Pillar of Light

by Gerald N. Lund

  Gustavus Hills had been silent throughout the proceedings, brooding and sullen. Now his face showed a deep, silent fury. “We cannot depend on Joshua Steed or Carl Rogers in this matter. We must take action. When Joseph finds out what we are doing, and he surely will—we know that the high council is already sniffing around at his behest—then all hell is going to break loose in this town.”

  “Joseph has got to be stopped!” Foster exclaimed angrily. “This attempt to blame us for the problem has gone too far. He’s got to be stopped before this whole thing breaks wide open.”

  Bennett looked around at them and smiled. But it was a smile filled with dry menace. His eyes were narrowed into slits and glittering like a serpent’s. “Perhaps it is time that we take things into our own hands and make certain that Brother Joseph”—this came out with faint contempt—“is no longer able to make trouble for us.”

  “How!” Hills cried eagerly.

  “One never knows,” Bennett said archly, “but next week the Nauvoo Legion is going to stage a mock battle out on the green.”

  Foster’s eyes widened and there was an instant gleam of pure joy. “A mock battle?”

  “Yes, and with so many men running about with muskets and swords, one never knows when an accident might occur.” The face smoothed and became calm. “Being a general in the Legion, I would have to make every effort to see that such accidents were avoided at all costs, of course.”

  Chauncey Higbee laughed right out loud. “Of course,” he chortled. “At all costs.”

  When Joshua stepped inside the office at the brickyard he pulled up short. In addition to Carl, Nathan and Benjamin sat waiting for him. “What’s this?” he said, caught completely off guard.

  Carl looked at him steadily. “They know, Joshua. I’ve told them about your letter and about Bennett coming to me.”

  There was a flash of anger. “You had no right to do that, Carl, not until we talked at least.”

  “Oh?” Nathan retorted. “And what right did you have to try and keep this a secret from us?”

  “I wasn’t trying to keep it a secret, I just wanted to wait until—”

  Benjamin raised a warning hand. “All right, that’s enough. This is not going to be an easy thing we’re doing here today. Let’s not make it any harder.”

  The two brothers, still glaring at each other, finally nodded. Joshua shut the door and sat down in the one empty chair.

  The office of Carl’s brickyard was small, and putting four chairs in it along with the small desk pretty well filled the space. The papers that normally cluttered the desk had been stacked on one corner and the rest was now clean. Carl sat behind the desk, his finger tracing circular patterns in the desktop. As Joshua settled into his chair, Carl looked across at him. “I haven’t told them anything yet about what I’ve learned, Joshua. I felt like you needed to be here to hear that at the same time. But they do have a right to know about what’s going on. This is bigger than any one of us.”

  Gradually the stiffness in Joshua’s face smoothed, and then he nodded. “Yes, you’re right, of course. I’m sorry.”

  “The important thing,” Benjamin said, “is that we work together now.”

  “As long as we deal with it,” Joshua warned. “I want to work this out, but I’ll not be party to sweeping anything under the rug.”

  “Agreed,” Nathan said. “But you don’t sweep trash under the rug. You take it out and burn it.”

  “Let’s just hear Carl, shall we?” Benjamin said quickly, feeling the testiness starting to rise again.

  Carl came in quickly. “I’d like to have Joshua report on what happened at Bennett’s house this morning first.”

  Joshua’s head came up with a snap.

  “We haven’t been sneaking around spying on you,” Carl assured him. “I heard you tell Caroline last night that you were going to see him today.”

  Joshua shrugged, settling down again. “All right. Bennett had brought people to back up his story. Four men, three women.

  “Let me guess,” Carl said. “Sarah Pratt? Martha Brotherton, Melissa Schindle?”

  Joshua nodded. “One woman refused to identify herself—they were all veiled—but she was married.”

  “Very likely it’s Orson Pratt’s wife. She refused to identify herself to me too, but I’m almost positive that’s who it was because of what she said. I’m surprised Nancy Rigdon wasn’t there. She and Francis Higbee are courting now and she’s very bitter. Well, anyway, tell them, Joshua.”

