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I have been induced to prepare and publish the following work by a desire to expose the enormous iniquities which have been perpetrated by one of the grossest and most infamous impostors that ever appeared upon the face of the earth, and by many of his minions, under the name and garb of Religion, and professedly by the direct will and command of Almighty God.

My facilities for doing what I have undertaken are as great as could possibly be desired. For eighteen months I was living with the Mormons at their chief city, and possessed the confidence of the Prophet himself, and of his councillors. I was, indeed, from an early period, one of their First Presidents, who, after the Prophet, are the rulers of the Church. This gave me access to all their secret lodges and societies, and enabled me to become perfectly familiar with the doings and designs of the whole Church.

This book contains a full and accurate account of my motives for joining them, and of the discoveries which I made among them, illustrated and confirmed by a variety of documents, both public and private.