According to the Los Angeles Times, the "discovery" of the letter had been made by Mark Hofmann, a young collector of antiquated documents. 'The Mormon Murders' -- the Mini-Series the Latter Day ... . Close. According to FairMormon.org — a self-described nonprofit "dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of LDS doctrine, belief and practice" — Chase asserted in the affidavit that he . "Murder Among The Mormons". Where Is Mark Hofmann From 'Murder Among The Mormons' Now? In Part 2, Brent describes working for and with Steve Christensen and Mark Hofmann, the Salamander Letter episode, and the bombings that took the lives of Steve and Kathy Sheets. Knowing this, Mark Hofmann dreamed up a letter that played perfectly off of those claims. The letter was supposedly written by Martin Harris, an important figure in early Mormon history, and gave a very different version of the religion's roots from . Photo: NetflixThere is no end to the odd details in Netflix's latest true crime docuseries Murder Among the Mormons. (Salt Lake Tribune) "Murder Among the Mormons"—a Netflix exclusive— just dropped their trailer showcasing the three-part documentary. The Salamander Letter was a document Hofmann claimed was written in 1830 by Martin Harris, the scribe of the founder of the Mormon Church Joseph Smith. Police later found the bomb was set by Mark . Netflix's 'Murder Among The Mormons' is a new three-part docuseries that examines three bombings in 1985 the killed two people in Salt Lake City. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Salamander: The Story of the Mormon Forgery Murders. For example, "[Hofmann] also forged an 1830 letter from Martin Harris (known as the "salamander letter"), which described Joseph Smith being involved in folk-magic practices." Yes, the letter was forged, but he didn't just make up the idea that Joseph was involved in folk magic. Who is Mark Hofmann and what did he do? - Deseret News Even when the Salamander Letter proved very useful in . Netflix's "Murder Among The Mormons" Is About Documents ... Murder Among the Mormons: What is the Salamander letter? But that was all that the tests established. Rather, it was discovered the Salamander Letter was forged by him, Hofmann wanted to throw authorities off the scent. Mark Hofmann was a renowned collector of rare documents, including the infamous White Salamander Letter — an artifact whose contents threatened to shake the . The letter states that Smith encountered an "old spirit" that "transfigured himself from a white salamander" when he first came across . Murder Among the Mormons: What to Know . But even in the Salamander Letter case, the story has so many twists and turns that it can be too easy for viewers to lose their way and fall into easy assumptions about Church motives. While these "Prophets, Seers, and Revelators" were being duped and conned by Mark Hofmann's forgeries over a four-year period (1981-1985), the Tanners - considered some of the biggest critics of the Church - actually came out and said that the Salamander Letter was a fake. The letter was supposedly written by Martin Harris to W W Phelps, an early convert in the Latter Day Saint movement. Salamander: The Story of the Mormon Forgery Murders - Kindle edition by Sillitoe, Linda, Roberts, Allen. Later that morning another package exploded killing Kathleen Sheets. Drawing from thousands of pages of police reports, court documents, interviews, letters, and diaries, Sillitoe's and Roberts's narrative cuts through the complexities of this famous crime investigation to deliver a gripping, Capote-esque tale. Drawing from 1000s of pages of police reports, court documents, interviews, letters & diaries, Sillitoe's & Roberts's narrative cuts thru the complexities of this famous crime investigation to deliver a gripping, Capote-esque tale. One . Supposedly written in 1830 by Mormon church scribe Martin . The White Salamander letter from Netflix's Murder Among the Mormons explained. NEW documentary series Murder Among The Mormons investigates three bombings in 1985 which sent shockwaves through Salt Lake City, and delves into the famous Salamander Letter. "Murder among the Mormons' is a three-part documentary, which attempts to explore the trio of . As we've covered before , Mark Hofmann was a con artist who targeted the Mormon church. In Murder Among the Mormons, . Christensen had purchased from Hofmann the so-called "Salamander Letter" of Martin Harris to W.W. Phelps, which had been unveiled in a circus-like meeting of the Mormon History Association in May 1985. Feature agent and former New York colleague Fred Milstein called me one morning and spoke about a series of forgeries and murders by a 28-year-old elder of ths Mormon church against fellow Mormons. It revels in the way their contents, as it claims, "shook The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." (P . The most famous documents master forger Mark Hofmann ever dealt with are the mysterious McLellin collection and more specifically, the Salamander Letter.A little background: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints believes it began, according to the