Mark Hoffmann

Mark Hoffmann was a rare documents dealer and collector as a student at Utah State. He was a counterfeiter. He "found" a Lucy Mack Smith letter, Charles Anthon Transcript, E.B. Grandin contract, Two pages of the original Book of Mormon transcript, the Salamander Letter, and a blessing that designated Joseph Smith III to be prophet and not Brigham Young.

He found such things as the Book of Lehi and had copies of the McEllin collection as well. He also forged documents of letters of Emily Dickinson, Abraham Lincoln and the pilgrims.

He grew up in an LDS family and served a mission. However he started to doubt the church and presented copies of forged documents to the church in order to prove his doubt. Gordon B. Hinckley was largely acting for the church as President Kimball and other counselors rarely appeared in public do to age at that time.

He made money of the collections but suffered financial difficulties still. Unable to make good on payments he set off a bomb that killed Business partner Steve Christensen and one that killed Christensen's business partner's wife Kathy Sheet's as she picked up the package. A third bomb that went off injured him.

He, with the help Of Hugh Pinnock, obtained a loan during that time as well for 185,000 dollars. Hoffmann's murders began after he was unable to pay the loans.

In 1987 Hoffman was sentenced to two life sentences in the Utah State prison were he resides. He has twice attempted suicide and no longer speaks to media. Mark Hoffmann has gone down in history as a forger, murderer, and secret enemy of the Church.

In the aftermath several book's were written on the incident some negative toward the Church and other's basically saying what went wrong with him. Mac Christensen's exemplary forgiveness has also often been quoted. He is the father of Steve Christensen and himself a prominent Utah Businessman now retired.