  And so Joshua told them. He didn’t spare any detail, even though he saw his father’s increasing gloom and Nathan’s growing anger with every word. When he finished, he looked at Carl. “That’s about it.”

  “Lies!” Nathan cried. “Lies of the blackest hue!”

  Joshua sighed, the tiredness lining his face. “I hope so, Nathan. I truly hope so.”

  “You know Joseph,” Nathan retorted hotly. “How can you even consider that he would do such a thing?”

  “Nathan,” Carl broke in firmly, “we’re going to hear this out.”

  Nathan slumped back. “Yes. I’m sorry. Go on.”

  Carl turned to Joshua again. “You may have already heard that Joseph and Hyrum have publicly denied the locked-room story.”

  “Yes. Caroline mentioned that.”

  Carl leaned back now too, his face thoughtful. He brought his hands together, fingertip touching fingertip. “As I see it, this is the primary dilemma. Accusations have been made. Very serious accusations. On the one hand, we have eyewitness testimony saying the accusations are true. On the other, we have flat denials. So the question is, who’s telling the truth?”

  “Do you even have to ask?” Nathan asked bitterly.

  “Yes, I think we do,” Carl shot right back. “If they are lies, then wouldn’t you want to expose them as such?” He didn’t wait for Nathan’s answer. “So, I asked myself, how does one determine which person is telling the truth and which isn’t? That is the critical question. So let me tell you what I’ve learned first, then we’ll talk about conclusions. But I need you to just listen first. All of you. All right?”

  Nathan and Joshua looked at each other, then nodded.

  “Good.” He reached over to the stack of papers and took three or four sheets off the top. He looked a little sheepish. “I’ve made some notes. This got so complex I was having trouble keeping things straight. And I don’t want you to think I have all the answers. There were some people I couldn’t get access to. Others weren’t very comfortable having a non-Mormon coming around asking very personal questions. I haven’t tried to question any of the Church leaders directly.”

  He took a deep breath. “All right. It seems to me that the married woman’s testimony is the most damning, so let me start there.” He scanned a page, set it down, and then glanced at the second. “Here’s why I think it’s Sarah Pratt. Bennett admitted to me that he and Sarah Pratt were intimately involved with each other, but only after Joseph taught Bennett the doctrine of spiritual wifery. Well, that is Bennett’s version. I think we all agree it would be to his benefit to show that he was duped, and if not innocent, then at least not totally to blame.”

  When no one responded to that, he plunged on. “Here is what I’ve learned. Bennett did live with Orson and Sarah Pratt for a time, after helping them build a small cabin. From the beginning, Sarah seems to have been totally taken with Mayor Bennett’s considerable charms. In fact, his attractiveness to women seems to be a major factor through all of this. Be that as it may, evidently shortly after Orson’s departure, the relationship between the two passed all bounds of propriety.”

  He consulted his notes. “Sarah moved in with a couple by the name of Stephen and Zeruiah Goddard. They were willing to talk with me, in fact quite eager to do so, because they know what Bennett is saying about this situation and they want the other side heard. Anyway, the Goddards said once she moved in with them, Bennett was there to see Sister Pratt ‘as sure as the night came’—thos
e are their words. At first he would stay until about nine p.m. Then it got later and later, sometimes until midnight. The Goddards became increasingly concerned. They said Mrs. Pratt and Bennett would sit close, their heads together, whispering continually and talking in low tones. Then one night, Mrs. Goddard came suddenly into the room where Sarah and the good doctor were. Though they were dressed, she found them in a most compromising situation. There was no question about whether this was just two friends talking. Later, highly incensed, Mrs. Goddard asked Bennett what Orson Pratt would think if he knew that Bennett was so fond of his wife. According to her, he just laughed and said he could pull the wool over Pratt’s eyes any time.”

  “Does Orson know about any of this?” Nathan asked, feeling sick.

  “I was told he has just learned about it. In fact, I have a theory about how Orson Pratt plays into all of this. I can’t prove it, but I think it offers some possible answers.”

  “What?” Benjamin broke in.

