miller, Alexander McRae Sept. 17th 1842

William Backinstos

SHERIFF, H. C. ILL

by Henry Marks [ ]

[Document Number 7-A Subpoena for Chauncey's

Witnesses to Appear at Carthage]

To defend himself, Chauncey had five women subpoenaed

to testify against Joseph. That subpoena ordered:

STATE OF ILLINOIS,} Set.

HANCOCK COUNTY.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,

TO THE SHERIFF OF SAID COUNTY, GREETING:

WE COMMAND You TO SUMMON Nancy Ridgon, Sarah

Pratt, Emeline White, Amanda Gee and Melissa Schindle if

to be found in your county, personally to be and appear before

155

the Circuit Court of said Hancock County, at the Court House

in Carthage, on the 3d day of October in the year of our Lord

one thousand eight hundred and forty-two to testify, and the

truth to speak, in relation to a certain matter in controversy,

now depending in the said Court, between the People of the

State of Illinois Plaintiffs and Chauncey L. Higbee Defendant at the instance of said Defendant, laying aside all pretences and excuses whatsoever, under penalty of what the law

directs. And make due return of this writ, and of the manner

in which you execute the same. WITNESS, J. C. DA VIS. Clerk

of our said Circuit Court at Carthage this 19th day of September

in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fortytwo.

J.C. Davis Clerk.

By [ ] Avise D. C.

On the outside of this subpoena was written:

1st Day. No. 23. Defts [Defendant's] SUBPOENA FOR Nancy

Rigdon, Sarah Pratt, Emeline White, Amanda Gee & Melissa

Schindle IN THE CASE OF The People vs C. L. Higbee Hancock

Circuit Court, Ill. To October TERM, A. D. 1842 . .

SHERIFF, H. C. ILL.

The Case Was "Disposed of " Because

Joseph Was Forced into Hiding

Unfortunately, this case never came to court because Dr.

John C. Bennett caused charges to be brought against Joseph,

which forced the Prophet into hiding until January 1, 1843-

long after the court date had passed. The case was closed with

this one-line entry:

Circuit Court Record: P; page: 4, file no.: 18; plaintiff:

People; Defendant: C. L. Higbee; kind of action: indictment;

Term disposed of: Oct. 1842. (Index to Court Papers A, listed

under index H)

It should be remembered that on May 6, 1842, Lilburn W.

Boggs, the ex-governor of Missouri, was shot and severely

156

wounded at his home in Independence, Missouri. Boggs had

been the governor at the time the Saints were driven out of Missouri in 1838-39, and had given the cruel extermination order

that the Saints must leave Missouri or die. Though Boggs had

many political enemies (at the time of the shooting he was a

candidate for the Missouri state senate), Joseph Smith was

blamed for the attempted assassination.

Dr. John Bennett was expelled from the Church May 11,

1842 (see Times and Seasons 3 [June 15, 1842]: 830). He soon

left Nauvoo and began publishing letters filled with accusations

against Joseph and the Church in an attempt to bring about the

downfall of both. The accusation which caused law officials to

seek Joseph's arrest, and forced the Prophet into hiding was

Bennett's claim that Joseph had told him that he had sent

Orrin Porter Rockwell to Independence to assassinate exGovernor Lilburn Boggs. A letter from Bennett was published

in the Sangamo Journal of Springfield, Illinois, in which Bennett

boasted, "I am now going over to Missouri to have Joe [Smith]

taken to justice" (Sangamo Journal, July 15, 1842).

After causing much animosity against Joseph in Illinois,

Bennett went to Jefferson City, the capital of Missouri, where he

assured authorities that Joseph was the perpetrator behind the

attempted murder of Boggs. As a result, Governor Reynolds of

Missouri requested that Governor Carlin of Illinois extradite

Joseph to Missouri for trial. On October 2, the day before the

Higbee trial was to take place at Carthage, Joseph learned of a

plot to capture him while he was attending the court. It is recorded that

About ten o'clock in the forenoon, a messenger arrived

[at Nauvoo] from Quincy, stating that the governor [Carlin of

Illinois] had offered a reward of $200 for Joseph Smith, Jun.,

and also $200 for Orrin P. Rockwell. This report was fully

established on receipt of the mail papers. The Quincy Whig

also stated that Governor Reynolds [ of Missouri] has offered

a reward, and published the governor's proclamation offering

a reward of $300 for Joseph Smith, Jun., and $300 for Orrin

P. Rockwell. (LOS History of the Church 5: 167)

157

Sidney Rigdon, who was visiting in Carthage,

ascertained that [Governor] Carlin had intentionally issued

an illegal writ, expecting thereby to draw President Joseph to

Carthage to get acquitted by habeas corpus before [Judge

Steven A.] Douglas, and having men there waiting with a

legal writ to serve on Joseph as soon as he was released under

the other one, and bear him away to Missouri, without further ceremony. (ibid., 168)

