Without Disclosing My True Identity
In April 2010, over a period of two days and for a total of 11 hours, the Church allowed a few
historical documents to be briefly displayed for public view. “More than 100 Church-related rare and
unique historical items will be on display on Friday, 2 April 2010 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday, 3
April 2010 from noon to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. In the display, aptly named ‘Treasures of the
Collection,’ Church history leaders will put on view seldom seen books, photographs, manuscripts,
minutes and journals relating to the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” See “Rare
Historical Documents to Be Briefly Displayed at Church History Library,” The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints: Newsroom, 23 Mar. 2010, Intellectual Reserve, Inc., 19 May 2011
http://newsroom.lds.org/article/rare-historical-documents-to-be-briefly-displayed-at-church-
history-library.
“As [Mark Hofmann] learned more about problems in early LDS history, he found an easy
target to exploit in the LDS Church’s desperate need for control of its history.” Sandra Tanner and
Rocky Hulse, “The Mormon Murders Twenty-Five Years Later,” Salt Lake City Messenger, Oct. 2010,
Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 2011, Utah Lighthouse™ Ministry, 19 May 2011
http://www.utlm.org/newsletters/no115.htm.
(^6) Compare BOM, Mosiah 8:16; D&C, 107:92.
(^7) “During the bombing investigation, police [were the ones to discover] evidence of the
forgeries in Hofmann’s basement.” See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Hofmann
mentioned in n. 2 above. Hofmann is currently serving a life sentence after pleading guilty to a
lesser crime of second-degree murder in order to avoid the death penalty. This plea agreement
was pressed by the LDS Church to keep the matter from going to trial, where leaders of the
Church would have had to testify. See Sandra Tanner & Rocky Hulse, “The Mormon Murders: 25
Years Later,” 12 Jun 2011 http://www.mormonoutreach.org/topics/The%20Mormon%20Murders%20-
%2025%20Years%20Later.html.
“Why would the prosecuting attorneys offer a plea bargain when Hofmann had been
charged with thirty-two felony counts and two murders? It becomes clearer if you understand the
tremendous power the LDS Church has over the state of Utah. Placing Mark Hofmann on trial would
have meant calling LDS Prophets and Apostles to the witness stand. These LDS Church Authorities
had been utterly fooled by him into purchasing thousands of dollars worth of forged documents
relating to early Mormon history.” (See Oct. 2010 Salt Lake City Messenger referenced in n. 5 above.)
(^8) BOM, Mosiah 8:15–17.
(^9) For one of many examples, see Jerald and Sandra Tanner, The Changing World of Mormonism.
For other examples extant within the Church itself, see “B. H. Roberts,” Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia, 30 Jun. 2011, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 5 Aug. 2011
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_H._Roberts; and “Dean C. Jessee,” Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia, 25 Dec. 2010, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 3 Sept. 2011
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_C._Jessee.
(^10) “In matters large and small, the divine guidance that comes to modern-day apostles and
prophets is a magnificent blessing. Revelation moves the Church in accordance with God’s will.
Moreover, each individual may enjoy the privilege of having the Holy Ghost testify that this
guidance comes from heaven and not from man.” (Larry W. Gibbons, “Guided by Modern
Revelation,” Ensign, Oct. 2009: 9; Compare PGP, Articles of Faith 1:9.
See also James Hastings, The Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Part 21, 82–3. “The religion of
the Latter-Day Saints is progressive. It cannot be defined in a written creed. It is added to by the
revelations of God as the capacities of the Saints enlarge and the needs of the Church increase.
...Revelations for the whole Church are given only through its President, who is its earthly head and
holds the keys of the kingdom. Among the later revelations to the Church are the doctrines of
baptism for the dead and of celestial marriage.”