The forgiveness story missing from Netflix's 'Murder Among the Mormons As the news unfolded on the nation's television screens, reporters camped out on her lawn in Millcreek, peering in the windows at the distraught woman, trying desperately to care for her young children. You also called a woman who has called herself a black woman a dual race which isnt a thing. For example, for the first time in my life I took an interest in reading the obituaries. A scene from "Murder Among the Mormons" re-enacts when Mark Hoffman tested a homemade explosive. A young entrepreneur sets out to earn some money and discovers the value of a dollar (and of dirt)! shelved 1,705 times Showing 30 distinct works. I am not ashamed to admit that we were victimized. [c] [5] : 58 Dorie Olds Hofmann filed for divorce in 1987, two years after Hofmann's crimes came to light, and became co-founder of a holistic medicine company. Hofmann injured himself with a third bomb. As Mark Hofmann serves out the remainder of his life in a Utah prison, his ex-wife, Dorie Olds, has moved on. I have enjoyed the ongoing transition of this site but finally said something because Ive just come to dislike Marcus ongoing commentary and urge to mansplain to everyone. Go do something else with your time. She was very friendly when we did things socially [as couples] sometimes," Bench recalls. Dr. Mark A. Hoffman, MD | Los Angeles, CA - US News Health You are racist. The kind of argument, indeed, that you say above you dont like. [14]:253[10]:104, During the early 1980s, a significant number of new Mormon documents came into the marketplace. Two Mormon wives sat on opposite sides of the Salt Lake City courtroom, staring intently at images on a screen as a witness described Steve Christensen's body after a pipe bomb shredded it. "Only to the extent that I truly love myself can I truly love another.". Dr. Mark C. Hoffman, MD | Poulsbo, WA | Family Medicine Doctor | US [c][5]:58 Dorie Olds Hofmann filed for divorce in 1987, two years after Hofmann's crimes came to light, and became co-founder of a holistic medicine company.[11]. By the end of that third day of the April 1986 preliminary hearing about the crimes, Hofmann's wife fled the courthouse and never returned. "If I had awakened earlier, I might have ended up dead.". Mark Hofmann Today: Where Is the Murder Among the Mormons Subject Now in 2021? A few months later, he came home with a 17th-century Bible and urged her to look through it something he had never done before. Mark Hofmann - Wikipedia RR, Watch theForensic Filesepisode onYouTubeorAmazon Prime. Murder Among the Mormons, a true crime docuseries about the Hofmann forgeries and bombings, was released on Netflix March 3. previous 1 2 next sort by previous 1 2 next * Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. [5]:95,98, In addition to documents from Mormon history, Hofmann also forged and sold signatures of many famous non-Mormons, including George Washington, John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Daniel Boone, John Brown, Andrew Jackson, Mark Twain, Nathan Hale, John Hancock, Francis Scott Key, Abraham Lincoln, John Milton, Paul Revere, Myles Standish, and Button Gwinnett, whose signature was the rarest, and therefore the most valuable, of any signer of the Declaration of Independence. To add more books, click here . He was revived, but not before spending twelve hours lying on his right arm and blocking its circulation, thus causing muscle atrophy. Eventually, though, as she couldnt handle everything by herself, Dorie had to farm the youngest ones to relatives. Marc Hoffmann. Martin Luther King: I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character. He was right. Throckmorton also discovered that some documents, supposedly written by different people, had similar writing styles and that they had been written with homemade iron gall ink that looked cracked like alligator skin under a microscope, although authentic period ink did not. Smith had given a page with such script to an early Mormon convert, Martin Harris, to show to Charles Anthon, a scholar of ancient languages. (He survived and is still in prison). Chief investigator Jim Bell said, "They're hiding something; the church is doing everything it can to make this as difficult as possible. Mark Hofmann, left, and wife Doralee attend a Board of Pardons hearing in January 1988, before their divorce. "[5]:236, Hofmann not only faced the prospect of the death penalty in Utah but was indicted on federal charges of possession of an unregistered machine gun. Yet, she says it was for their own good. Direct supervision has been shown in other correctional settings to increase the safety of facilities and reduce violent incidents., Murder Among the Mormons: TV Review https://t.co/4HRXTB4jpn, The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) March 