Forgeries related to mormonismmark hofmannchurch reaction to forgeries. Hinckley, by now second counselor in the lds first presidency, was of major significance. When we published excerpts in the march 1984 issue of the messenger and indicated the possibility of plagiarism, citing mormonism unveiled and joseph knights account of the discovery of the book of mormon plates, hofmann rejected our. Mark william hofmann born december 7, 1954 is an american counterfeiter, forger, and convicted murderer. Antimormon forger mark hofmann fooled historical experts with master forgeries of various documents. The letter was one of hundreds of documents concerning the history of lds. The salamander letter is a letter from martin harris to william w.
The original manuscript of the book of mormon was kept there. He forged several lds documents including the controversial salamander letter. The most read book in mormon intellectual circles this year will undoubtedly be salamander. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading salamander. Mormon by saying the joseph showed him the gold plates and that he harris had the book of mormon printed with my own money. Joseph smith claimed the angel moroni appeared to him and told him about the buried ancient record that would later become the book of mormon. In 1984, hofmann had revealed the salamander letter, which gave a. Dallin oaks and his changing faith in the salamander. This is a well written book with lots of detail and facts. Later that morning another package exploded killing kathleen sheets. His most notorious latterday saint forgery is the salamander letter. I remain of the opinion that your knowledge of mormonism or the leaders of it is very extensive and as i said before, far greater than mine. The story of the mormon forgery murders kindle edition by sillitoe, linda, roberts, allen.
Harris, who financed the printing of the book of mormon, is revered by members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints as a. The salamander letter and the mark hofmann forgeries youtube. There are several others book on the topic, but i havent read them. Roberts and linda sillitoe previously and i will probably read it again. There is a lot of great evidence in that book with the footnotes to back it up to demonstrate folk magic as. The publisher aptly sums up the result of the authors determined efforts to produce the book. Some witnesses described the plates as weighing from 30 to 60 pounds 14 to 27 kg, golden in color, and composed of thin metallic pages engraved with. When you read it youll discover many others as wellreal people, alltoohuman, struggling with problems not too different from your own. In search of mormons hill warren aston book of mormon conference 2017. The story of the mormon forgery murders by allen d. The salamander letter was a controversial document about the history of the latterday saint movement that later proved to be a forgery. Did mark hofmanns salamander letter reveal dishonesty. The story of the mormon forgery murders, which is widely regarded as the most thorough account of the hofmann saga, and curt bench, who at the.
Note that jerald tanner, a prominent antimormon critic, immediately deemed the salamander letter a fraud, while presidency spent hours with hoffman and pursued purchasing multiple items so could hide them in vault just like they hid the 1832 first vision draft. This document, called the white salamander letter, which the church in the past has insisted is a genuine mormon relic, is the link between the. Drexler document laboratory, llc reflects on the salamander letter. As their stories unfoldtheir failures, their struggles, their miraculous triumphsyoull find comfort, solace, insight, and truth. A statement by harris appears in the front of the book of mormon concerning stating that he was shown by an. Phelps which claimed that joseph actually learned of the ancient record from a white salamander who transformed. Roberts study of parallels between ethan smiths view of the hebrews and the book of mormon, the king james text of the book of isaiah and the king. I admit also, that the work william law letters, the nauvoo expositor, utah and illinois mormon history, joseph smith, mormonism. The enormous success on broadway of book of mormon brings to mind the longest and most difficult miniseries development in the thenwilliam morris agencys history. Allen roberts, who coauthored with linda sillitoe the book salamander. It approached the story from a journalistic point of view.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. I remember when all this happened and i find the story as fascinating today as i did so many years ago. The mormon church on friday released photographic copies of an 1825 letter written by church founder joseph smith jr. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished forgers in history, hofmann is especially noted for his creation of documents related to the history of the latter day saint movement. It was the first book i read that i would call the new mormon history.
The deseret alphabet, a 38letter writing system developed. Perhaps the most notorious of hofmanns mormon forgeries, the salamander letter, appeared in 1984. Dallin oaks and his changing faith in the salamander letter, or, how the hg decided the truth of the letter was not very useful. Drawing from thousands of pages of police reports, court documents, interviews, letters, and diaries, sillitoes and robertss narrative cuts through the complexities of this famous crime investigation to deliver a gripping, capoteesque tale. Rather than the angel moroni, an old spirit directed joseph to the tre. The salamander letter is a forgery, but the significance of the mystical salamander in folklore, legend, and occult lore including mormon lore is not steeped in deception.
The boom in mormon documents continued into 1983, though camelot was gone, replaced by a grim professionalism. It still is interesting that the lds church created new doctrine to explain that a white salamander was really an angel and when the hoax was revealed just as suddenly undid the doctrine all. Its been just over 20 years now since mark hofmann, the returned mormon missionary, blew up two innocent people with pipe bombs, and was plea bargained out instead of going to trial. The letter mark hofmann took on january 11, 1983, to gordon b. Hofmann forged the salamander letters in which joseph smith apparently was not led to the book of mormon by the angel moroni but by a. The letter was accepted because it seemed to confirm so many arguments that didnt quite have the documentary evidence to close the deal. Sheets had helped fund research that authenticated the salamander letter ibid. Jeremy runnells was offered an opportunity to discuss his own doubts with a director of the church educational system ces and was assured that his doubts could be resolved. Harris served for a short period of time as scribe for the translation of the golden plates, and assisted in the financing of the first printing of the book of mormon.
