Last, but not least, we, introduce John C. Bennett. He says he joined the Mormons in order to enable himself to expose their iniquity. He was quartermaster-general of Illinois, the mayor of Nauvoo, a master in chancery for Hancock County, III., appointed by then Judge Stephen A. Douglas, a trustee for the "University of the City of Nauvoo," the recipient of special mention in revelation purporting to come direct from God, as well as innumerable encomiums from church leaders and the church organ. The Mormon people have called Bennett more kinds of a liar, it seems to me, than any man was ever called before. When Mormons are asked just what statement of Bennett's warrants the charge, they usually confess they never read his book. In the light of subsequent history and later church admissions, there is not one of Bennett's innumerable charges of almost unbelievable iniquity which I cannot demonstrate to be substantially true as to the character of the iniquity, if not the special manifestation of it, and do so wholly from the evidence of Mormon church publications. I, therefore, believe what Bennett says, and here quote so much of his testimony as relates to the origin of the Book of Mormon. He says: "I will remark here in confirmation of the above [he having quoted a small part of the statements herein last above quoted] that the Book of Mormon was originally written by the Rev. Solomon Spaulding, A. M., as a romance and entitled the 'Manuscript Found,' and placed by him in the printing office of Patterson and Lambdin, in the city of Pittsburg, from whence it was taken by a _conspicuous Mormon divine_ and remodeled by adding the religious portion, placed by him in Smith's possession, and then published to the world as the testimony exemplifies. This I have from the confederation, and of its perfect correctness there is not the shadow of a doubt. There never were any plates of the Book of Mormon excepting what were seen by the spiritual and not the natural eyes of the witnesses. The story of the plates is all chimerical." [155] [Footnote 155: Bennett's "Mormonism Exposed," 123-4--1842.] It will be observed Bennett does not name Rigdon or Pratt in his statement. The reason is apparent from reading certain correspondence published in the book from which it appears that at the same time of writing he entertained a reasonable hope that Sidney Rigdon and the Pratts would leave the church and join him in his anti-Mormon crusade, and he probably did not wish to unduly embarrass his supposed confederates, who were still apparently within the fold. FOR THE LOVE OF GOLD, NOT GOD.