church's official website, when a prophet by the name of Joseph Smith was visited by an angel of God and eventually led to The Book of . Mark was a renowned collector of rare documents, including the infamous White Salamander Letter - an artefact whose contents threatened to shake the very foundations of . It stated that Joseph Smith was led to the gold plates by a spirit who "transfigured himself from a white salamander" rather than an angel. This time, the latest crime docuseries is a straight-out case of whodunit! Mr. Netflix Documentary on Mark Hoffman and the LDS Church's response to the Salamander Letter. Hofmann later counterfeited a document that became known as the "White Salamander Letter," which he claimed he had found on Dec. 27, 1983, as outlined in Netflix's new docuseries, "Murder Among the Mormons.". While the Church did keep a few Hofmann acquisitions quiet, it publicly commented on others: the Salamander Letter is a case in point in the film. One of Hofmann's most high-profile forgeries was the "White Salamander Letter," which he claimed to have discovered in the early 1980s. What y'all think? The Salamander Letter. This letter was folded so that one end was open, and the contents could be seen by looking in the end" (Throckmorton 1988, 544). This letter was believed to be an authentic historical document by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Cultural. Salamander: The Story of the Mormon Forgery Murders Linda Sillitoe and Allen Roberts. The salamander letter was a controversial document about the history of the Latter Day Saint movement that later proved to be a forgery.. THE new documentary series Murder Among The Mormons investigates three bombings in 1985 which sent shockwaves through Salt Lake City, and delves into the famous "Salamander letter". NEW documentary series Murder Among The Mormons investigates three bombings in 1985 which sent shockwaves through Salt Lake City, and delves into the famous Salamander Letter. Dated October 23, 1830, this letter narrated a strikingly different story of Book of Mormon origins from the standard faith story. Photo: NetflixThere is no end to the odd details in Netflix's latest true crime docuseries Murder Among the Mormons. UPDATE. Mark's next big scam was the "Salamander Letter." The whole "translation" of the Book of Mormon is steeped in mysticism and fraud. Mormon mythology states that Joseph Smith was led to a book of golden plates which contained the text that would become the Book of Mormon in 1823 by an angel named Moroni. After initially protesting his innocence, he pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder, one count of theft by deception for forging the Salamander Letter and one count of fraud for the bogus sale of the McLellin collection. Salamander: The Story of the Mormon Forgery Murders with a New Afterword. Hofmann's use of a salamander drew upon legends about certain animals having supernatural powers. The October 1985 bombings that killed two people and seriously . The Salamander Letter. The murders send further shockwaves through the community when a trove of early Mormon letters and diaries are found destroyed in the vehicle of the third victim, a renowned collector of rare documents, including the infamous White Salamander Letter - an artifact whose contents threatened to shake the very foundations of Mormonism. His motivation wasn't political or because he hated Mormons. The Salamander collection (1829-2000) consist of interview notes, news clippings, publications, investigative information, and other materials used by Linda Sillitoe and Allen Roberts in their book Salamander: The Story of the Mormon Forgery Murders, a book about the 1985 bombing deaths of two Salt Lake City residents.The collection has been divided into five sections. Hofmann was famous among the church for his contributions of rare documents, which included the infamous Salamander Letter that he first produced in 1983, two years before the bombings. Celebrity. That purpose was not only to acquire the $40,000 for which he ultimately sold it to Steve . One authenticator, Steven . But here's how the forgery game got so dangerous. W. Phelps (published in Church News, 28 April 1985) has dismayed some people . The Salamander Letter was a document Hofmann claimed was written in 1830 by Martin Harris, the scribe of the founder of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith. This two-part series is titled "The White Salamander Murders." The first part publishes the full text of the so-called Salamander Letter and describes the contents of other Church history documents allegedly found by Hofmann. It does sort of slide over some details. The LDS Salamander Letter Explained. The bombings killed two people and severely injured Mark Hofmann, "a renowned collector of rare documents, including the infamous White Salamander Letter—an artifact whose contents threatened . Also Read: How Many Episodes Are There In 'Murder Among The Mormons'?Know All Details. MURDER AMONG THE MORMONS is the new true-crime documentary series on Netflix about skilful forger and murderer Mark Hofman and his link to . He was sentenced to five years but the judge recommended he never be . According to Murder Among the Mormons, Hofmann got the idea for the Salamander Letter from a real 1833 affidavit written by Willard Chase. Love It. It suggested that This package was addressed to her husband, J. Gary Sheets who was also a bishop in the Mormon Church. (c) June 1985. Information swapping in the "Mormon underground," however . 