Letter from John C. Bennett, 27 July 1840
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Source Note
, Letter, , Wayne Co., IL, to and JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 27 July 1840. Featured version copied [probably ca. Aug. 1840] in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 170–171; handwriting of ; JS Collection, CHL. For more complete source information, see the source note for JS Letterbook 2.
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Historical Introduction
wrote to and JS on 27 July 1840, repeating much of the message from a letter he had written to them two days earlier. Bennett reiterated that he intended to retain his recently acquired position as quartermaster general of the militia and that he had offered to assist the during their difficulties in . Bennett also reminded JS and Rigdon of his decision to move to , Illinois, to join with the Saints. In this slightly lengthier 27 July letter, he more explicitly stated that he intended not only to move to the Saints’ new gathering place but also to become a member of their faith. He also requested more information about the , Illinois, area. In his response, dated 8 August 1840, JS answered this question in detail and addressed other topics from Bennett’s letter.The original letter is apparently not extant, but copied the letter into JS Letterbook 2, probably soon after JS received it.
Footnotes
Document Transcript
Footnotes
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1
Although JS responded to Bennett on 8 August 1840, saying, “I have not the pleasure of your acquaintance,” Bennett had apparently met JS and Rigdon when William E. McLellin introduced him to them on 12 and 13 January 1832. (Letter to John C. Bennett, 8 Aug. 1840; McLellin, Journal, 12–13 Jan. 1832, 13.)
McLellin, William E. Journal, 18 July–20 Nov. 1831. William E. McLellin, Papers, 1831–1836, 1877–1878. CHL. MS 13538, box 1, fd. 1. Also available as Jan Shipps and John W. Welch, eds., The Journals of William E. McLellin, 1831–1836 (Provo, UT: BYU Studies; Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994).
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2
The United States Circuit Court for the District of Illinois was moved to Springfield in the late 1830s, where court was held twice each year, in June and December. Federal district judge Nathaniel Pope presided over the June 1839 court, and Bennett served on the jury. (History of Sangamon County, Illinois, 84–85; Meese, “Nathaniel Pope,” 19, 21.)
History of Sangamon County, Illinois; Together with Sketches of Its Cities, Villages, and Townships. . . . Chicago: Inter-State Publishing Co., 1881.
Meese, William A. “Nathaniel Pope.” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 3 (January 1911): 7–21.
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3
In April 1839, church leaders chose the Commerce area as the Saints’ new gathering place, and a general conference of the church approved the decision in October 1839. (Minutes, 24 Apr. 1839; Minutes and Discourses, 5–7 Oct. 1839.)
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4
See Ruth 1:16.
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5
Bennett was referring to a letter he wrote during the “Mormon War” in Missouri. He mentioned this same letter in his letters of 25 and 30 July 1840, but the earlier letter has not been located. However, in a January 1841 letter to the “Saints scattered abroad,” JS, Rigdon, and Hyrum Smith described having earlier received a letter from Bennett in which he offered “his assistence in delivering us out of the hands of our enemies, and restoring us again to our privileges . . . with all the forces he could raise for that purpose.” (Letters from John C. Bennett, 25 and 30 July 1840; Proclamation, 15 Jan. 1841.)
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6
Bennett was commissioned “Quarter-Master-General of the Militia of the State of Illinois” on 20 July 1840, seven days before writing this letter to JS and Rigdon. (Commission for John C. Bennett, 20 July 1840, Governor’s Correspondence, 1840, Military Affairs, in Illinois Governor’s Correspondence, 1816–1852, Illinois State Archives, Springfield; Bennett, History of the Saints, 15.)
Illinois Governor’s Correspondence, 1816–1852. Illinois State Archives, Springfield.
Bennett, John C. The History of the Saints; or, an Exposé of Joe Smith and Mormonism. Boston: Leland and Whiting, 1842.
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7
This Latin phrase means “in essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, and in all things charity.” It is a popular Christian saying sometimes attributed to Augustine. (Schaff, History of the Christian Church, 650.)
Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church. Vol. 7, Modern Christianity, the German Reformation. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, [1958]. Reproduction of the 1910 edition published by Charles Scribner’s Sons.
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8
This Latin phrase means “gently in manner, strongly in deed.”
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9
In his 8 August 1840 reply, JS described the physical setting of Nauvoo, Illinois, on the banks of the Mississippi River; the town’s population of nearly three thousand; and the prospects for commercial growth in the area. (Letter to John C. Bennett, 8 Aug. 1840.)
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10
Bennett had enclosed an extract from the Louisville Journal, edited by George Prentice and George Weissinger, with his letter two days earlier. (Letter from John C. Bennett, 25 July 1840.)