Episode 51

John C. Bennett and Homosexuality in Nauvoo Pt 3

Original Air Date: 2024-04-11

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This video, titled "Homosexuality in Joseph Smith’s Nauvoo - John C. Bennett Pt 3," is the fifty-first episode of the LDS Discussions series on the Mormon Stories Podcast. Hosted by John Dehlin with guests Mike, Nemo the Mormon, and Julia, the discussion focuses on John C. Bennett’s alleged homosexuality, his conflict with the Danites, and his life after being excommunicated from the Mormon church 1.

Allegations of Homosexuality and "Buggery"

The panel examines historical claims that John C. Bennett engaged in same-sex relationships while serving as Joseph Smith's "right-hand man" 2, 3.

  • The First Instance: Historian D. Michael Quinn is cited as stating that the first known instance of homoerotic behavior in Mormon history involved Bennett 3.
  • Public Accusations: In July 1842, the Nauvoo newspaper The Wasp accused Bennett of "buggery," a slang and legal term for sodomy 4. Despite this public accusation, the panel notes that homosexuality was not listed among the reasons for Bennett's excommunication 5.
  • The Higby Incident: A later account published in 1844 claimed Joseph Smith discovered Bennett and Francis Higby engaging in behavior described as "revolting, corrupt and disgusting" 6, 7. The hosts discuss the possibility that this specific allegation was a "smear campaign" launched years later to discredit Higby, who had turned against the church, rather than a contemporary concern of Joseph Smith 8, 9.
  • Joseph Smith’s Attitude: The discussion suggests Joseph Smith may have been relatively indifferent to homosexuality compared to modern church standards 10. For instance, Smith preached a sermon revising the biblical interpretation of Sodom's destruction, claiming the city was destroyed for rejecting prophets rather than for sexual acts between men 11, 12.

    • Theological Shifts and "Sin is Not Sin"

    A central theme of the episode is how Joseph Smith restructured morality around loyalty to himself.

  • The "Happiness Letter" Concept: The panel analyzes a quote from November 1841 where Joseph Smith taught, "What many people call sin is not sin," and promised that if members did not accuse him, he would not accuse them 13.
  • Loyalty over Morality: This teaching essentially established a code of silence, suggesting that actions generally considered sinful were permissible if authorized by the prophet 14, 15. The hosts argue this creates a mafia-like environment where the prophet becomes the ultimate moral compass, overriding traditional commandments 16, 17.

    • The Danites and the "Daughters of Zion"

    Bennett claimed that after his fall from grace, he was hunted by the Danites, a Mormon vigilante group 18.

  • Violent Oaths: Bennett published an alleged Danite oath in which members pledged to regard the First Presidency as "supreme god" and support them "right or wrong" under penalty of gruesome death 19, 20.
  • The "Daughters of Zion": Bennett claimed the Danites operated under the name "Daughters of Zion" and attempted to assassinate him while dressed in women's clothing to disguise their movements 21. The panel views the "men in dresses" detail as likely embellished fiction by Bennett, though they agree the threat of violence from figures like Porter Rockwell was real 22, 23.
  • Church Denial vs. History: The hosts criticize the modern LDS Church's essay on the Danites, which categorizes the group as a short-lived "myth" limited to a few months in Missouri 24, 25. The panel counters this by citing newspaper records showing "Danite" activity and rhetoric persisting well into the Utah period 26.

    • Bennett’s Post-Mormon Life

    After leaving Nauvoo, Bennett engaged in a crusade against Mormonism before drifting into obscurity.

  • The Exposé and Lecture Tour: Bennett wrote a blistering exposé and went on a lecture tour to denounce Joseph Smith 27. In response, Smith sent over 300 elders on missions specifically to rebut Bennett’s claims, often by disrupting his meetings 28.
  • Succession Crisis: Following Joseph Smith's death, Bennett claimed he possessed a sealed revelation naming Sidney Rigdon as the successor 29. He later joined James Strang’s break-off sect but was eventually excommunicated by Strang for the same issues of "polygamy and concubinage" that plagued him in Nauvoo 30, 31.
  • Chickens and Ketchup: Bennett spent his final years as a poultry breeder—creating the Plymouth Rock chicken—and selling medicinal ketchup recipes before dying in 1865 32.

    • Conclusion

    The episode paints Bennett as a "scoundrel" and an unreliable narrator who nonetheless revealed genuine corruption within Nauvoo 33. As the hosts note, Bennett was one of the "Hydra heads" of the monster he helped create, making him both a complicit insider and a damaging whistleblower 34.

    Analogy: John C. Bennett is like the getaway driver for a bank robbery who gets fired mid-heist and immediately runs to the police to confess. While his testimony is self-serving, exaggerated, and hypocritical because he helped plan the robbery, his detailed knowledge of the bank's layout and the robbers' methods makes him a witness that cannot be simply ignored, even if his personal character is deeply flawed.

    Episode Info

    Guests: Mike (LDS Discussions), Nemo the Mormon, Julia (Analyzing Mormonism)

    Related Article: LDS Discussions