Judge Elias Higbee, father of Francis and Chauncey, reported

to Joseph that he [Elias] had

been informed that many of the Missourians are coming to

unite with the militia of this state voluntarily, and at their own

expense; so that after the court rises at Carthage, if they don't

take me [Joseph] there, they will come and search the city

[Nauvoo], &c. (ibid., 168-169)

In view of these reports Joseph had to make a choice-to go

to Carthage and risk being captured, or go into hiding. He chose

the latter. The words after the court rises in Judge Higbee's

statement is in reference to Joseph's court case against Chauncey.

If Joseph had appeared at Chauncey's trial at Carthage on

October 3, the Prophet could have been captured by civil authorities and extradited to Missouri; or perhaps he would have

been captured or killed by bounty hunters eager to collect the

$500 reward, which was a large sum of money in that day.

Joseph dared not go to Carthage under these circumstances, and

therefore the case of The People vs. Chauncey L. Higbee was

"disposed of."

The question has been asked: Why didn't Joseph renew the

suit against Chauncey at a later time? The answer is, because

Joseph only lived eighteen months longer, and had to remain in

semi-hiding during that time because the Missouri officials considered him to be a fugitive from justice. He narrowly escaped

being taken to Missouri in June 1843, when he was kidnapped

by Jackson County Sheriff Joseph H. Reynolds and Constable

Harmon T. Wilson of Carthage, Ilinois, after they disguised

themselves and posed as "Mormon elders" (see RLDS History

of the Church 2:657; LOS History of the Church 5:439-440).

158

The Fate of Joseph's Affidavit

In 1962 when we first examined the papers pertaining to this

case, no copier was available in the circuit court office where the

documents were deposited. We used slide film to photograph

the documents, but when the film was processed, the text was

not legible. We also made typed copies of the papers, including

Joseph's affidavit, which we proofread again and again to be

sure we had copied it correctly.

We realized that the papers were of great value; therefore,

we took The People vs. Chauncey L. Higbee case (Case #40 in

File Box 18) to a clerk in the office. After explaining their value

to her, we suggested that they put the documents into a vault for

protection, which she did immediately.

In 1968 we returned to the Carthage Courthouse to try to

obtain photocopies of these official papers, since a copier was

then available. We requested permission to examine this file

again and it was brought to us, but Joseph Smith's affidavit

(Document Number 1 above) was missing! We immediately

reported the absence of that document to a clerk, who informed

us that one of the county commissioners had taken it home for

study. Richard requested her to give him the name of the

commissioner, so we might contact him and ask the privilege of

making a copy of the affidavit, but she refused. However, we

still had our 1962 copy of Joseph's affidavit. We did make

photocopies of all the other documents at that time (1968).

In 1979 we again returned to the same office and examined

the files. Joseph's affidavit was still missing.

In June 1998 we went once more to Carthage to search for

Joseph's affidavit, but it had not been returned. When Richard

went to view the papers, on June 22, 1998, he found none of the

documents of this case in File Box 18. This fact was reported

to the clerks, who made an unsuccessful search for them.

Richard then explained to them that the case involved Joseph

Smith-whereupon they replied that many papers which had to

do with Joseph had been recently taken to Salt Lake City, Utah,

but had been returned. Further searching in a locked vault produced the packet of documents which the clerk said had been

159

taken to Salt Lake City. The papers were fragments from several

court cases, all mixed together and in great disorder. Among

them Richard found the jacket for The People vs. Chauncey L.

Higbee case. Only two other documents of the case were

there-the subpoenas for Joseph's witnesses (Margaret, et al)

and Chauncey's witnesses (Nancy, et al). The clerks did say that

all of the Joseph Smith papers had been recently microfilmed,

and that they may be available through the Mormon Church.

The clerks did not disclose the name of the person or persons

who took the documents to Utah for study. The remainder of the

documents concerning this case were not found at that time.

Mormon Church Writers Purposefully Avoided

Reporting Chauncey's Case

It is important to be aware that the Mormon Church did not

address The People vs. Chauncey L. Higbee case in its official

history. It mentioned Chauncey's promiscuity, but refrained

from giving details of the case.