  “Let me establish the other thing first,” Carl said. “Last summer when Bennett was nearly exposed and tried to take his life, I think Mrs. Pratt was the one who confessed to Joseph what was going on. I think she admitted that Bennett convinced her to submit to his advances by teaching the doctrine of spiritual wifery. Now, six months later, Bennett swears that he got the doctrine from Joseph himself and thus felt justified in teaching it to others. I think we have good evidence that this is a lie.”

  He turned to Nathan. “I think Joshua needs to hear what you told me this morning, about what happened last summer when you were in Joseph’s home.”

  “I think Joshua also needs to know about Rebecca,” Benjamin added.

  Joshua’s head jerked around. “Rebecca! What about Rebecca? She’s not in on this in any way is she?”

  Nathan told him quickly about Rebecca’s visit and how she gave Nathan permission to tell Joseph. He recounted how he had gone looking for Joseph and ended up in his house that night when Joseph and Bennett came in. He described how Joseph was raging at the man for telling others that this doctrine was from him.

  Joshua listened clear through. “Is there any chance Joseph was saying this just for your benefit?” he finally asked.

  “He didn’t know I was there!” Nathan shot back. “Emma’s nephew and I were upstairs out of sight through the whole thing.”

  Joshua slowly nodded. “That’s good to know.” He looked at Carl. “I agree, I think that establishes that Bennett is lying about Joseph justifying all this.”

  Carl was pleased at his openness. “I think so too. So now, here is my theory about Sarah Pratt. Like I say, I can’t prove it, but it’s the only thing that explains all the facts for me. Sarah Pratt was a lonely, vulnerable young wife swept off her feet by the smooth talk and great charm of the handsome John C. Bennett. When he claimed that all of this was sanctioned by Joseph Smith, that was all the rationalization she needed to give in to what her heart desired anyway. So she submits to Bennett and they become involved immorally. Then her husband returns home. Rumors are flying fast and furious. Her husband doesn’t want to believe any of this at first—would you?—but the evidence mounts. She knows that she can no longer hide the truth. But the truth is too damning for her. So how to make it not so terrible?”

  “Tell the husband it’s Joseph’s doing,” Benjamin answered quietly.

  “Yes!” Carl exclaimed. “Oh, I think there is a good chance that Joseph went to her when he learned what was happening. And she was outraged, all right, but not because Joseph asked her to be his wife. I think it was because Joseph threatened to expose the two of them. So by twisting the account just a little, she becomes the innocent victim.”

  “And you don’t think there is any truth to her accusations?” Joshua asked after a moment.

  Carl sighed. “No, I don’t, Joshua. Not one shred. I think she and Bennett have concocted the whole thing about Joseph to cover their own sins.”

  “And if you’re wrong?”

  “You can hang on and believe what you like, Joshua, but that’s my conclusion. Remember, you have a mountain of evidence about Bennett that shows what kind of character he is. We know about his former life in Ohio—he was a wife beater, an adulterer, and a father who abandoned his children. He came to Nauvoo under false colors. We know that since coming here he has used his position as a women’s doctor to seduce unsuspecting and vulnerable women. Though I am not absolutely certain, there is mounting evidence that he has tried to use his physician’s skills to help certain women rid themselves of an unwanted child.”

  That even rocked Joshua. “You really mean that?”

  “Yes. I haven’t talked to the actual women, but this was told to me by friends or family members who would know. We also know that he is a frequent visitor to a brothel here in town and is probably one of the owners of the same.”

  “Brothel?” Benjamin echoed, genuinely shocked. “Here? Where?”

  “Down by the river where it can serve the river traffic.”

  “I don’t believe it,” he said, thunderstruck.

  “Believe it,” Carl murmured darkly. “It’s been kept very secret, but it’s my understanding that this has now come to the attention of the city council and they will be acting on it very soon. I think you’ll find that Bennett is behind it, at least to some degree.” He turned back to Joshua. “So there is a man who swears he’s telling the truth. And there is Joseph Smith who swears he is lying. Who am I supposed to believe? I don’t think that’s a hard question, Joshua.”

  There was a long silence, and finally Joshua nodded. “Agreed,” he murmured.

