In 1993 Benson faced further controversy within the LDS Church , when he stated that his grandfather , then nearing his 94th birthday , was suffering from senility that was being concealed by church leadership . Later that year , Benson publicly left the church . He has since become a critic of religious belief , appearing at Freedom From Religion Foundation 's annual conventions and stating in its paper Freethought Today , " If , as the true believers claim , the word ' gospel ' means good news , then the good news for me is that there is no gospel , other than what I can define for myself , by observation and conscience . As a freethinking human being , I have come not to favor or fear religion , but to face and fight it as an impediment to civilized advancement . " In 1997 , a Benson cartoon used the image of a firefighter carrying a dead child to comment on the death sentence that had just been imposed on Oklahoma City bombing defendant Timothy McVeigh . Benson forcefully defended his work against some readers ' contentions that the cartoon was insensitive
Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City bombing
Steve Benson (cartoonist)