It suggested that folk magic was not an early stage that joseph smith abandoned, but was crucial in the book of mormon translation process. As a closet apostate, he pretended to be a faithful mormon but actually wanted to discredit the lds church with his fake discoveries. As people grew more suspicious of mark hofmanns forgeries, he turned to murder and bombings to cover his tracks. The salamander letter was supposedly written by martin harris to william wines phelps, an early convert in the latterday saint movement. As for the salamander shaped hole quinn revised the book and its excellent.
People have found antagonistic references written inside hotel room book of mormons. Mark william hofmann born december 7, 1954 is an american counterfeiter, forger, and. Palmyra oct 23d 1830 dear sir your letter of yesterday is. Information swapping in the mormon underground, however.
By the time of his death, 14 years later, he had attracted tens of thousands of followers and founded a religion that continues to the present with millions of global adherents. This caused several people to start seriously wondering how he was doing so. In 1983 a person by the name of mark hoffman produced a letter which he claimed had been written by martin harris in 1830 in which he says that joseph smith told him that the spirit guarding the gold in the hill cumorah was transformed from a white salamander that. Finding a historical item like the salamander letters would have been is a once in a career find for most people. At first the mormon bishop steven christensen trusted mark hofmann, and he bought the salamander letter. Dallin h oaks lawyer for the lord lds mormon apostle. When they hear the word salamander, most will only think of the amphibiousbiological definition, but this creature of lore has many different names and abilities in. In 1983 a person by the name of mark hoffman produced a letter which he claimed had been written by martin harris in 1830 in which he says that joseph smith told him that the spirit guarding the gold in the hill cumorah was transformed from a white salamander that joseph saw in the hole in which he was digging.
Dave explains what hofmann forged the white salamander letter, amongst other things, how the. The salamander letter sandra and jerald tanner venner 01. The deseret alphabet, a 38letter writing system developed by mormons copy link facebook twitter reddit flipboard pocket the opening pages of an 1869 copy of the book of mormon, printed in deseret. Steve mayfield and george throckmorton were key players in the capture of mark hoffman, a forgerer and murderer. The churchaffiliated publishing house, deseret book, has been phasing out or renaming titles that used the word mormon, prompting authors to. According to latter day saint belief, the golden plates also called the gold plates or in some 19thcentury literature, the golden bible are the source from which joseph smith said he translated the book of mormon, a sacred text of the faith.
In this episode, dave talks about one of the weirdest, most wild happenings in latterday saint church lds church or mormon church. Its breadth of information, its farreaching conclusions, and its important lessons will be the topic of discussion in mormon orange juice, as opposed to cocktail, parties from san francisco to washington, d. Salamander lettera letter which proved to be embarrassing to the mormon church. Of toads, salamanders and spirits mormon discussions. Gary sheets who was also a bishop in the mormon church.
Whether this is so or not, we need to remember that no prophet. What is the story of a talking salamander in the church. A change was coming, too, in the new mormon history, for the faithpromoting finds that blossomed in 1982 now seemed in short supply. It gave a radically different description of josephs smiths retrieval of the golden plates. It is disingenuous to defame his work because the letters turned out to be forgeries. The genius of the salamander letter was the way that hoffman played so brilliantly off of the zietgiest of mormon historians at the time. When he was 24, smith published the book of mormon. December 23, 1805 june 27, 1844 was an american religious leader and founder of mormonism and the latter day saint movement. Opening the book and thumbing through its pages, she demonstrated to them how she, in seminary scripture study crossreferencing style, had colorcoded the text for the spalding manuscript, b. Joining mormon stories host dan wotherspoon to tell the story of these tragic murders and complex issues are two terrific guests. Ces letter my search for answers to my mormon doubts.
The infamous story of mark hofmann, the salamander letter, and. The letter attributed to martin harris is now referred to as the salamander letter or the white salamander letter. Ces letter is one latterday saints honest quest to get official answers from the lds church on its troubling origins, history, and practices. It was nothing less than the oldestknown mormon document. The significance of the salamander in mormon and occult.
The salamander letter was said to have been written by martin harris in 1830. Before that i had read a few sunstones, but it was salamander that really changed my life about mormon history. Mormon stories admin august 20, 2014 church history, general authorities, top 10 church history, top 10 exmormon, top 10 truth claims, top 100, top mormon faith crisis stories 79 comments few people had more of a frontrow seat than brent metcalfe to the goingson surrounding mark hofmann, the salamander letter, and the tragic events of. When his schemes began to unravel, he constructed bombs to murder two people in salt lake city, utah. Letter revealing mormon founders belief in spirits. The infamous story of mark hofmann, the salamander letter. Controversial white salamander letter is defended by mormon.
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