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Mark Hofmann

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Re: Mark Hofmann

#11

Post by trhway »

Religion is again topping used car salesmanship :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Hofmann#Salamander_letter

Perhaps the most notorious of Hofmann's Mormon forgeries, the Salamander letter, appeared in 1984. Supposedly written by Harris to W. W. Phelps, the letter presented a version of the recovery of the gold plates that contrasted markedly with the church-sanctioned version of events. Not only did the forgery intimate that Smith had been practicing "money digging" through magical practices, but it also replaced the angel that Smith said had appeared to him with a white salamander.[28]

After the letter had been purchased for the church and become public knowledge, LDS Church apostle Dallin H. Oaks asserted to Mormon educators that the words "white salamander" could be reconciled with Smith's Angel Moroni because, in the 1820s, the word salamander might also refer to a mythical being thought to be able to live in fire, and a "being that is able to live in fire is a good approximation of the description Joseph Smith gave of the Angel Moroni."[29]

Re: Mark Hofmann

#13

Post by yesenadam »

umvi wrote: post #7

It makes me wonder what other historical artifacts we believe are genuine are actually forgeries. How was Hoffman able to forge letters that were supposedly 100+ years old? Wouldn't modern materials dating techniques reveal the fraud immediately?

I guess if you know the dating techniques, you know how to fool them. Kinda test-driven development.

Re: Mark Hofmann

#14

Post by majos »

The extent of Hoffman's forgery and its impact on LDS scholarship reminds me of Leopoldo Francioloni, a 19th century Italian antiques dealer who passed off so many fraudulent works that, per Wikipedia, "[t]o this day his work is a barrier to the scholarly study of instruments of the past."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopoldo_Franciolini

Re: Mark Hofmann

#15

Post by failrate »

xahrepap wrote: post #8
umvi wrote: post #7

It makes me wonder what other historical artifacts we believe are genuine are actually forgeries. How was Hoffman able to forge letters that were supposedly 100+ years old? Wouldn't modern materials dating techniques reveal the fraud immediately?

He would take pages from old books. The blank pages at the start/end, etc. Not sure how he spoofed the ink

IIRC, you can either recreate the ink from a recipe, find old ink and re-dissolve it, or if you have the patience you can extract it from old pages.

Re: Mark Hofmann

#16

Post by gonzo »

xahrepap wrote: post #8
umvi wrote: post #7

It makes me wonder what other historical artifacts we believe are genuine are actually forgeries. How was Hoffman able to forge letters that were supposedly 100+ years old? Wouldn't modern materials dating techniques reveal the fraud immediately?

He would take pages from old books. The blank pages at the start/end, etc. Not sure how he spoofed the ink

“Hofmann also learned how to manufacture inks using the same components and methods used by contemporary artisans.”

https://www.ioba.org/standard/2002/11/genuine-fakes-mark-hof...

Re: Mark Hofmann

#19

Post by nvr219 »

LeoPanthera wrote: post #18
gonzo wrote: post #17

Better info: https://www.ioba.org/standard/2002/11/genuine-fakes-mark-hof...

If you believe the Wikipedia article to be inferior you can improve it.

The other article doesn't comply with wikipedia standards and those changes would be reverted

Re: Mark Hofmann

#20

Post by Lordarminius »

So nobody wants to say it ? Ok I will.

Hoffman profited because the entire history and founding of the LDS was and is b.s.

Hoffman got caught and tried for forgery but perhaps the greatest forger and conman of them all in this narrative was Joseph Smith himself. People have known this for a long time: Joseph Smith's criminal record, his sexual proclivities, unverified 'visions' (as if any visions could be verified); the evidence abounds but we act like the church elders in the article - afraid to peek to closely let we find the truth. To be fair, this tendency to swallow up fairytales is not a restricted to mormons, it is probably the foundation of all religions, major and minor.

When grown men and women believe fantastic revelation stories uncritically and build great structures of worship and institutions around such beliefs, once in a while these sorts of events occur that expose the inconsistencies.

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