224. Netflix is bringing another documentary series for true-crime fans to feast their eyes on. Martin Harris' letter of 23 October 1830 to Wm. Beginning as early as 1984, we suggested that the Salamander Letter might be "a forgery" and noted that if this were the case, "it needs to be exposed." 6 By August 1984, we had printed the first part of the booklet, The Money-Digging Letters, in which Hofmann's major discoveries were questioned and his document dealings condemned. In December 1983, Hofmann showed rare document dealer Shannon Flynn a document allegedly contained in the Golden Plates, the objects from which Joseph Smith claimed to have . Why The Salamander Letter From Murder Among The Mormons . According to FairMormon.org — a self-described nonprofit "dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of LDS doctrine, belief and practice" — Chase asserted in the affidavit that he . Written in the upper margin of the bill someone had written, "white salamander letter.". Moses, Moroni, and the Salamander. Steven Christensen was a 31-year-old stockbroker who had just arrived at work when he was killed in an explosion October 15, 1985 in Salt Lake City. Murder Among The Mormons Director Jared Hess. Feature agent and former New York colleague Fred Milstein called me one morning and spoke about a series of forgeries and murders by a 28-year-old elder of ths Mormon church against fellow Mormons. After a lengthy forensic investigation that Netflix's Murder Among the Mormons covers extensively, it's discovered that Mark Hofmann was responsible for the bombings. Murder Among the Mormons is one such docuseries that has been brought by the streaming giant. The murders sent further shockwaves through the group when a trove of early Mormon letters and diaries were found destroyed in the vehicle of the third victim, Mark Hofmann. Salamander: The Story of the Mormon Forgery Murders with a New Afterword. The letter recounted how the church prophet had encountered a white salamander — that transformed itself into a spirit — guarding the gold plates. Drawing from 1000s of pages of police reports, court documents, interviews, letters & diaries, Sillitoe's & Roberts's narrative cuts thru the complexities of this famous crime investigation to deliver a gripping, Capote-esque tale. Shocking details about Netflix's 'Murder among the Mormons' Docu-series. And when people suddenly started getting killed and that had some kind of connection to the "white salamander" letter, it was like, . The series gives a significant amount of focus towards Salamander letter and the bomber from Utah called Mark Hofmann, who misled the LDS church. The letter states that Smith encountered an "old spirit" that "transfigured himself from a white salamander" when he first came across the . He specialized in finding and selling . In the mid- 1980s, a letter supposedly dating back to the early 1800s rocked the foundations of the Mormon faith. Murder Among the Mormons establishes the tenets of Mormonism so that the viewer can comprehend the full impact of the Salamander Letter on the Mormon faith. Murder Among the Mormons | Official Trailer | Netflix | Releases March 3, 2021 | Mark Hofmann and the Salamander Letters Mark and Doralee Hofmann at a Board of Pardons hearing in the 1980s. The Salamander Letter. F.A.R.M.S. In Part 3, Brent discusses the aftermath of the Hofmann murders, including the trial and Hofmann's eventual plea deal. the case is a much larger story about deception and fraud that all ties back to a Mormon Church document known as the Salamander Letter. He paid in cash, but I later noticed something odd about one of the bills he'd given me. Both were materials used in the 19th Century. The salamander letter presented a view of the life of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, that stood sharply at odds with . "Mark Hofmann's most famous discovery, the Salamander letter, was a document he forged for a purpose. The boom in Mormon documents continued into 1983, though Camelot was gone, replaced by a grim professionalism. It claimed that Smith had been led to the golden plates not by the angel Moroni, but by a white salamander. ". Welcome, amateur sleuths, to a deep dive into one of the most important components of Netflix's new docuseries Murder Among the Mormons.We're talking about the Salamander Letter, and even though it falls into the category of "solved mysteries," there are enough twists involved that it will be living rent-free in our minds for a long time. A change was coming, too, in the new Mormon history, for the faith-promoting finds that blossomed in 1982 now seemed in short supply. Posted by 29 days ago "Murder Among The Mormons". 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