Of course Apostle Brigham Young, his first cousin Apostle

Willard Richards, and the others who were involved in writing

the LOS Church's history after Joseph's death, knew all of the

facts of the Chauncey Higbee case. For example, Brigham and

Ebenezer Robinson were brothers-in-law, for they had married

sisters. (Brigham's first wife, Miriam Works, and Ebenezer's

wife, Angeline Works, were sisters.) If the LOS historians had

written that Joseph had sued Chauncey for falsely stating that

Joseph had received a polygamous revelation and "the heads of

the church" were practicing polygamy, the true facts would have

destroyed their false claims that Joseph had plural wives. In

other words, if the Saints had been told how emphatically

Joseph had denied having a polygamous revelation, and that he

had brought a charge of slander against a prominent member of

the Church for saying that he had, the Saints would have

discerned that Joseph was not a polygamist-and that the entire

polygamy doctrine and practice was a fraud.

160

The Significance of the Chauncey Higbee Case

Even though the case against Chauncey L. Higbee did not

come to trial at Carthage on October 3, 1842, it was a very significant factor in Joseph Smith's fight against polygamy. It

showed that Joseph vigorously contended against that evil doctrine in private and in public. If Joseph had been guilty, he

certainly would not have sued a competent lawyer and insisted

that the case be tried at Carthage among his enemies. Would a

man with plural wives sue a lawyer-in the state of Illinois,

where polygamy was a crime at that time (see Statutes of

Illinois, Criminal Code, Section 121-122)? If Joseph had been

guilty, Chauncey could have easily proven it, and no doubt

Joseph would have gone to jail for that crime.

One needs to be aware that the women Chauncey chose for

his witnesses were a part of "Bennett's clique." As already

stated, his witnesses (those who were members of the Church)

had suffered the shame of an investigation before the Nauvoo

High Council. Dr. John C. Bennett published their names in

newspapers across the land, and in his book, claiming that

Joseph had attempted to take them as his plural wives. No doubt

Chauncey hoped that by using these women as witnesses, he

could convince the world that he was innocent and that Joseph

was a polygamist, so the blame would be on Joseph and not

himself. The cases of these women are to be treated later.

Because Joseph was innocent, he did not hesitate to have

Chauncey arrested and charged. The case of The People vs.

Chauncey L. Higbee attests to the innocence of the Prophet, and

to his courageous fight to clear his and Emma's names of the

fraudulant charges that he had received a polygamous revelation and had plural wives.

Chapter 15

Dr. Bennett Persecuted Joseph and the Church

After Dr. John C. Bennett was expelled from the Church in

1842 and it became obvious that he could no longer be a prominent and respected person in Nauvoo, he left the city and began

a campaign of persecution against Joseph Smith and the Saints

which has never been equaled in severity. So many significant

events occurred during that spring and summer, which involved

the doctor and had such important bearings upon the subject of

polygamy, that they need to be kept in mind in the order of their

dates. Some of these events were:

May 6-Lilburn Boggs, ex-governor of Missouri who had

issued the order to drive the Saints out of the state

in 1838, was shot and wounded in his home in Independence.

May 7-General Bennett supervised a sham battle of the

Nauvoo Legion, in which it was believed that he intended

to have Joseph assassinated (see Cannon, Life of Joseph

Smith, 393-394).

May 11-The Church authorities voted to withdraw the hand

of fellowship from Dr. Bennett, and published the fact

on June 15 (see Times and Seasons 3:830).

May 17-Bennett resigned as mayor (see Wasp 1 [May 21,

1842]: 3). He also made affidavit that Joseph "never

did teach to me in private that an illegal illicit intercourse with females was, under any circumstances,

justifiable; and that I never knew him so to teach

others" (Times and Seasons 3 [July 1, 1842]: 840-841 ).

May 19-Joseph Smith was elected mayor of Nauvoo and

Bennett made an official statement before the City

Council in which he stated that Joseph was "strictly virtuous" (ibid. [July 1, 1842]: 841; [August 1, 1842]: 872).

174

May-June-The Church authorities discovered that Bennett was continuing his illicit activities (ibid., 872).

June 15-A notice that Bennett had been disfellowshipped

appeared in the Times and Seasons, volume 3, page 830.

June 18-Joseph preached a public sermon against Bennett and his false teachings (see LDS History of the

Church 5:34-35).

June 22-Bennett went to Springfield, the capital of Illinois, and made an agreement with Editor Simeon

Francis to write letters exposing alleged crimes of

Joseph Smith for Francis to publish in the Sangamo

Journal (see New York Herald [July 26, 1842], 2).

