Thirty-Seven (1842)Joseph and the rest of the Nauvoo City Council could not legally prohibit Bennett and
Young from establishing the brothel and secret gambling hall, and generally looked upon
them not only as a source of income for the debt-ridden church, but as a source of income for
the exploding immigrant population.^12 Many unmarried women had no other means of
sustenance. Again, Joseph allowed the people to do those things they desired, up to a point.
Joseph also allowed Theodore Turley to establish a distillery in Nauvoo. Although
Bennett spoke loudly against drinking,^13 once his brothel was overlooked by the City
Council, there was not much he could say about other men making a profit by selling beer
and other stronger, distilled alcoholic beverages, including wine.
The Nauvoo leaders remained quiet about the indiscretions of their legal
businesses, going off public record when they approved them. The LDS/Mormon
businessmen did then as they do today—they saw no problem in earning a living as long
as it did not violate the laws of the land. Their businesses could, then, as they can today,
push the limits of moral integrity; but as long as a law of man^14 was not broken, they
rationalized that it was okay in God’s eyes.^15 Ironically, one of the most powerful U.S.
Senators in the current Congress (at the time of this book’s initial publication circa 2012)
is Harry Reid (D-NV)—the esteemed LDS/Mormon Senate Majority Leader from the
only State in the Union that legalizes brothels and gambling—Nevada.^16
Joseph Introduces a City Ordinance for the Good of Public Morals
When the Saints finally started seeing through Bennett’s façade of pretending to be a
Latter-day Saint, Joseph became proactive about the hypocrisy of the leading men in Nauvoo and
attended city council...and advocated strongly the necessity of some active
measures being taken to suppress houses and acts of infamy in the city; for
the protection of the innocent and virtuous, and the good of public morals;
showing clearly that there were certain characters in the place, who were
disposed to corrupt the morals and chastity of our citizens, and that houses of
infamy did exist, upon which a city ordinance concerning brothels and
disorderly characters was passed, to prohibit such things.^17Neither Bennett nor Young appreciated Joseph’s intervention to stop something that
had been going on for more than a year and that Joseph had never addressed before this
time. A few days after Joseph introduced the ordinance, Bennett further denounced Joseph.
A more politically discrete Brigham had hoped that no one would come to a knowledge of
the profits he had made from his indiscretions, which he justified to care for his family while
serving “the Lord” and the Church.
Joseph knew the people’s hearts were set on enriching themselves and becoming
“God’s chosen people” through their industry, their education, and their opportunities and
abilities to make money. Accordingly, this unique LDS/Mormon attribute would one day
make the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints one of the richest religions (per capita) in
the world.^18
When he first met John C. Bennett, Joseph knew he had found the man who would
give the Saints the desires of their hearts. Largely because of Bennett’s influence, the City of
Nauvoo was flourishing, and there was a Masonic Lodge established in its heart. The men
who held the priesthood could not have been more pleased with the opportunity to make