John C. Bennett

Engraving of John C. Bennett in a Napoleon-like pose as General of the Nauvoo Legion.

John Cook Bennett (1804–1867) was an American physician and a ranking and influential—but short-lived—leader of the Latter Day Saint movement, who acted as second in command to Joseph Smith, Jr. for a brief period in the early 1840s.

Bennett was a tireless self-promoter, who founded organizations and joined churches for the purposes of advancing his own reputation and influence. His history in several U.S. cities often included a rise to prominent positions and social influence, followed by scandal and vacating his posts. His eventual involvement in the Latter Day Saint movement came after several encounters with the community that had left him unimpressed. He nevertheless wrote several letters to Joseph Smith, Jr. in Nauvoo, Illinois in which he declared his desire to join the movement. Bennett was essential to the passing of the Nauvoo city charter in the Illinois legislature, the provisions of which he had helped craft. He even garnered praise for his lobbying efforts on behalf of the Mormons from the young Abraham Lincoln.

His efforts on behalf of the Mormons, and the long time he spent living in the Smith mansion in Nauvoo, secured for Bennett the confidence of Joseph Smith. Smith was instrumental in promoting Bennett to ever greater civic and ecclesiastical responsibilities in Nauvoo, Illinois. Bennett became an Assistant President of the Church and Counselor in the First Presidency, the mayor of the city of Nauvoo, General of the Nauvoo Legion, and the chancellor of the University of Nauvoo. Eventually, however, rumors of adultery, homosexuality, unauthorized polygamy, and the performance of abortions emerged. He was expelled from his position and became a bitter antagonist of Joseph Smith and his church.

While Bennett was mayor, he was caught in private sexual relations with women in that city. He told the women that the practice, which he termed "spiritual wifery," was sanctioned of God and Joseph Smith, and that Joseph Smith did the same. When discovered, he privately confessed his crimes and was disciplined accordingly. Bennett even signed an affidavit that Joseph Smith had no part in his adultery. Although he vowed to change, he continued his scandalous behavior. When he was caught again, his indiscretions were exposed publicly and he was excommunicated from the church and stripped of public office.

After Bennett left Nauvoo in May 1842, he claimed to have been the target of an attempted assassination by Nauvoo Danites, who were disguised in drag. He soon became very antagonistic towards the church, reportedly even vowing to drink the blood of Joseph Smith, Jr. In 1842, he wrote a scathing exposé of Joseph Smith, entitled History of the Saints, accusing Smith and his church of crimes such as treason, conspiracy to commit murder, prostitution, and adultery. Through his newspaper writings and book, Bennett worked to have Smith extradited to stand trial for "treason" in the state of Missouri, knowing that if Smith set foot in Missouri, he would never return. Joseph Smith and John C. Bennett met amicably to settle financial accounts in 1843, but the latter continued to lecture against Mormonism until Smith's assassination in Carthage, Illinois on June 27, 1844. Bennett has been accused of having a part in the murder, but, as his biographer Andrew F. Smith states, based on the extant evidence, "Bennett appears to have had no influence on the events that unfolded in Carthage during June 1844" (p. 141).

Following Smith's death, Bennett surprised many by returning briefly to Mormonism and joining forces first with Sidney Rigdon and then with James Strang—one of several Mormons contending for leadership of the movement. Bennett united with the "Strangites," who founded their own Mormon community on Beaver Island in Michigan. With Bennett's enthusiastic support, polygamy was introduced into the Michigan Mormon community. Shortly thereafter, amidst yet more charges of sexual misconduct, Bennett left the Strangite community and Mormonism once and for all.

Bennett is often credited with introducing into Mormonism the term "spiritual wifery." Spiritual wifery was the term Bennett used for both his own practice of "free love" and for the Nauvoo practice of plural marriage (polygyny). The term was occasionally used by Mormon leaders such as Brigham Young, who spoke of the shock he received when introduced by Joseph Smith to "the spiritual wife doctrine," referring to plural marriage. One of Bennett's legacies was the conflation of plural marriage with "free love" in the popular imagination. The term "spiritual wifery," with its mixed connotations of polygyny and promiscuity, was frequently used in the national dialogue against, and in activism against, Mormon polygamy.

Bennett's troubled relationship with the Mormons has overshadowed his other contributions. Bennett was an early champion of the health benefits of the tomato, a pioneer in the use of chloroform as an anesthetic, the creator of several breeds of chicken, and the author of numerous articles and books on the breeding of fowls and on gynecology.

References

• Bushman, Richard. Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling., Alfred Knopf, 2005, ISBN 1-4000-4270-4
• Bennett, John C. History of the Saints, (Boston: Leland & Whiting, 1842) [1]
• Smith, Andrew F. The Saintly Scoundrel: The Life and Times of Dr. John Cook Bennett., University of Illinois Press, 1997, ISBN 0-252-02282-3