The earliest extant versions of all three letters Bennett wrote to JS and Rigdon in July 1840 are those copied into JS Letterbook 2, which did not retain the address panels of the original letters. Bennett apparently directed the letters of 25 and 27 July to Commerce, Illinois, and the letter of 30 July to Nauvoo. His confusion about the name of the Saints’ new gathering place was not unusual. The Commerce area had become more officially known as Nauvoo in April 1840, when the name of the post office changed from Commerce to Nauvoo. However, the names were used interchangeably by both residents and outsiders for some time thereafter. (Letters from John C. Bennett, 25 and 27 July 1840; Robert Johnstone to Richard M. Young, 21 Apr. 1840, in JS History, vol. C-1, 1053; News Item, Times and Seasons, May 1840, 1:106; Alanson Ripley, “Keokuk,” Times and Seasons, Dec. 1839, 1:24; “Official Returns of the Hancock County Election, August 7th, 1843,” Nauvoo Neighbor, 16 Aug. 1843, [2].)

Times and Seasons. Commerce/Nauvoo, IL. Nov. 1839–Feb. 1846.

Nauvoo Neighbor. Nauvoo, IL. 1843–1845.

Bennett was referring to a letter he apparently wrote to JS during the “Mormon War” in Missouri. When he wrote to JS and Rigdon earlier in July 1840, Bennett also referred to this letter he claimed to have written while JS was in Missouri. (Letters from John C. Bennett, 25 and 27 July 1840; Letter to John C. Bennett, 8 Aug. 1840.)

See 1 Peter 5:10.

See Isaiah 45:17.