I write this letter to my friend, Nancy Rigdon, in hopes that it may help to bring her peace and happiness during her struggles trying to find truth.

Nancy Rigdon is the fictitious X-handle of a person I don’t really know. Just someone I have had brief conversations with about trying to understand Joseph Smith’s Polygamy.  Trying to reason why God would allow such a thing. I call her my friend because I have a genuine Christ-like love of her and really hope the best for her and her family.

Last night I was in a conversation with her on X, where I felt the spirit very strongly, I felt that peace of Christ as testified of Him. I believe that she has felt that love of God before. I believed she once had that peace and contentment and joy in life that comes from living the gospel.

I know how hard it can be to go through a faith Crisis. How hard and empty it can feel when you feel alone and abandoned, where you feel like you have been deceived about the very core of your being.

I have also felt the joy and redemption that comes through having Faith in Jesus Christ. The first principle of the Gospel, is Faith in Jesus Christ. This is the anchor we must have. This is the key to having that peace.

I understand that right now you may not be receptive to it, but perhaps there will be a time where you crave that light and peace again that you will choose to believe.

Nancy Rigdon and the “Joseph Smith” Happiness Letters

Anti-Mormons claim that Joseph Smith supposedly wrote a private letter to Nancy Rigdon to justify immoral behavior as he was proposing marriage to her. The “happiness letter” originated, and the only reason we know about it is because of John C. Bennett.

And even though the historical credibility of this letter is almost zero, it is still cited as a “valid source” and argument in anti-Mormon literature and websites.

What We Know About John C. Bennett

Before joining the church, John C. Bennett had a very shady and scandolous past including:

• Abandoned his wife and children during his repeated relocations in the 1830s, leaving family responsibilities behind as he fled scandal and debt
• Exaggerated and falsified medical credentials, presenting himself as a highly trained physician despite limited formal training
• Sold medical certificates and degrees for money while associated with medical institutions in Ohio, a scandal that led to his removal and flight from the state
• Accumulated unpaid debts in multiple locations, repeatedly leaving towns under suspicion rather than resolving accusations
• Rapidly sought positions of power wherever he settled, using titles, confidence, and connections to gain trust
• Engaged in adultery in Nauvoo, secretly seducing women while falsely claiming Joseph Smith authorized his actions
• Invented and taught “spiritual wifery,” a doctrine Joseph Smith explicitly condemned, while attributing it to Joseph to shield himself
• Privately confessed his misconduct when confronted by Church leaders, then refused to repent
• Turned hostile after excommunication, launching a public smear campaign against Joseph Smith and the Church
• Published sensational accusations in hostile newspapers, including fabricated sexual, political, and criminal claims
• Falsely accused Joseph Smith of attempting to overthrow the government
• Falsely claimed Joseph Smith orchestrated the attempted assassination of Missouri Governor Lilburn W. Boggs, a charge later proven unfounded
• Was implicated in plots and false testimony that contributed to Joseph Smith’s arrests and forced periods of hiding

These actions establish a clear and long-standing pattern. When Bennett was trusted, he exploited that trust. When he was exposed, he retaliated with lies designed to destroy reputations and institutions.

One of the most damaging accusations Bennett made against Joseph Smith was the newspaper letter known as the “happiness letter” he claimed was written by Joseph to Nancy Rigdon as a plural marriage proposal.

Who was Nancy Rigdon

Nancy Rigdon was the daughter of Sidney Rigdon, one of Joseph Smith’s closest associates. It is possible that Joseph Smith spoke with her, as he did with many others, about eternal sealing. What we do not have are firsthand, reliable accounts supporting the narrative Bennett published.

By contrast, we do have firsthand accounts of proposals from several of Joseph Smith’s plural wives, and what they describe is very different from Bennett’s story. They speak of hesitation, seriousness, and personal sacrifice. They describe careful explanations and covenants made before God, not manipulation, coercion, or a careless philosophy about happiness and morality. The polygamy the early saints practiced was much different than what John C. Bennett taught or what critics of the church try to portray.

The Happiness Letter

The irony of the Happiness Letter is that its logic mirrors John C. Bennett’s own behavior and teachings on spiritual wifery. Bennett openly promoted secrecy, moral relativism, and justification of adultery. He then attributed his philosophy to Joseph Smith after being exposed.