2, 2021. [41], The events were a part of the series, City Confidential in the 1998 episode, "Faith and Foul Play in Salt Lake City". When I read this article I did not expect to find this in the comments, quite interesting to read. Here you have a nice plea bargain. "[9]:514. Hofmann told his parents that he had baptized several converts; he did not tell them that he had also perused Fawn M. Brodie's biography of Joseph Smith, No Man Knows My History. "She didn't speak her truth but would waffle all over the place when she spoke.". NU47OE000105 (HOFFMAN, MARK A.) "He would save me from my family. I had decided the night before after seeing the news that the jig was up and that the only way to keep my family from the certain knowledge of my guilt (this time not only of fraud but murder) would be to kill myself, he wrote. Flimflam nonfiction. In October 1985, three bomb blasts in Salt Lake City, Utah, shook the local authorities and the residents to their very core, primarily because of its connection to the Latter-day Saints Church. Three years later, Time had written about a more bizarre Hofmann find a letter written by Smiths close friend Martin Harris. Mark Hofmann, a reputed trader of documents and artifacts within the church, turned out to be the one whod planted the bombs in an attempt to hide his forgeries. He promised investors high returns on their investments in rare documents but took their money to repay earlier investors. New York prosecutors also sought an indictment for the fraudulent sale of Oath of a Freeman. Once Dorie had divorced her husband and reclaimed her maiden name, she received a lucrative deal to write a book about her ordeal, but she couldnt go through with it on her own. Since its not clear why the commenter dislikes the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, I didnt censor any of it. Hofmann constructed his version to fit Anthon's description of the document, and its discovery made Hofmann's reputation. Prison sentences have a minimum and maximum time frame; offenders must serve their entire sentence unless the Utah Board of Pardons opts to grant them parole sooner. Ive only watched it three times, so far. Police were on the lookout for a serial bomber when . I believe that I was trying to convince myself of the worthlessness of life and of lifes unfairness, Hofmann wrote. Hofmann took his family to stay with his parents that night, telling them it was for their safety because a business associate of his had been killed. In the picture are Mark and Doralee Hoffman and their children--Michael (3 1/2 years), Karen (2 years), and Lisa (3 months). The fact that Hofmann got off with a plea bargain instead of going to trial, where he would likely have faced the death penalty if found guilty, was quite puzzling to a reporter from the Los Angeles Times, who wrote, "In any other state, you'd see this thing go on trial, because that's how prosecutors reputations are made. [5]:8081, During the race by the Utah and Missouri churches to acquire the blessing document, Hofmann discovered "a lever to exercise enormous power over his church", a power to "menace and manipulate its leaders with nothing more sinister than a sheet of paper". Explosions Rock Kyiv After Russian Strike: Live Updates - New York Times The LDS Church publicized this Hofmann creation through a press conference on August 23, 1982. Olds, meanwhile, was the dutiful wife, caring for their home and growing family at that time a son and two daughters. "I didn't feel loved, but I did think he would be my savior," Olds says now. [5]:28891, Hofmann was arrested in January1986 and charged on four indictments totaling 27counts, including first-degree murder, delivering a bomb, constructing or possessing a bomb, theft by deception, and communication fraud. It recites Hofmanns story and the adverse impact his forgeries have had on the church. "It is where she always wanted to be," McNeil says, "but didn't know it was possible.". "[37], A student of Mormonism, Jan Shipps, agreed that press reports "contained an astonishing amount of innuendo associating Hofmann's plagiarism with Mormon beginnings. The first bomb exploded a few minutes after 8 a.m. on Oct. 15, 1985, killing Steve Christensen when he reached down to pick up a package in front of his office in the Judge Building. Myriad reports alleged secrecy and cover-up on the part of LDS general authorities, and not a few writers referred to the way in which a culture that rests on a found scripture is particularly vulnerable to the offerings of con-artists. [7][8]:20506,316 He had learned that his maternal grandparents had continued to secretly practice polygamy for more than a decade after the church publicly ended the practice (it was not fully renounced until 1904). I exuded in impressing other collectors and