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his cabinet. The documents that will hereafter be introduced, will clearly show the existence of a vast and deep-laid scheme, upon their part, for conquering the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri, and of erecting upon the ruin of their present governments a despotic military and religious empire, the head of which, as emperor and pope, was to be Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Lord, and his ministers and viceroys, the apostles, high-priests, elders, and bishops, of the Mormon church.

The fruition of this hopeful project would, of course, have been preceded by plunder, devastation, and bloodshed, and by all the countless horrors which invariably accompany civil war. American citizens could not be expected to stand quietly by, and suffer their governments to be overthrown, their religion subverted, their wives and children converted into instruments for a despot's lust and ambition, and their property forcibly appropriated to the use and furtherance of a base imposture. The Mormons would, of course, meet with resistance as soon as their intentions became evident; and so great was already their power, and so rapidly did their numbers increase, that the most frightful consequences might naturally be expected. to ensue, from an armed collision between them and the citizens who still remained faithful to the God and the laws of their fathers.

These reflections continually occurred to me, as I observed the proceedings of the Mormons, and, at length, determined me to make an attempt to detect and expose the movers and machinery of the plot.

I perceived that it would be useless to undertake this by open opposition. So great and complete was the control that the Prophet had established over the souls of his followers, that very little of his vile proceedings could be made known from the confessions or testimony of his subordinates. Even if one or two did testify to any particular acts of wickedness, such were the address and influence of Smith, that he would, without difficulty, bring forward any required number of witnesses, who would perjure themselves in direct contradiction of his adversaries.

It at length occurred to me that the surest and speediest way to overthrow the Impostor, and expose his iniquity to