Given Bennett’s established pattern of dishonesty, retaliation, and projection, it is reasonable to ask why the origin of this one document should suddenly be trusted without question.

Is this really the foundation on which we want to build or dismantle a testimony?

Where Will We Place Our Faith?

Every historical question ultimately becomes a question of trust.

Do we place our faith in the testimony of John C. Bennett, a man with a documented history of deception and scandal, or in the testimony of Joseph Smith, who consistently testified of Christ and sealed that testimony with his life?

In the 2 Nephi 33:10 in the Book of Mormon we read,

“And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good.”

If we can feel the Spirit testify of Jesus Christ through the Book of Mormon, then it is reasonable to trust that the man who translated it, despite his flaws and sins, was sincerely striving to follow God.

Joseph Smith Suffered and Endured

Called to Repentance

Joseph Smith was not perfect. He was publicly rebuked by the Lord in revelation in D&C sections 3, 10, 24, 30, 93, 98, and 105.

His mistakes are not hidden. He is corrected by name, told when he has feared men more than God, when he has neglected responsibilities, and when he must repent and do better. Joseph was not perfect. But he tried. He kept trying to follow God and obey commandments that often placed him in direct conflict with the world around him and even with those closest to him.

Harrassment

From a young age, Joseph was ridiculed and harassed for claiming to have seen God and angels. Neighbors mocked him, ministers denounced him, and local communities treated him as a fraud or a threat. He endured physical violence, including being beaten and tarred and feathered in 1832, an attack that left him injured and emotionally shaken and contributed to the death of his infant son shortly afterward. Poverty followed him almost constantly. He was repeatedly driven from his home, first in New York, then Ohio, then Missouri, and finally Illinois. Each time, he watched people who trusted him lose land, homes, businesses, and security simply because they believed his testimony.

Betrayal from Friends

Joseph suffered deeply from betrayals within his own community. Trusted leaders and close friends turned against him, often publicly. The collapse of the Kirtland Safety Society bank cost many Saints their savings and cost Joseph the confidence of people he loved and encouraged to invest. Though he did not personally profit, he bore the blame. Former allies became bitter enemies, and some spent the rest of their lives trying to destroy him.

Imprisonment and Injustice

He endured repeated imprisonments, including the months spent in Liberty Jail, confined in brutal conditions, sick, cold, and cut off from his family while his people were being driven from their homes and assaulted across Missouri. Promises of protection from government officials were repeatedly broken. Governors, judges, and legislators assured him of justice and then failed to act out of fear, political pressure, or personal ambition. Joseph learned firsthand how fragile legal protection could be when public opinion turned hostile.

Ridicule for Teaching New Doctrine

Joseph also struggled under the weight of introducing doctrines that were deeply unpopular and misunderstood in his time. Teachings about continuing revelation, priesthood authority, temple ordinances, and plural marriage placed him at odds not only with the world but sometimes with his own followers. Obedience to these commands brought him anguish, especially as plural marriage strained his marriage to Emma, caused confusion among the Saints, and tested his faith in ways few could fully understand.

In the end, Joseph suffered betrayal that directly led to his death. False accusations, political maneuvering, and deliberate misinformation created an environment where violence against him was justified in the minds of his enemies. Arrested yet again under dubious charges, he was confined in Carthage Jail, where he and his brother Hyrum were murdered by a mob while under state protection.

Martyed for His Beliefs

Joseph Smith lived a life marked by hardship, loss, and suffering. He made mistakes. He sinned. He repented. He endured ridicule, violence, poverty, imprisonment, betrayal, and ultimately death.

Yet through it all, he continued to testify of Jesus Christ and the restoration of the gospel. Whatever one concludes about his claims, it is difficult to honestly examine his life without recognizing the immense personal cost he paid for what he said he believed.

And all this started because a yong fourteen year old Joseph had questions about his own salvation.

Believing Historic Records Requires Faith

Critics focus on a handful of disputed claims, sourced primarily from hostile witnesses, and use them to dismiss an entire lifetime of sacrifice, faith, and testimony.

That choice requires faith too.

