Mark Hofmann
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In 1981, Hofmann arrived at the headquarters of the LDS Church with a document which supposedly provided evidence that Joseph Smith, Jr., the Mormon prophet, had designated his son Joseph Smith III, rather than Brigham Young, as his successor. In a forged cover letter, purportedly written by Thomas Bullock and dated January 27, 1865, Bullock chastises Brigham Young for having all copies of the blessing destroyed. Bullock writes that although he believes Young to be the legitimate leader of the LDS Church, he would keep his copy of the blessing. Such a letter, if true, would portray Young and, by extension, the LDS Church in an unfavorable light. In February 1981, Hofmann tried to sell the letter to the chief archivist of the LDS Church. Hofmann expected the church to "buy the blessing on the spot and bury it." When the church archivist balked at the price, Hofmann offered it to the Missouri Church, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which had always claimed that the line of succession had been bestowed on Joseph Smith's line but had never had written proof. A scramble to acquire the Blessing occurred, and Hofmann, posing as a faithful Utah Mormon, presented it to his church in exchange for items worth more than $20,000.Lindsey, 80-81.
In 2011 it was revealed that Hofmann had tape-recorded himself pitching the bogus document to the RLDS Church archives. ()</ref> Nevertheless, Hofmann also ensured that the document would be made public. The next day a New York Times headline read, "Mormon Document Raises Doubts on Succession of Church's Leaders," and the LDS Church was forced to confirm the discovery and publicly present the document to the RLDS Church.
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| Mark Hofmann letter to the Board of Pardons (1988) Mark Hofmann letter to the Board of Pardons (1988) media.bonnint.net/slc/2489/248933/24893332.pdf - Web |
| Utah History Encyclopedia — Mark Hofmann Utah History Encyclopedia — Mark Hofmann www.media.utah.edu/UHE/h/HOFMAN,MARK.html - Web |
| The Mormon Forgery Murders The Mormon Forgery Murders www.trutv.com/.../index.html - Web |
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| Booknotes interview with Simon Worrall on The Poet... Booknotes interview with Simon Worrall on The Poet and the Murderer: A True Story of Literary Crime and the Art of Forgery, August 18, 2002. www.booknotes.org/Watch/170755-1/Simon+Worrall.aspx - Web |
