Salamander letter

The salamander letter is a document about the history of the Latter Day Saint movement that was created by the forger Mark Hofmann in the early 1980s.

The letter was one of hundreds of documents concerning the history of LDS movement that surfaced in the early 1980s. The salamander letter presented a view of Latter Day Saint founder Joseph Smith's life that stood sharply at odds with the commonly accepted version of the early progression of the church Smith established.

Initially accepted by some document experts and collectors, and rejected by others, the salamander letter generated much discussion and debate inside and outside the Latter Day Saint movement. Kenneth W. Rendell lent credence to it by stating that the ink, paper and postmark were all consistent with the period; he concluded that "there is no indication that the document is a forgery." The document was later demonstrated to be a forgery created by Hofmann, who had been responsible for the "discovery" of many other notable documents. Rendell then recast his conclusion, stating that while there was "the absence of any indication of forgery in the letter itself, there was also no evidence that it was genuine."

The contents of the letter implied a magical aspect to Smith's life, a controversial subject debated amongst scholars of Latter Day Saint history. The salamander letter was supposedly written by Martin Harris to William Wines Phelps, an early convert in the Latter Day Saint movement. Harris served for a short period of time as scribe for the translation of the golden plates, and assisted in the financing of the first printing of the Book of Mormon. A statement by Harris appears in the front of the Book of Mormon concerning his involvement in its translation.

The letter presented a version of the recovery of the golden plates which contrasted with the "orthodox" version of events as related by Joseph Smith and the Latter Day Saint movement, which would have, if true, confirmed some controversial aspects of Smith's life. Smith had been accused of "treasure digging" and use of a "seer stone".

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