Mormon History
John C. Bennett's 5th Disclosure - 1842
The Louisville Daily Journal – July 27, 1842
Gen. John C. Bennett,
the author of the expositions of Joe Smith's character and conduct, passed
through this city on Saturday. In consequence of some conversation we had with
him, he has since sent the following letter. The astounding facts that it sets
forth are certainly worthy of the earnest consideration of the civil authorities
of Illinois.
STEAMER IMPORTER. July 23, 1842.
To the Editors of the Louisville Journal: --
As I promised to lay before you some of the strong points of objection to
"the gathering of the Saints," or the congregating of THE MORMONS at one
point, or general head-quarters, I now proceed to redeem the pledge.
1st. Nine hundred and ninety-nine thousandths of all the faithful of the
Mormon Church regard Joe Smith as God's vice-gerent on earth, and obey him
accordingly; and all the Danites of that Church (and by the bye, they compose no
very inconsiderable proportion of their mighty hosts) are sworn to receive him
as the supreme head of the Church, and to obey him as the supreme God. If,
therefore, any State officer, in the administration of public justice, happens
to give offence to His Holiness the Prophet, it becomes the will of God, as
spoken by the mouth of his Prophet, that that functionary should DIE; and
his followers, the faithful Saints, immediately set about the work of
assassination, in obedience, as they suppose, to their Divine Master; and for
which NOBLE DEED, they expect to receive an excellent and superior glory in the
celestial kingdom!!! It does not require Argus eyes to see the incalculable
mischief growing out of such a state of society; and an intelligent community
must look on with awful forebodings and fearful anticipations, where such a
state of things is suffered. Great God! only look at the horrible
picture! The lives of thousands of human beings depending upon the whim or
caprice of the most corrupt, heaven-daring, and black-hearted Impostor that ever
disgraced the earth! The whole community are in the most imminent danger, from
the common citizen to the highest public functionary, unless they chain their
fate to the car of Mormon despotism.
2d. Where a large community, like the Mormons, are under the absolute dictation
of a vacillating and capricious tyrant, like Joe Smith, who acts under the
influence of reason, but is wholly governed by impulses and selfish motives,
political demagogues will become fawning sycophants, and the best interests of
the country will be sacrificed in the ambitious views of an ancient or modern
Prophet -- a Mahomet or a Smith! This state of things is fraught with the most
fearful consequences -- the subversion of governments; the fall of kingdoms and
empires; the destruction of nations by the shedding of rivers of human blood;
and, where consequences of a less serious nature accrue, it destroys natural
affection, hardens the heart against the better feelings of our nature, and
produces a state of savage barbarity, which causes a civilized man to shudder,
and from which he turns with loathing and disgust.
3d. The standard of morality and Christian excellence with them is quite
unstable. Joe Smith has but to speak the word, and it becomes the LAW
which they delight to obey --by the mouth of his anointed Prophet!
BECAUSE IT COMES FROM GOD!! Acts, therefore, which but yesterday were
considered the most immoral, wicked, and devilish, to-day are the most
moral, righteous, and God-like, because God, who makes right, has so
declared it
4th. Joe Smith designs to abolish all human laws, and establish a Theocracy,
in which the word of God, as spoken by his (Joe's) mouth, shall be the
only law; and he now orders that his followers shall only obey such human laws
as they are compelled to do, and declares that the time is at hand when
all human institutions shall be abrogated! Joe's will is to become the
law of right, and his power is to execute it.
5th. Under the new order of things, all the property of the Saints,
with their wives and little ones, is to be consecrated to Joe, to
subserve his purposes and gratify his passions! These are only SOME of the
reasons which I shall hereafter, when time permits, consider more in detail;
and, in the mean time, I should like your opinion on a matter of so much
importance to all of our fellow-citizens.
With high consideration of respect and esteem, suffer me to subscribe myself --
Yours, respectfully,
JOHN C. BENNETT.
Note: John C. Bennett reprinted this letter on
pp. 148-50 of his anti-Mormon book, History of the Saints, published
later the same year in Boston.
Sangamo Journal – August 19, 1842
JOE SMITH'S MORALITY.
What Joe's
morality amounts to, can be learned from his letter to Miss Rigdon, which will
be found in the 6th communication of Gen. Bennett, in this paper. Joe Smith, in
the letter alluded to, undertakes to sustain by the Scriptures, by reason,
argument, and GOD'S REVELATION TO HIMSELF, the lawfulness of his "spiritual
wife doctrine." The argument is very specious, and had it been addressed to
a young lady of only ordinary attainments, a believer in Joe's divine mission,
it is not improbable it might have accomplished the object designed by Smith.
But happily for Miss Rigdon, she was too well informed, possessed to much moral
firmness, and was too deeply imbued with the true religion of the Bible, to be
overcome by Smith's hellish schemes. She resisted them, and unquestionably from
this cause arose all those slanders against her father that have for sometime
been in the mouths of Joe's followers here.
To a young lady of Miss Rigdon's sensibilities, the publications made, in which
her name has been introduced, must have given her pain. We should have been glad
if we could have avoided making those publications consistently with what we
regarded as the high interests of our community. But Miss Rigdon will have the
satisfaction of knowing that her case has elicited the strong sympathies not
only of her own sex, but that of the other; and that her triumph over the wiles
of the impostor will be spoken to her praise wherever her name shall be known.
In this letter these is enough evidence to make it the duty of the officers
of the law to bring Joe Smith before the Grand Jury, of the county -- not
for the purpose of giving him further liberty and permitting the immoral monster
to roam through the county, by giving him a sham trial, and allowing him to
escape justice -- but to secure all the evidence which can be found bearing
on the case, and if guilty makes his punishment commensurate with his high
professions and his crimes. The impostor is now unveiled. His infatuated
followers may suppose, by affidavits of his virtue, his purity, and his
holiness, to keep up the delusion, but that time is past. And if he is not
brought to justice by the officers of the law, they will be guilty of a flagrant
breach of duty.