White Salamander Letter Question : exmormon The letter states that Smith encountered an "old spirit" that "transfigured himself from a white salamander" when he first came across the . The Salamander letter is a rather controversial document that made questions on the foundation of the Mormon Church in Utah, according to meaww.com. It was over 2 ½ years ago that pipe bombs prepared by Mark W. Hofmann viciously and quickly ended the lives of two stalwart Salt Lake City residents, Steven F. Christensen and Kathleen Webb Sheets. A Deadly Salamander . Supposedly written in 1830 by Mormon church scribe Martin . White Salamander is a Trademark by Mormon Tea Distillery, LLC, the address on file for this trademark is 10 W. Broadway, Ste. The letter said that instead of the angel Moroni, a white salamander had appeared before Smith and then transformed into a spirit who struck him three times and refused to show him the . He found a way to trick the process used to verify and vet historical documents at the time (1980's). replaced with a white salamander?" Of course, the pun was intended. To address the issue of the controversial white salamander, Hofmann showed one researcher an 1828 dictionary that indicated a salamander could be assigned mystical powers such as living in fire; thus, it could conceivably be an angelic messenger that transformed into a spirit ("Salamander letter" 2020; Sillitoe and Roberts 1988, 275). One of Hofmann's most high-profile forgeries was the "White Salamander Letter," which he claimed to have discovered in the early 1980s. Confessions of a White Salamander. The Salamander letter, alongside many other Hofmann documents, was proven to be false during the intense investigation into Hofmann's work following the 1985 bombings. It presented a view of Latter Day Saint founder Joseph Smith's life that was at odds with the accepted recorded history of the church that Smith established. If, in fact, the Book of Mormon gold plates were delivered to Joseph Smith not by an angel but by a white salamander (as Mark Hofmann's eventually exposed. Long answer: Rather than rehash the comprehensive answers already provided, I'm going to look at this in a different light: one that addresse. 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 . As this document appeared to provide historical evidence that the origins of the Book of Mormon lay in Joseph Smith's folk magic practices, the church presented talks and published articles to control the narrative within their congregations and spin the letter positively for . A shame that it is out of print. Per Mormon beliefs, Joseph Smith was led by the angel Moroni to a place where the Book of Mormon was inscribed on gold plates. That document — known as the "White Salamander Letter" — turned out to be a fraud, and the once beloved collector responsible for manufacturing it also happened to orchestrate the bombings in a failed attempt to cover up his . Go figure. After Hofmann's bombing most of the speculation suggested that the murders were linked to that document and the study of Mormon origins. : Then a Bomb Went Off. Hofmann grew up in the Church of Latter-day Saints and as such he knew the importance the religious organization placed on authentic documents. The letter was accepted because it seemed to confirm so many arguments that didn't quite have the documentary evidence to close the deal. by Allen D. Roberts. But the "White Salamander" as a the content of this document is what my question centers around. Take a look at the trailer below that was uploaded with the following description, Also contains the previously separate books "Confessions of a White Salamander" (dealing with Hofmann's later conviction and confessions to attorneys) and "The Mormon Church and the McLellin Collection" (dealing with the LDS church's possession of documents that could have possibly brought Hofmann to justice earlier than what happened). share. The letter, evidently written by Martin Harris, one of Smith's closest associates, says that a "white salamander" that transformed itself into an "old spirit" led Smith to the golden plates. History. Not lengthy before a number of deadly pipe bombs shook Utah's Mormon community in 1985, a questionable document threatened to challenge the roots from the religion. It takes you deeper into the story and fills in many things missing from Salamander. Among them, the White Salamander Letter, which supposedly revealed that a magical white salamander guided church founder Joseph Smith to the gold plates that held the Book of Mormon. 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. I also read The Mormon Murders : A True Story of Greed, Forgery, Deceit, and Death by Gregory W. Smith, Steven W. Naifeh after Salamander. Mark William Hofmann (born December 7, 1954) is an American counterfeiter, forger, and convicted murderer.