Mark Hofmann's Salamander Letter rewrote Mormon history
| Mark Hofmann's Salamander Letter rewrote Mormon history | |
|---|---|
| FALSE | |
| "A letter dated 1830, discovered in 1984 and attributed to early Mormon convert Martin Harris, showed that Joseph Smith's account of finding the golden plates involved a "white salamander" and folk magic, challenging the church's official history." | |
| Domain | Culture, Religion & Society |
| Tactic | Fabrication Fraud or Scam |
| Era | Historical |
| First seen | 1984 |
| Origin | A forged document sold by Salt Lake City dealer Mark Hofmann, part of a series of forgeries related to early Latter-day Saint history |
| Last reviewed | 2026-10-27 |
| Further reading: books on Culture, Religion & Society | |
The claim that Mark Hofmann's Salamander Letter rewrote Mormon history was briefly taken seriously by historians and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The letter, supposedly written by Martin Harris, described Joseph Smith encountering a white salamander that transformed into a spirit, linking the founding of Mormonism to folk magic. The church acquired it through a donor and released it publicly in 1985. Hofmann had forged it, along with many other documents he sold to collectors and the church. In October 1985, facing exposure and mounting debts, Hofmann killed two people with bombs in Salt Lake City and was injured by a third bomb. He pleaded guilty to murder and fraud in 1987 and is serving a life sentence.
What the evidence shows
- Forgery methods. Hofmann used period paper, homemade ink and techniques to artificially age documents. Forensic document examiners George Throckmorton and William Flynn found evidence of chemical aging and cracking patterns in the ink.
- Many forgeries. Hofmann forged documents relating to Joseph Smith and other figures, as well as items attributed to Emily Dickinson, Abraham Lincoln and others. He also forged a supposed early American printed document, the "Oath of a Freeman."
- Authentication failures. Several experts initially judged the Salamander Letter authentic, in part because it fit historical research on folk magic in early America.
- Murders. Hofmann's bombs killed Steven Christensen and Kathleen Sheets. His plea agreement included confessions to the forgeries.
Why it persists
The case remains a cautionary tale for historians, archivists and collectors. Hofmann exploited both believers' desire to protect church history and critics' desire to challenge it, giving each side documents it hoped to find.
Lessons for readers
- Forgers tailor documents to what buyers want to believe.
- Expert authentication can be fooled by skilled techniques.
- Provenance and forensic testing should come before historical conclusions.
- Fraud can escalate to violence when exposure threatens.
See also
Sources
- Linda Sillitoe and Allen Roberts, Salamander: The Story of the Mormon Forgery Murders (Signature Books, 1988).
- Richard E. Turley Jr., Victims: The LDS Church and the Mark Hofmann Case (University of Illinois Press, 1992).