June 25-Joseph published a lengthy article detailing Bennett's sins (see Wasp I [June 25, 1842]; Times and

Seasons 3 [July 1,1842]: 839-843).

June 27-Bennett returned to Nauvoo from Springfield

and stayed at the home of his devoted friend, George

W. Robinson, where he had been boarding (see Bennett, History of the Saints, 290-291). Robinson, whom

Bennett had made a brevet major general in the Nauvoo Legion, was Sidney Rigdon's son-in-law.

June 30-Bennett was cashiered out of the Nauvoo

Legion (see LDS History of the Church 5:49).

July I-Bennett went to Carthage (see Bennett, History

of the Saints, 282). He remained there until July 10,

writing some of his infamous six letters against Joseph to be printed in the Sangamo Journal.

July 13-Bennett arrived in St. Louis and met with Martha

Brotherton-who in answer to Bennett's request, made

an affidavit charging Joseph with polygamy and related crimes (see Bennett, History of the Saints, 236-

240). Bennett also met with newspaper editors and

sought their support in having Joseph extradited to

Missouri for trial in the Boggs case.

August 8-Joseph went into hiding to avoid extradition to

Missouri.

August 29-While conference was in session, Joseph suddenly appeared on the stand. He requested that elders

volunteer "to declare the truth" in the case of Dr. John

C. Bennett. Three hundred and eighty elders volunteered (Cannon, Life of Joseph Smith, 410).

175

August 31-Joseph defended himself by publishing a broadside entitled Affidavits and Certificates Disproving

Statements and Affidavits Contained in John C. Bennett's Letters for the elders to distribute.

August 1842 through 1843-Bennett traveled to the East

and gained widespread notoriety by lecturing in New

York City, Boston, and elsewhere-charging those who

attended his lectures a considerable fee.

October 1842-Bennett's book entitled History of the

Saints; or, an Expose of Joe Smith and Mormonism, was

published (see New York Herald [October 21, 1842], 2).

Bennett Continued

His Promiscuity

After the intense hearings before members of the High

Council, the City Council, and the Masonic Lodge, Dr. Bennett

pretended to repent on the one hand, but continued his spiritual

wifery on the other. At the same time he was plotting revenge

against Joseph. The Prophet and other officials had hoped that

their charges and Bennett's admission of guilt would cause him

to repent and leave Nauvoo without a public exposure. President

William Law tried to persuade him to go to Texas. Law said

under oath:

On many occasions I heard him acknowledge his guilt, and

beg not to be destroyed in the eyes of the public, and that he

would never act so again, "So help him God." From such

promises, and oaths, I was induced to bear with him longer

than I should have done . ..

About the time that John C. Bennett was brought before

the Masonic Lodge . . I advised him to go to Texas, and when

he returned, ifhe would behave well we would reinstate him.

He said he had no means to take him to Texas, and still

insisted on B. Young and myself to intercede for him. (Times

and Seasons 3 [August 1, 1842]: 873)

Bennett hoped to be forgiven as in previous cases and to stay

in Illinois, where he had made a name for himself. After all, he

was a candidate for the Illinois House of Representatives, a

176

position he greatly desired-and a break with Joseph and the

Church would mean a loss of the election. But Joseph and

Hyrum discovered that Bennett was continuing his illicit activities in spite of the severe reprimands and threats of public exposure. Hyrum testified:

Still after all this we found him guilty of similar crimes

again, and it was found to our satisfaction that he was conspiring against the peace and safety of the citizens of this

state-after learning these facts we exposed him to the

public; he then immediately left the place abruptly; threatening

to drink the hearts blood of many citizens of this place. (ibid.,

872)

Because of the doctor's continuing promiscuity, Joseph

began publishing the truth about him, which made him even

more determined to wreak revenge upon the Prophet, and to

clear his own name by destroying Joseph's character. The

Church officials published a notice in the Times and Seasons for

June 15, 1842, stating they had withdrawn the hand of fellowship

from John C. Bennett.

Bennett Conspired

with Editor Francis

When Bennett left Nauvoo, he knew that he could never

obtain his goals without a publisher to tell his story. The year

of 1842 was an election year and the Whig Party was desperately

trying to win over the Democrats. At an earlier date, Editor

Simeon Francis of the Sangamo Journal, which was published

in the state capital at Springfield, had printed an article against

the Saints at Nauvoo in order to swing votes in favor of the

Whigs. Bennett, who was still mayor when that issue of the

Sangamo Journal arrived, answered him in a long, scathing

letter in the Wasp for June 18. (Ironically, it was the same issue

of the Wasp which announced Bennett's expulsion from the

Church. Bennett's letter was probably written days earlier,

before he knew he was going to be exposed.)

