29 Facts About Mark Hofmann

Mark William Hofmann was born on December 7,1954 and 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 fake documents related to the history of the Latter Day Saint movement.

Mark Hofmann was arrested for the bombings three months later, and in 1987 pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder, one count of theft by deception, and one count of fraud.

Mark Hofmann was born in 1954 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Lucille and William Hofmann.

Mark Hofmann was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Mark Hofmann was a below-average student at Olympus High School, but had many hobbies including stage magic, electronics, chemistry, and stamp and coin collecting.

Mark Hofmann later told prosecutors that he had lost his faith in the LDS Church and become an atheist around age 14.

Mark Hofmann had learned that his maternal grandparents had continued to secretly practice polygamy for more than a decade after the church publicly ended the practice.

Dorie Olds Mark Hofmann filed for divorce in 1987, two years after Mark Hofmann's crimes came to light, and became co-founder of a holistic medicine company.

In 1980, Mark Hofmann claimed that he had found a 17th-century King James Bible with a folded paper gummed inside.

Mark Hofmann constructed his version to fit Anthon's description of the document, and its discovery made Mark Hofmann's reputation.

Mark Hofmann promptly dropped out of school and went into business as a dealer in rare books.

Mark Hofmann soon fabricated other historically significant documents and became noted among LDS Church history buffs for his "discoveries" of previously unknown materials pertaining to the Latter Day Saint movement.

In 1981, Mark Hofmann presented the LDS Church with a document which supposedly provided evidence that Smith had designated his son Joseph Smith III, rather than Brigham Young, as his successor.

In February 1981, Mark Hofmann tried to sell the letter to the chief archivist of the LDS Church.

In 1984, longtime critics of Mormonism Jerald and Sandra Tanner became the first to declare the Salamander letter a forgery, despite the fact that it, as well as others of Mark Hofmann's purported discoveries, would have strengthened the Tanners' arguments against the veracity of official Mormon history.

In 1983, Mark Hofmann bypassed the LDS Church's historical department and sold to Hinckley an 1825 Smith holograph purporting to confirm that Smith had been treasure hunting and practicing magic five years after his First Vision.

Mark Hofmann had the signature authenticated by Charles Hamilton, the contemporary "dean of American autograph dealers", sold the letter to the church for $15,000, and gave his word that no one else had a copy.

Mark Hofmann then leaked its existence to the press, after which the church was virtually forced to release the letter to scholars for study, despite previously denying it had it in its possession.

Mark Hofmann traded in many legitimate historical documents acquired from rare book sellers and collectors.

Mark Hofmann forged a previously unknown poem in the hand of Emily Dickinson.

Mark Hofmann hinted that the McLellin collection would provide revelations unfavorable to the LDS Church.

However, Mark Hofmann had no idea where the McLellin collection was, nor did he have the time to forge a suitably large group of documents.

Those to whom Mark Hofmann had promised documents or repayments of debts began to hound him, and the sale of the Oath of a Freeman was delayed by questions about its authenticity.

Investigators found that a poem used to authenticate the handwriting in the Salamander Letter had been forged by Mark Hofmann and inserted in a Book of Common Prayer once owned by Martin Harris.

Mark Hofmann agreed to confess his forgeries in open court, in return for which prosecutors in Utah and New York dropped additional charges against him.

Mark Hofmann was sentenced to five years to life, but the judge recommended that Hofmann never be released.

Mark Hofmann attempted suicide in his cell by taking an overdose of antidepressants.

Mark Hofmann was revived, but not before spending twelve hours lying on his right arm and blocking its circulation, thus causing muscle atrophy.