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. The church bought in immediately and paid Hoffman's price. The salamander letter presented a view of the life of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, that stood sharply at odds with . The announcements and texts of some of these documents were published in Church periodicals, and the documents have been used in good faith since . Discovered in the mid-1980s, the Salamander letter was a controversial document about the history of the Latter Day Saints - a collection of independent church groups who traced their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Mormon leader Joseph Smith in the late 1820s. Referring to the white salamander letter, Ronald W. Walker, an associate professor of history at . The salamander letter was a controversial document about the history of the Latter Day Saint movement that later proved to be a forgery. My 12 year old interest was peaked and I asked, "Why would the church buy such a crazy story that any deacon could easily tell was a lie?" The letter states that Smith encountered an "old spirit" that "transfigured himself from a white salamander" when he first came across the . The Church of Latter-day Saints reportedly paid $40,000 for the letter and it was . . Hofmann's Salamander Letter, however, presented an altered version of the origin story which, if true, had the potential to shake the Mormon faith to its core. 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. It claimed that Smith had been led to the golden plates not by the angel Moroni, but by a white salamander. A Look at Mark W. Hofmann, the Mormon Salamander Man. His most notorious Latter-day Saint forgery is the Salamander Letter. The White Salamander letter from Netflix's Murder Among the Mormons explained. Smith's discovery was basically revised, with Moroni replaced by a white salamander that morphed into a spirit. Mark Hofmann Is "Deep Throat" Hofmann Confesses . Mormon Money; Bithel Todd Letter; Call of the Wild; Kinderhook Plates; Other Forgeries? 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. Hofmann rewrote Joseph Smith's discovery of the golden plates to replace the angel Moroni with a white salamander . It stated that Joseph Smith was led to the . This history of the Salamander Letter from Netflix's docuseries includes the origin story of the Mormon Church, the letter itself, and the surprising events that followed. And Then Another. The Salamander Letter was said to be written by Martin Harris on October 23, 1830 addressed to William Wines Phelps, a newspaper publisher who later converted to Mormonism, per the Associated . This letter was believed to be an authentic historical document by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, is a Mormon. So is former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, a Republican. Murder Among the Mormons shines a spotlight on this often-secretive milieu through interviews with many of its key players, including Shannon Flynn, Brent Metcalfe, Curt Bench, and Brent Ashworth . Allegedly penned by Book of Mormon witness Martin Harris, the letter has Harris describing Moroni as a white salamander that bit Joseph Smith and then trans- Also contains Confessions of a White Salamander (deals with Hofmann's conviction and statements to the attorneys) at no extra charge. The "white salamander" letter was a game-changing document for the Mormon church — until it wasn't. The White Salamander Letter. The Salamander Letter was an alleged letter from Smith's scribe Martin Harris. Not long before a series of deadly pipe bombs shook Utah's Mormon community in 1985, a controversial document threatened to challenge the very roots of the religion. Posted by 23 days ago. 30. The Salamander letter is a letter from Martin Harris to William W. Phelps which claimed that Joseph actually learned of the ancient record from a white salamander who transformed into a spirit. As we've covered before, Mark Hofmann was a con artist who targeted the Mormon church. 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. BOOK OF MORMON DOCTRINES THAT ARE NOT SUPPOSEDLY THE PRODUCT OF PLAGIARISM, BUT OF DIVINE REVELATION . Hofmann's use of a salamander drew upon legends about certain animals having supernatural powers. As a forgery, it initially gave anti-Mormon critics the evidence they had been hoping for to discredit Smith and his work, and, when it was discovered to be a forgery, it was still used for this purpos. They . The Salamander Letter was said to be written by Martin Harris on October 23, 1830 addressed to William Wines Phelps, a newspaper publisher who later converted to Mormonism, per the Associated . 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