After the hand of fellowship was withdrawn, the shrewd

177

doctor devised a diabolical scheme-he traveled to Springfield

on June 22 and entered into a pact with Editor Francis. Bennett

agreed to write letters against Joseph and the Saints. In turn,

Francis would publish the letters to swing votes to the Whig

Party, and both the editor and Bennett would profit financially.

Therefore, Bennett was able to publish six lengthy letters which

still live in infamy.

The truth of this matter was published by the editor of the

Illinois State Register, a political opponent and competitor of

Editor Francis. That paper published:

About two weeks ago Gen. Bennett, a master spirit among the

Mormons, was in this city. He was seen in conversation with

several of the leaders of the Jun to [leaders of the Whig Party],

who made arrangements with him to make sundry awful disclosures about the Mormons. (Illinois State Register, July 8,

1842)

Two weeks prior to July 8 places this meeting with the Whig

politicians around June 22, six days after the notice of Bennett

being disfellowshipped was published, and three days after Joseph had preached against him in the Grove near the Temple.

The editorof the Register explained the purpose of the conspiracy

between Bennett and Editor Francis:

We have no confidence in this exposition [by Bennett],

because it is designed to affect the approaching gubernatorial

election . .. The Mormon General Bennett is thrust from the

temple at Nauvoo as to unclean to mingle with those who

minister there and forthwith with the Springfield Junto, a

herd of kindred spirits, send for him-they hug him to their

bosoms with a grin of infernal joy. Promises, flattery and

perhaps money are bestowed upon him. Finally a plan of horrible disclosures is proposed and agreed upon, and the

[Sangamo] Journal, miserabie harlot of Junto, is made to

bring forth to the world, a litter of crippled and misshapen

monsters, to frighten half-witted men, women and children,

and divert the attention of the people from a sober consideration

of the important interest involved in the election. By such

foul means-by such base trickery the managers of the Whig

party hope to elect the corrupt Prince of town-lot speculators,

178

Governor of the State of Illinois. (ibid.; republished in the

New York Herald [July 26, 1842], 2)

The editor of the Register also announced in his paper for

July 14 that

Many thousands of copies of Bennett's letters have been

struck off at the expense of Gov. Duncan [to sway the election

in favor of the Whigs], as we have been credibly informed,

and distributed gratuitously everywhere.

The use of Bennett's six letters may have pleased the Whig

Party, but it greatly increased the persecution of the Saints. In

spite of this, the Democrats won the election.

The Writing of

Bennett's Six Letters

When the doctor left Nauvoo, he did not have far to travel to

find sympathetic friends. He went sixteen miles southeast to

Carthage, where he found enemies of the Saints. Politicians in

that village feared that the ever-increasing number of Saints in

Nauvoo would vote as a block and control elections. Bennett's

first letter, which appeared in the Sangamo Journal for July 8,

was written on June 27 while he was still in Nauvoo; the second

was written in Carthage July 2; and the third one was dated July

4, 1842. His fourth letter was dated July 15 in St. Louis, where

he met with Martha Brotherton, who made affidavit that Joseph

had tried to get her to become Brigham Young's plural wife.

The fifth letter was written on the river steamer Importer and

was dated July 23. This letter was first published in the Louisville Journal. The sixth letter (the most famous of all) was dated

August 2, 1842, and written aboard a boat on the Erie Canal, as

Bennett was traveling to the East. These letters were published

in the Sangamo Journal and were couched in the most vehement

language, charging Joseph with polygamy, seduction, murder,

treason, and other crimes.

Before leaving Carthage, Bennett filed for a divorce from

his wife, Mary Barker Bennett, of Ohio. The divorce was

179

granted October 15, 1842. The record of this divorce, at the

Hancock County Courthouse at Carthage, verifies the findings

which Bishop George Miller, William Law, and Hyrum Smith

reported when they investigated Bennett's background in

Ohio-that he was a married man at the time he became engaged

to a young Church woman at Nauvoo, "one of our citizens," and

taught and practiced spiritual wifery.

Only a few of the charges which Bennett made against

Joseph in his six letters can be treated here.

Bennett's Charge about the Danites

John Bennett returned to Nauvoo on June 27 and as previously

mentioned, stayed at the home of his supporter, George W.