  Carl picked up his papers again. “I won’t go through all of this, but here’s a sampling of what I’ve found. Joshua told you which men were there today backing Bennett up. So let me tell you about them.” He started to read off his notes now. “I have talked to four women, or to their families, who swear that Chauncey Higbee seduced them using the same lies Bennett did. I won’t give you any names here, but one sister reported that Higbee had gained his way with her five or six times, swearing that Bennett had sanctioned it as Assistant President of the Church. Another woman, a young widow, said Chauncey told her that she could never commit the sin of adultery because she was single. She submitted.

  “Gustavus Hills is married,” he went on grimly, “but I have a letter from a woman—she didn’t want to talk to me personally—who says that Hills openly bragged to her that he was intimate with numerous women but that there was no sin in it as long as it was kept secret. She herself is with child by him. Hills obtained some medicine—I assume from Bennett—and tried to induce her to take it so she would lose the baby. When she refused to consider such a horrible thing, he begged her to leave town so that he would not be discovered.”

  As Nathan fumed, Joshua nodded slowly, feeling a growing anger welling up inside him. Bennett had set him up, and there would be a price for that.

  Carl laid one page down and went to the next. “Melissa Schindle? She says that Joseph took her to his bed. It might be hard for her to remember who was in her bed, because I have sworn testimony from two men—neither are members—telling me that Melissa Schindle is one of those that will be out of work when Bennett’s brothel is shut down.”

  “You’re saying she’s a harlot?” Joshua said, straightening.

  “Yes. Very likely one of Bennett’s employees. Which does bring the validity of her testimony into some question, I would say.”

  “One last thing,” Carl said, tired now. “This whole story about Martha Brotherton and the locked room? She swears it’s true. But men of known integrity—Heber Kimball, Brigham Young, Hyrum Smith—” He stopped and shook his head. “Hyrum Smith? Can you think of a more honest and decent man than that? Well, these men flatly deny it, saying the whole thing is a fabrication. So once again I am forced to ask, how do I decide what is the truth?” He sighed. “So let me tell you about Martha Brotherton.”

  “Who is she anyway?” Benjamin asked.

>   “She’s an English girl,” Joshua said. “She claims to have come over on the same ship with Mary Fielding Smith’s brother last fall.”

  “That’s right,” Carl agreed. “I also had a man tell me he’d heard that Martha is another one of Bennett’s harlots, but he finally admitted that was only common gossip. I didn’t think that was sufficient. But I did go to Joseph Fielding, since he came in the company with them, to see if I could find out where the family is. No one here seemed to know.”

  Carl chuckled softly as he went on. “As soon as I mentioned the Brotherton name, Joseph Fielding just rolled his eyes. It seems that on the journey over they were a very troublesome family. When he tried to warn the Saints that they should not expect that there would be no tribulation once they arrived, that upset the Brothertons badly. Then as they came upriver from New Orleans, the riverboat crew filled their ears with horrible stories about the Mormons. By the time they reached Nauvoo, he said they were highly suspicious of anyone and everyone. They were terrified of meeting Joseph Smith because they were afraid he would demand money from them. So, after a short time, they moved to Warsaw.”

  “Ah, Warsaw,” Nathan said sarcastically, “that seedbed of love and gospel harmony.”

  “All right,” Joshua retorted tartly, “so Warsaw is a center of anti-Mormon sentiment, but just because a family doesn’t find the Church all that wonderful doesn’t automatically make them liars.”

  “Agreed,” Carl said quickly. “And I wasn’t suggesting the family was lying. I was just trying to learn more about Martha and her whereabouts. So I stopped at Warsaw on my way back from delivering a load of bricks one day and looked them up.” There was a rueful chuckle. “They are right in the thick of that anti-Mormon crowd down there, and they didn’t want to talk to me until I assured them I wasn’t a Mormon. But here’s what is interesting. They don’t have much love for the Church, but when I asked them about this story Martha was telling around, they just laughed. Two of her sisters and a brother-in-law told me that Martha has been guilty of dishonesty in the past, that she is