In my opinion, it requires far more faith to believe that John C. Bennett suddenly became a reliable witness when producing the Happiness Letter than to believe that Joseph Smith, despite his imperfections, was a prophet of God.

The question is not whether faith is required.

The question is which faith leads to peace, which faith draws us closer to Jesus Christ, and which faith brings the Spirit of God into our lives.

That is the question I hope my friend will continue to ask, patiently and honestly, as she seeks truth.

Joseph Smith Offered Forgiveness

After all the lies and false accusations John C. Bennett spread about Joseph Smith, which not only damaged his good name but also forced him to unjustly go into hiding to avoid the law, and eventually led to multiple arrests, including the one that led to his death, this is what Joseph said about his friend John:

I was his friend, I am yet his friend, as I feel myself bound to be a friend to all the sons of Adam. Whether they are just or unjust, they have a degree of my compassion and sympathy. If he is my enemy, it is his own fault, and the responsibility rests upon his own head; and instead of arraigning his character before you, suffice it to say that his own conduct, wherever he goes, will be sufficient to recommend him to an enlightened public, whether for a bad man or a good one.

Rebuttals to Common Claims About the “Happiness Letter”

The way Satan works is by taking portions of truth and mingling them with deception. That is also how any con man, including John C. Bennett, gains the trust of his victims. Language about happiness, agency, and moral choice sounds familiar and comforting, which is exactly why the so-called Happiness Letter has been used so effectively to mislead.

Below are debunkings to claims critics make about the Joseph Smith Happiness Letter, along with the factual problems each claim carries.

Claim: Joseph Smith Wrote the Happiness Letter

There is no original letter in Joseph Smith’s handwriting. There is no dictated copy recorded by a known scribe. The only version of the letter exists because John C. Bennett provided it to a newspaper after his excommunication, during a period when he was actively attacking Joseph Smith.

For this reason, the Joseph Smith Papers do not treat the letter as authentic and place it in an appendix rather than among verified documents.

Claim: The Letter Shows Joseph Justified Immorality

The philosophy attributed to Joseph in the letter mirrors John C. Bennett’s own teachings, not Joseph Smith’s documented doctrine. Bennett taught that secrecy justified behavior and that happiness could override moral law. Joseph Smith taught repentance, covenant obedience, and accountability before God.

There is no authenticated sermon, revelation, or letter from Joseph Smith that teaches moral relativism or excuses sin under the banner of happiness.

Claim: Later Prophets Repeated the Same Ideas

Critics often claim that later prophets echoed the Happiness Letter, proving it came from Joseph Smith. This argument relies on superficial similarities in language, not doctrine.

General statements about agency, accountability, and God being the source of happiness exist throughout scripture and Christian theology. None of Joseph Smith’s successors taught that sin becomes moral through secrecy, deception, or personal justification. That idea belongs entirely to Bennett.

Shared vocabulary does not establish shared authorship or shared intent.

Claim: The Letter Was Suppressed by the Church

The letter was not hidden. There is no original and it was never accepted as authentic in the first place. Church leaders publicly denied its authorship when it appeared. The Joseph Smith Papers openly discuss it today, explain its origin, and clearly identify its problems.

Labeling rejection of a forged document as “concealment” is not historical analysis.

Claim: The Letter Matches Joseph’s Plural Marriage Practices

We have firsthand accounts from multiple plural wives of Joseph Smith. Their descriptions consistently include reluctance, careful explanation, covenant framing, and personal sacrifice. None describe manipulation, philosophical coercion, or secret justification of sin.

Bennett’s version of events stands alone and contradicts every reliable firsthand source.

Claim: The Letter Should Be Trusted Despite Bennett’s History

John C. Bennett had a documented lifetime pattern of dishonesty. When trusted, he exploited that trust. When exposed, he retaliated with lies. The Happiness Letter fits that pattern perfectly. It appears only after his fall from power and serves a single purpose: to destroy Joseph Smith’s reputation.

Trusting this document requires believing that Bennett suddenly became honest at the exact moment he was most motivated to lie.

Final Thought

The question is not whether the John C. Bennett Happiness Letter sounds persuasive. The question is whether it is trustworthy. The historical answer to that question is clearly no.

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