Robinson. Bennett later wrote in his book that Joseph sent the

"Danites" to Robinson's home to kill him. (While the Church

headquarters was at Far West, a Dr. Sampson Avard had formed

a secret organization, named after Dan in the Old Testament,

called Danites. Bennett claimed that Joseph now maintained

this group to kill his opponents.) Bennett declared:

We shall have full disclosures [ of alleged crimes against

Joseph] if the Danites don't catch me-they are after me like

prowling wolves, by Joseph's special orders. (Sangamo

Journal, July 15, 1842)

Bennett claimed that the Danites tried to kill him during his

last night in Nauvoo. He wrote:

on the evening of the 29th of June, the DESTROYING ANGEL

approached my boarding-house, (General Robinson's,) in

Nauvoo, with their carriage wheels wrapped with blankets,

and their horses' feet muffled with cloths, to prevent noise,

about ten o'clock, for the purpose of conveying me off for

"sudden destruction," or assassination, so as to make me

"silent," and thus prevent disclosures. Dead men tell no

tales! But, as I had an intimation of the matter in the

afternoon, I borrowed two pistols of General Robinson, and

one of Mr. Hunter, a merchant, and loaded them with slugs.

Besides these, I had two good Bowie-knives, and some of my

friends were, likewise, well armed,-well prepared to give

180

the ANGEL a warm reception. So, after prowling around the

house (the lights in which were extinguished) for some time,

the "hand of the Almighty" withdrew! (Bennett, History of

the Saints, 290-29 l)

Joseph and other Church leaders denied the existence of

Danites in Nauvoo or that Joseph had used any manner of threat

or force against Bennett (see The Wasp Extra [July 27, 1842],

2). On July 20, members of the Nauvoo City Council made an

affidavit denying Bennett's accusation by stating, "there is no

such thing as a Danite Society in this city" (Times and Seasons

3 [August 1, 1842]: 870).

The Charge of Duress

Another charge which the devious doctor made was that

Joseph had forced him to make his affidavit on May 17, in which

he declared that

he never knew the said Smith to countenance any improper

conduct whatever, either in public or private; and that he

never did teach to me in private that an illegal illicit intercourse with females was, under any circumstances,justifiable;

and that I never knew him so to teach others. (ibid. [July l ,

1842]: 841)

Bennett also claimed that he was under duress when he

made a similar statement before the City Council on May 19. In

his six letters Bennett published that Joseph had taken him into

a room on May 17, locked the door, drew a pistol, and said:

The peace of my family requires that you should sign an

affidavit, and [also] make a statement before the next City

Council, on the 19th, exonerating me from all participation

whatever, either directly or indirectly, in word or deed, in the

SPIRITUAL WIFE DOCTRINE, or private intercourse with females in general; and if you do not do it with apparent

cheerfulness, I will make CAT FISH-BAIT of you, or deliver

you over to the Danites for execution to-night. (Bennett,

History of the Saints, 287; Warsaw Signal [July 23, 1842], 2)

181

Upon reading Bennett's charge of duress in the newspapers,

Nauvoo Church and civil authorities made affidavits to prove

that Bennett was not under duress when he made his affidavit of

May 17 and his statement on May 19, in which he stated that

Joseph was virtuous. Justice Daniel Wells, who witnessed Bennett's affidavit on May 17, declared that Bennett showed no

signs of being under duress. Wells asserted:

The door of the room was open and free for all or any person

to pass or repass . .. During all this time if he was under

duress, or fear, he must have had a good faculty for concealing it, for he was at liberty to go and come when and where

he pleased . .. I know that I saw him in different parts of the

city, even after he had made these statements, transacting

business as usual. (Times and Seasons 3 [August 1, 1842]:

873-874)

Wells was a resident of Nauvoo before the Saints located

there, and was not a member of the Church at the time he

witnessed Bennett sign the affidavit.

Members of the City Council also signed an affidavit in

which they declared that Bennett was not under duress at the

time he made a statement at their May 19 meeting, stating that

Joseph was virtuous (see ibid., 869-870).

The editor of the Nauvoo Wasp published:

In fact, until the whole City Council of Nauvoo are

impeached, the Doctor must stand before the public as a

perjured man.-There let him stand. (Wasp Extra [July 27,

1842], 2)

One factor that lends evidence toward Bennett not being

under duress was that he remained in Nauvoo for over five

weeks after he made the affidavit, and went about the city as

usual. Being a medical doctor he had patients to see. And Justice Daniel Wells said under oath that Bennett completed some

work in the mayor's office, and performed work connected with

the streets of Nauvoo (see Times and Seasons 3 [August 1,

1842]: 874). If Joseph had threatened to murder Bennett, as he

claimed, the doctor surely would have left Nauvoo immediately.

