In the mid-1980s, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints faced a crisis of history and faith. Rare document dealer Mark Hofmann claimed to uncover long-lost papers tied to Joseph Smith and early Latter-day Saint history. Among them was the infamous Salamander Letter, which replaced Moroni the angel with a white salamander spirit guarding the golden plates. Other documents—like a supposed “Joseph Smith III Blessing” and a variant of the Anthon Transcript—seemed poised to rewrite the story of the Restoration.

For a time, Hofmann fooled Church leaders, professional document examiners, historians, and collectors alike. When his financial schemes began collapsing, Hofmann murdered two people with bombs in Salt Lake City before being caught. His elaborate deceptions, now fully exposed, raise important questions: How could prophets be fooled? What does this mean for divine revelation? And how do Joseph Smith’s own cultural roots in treasure-seeking fit into this story?

Prophetic Discernment and Human Limitation

Critics often ask: If prophets have divine guidance, shouldn’t they have discerned Hofmann’s lies immediately?

But prophets are not called to be human lie detectors. They live in the same mortal world we do, relying on scholarship, experts, and human judgment in many aspects of daily life. Their divine role is to teach the gospel and reveal God’s will when God commands, not to micromanage every earthly decision.

This distinction mirrors the Bible. Even great prophets were deceived at times:

• Joshua was tricked into making a treaty with the Gibeonites (Joshua 9).
• Nathan at first told David to build the temple, before the Lord corrected him (2 Samuel 7).
• Samuel mistook Eliab for the Lord’s chosen until God said otherwise (1 Samuel 16).
• Peter faltered under peer pressure until Paul reproved him (Galatians 2).

These examples show that prophetic fallibility does not negate divine calling. Prophets act with ordinary judgment unless God intervenes. When the salvation of souls and eternal ordinances are at stake, Latter-day Saints believe God will reveal His will.

The Genius—and Evil—of Hofmann’s Forgeries

Hofmann’s scheme was diabolical in its balance:

• Some documents undermined Joseph Smith (like the Salamander Letter, casting him as a magician).
• Others seemed to support Joseph (like the Anthon Transcript variant, which made the Book of Mormon characters look more credible).

By alternating between “faith-promoting” and “faith-damaging” discoveries, Hofmann appeared neutral and objective—someone who just “found the evidence” regardless of outcome. Both critics and believers had reason to value his finds, which allowed him to control the narrative and profit handsomely.

But when his empire of deceit collapsed, his frauds were exposed for what they were: cleverly aged, carefully fabricated lies.

Joseph Smith and the Treasure-Digging Question

Hofmann’s forgeries exploited a real historical issue: Joseph Smith’s youthful involvement in treasure-seeking.

Historians agree that treasure-digging was a real folk tradition in early 19th-century New England, rooted in European practices that blended Christianity, superstition, and folklore. People sought buried treasure with seerstones, divining rods, and rituals, often believing spirits guarded the riches.

Joseph participated in this culture. Richard Bushman, in Rough Stone Rolling, is candid: Joseph was known as a village seer, and his ability to “see” was first expressed in this folk context. But Bushman emphasizes the key point: Joseph did not stay there. His seership was transformed. The same gift of “seeing” was later repurposed by God for sacred purposes—most notably in translating the Book of Mormon and receiving revelation for the Church.

This trajectory—ordinary cultural beginnings leading to prophetic transformation—matches God’s pattern in scripture. Moses, trained in Egyptian wisdom, became a prophet. Peter, a fisherman, became the rock of the early Church. Samuel, who at first misjudged Eliab, became a seer. God often sanctifies natural gifts and cultural backgrounds, raising His servants beyond them for divine purposes.

Closing Thought:

The Hofmann episode does not disprove revelation—it illustrates it in biblical proportion.

• Prophets, like Joshua or Nathan, can be fooled in everyday matters.
• Fraudulent documents, like Hofmann’s forgeries, cannot undo genuine revelation from God.
• Joseph Smith’s treasure-digging background was real, but far from scandalous—it was cultural soil from which God raised a prophet, sanctifying his gift of sight for eternal purposes.

Ultimately, Hofmann’s lies crumbled, while Joseph’s prophetic legacy endures. The lesson is that faith is not built on historians’ papers, authentic or forged, but on divine revelation confirmed by the Spirit.

Just as God’s prophets in the Bible were sometimes deceived yet still carried out God’s work, modern prophets are not shielded from every fraud. The Restoration does not rest on forged letters or human weakness but on the witness of the Holy Ghost. Hofmann’s salamander turned to dust; Moroni’s message still stands.