REVIEWS

Forgeries, Bombs, and Salamanders

Salamander: The Story of the Mormon style worked very well in this case. The Forgery Murders by Linda Sillitoe and lack of documentation could be seen as a Allen D. Roberts, with a forensic analysis weakness, but I assume that several sources by George J. Throckmorton (Salt Lake did not want to be quoted and the popular City: Signature Books, 1988), xiii+556 pp., format did not lend itself to footnotes. It $17.95. could also be argued that the book would be too expensive if the extra documenta- Reviewed by Jeffery Ogden Johnson, tion were published. I hope future re- Utah State Archivist, , Utah. searchers will have access to the research notes, including the many interviews. EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE you will see an The book opens with an account of the image that stays with you for years. On two murders. It details the cold-blooded 16 October 1985 I saw an image that will way Hofmann went about the business of be with me a lifetime: a burned out sports killing his friend Steve Christensen and by- car and yellow ribbons cordoning off the stander Kathy Sheets on 15 October 1985. street behind Deseret Gym. The yellow It was the bomb that went off the next day ribbons had been put there by the police and destroyed Hofmann's sports car that to keep the curious back. The burned out connected Hofmann with the mystery. This sports car belonged to . As book cannot ascertain with surety the target I drove by the scene on my way home from of the third bomb, but the authors argue work, I did not realize how the bomb would that it was not a suicide attempt as Hof- affect the Mormon scholarly community. mann later stated. During the next months, the picture of that This third bomb connected the earlier burned car would be flashed on television killings with the Mormon historical docu- many times as reporters would explain new ments business and put the historical com- details of the case. The questions that were munity into a panic. Historical researchers being asked those long months ago are the and document dealers left their homes and questions that are now answered by Sillitoe took precautions to protect themselves and and Roberts in this book. Linda Sillitoe, their families. Dean Jessee, Mormon docu- one of Utah's finest poets and novelists, ment expert, and forensic expert George J. developed her skills in investigative report- Throckmorton started putting the puzzle ing at the . Allen Roberts pieces together which led to the confession is a Utah architect specializing in historical and imprisonment of Hofmann. Sillitoe preservation who has published several in- and Roberts document how investigators vestigative articles and historical essays. slowly and carefully pieced together the Salamander is so well written and in- evidence. This meticulous process seemed teresting, I had a hard time laying it down. never-ending to those of us waiting for Though books without footnotes usually reports on the nightly news, but this book make me very uncomfortable, the narrative makes it clear why such care was necessary. 170 DIALOGUE: A JOURNAL OF MORMON THOUGHT

Many of us in the scholarly community complete list of these documents in the acted like typical fraud victims. Many sup- book so prospective researchers or buyers ported the perpetrator and refused to help could be watching for them. the investigation, to the great frustration of Hofmann had begun to shape our view the prosecution team. When the truth was of Joseph Smith. The forgeries changed revealed, most in the community felt pain our perceptions of the Prophet's attitudes and anger at the betrayal they had received about folk magic and plural marriage, as at Hofmann hands. well as his feelings the day he died and his Valeen Avery, past president of the opinions about a successor. The Lucy Mack Mormon History Association, in her 1988 Smith forgery made us think that Ishmael presidential address discussed the price and Lehi in the Book of Mormon were David Hyrum Smith, last son of the relatives. The Church picked up this con- Prophet Joseph Smith, had to pay when cept quickly and published it in several his family refused to help him face the places. The explosion of the third bomb past. We are luckier. Sillitoe and Roberts brought an end to Hofmann's influence and force us to look at events in our recent past. his forged documents. Hopefully, a good clear vision of what hap- Though the murders and forgeries were pened can help heal the pain we all felt painful, I am glad that Sillitoe and Roberts when we found we had been fooled. have researched and written their story. The book's last few pages, written by This book will become an important docu- George J. Throckmorton, contain informa- ment offering insight into our own times. tion concerning twenty-one of the Hofmann I found Salamander to be interesting, well forgeries. This part should be of special written, and important. Not only does it interest to archivists and history students. help us understand the Hofmann incidents, Anyone doing research in Mormon history but it is a warning to be careful what we should be aware of these forgeries. Several accept and who we trust. It also highlights have been published or used in historical the disastrous consequences of greed. Hof- studies. The list not only includes the mann's greed affected more than the Chris- "Salamander" letter, but also the Joseph tensen and Sheets families. The historical Smith III blessing; the Lucy Mack Smith community lost a dear friend in Steve letter to her sister-in-law (which I used as Christensen and a good deal of its credi- the basis for a sacrament meeting talk a bility. Hopefully we can learn from the few years ago); the Joseph Smith letter mistakes of the past, regain faith in our- to Josiah Stowell (thought to have been the selves, and again bring the highest stan- earliest known writing of Joseph Smith); a dards of scholarship to the study of Mor- Betsy Ross letter; and the Joseph Smith to mon history. Jonathan Dunham letter (thought to have Salamander: The Story of the Mormon been the last known writing of Joseph Forgery Murders by Linda Sillitoe and Smith). It also includes the "Oath of a Allen D. Roberts, with a forensic analysis Freeman," thought to have been the first by George J. Throckmorton (Salt Lake printed document in the United States. City: Signature Books, 1988), xiii+556 pp., When the Library of Congress could not $17.95. pay Hofmann's asking price for the "Oath" and Hofmann could not get the money to Reviewed by Mary Blanchard, a gradu- pay off his creditors, he took the desperate ate of the in English, steps which led to murder. currently working on a masters in Ameri- Throckmorton states that 107 docu- can literature and creative writing at Cali- ments were proven forgeries and 68 docu- fornia State University, Sacramento. ments could not be proven either genuine THIS IS NO ORDINARY MURDER MYSTERY; or forged. It is too bad that there is not a nor does it in any way exploit the people