The duress charge was a falsehood fabricated by Bennett.

182

Of course he found it necessary to make the charge of duress in order to convince the public that he was the victim and

not the criminal. If he had not made the claim that he was under

duress, the public would not have believed any of his charges

against Joseph.

Bennett Claimed That Joseph Ordered the

Assassination of Boggs

During the same time that Bennett was being tried and

disfellowshipped, word came from Missouri that Lilburn Boggs,

the former governor of Missouri, had been shot and wounded.

Bennett lost no time in proclaiming that he had previously heard

Joseph declare that he was sending Orrin Porter Rockwell to

Independence to kill Boggs. From Carthage Bennett wrote:

I am now going over to Missouri to have Joe taken to

justice; and then I am going to New York to publish a book

called "The History of the Saints," in which I shall tell most

of the actings and doings at Nauvoo for the last two years, of

most of their great men, and some of their great women too;

so look out for the breakers. We shall have full disclosures

if the Danites don't catch me-they are after me like prowling wolves, by Joe's special orders. (Sangamo Journal, July

15, 1842)

In order to assist the Missourians in arresting Joseph Smith,

Dr. Bennett corresponded with Dr. Joseph 0. Boggs of Independence, Missouri, a brother of Lilburn Boggs (see Bennett,

History of the Saints, 151-152). In July Bennett went to Missouri to promote the prosecution of Joseph. On August 27, 1842,

he wrote:

I . . stand in readiness to obey the mandate of Missouri, to

testify in the premises. The Mormon Pontiff [Joseph] shall

tremble at the sight of gathering hosts, in the days of his captivity, like an aspen leaf in the wilderness . .. I will tear the

ermine of sanctity from the shoulders of His Pontifical Holiness, and dim the glory of his mitred head . .. Nothing short

of an excision of the cancer of Mormonism will effect a cure

of that absorbing delusion, and the strong arm of military

183

power must perform the operation at the edge of the sword,

point of the bayonet, and mouth of the cannon. (ibid., 151)

These statements reveal that Dr. Bennett was so intent on destroying Joseph that he would even call for a military invasion

of Nauvoo!

As a result of Bennett's efforts, Missouri authorities sent a

requisition to Illinois to have Joseph extradited to Missouri,

which made it necessary for the Prophet to avoid capture by

going into hiding from August 1842 to January 1843. Orrin

Porter Rockwell was captured and imprisoned in Independence. Alexander Doniphan, the attorney who had often aided

the Saints, defended him and he was acquitted. In later years

RLDS Historian Heman C. Smith wrote:

We were surprised to find that Rockwell was not even indicted for this crime, but the most serious indictment found

against him by the grand jury of Jackson County, Missouri,

was for "breaking jail." On this indictment he was found

guilty as charged, and sentenced to five minutes' imprisonment. That is all there is to the story that has so long been

circulated about 0. P. Rockwell shooting Ex-Governor

Boggs, and Joseph Smith being accessory before the fact.

(Saints' Herald 66 [July 2, 1919]: 647)

Bennett Charged

Joseph with Treason

The Saints were loyal to the United States Government

during the lifetime of Joseph Smith. They were mainly lawabiding and peace-loving, and desired that all men might enjoy

freedom. In spite of this, John Bennett convinced multitudes

that Joseph was guilty of treason. For two years after he left

Nauvoo, the doctor proclaimed the treason charge. It was this

same charge which held Joseph and Hyrum in Carthage Jail on

June 27, 1844-long enough to be murdered.

Bennett taught that the Saints believed in Zion, the Kingdom

of God on earth, and purposefully projected it to mean a civil

and military kingdom with Joseph Smith as dictator and tyrantking. The idea of Zion (a spiritual government of the Saints, re-

184

ligiously speaking) was construed by him to mean that Joseph

intended to raise an army and overthrow the American Government by force and establish "a great Mormon empire." Bennett's

charges struck terror in the hearts of many. He published:

Joe Smith designs to abolish all human laws, and establish a Theocracy, in which the word of God, as spoken by his

(Joe's) mouth, shall be the only law. (Bennett, History of the

Saints, 149)

The States of Missouri, and Illinois, and the Territory of

Iowa, are the regions to which the Prophet has hitherto chiefly directed his schemes of aggrandizement, and which were

to form the NUCLEUS of the great MORMON EMPIRE. The remaining states were to be licked up like salt, and fall into the

immense labyrinth of glorious prophetic dominion, like the

defenceless lamb before the mighty king of the forest! (ibid.,

293)

Bennett Claimed That Joseph

Was Practicing Polyamy

In his infamous six letters and his book, Dr. Bennett charged

Joseph with other crimes, including polygamy. General Bennett

declared that Joseph had introduced "a new degree of masonry

[in the Nauvoo Masonic Lodge] called, 'Order Lodge,' " in

which leading men of Nauvoo promoted their polygamous

activities (Quincy Whig, July 16, 1842).