dealers with my rare coins, he wrote. For a while, Dorie did feel like her children no longer respected or listened to her, which is why she had to separate and ship them away. The renovation included new safety and security additions that were planned for Utahs new state prison at the time, according to the Utah Department of Corrections. As a result of the blockage to his circulation, the muscles of his arm are atrophied. Dates 1984 Creator Hofmann, Mark (Person) Conditions Governing Access He also forged an 1830 letter from Martin Harris known as the Salamander Letter which described Joseph Smith being involved in folk magic. The model is shown to reduce violence in prison, the DOC said. According to the Mormon scripture Joseph SmithHistory, the transcript and its unusual reformed Egyptian characters were copied by Smith from the golden plates from which he translated the Book of Mormon. As I look back on the decisions made during this time of panic, I can see many forms of rationalization. Hofmann had become an atheist when he was 14, and had been creating successful forgeries even longer. Scope and Contents This collection contains one portrait of Mark Hoffman's family in 1984. Undercurrents On the surface, Dorie Olds' childhood in Salt Lake City's Sugar House neighborhood seemed fairly typical for Utah Mormons. I think life is basically worthless. Killer's ex-wife talks of survival - Deseret News Curt Bench, owner of Benchmark Books and a rare-book and document collector, concurs. She believed he was, indeed, a liar and a cheat. Olds quit school to support her husband, who claimed he was a pre-med student. Under the microscope they noticed that the ink was cracked. He notably published the saga "the kingdom of fire" from 2013 to 2018, as well as several science. She found the going rocky as a single mother. [9]:7778 A former girlfriend believed Hofmann performed his mission only because of social pressure and the desire not to disappoint his parents. She divorced Hofmann in 1988 and took back her maiden name. Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Where is Mark Hofmann's Ex-Wife Now? - The Cinemaholic As far back as I can remember I have liked to impress people through my deceptions, he wrote. [5]:243, After Hofmann returned from his mission, he enrolled as a pre-med major at Utah State University. The updates include a new intake area and transportation building, plus a facility to house up to 12 K-9s. Such a letter, if true, would portray Young and, by extension, the LDS Church, in an unfavorable light. I hold no such belief and have not expressed such explicitly nor implicitly. Mark Hoffman, PhD | Children's Mercy Kansas City Mark Hofmann was born in 1954 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Lucille (ne Sears) and William Hofmann (19281993). Pramedics rush a injured Mark Hofmann to an ambulance after a bomb shredded his car in downtown Salt Lake City. Their first romantic date was in April 1979, their engagement was in July and by September they were married. By age 24, his interest had shifted from U.S. coins to old Mormon money, which along with his coin collection he sold a year later and decided to forge for a living. Mark Hoffman told himself what he was about to do was for their good. While in England, Hofmann enjoyed investigating bookshops and buying early Mormon material, as well as books critiquing Mormonism. He started collecting coins when he was 12 and soon figured out ways to fool other collectors by altering coins to make them appear more desirable. The five-years-to-life sentence was the minimum possible under Utah sentencing guidelines of the time; changes to sentencing guidelines have since increased the minimum sentence for murder to 15 years to life. It was already known that McLellin had written various letters and papers dealing with controversial subjects in Joseph Smith's life; in 1879 the RLDS Church printed a letter from McLellin to Joseph Smith III stating that the elder Smith's wife, Emma, knew and disapproved of her husband's adultery. Who is Mark Hofmann? I've never seen anything like this in a homicide investigation. There was at least one polygamist in the family Marks grandfather. Even though it would have solved all the money problems Mark had left their family in, she refused to put her children through it again. Police then began investigating Hofmann himself as a suspect, and, in one moment at the hospital, she looked up to see detectives on the TV screen going through "my messy house.". Far more important than those is the outrageous relative poverty in the US of black people the astonishing gap between rich and poor and its vastly deleterious effect on them and in the administration of justice affecting them (a matter the poster in question might care to note Ive raised several times in my many posts over