18088

Journal Article

English

Bergera, Gary James

John C. Bennett, Joseph Smith, and the Beginnings of Mormon Plural Marriage in Nauvoo

John Whitmer Historical Association Journal

2005

25

2005

52-92

Bergera seeks to piece together "a plausible, if speculative, narrative" of Joseph Smith and John C. Bennett's relationship along with the beginning of plural marriage in Nauvoo, Illinois. He states some of the allegations made against John C. Bennett (including the selling of diplomas to raise money for a university) before Bennett arrived in Nauvoo. Bergera's narrative has Joseph Smith discussing polygamy with John C. Bennett during a period when Bennett enjoyed a close friendship with Joseph (who was impressed by Bennett's "rhetoric, self-confidence" and "political savvy"). When the prophet learned of Bennett's past indiscretions he wondered what else Bennett had been hiding and Bennett was excluded as part of Joseph's inner circle. Bennett attempted to regain "his former status" by preaching "his own competing version of Smith's plural marriage doctrine." In response, Joseph attempted to have Bennett publicly recount his teachings. Eventually Joseph is forced to take more drastic measures against Bennett which results in Bennett's excommunication and the beginning of his career as an anti-Mormon.

Bennett, John C.
Dissent and dissenters, 19th century
Illinois, places in
Nauvoo, Ill., miscellaneous
Plural marriage
Smith, Joseph, Jr., friends
Smith, Joseph, Jr., plural marriage

10

54

"He Had No Other Wife but Me" : Emma Hale Smith and Mormon Polygamy
'Illicit Intercourse,' Plural Marriage, and the Nauvoo Stake High Council, 1840-1844
John C. Bennett and Joseph Smith's Polygamy : Addressing the Question of Reliability

Joseph Smith : Monogamist or Polygamist?
Joseph Smith's Personal Polygamy
Joseph Smith's Polygamy
Mormons and the Grand Jury in Hancock County, 1839-1845
Nauvoo's Inner Circle of Thirty-Two Men Who Accepted "Celestial Marriage"
The Forgotten Story of Nauvoo Celestial Marriage
Vox Joseph Vox Dei : Regarding Some of the Moral and Ethical Aspects of Joseph Smtih's Practice of Plural Marriage

"A City on a Hill" : Chartering the City of Nauvoo
'Illicit Intercourse,' Plural Marriage, and the Nauvoo Stake High Council, 1840-1844
'The Lord Said, Thy Wife Is a Very Fair Woman to Look Upon' : The Book of Abraham, Secrets, and Lying for the Lord
4 Zinas : A Story of Mothers and Daughters on the Mormon Frontier
A Comprehensive History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
A History of the Nauvoo Legion in Illinois
A Study of the Mormon Practice of Plural Marriage before the Death of Joseph Smith
A Wall to Defend Zion : The Nauvoo Charter
An Intimate Chronicle : The Journals of William Clayton
An Ordered Love : The Sex Roles and Sexuality in Victorian Utopias--The Shakers, The Mormons, and The Oneida Community
Buckeye's Laments : Two Early Insider Exposes of Mormon Polygamy and Their Authorship
Centrifugal Tendencies in Mormon History
Conflict in the Quorum : Orson Pratt, Brigham Young, Joseph Smith
Correspondence of Bishop George Miller with the Northern Islander : From His First Acquaintance with Mormonism up to Near the Close of his Life
Heber C. Kimball : Mormon Patriarch and Pioneer
History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Period I : History of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, by Himself
In Sacred Loneliness : The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith
John C. Bennett : For Prophet or Profit?
Joseph Smith : Mayor of Nauvoo
Joseph Smith Fought Polygamy
Joseph Smith's Introduction of Temple Ordinances and the 1844 Mormon Succession Question
Joseph Smith's Quorum of the Anointed, 1842-1845
Latter-day Saint Prayer Circles
Life of Heber C. Kimball, an Apostle; the Father and Founder of the British Mission
Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 1801-1844
Mormon Enigma : Emma Hale Smith
Mormon Polygamy : A History
Mormon Portraits or The Truth About the Mormon Leaders from 1830 to 1886
Mysteries of Godliness : A History of Mormon Temple Worship
Nauvoo : A Place of Peace, a People of Promise
Nauvoo : Early Mormon Records Series, Vol. 1
Nauvoo : Kingdom on the Mississippi
Nauvoo Deaths and Marriages, 1839-1845
No Man Knows My History : The Life of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet
No Toil nor Labor Fear : The Story of William Clayton
Personal Writings of Joseph Smith
Prisoner for Polygamy : The Memoirs and Letters of Rudger Clawson at the Utah Territorial Penitentiary, 1884-87
Religion and Sexuality : Three American Communal Experiments in the Nineteenth Century
Reminiscences of Latter-day Saints, Giving an Account of Much Individual Suffering Endured for Religious Conscience
Sidney Rigdon : A Portrait of Religious Excess
Solemn Covenant : The Mormon Polygamous Passage
The Essential Joseph Smith
The History of the Saints : Or, An Expose? of Joe Smith and Mormonism
The Journals of William E. McLellin 1831-1836
The Memoirs of Joseph Smith III (1832-1914)
The Mormon Hierarchy : Origins of Power
The Nauvoo Charter : A Reinterpretation
The Nauvoo Endowment Companies, 1845-1846 : A Documentary History
The Nauvoo Legion, 1840-45 : A Unique Military Organization
The Papers of Joseph Smith, Volume 2 : Journal, 1832-1842
The Prophet Puzzle : Interpretive Essays on Joseph Smith
The Words of Joseph Smith : The Contemporary Accounts of the Nauvoo Discourses of the Prophet Joseph
William Law : Biographical Essay, Nauvoo Diary, Correspondence, Interview
Zion in the Courts : A Legal History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830-1900