Show I SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Though the Mormon Church acquired many now discredited documents from Mark Hofmann those papers should have little influence on writing about the faith’s past a prominent church historian says Nonetheless Leonard J Arrington says the documents may serve a positive purpose by mak- - H iI M t s may serve purpose y " v I j 'v? $ v4rwsC ir V- ' v ' £' ‘Whether the Hofmann documents were authentic or clever will have forgeries little influence on the writing of LOS history — Leonard J Arrington ing scholars more carefully study early Mormon history In late January Hofmann pleaded guilty to two counts of e murder in the OcL 15 1985 bombing deaths of church history buff Steven Christensen and Kathleen Sheets wife of Christensen associate Gary Sheets Hofmann acknowledged he had set the bombs to cover up his dealing of bogus documents to the church and others “In my judgment whether the Hofmann documents were authentic or clever forgeries — and surely some that he sold or traded were authentic and others were forgeries — will have little influence on the writing of LDS history" said Arrington who was church historian from 1972 to 1982 “But they have served to make us study more carefully our early history and this is a plus" Historians are very careful researchers and do not jump to radical new interpretations on the basis of some new document he stressed “They must rely on the preponderance of evidence If there are 10 sources that point to a certain conclusion and one that implies something different the historian would go with the preponderance and simply footnote that a different possibility is suggested in such and such a document" Arrington said “On the other hard if some new source indicates a different approach than any historrn has d dig thought oC he or she see if deeply into the source there is any Lkchhoc of its behe said “ iJs search ing true yields new insights he historian will report them" v j February 7 1987 Associated Press Mark Hofmann in court during his preliminary hearing He said the effect of the Hofmann documents was “to force historians to look at the earlier evidence to see if there was any corroboration If so that would be reported" Arrington would not discuss individual Hofmann documents sajing he wanted to wait until Hofmann gives a specific accounting of their authenticity Arrington Lemuel Redd Professor of Western History and former director of the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Church History said he met Hofmann in 1980 when he was church historian “He came into the office and Anthon showed us the Transcript which he said he had Smith old found in an family Bible that he had purchased while State Utah at he was a student which in my judgment are genuine and some which are not gen“He (Hofmann) said he recog- uine" he said nized the importance of the docThe Church of Jesus Christ of ument to the church and its Latter-da- y Saints acquired 48 history and he wanted to give it documents directly from Hofto the church It being the mann seven for a total cash purof the year history chase price of $57100 and 41 of the church he thought it was others less valuable by donaappropriate that he had discovtion or trade ered the document in that year" he said Spokesman Don LeFevre said those papers now are stored in Arrington said he went with the church's Historical DeparHofmann to the office of the tment faith's First Presidency “where Hofmann has admitted that he officially presented it to the “White he forged the church" Salamander Letter" which was donated the church and that to transArrington's subsequent d fer to Brigham he sold for thousands of dollars Colleca McLelJin out him Young University kept of involvement in later Hof- tion documents purportedly penned by early Mormon Aposmann transactions “I have however seen some tle William McLellin The letter supposedly written some of of the other documents University" Arrington recalled Ogden by early Mormon convert Martin Harris quoted church founder Joseph Smith as saying a white salamander — not an angel as described in official church accounts — figured in his discovery of gold plates that Mormons believe Smith translated in the Book of Mormon Prosecutors say that many of the historical and church documents Hofmann discovered sold or donated are fraudulent which may surprise some historians “Some historians to be sure believed that some of the new documents were accurate" Arrington said “This is because they seemed to fit so well with other evidence They didn't change our history they simply seemed to provide substantiation for other testimony already considered in the writing of our history" Church fes 3 |