the last couple of years), https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/racism, a belief that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race, also : behavior or attitudes that reflect and foster this belief: racial discrimination or prejudice. He sounded just as boyishly earnest when lying to the media about discovering valuable historic Mormon documents as he did when confessing to the police that he committed fraud and double murder in the 1980s. By age 14, he developed a forgery technique he believed was undetectable. Underneath, though, Olds felt something amiss. She blamed herself. I say its racist = its racist doesnt wash (yet) however much some of the more deranged in society might prefer it. The most important thing in my mind was to keep from being exposed as a fraud in front of my friends and family, Hofmann wrote. That was how she could testify that he was home that day and pass several lie-detector tests. Thanks again for writing I appreciate anything that heightens my awareness. The bomb that killed Christensen was to take the pressure off two fraud schemes he had involved Christensen in, he wrote. Hofmann is serving a life sentence for two murders and other crimes that are explored in the Netflix docuseries Murder Among The Mormons. Dorie Hofmann Olds: Where Is Mark Hofmann's Ex-Wife Now? | Heavy.com "I had to learn how to accept and love myself enough to keep a boundary, rather than shrinking in fear of authoritarian dictates, or passively going along with situations in which I saw no choice," she says. He violated his religions ban on alcohol at least once drinking hard liquor with a pal and promptly throwing up. Thanks, Rebecca: An interesting story, this. The fact you think racism is literally only the dictionary definition is lord, man, its super embarrassing for you. I am currently working as a children's book author/illustrator, editorial illustrator, and fine artist. Mark HOFFMAN | Chief Research Information Officer | Ph.D. | Children's One CAN criticize people who arent white without being racist, but youre demonstrating to everyone that is not what you are doing. If You Come to Earth. Disagreement without tantrum and cancellation is what intelligent society does. Catch the stream. [5]:377 Hofmann also forged a previously unknown poem in the hand of Emily Dickinson. Youve chased off other people from this blog cause you want to argue everything you dont agree with (to death) and I a black woman am saying you a white man are racist. The third victim, injured but still alive, was Mark Hofmann, a man unknown to most Salt Lakers but a minor celebrity among Latter-day Saint historians and collectors. by Mark Hoffmann Hardcover. A fifth indictment, containing an additional five counts of theft by deception, was added later in January. Subsequently, while Dorie dropped out of school to support her husband, Mark left his pre-med education to become a full-time rare documents dealer. The body of Kathleen Webb Sheets is taken from her home. On its website, the church recently added an entry titled Hofmann Forgeries in its section on church history topics. Mark Hofmann: 7 Fast Facts - Forensic Files Now Obviously, alot (sic) more was involved., Editors note: Excerpts in italics were taken from former Deseret News reporter Elaine Jarviks 2005 story Tales of Hofmann: Forgeries, deceit continue to intrigue 20 years later., Copyright 2023 Deseret News Publishing Company. A genuine example was probably worth over US$1 million in 1985, and Hofmann's agents began to negotiate a sale to the Library of Congress. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Jane Dorotik: Trotting in and out of Prison, MaryAnn Clibbery and George Hansen: Unsalvageable, Movies&Tv: Murder Among the Mormons, Netflix Think it aloud, 7 Unnerving Facts About the Lindberghs and the Kidnapping, The Lindbergh Kidnapping: Forensic Files Lost Episode, Dawn Fehring: A Missionary Dies Too Young, Daniel and Cynthia McDonnell: Good Cop, Bad Wife. Fifteen years after Hofmann killed Steve Christensen and Kathy Sheets with nail-riddled pipe bombs in Salt Lake City, Hofmann's oldest son turned 19 and decided he wanted to serve a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My name is Mark Hoffmann, but some folks know me as "Hoffmann" or "Hoffy". "When I first met Dorie, she was very mousy," McNeil says. Hofmann, 66, has revealed little about himself in the more than three decades since he started serving a life sentence at the Utah State Prison in 1987. Her LDS stake president refused to shake her hand, she says, and her kids were mocked for having a dad in jail. You also called a woman who has called herself a black woman a dual race which isnt a thing., Dual heritage: the fact of having parents from different ethnic or cultural backgrounds. Mark Hoffman | Profiles RNS