Bennett also went into great detail in describing an alleged

women's lodge, which he said was connected with the Order

Lodge. He called it a "seraglio" (harem) and claimed that the

women who were in it were classified in three degrees (see

Bennett, History of the Saints, 220-225). He asserted that the

Female Relief Society, of which Emma Smith was president,

used devious means to recruit women to become a part of this

harem (ibid., 220). Bennett linked Emma with polygamy and

used derogatory names to describe her. In referring to her as

part of the alleged seraglio, Bennett described her as:

Emma, the Electa Syria of the Church, and wife of the Holy

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Joe, the male Cassandra of the Mormon Hierarchy . . the

delectable Emma, the Lady Abbess of the Seraglio, or

"Mother of the Maids." (ibid., 227)

Emma and other members of the Ladies Relief Society were

furious when they learned that Bennett was telling the world that

the members of the Relief Society were engaged in polygamy

and recruiting young women for polygamous relationships with

the heads of the Church. They took the following action:

The "Ladies Relief Society," also drew up a petition

signed by about one thousand Ladies speaking in the highest

terms of the virtue, philanthrophy, and benevolence of Joseph

Smith. (Times and Seasons 3 [August 1, 1842]: 869)

The one thousand women also published a declaration that

no system of polygamy existed in the Church. They declared:

We the undersigned members of the ladies' relief society

. . certify and declare that we know of no system of marriage

being practised in the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day

Saints save the one contained in the Book of Doctrine and

Covenants, and we give this certificate to the public to show

that J.C. Bennett's "secret wife system" is a disclosure of his

own make.

Emma Smith, President . .

Eliza R. Snow, Secretary. (ibid. [October 1, 1842]: 940;

RLDS History of the Church 2:598)

The law in the Doctrine and Covenants, which the women

referred to, contained these words:

Inasmuch as this church of Christ has been reproached with

the crime of fornication, and polygamy: we declare that we

believe, that one man should have one wife; and one woman,

but one husband, except in case of death, when either is at

liberty to marry again. (DC [ 1835 Edition] 101 :4; RLDS DC

[1950Edition] lll:4b)

186

Bennett Named Women

Whom He Claimed Joseph

Tried to Seduce

Doctor Bennett charged that Joseph had tried to seduce

several women who refused his advances. He named Sarah

Pratt, wife of Apostle Orson Pratt; Martha Brotherton; Emeline

White, a nonmember; and Nancy Rigdon, daughter of President

Sidney Rigdon. The reader needs to remember that Sarah Pratt,

Emeline White, and Nancy Rigdon had been subpoenaed by

Chauncey Higbee as his witnesses when he was to be tried in the

Carthage Circuit Court. Sarah Pratt and Nancy Rigdon had been

a part of Bennett's clique in Nauvoo. Their cases, as well as the

case of Martha Brotherton, will be treated in a later volume.

Conclusion

Bennett's efforts to have Joseph killed and the Saints scattered by military force failed to bring the Prophet's immediate

death, as he had hoped. But those efforts had a lasting influence

upon the Restoration Movement-both in the perpetuation of

the polygamy doctrine among the Utah Mormons and in the

misconception of the origin of polygamy in the Church. Bennett's

sixth letter has helped shape the Mormon Church into what it is

today. Bennett claimed that it was "Joe Smith's Love Letter To

Nancy Rigdon" (New York Herald [August 31, 1842], 2). His

efforts greatly aided the conspirators who brought about the

death of the Prophet only two years later.

It is obvious that Joseph was not a polygamist, because he

had no children by any woman other than Emma. The supposed

purpose of polygamy was for a man to be the father of as many

children as possible, to increase his kingdom and glory in the

hereafter (see LDS DC 132:29-31 ). Bennett compared Joseph

to Solomon, who had seven hundred wives (see Bennett,

History of the Saints, 218). If this were true, Joseph would have

had many children by other women. Members of the LDS

Church in Utah have searched for over one hundred and fifty

years to find a single descendant of Joseph from an alleged

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plural wife, and have found none. As Joseph proclaimed a

month before his death, "What a thing it is for a man to be

accused of . . having seven wives, when I can only find one"

(LDS History of the Church 6:411).