Robert F. Smith Posted October 15, 2015 Posted October 15, 2015 Given others were published without being leaked, I don't think it is appropriate to assume the Church would not have published them without the leaks."Then Hofmann 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."Like to see the timing and more info on this...An example of the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy.
Robert F. Smith Posted October 15, 2015 Posted October 15, 2015 .........................................................................................................................If the Lord was only in the business of making sure there are only perfect outcomes, we would never learn from our experiences and our free agency would be totally compromisedWell said, Bobbie. 1
Kevin Christensen Posted October 15, 2015 Posted October 15, 2015 You went to Viewmont in the good years when it was a fairly new school. I went there in the late 70's, still good but we had the East Parking lot crowd. I admit that the Class of 72 had an amazingly good year. I wasn't part of any of the various crowds... though I circulated a lot that year, but not in the East Parking lot. And my Dad was transfered to Kansas City that year so my younger brother did high school elsewhere. My older sister was in the first class at Viewmont. And my mother taught First Grade at Meadowbrook elementary, just a short walk away. Kevin ChristensenCanonsburg, PA
rhythm Posted October 16, 2015 Posted October 16, 2015 http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/2009/03/the-salamander-letter-in-a-nutshell/And...http://mormonexpositor.com/33-who-is-mark-hoffman-the-truth-behind-the-salamander-letter-bombings-part-1/This is an excellent telling of the behind the scenes by some that lived through it.The first link is good. The podcast (second link) is garbage. I just listened to all three parts and there are a lot of inaccuracies and speculation. Basically three people with no real qualifications to expound on this other than they read a book on it once, and they fail to remember a lot of details correctly. There are a couple Mormon Stories podcasts on this topic I'd recommend instead of this, one with one of the co-authors of Salamander. Or even just the related wikipedia articles if you're not interested enough to read Salamander.
Tacenda Posted October 16, 2015 Posted October 16, 2015 (edited) The first link is good. The podcast (second link) is garbage. I just listened to all three parts and there are a lot of inaccuracies and speculation. Basically three people with no real qualifications to expound on this other than they read a book on it once, and they fail to remember a lot of details correctly. There are a couple Mormon Stories podcasts on this topic I'd recommend instead of this, one with one of the co-authors of Salamander. Or even just the related wikipedia articles if you're not interested enough to read Salamander.I've listened to the MS's podcasts also. But thought the one I linked was good because Brent Metcalf was friends with Mark and knew some details the books may not have covered. ETA: Oh, just saw that my link wasn't with Brent, but this one is ... http://mormonstories.org/brent-metcalfe-mark-hofmann-salamander-letter-bombings/. Probably the one you were talking about. Sorry about that. Got the two mixed up. Usually try to avoid linking Mormon Stories on this board, it's taboo, but it was very good. Sad, but informative. Edited October 16, 2015 by Tacenda
ALarson Posted October 17, 2015 Author Posted October 17, 2015 I've listened to the MS's podcasts also. But thought the one I linked was good because Brent Metcalf was friends with Mark and knew some details the books may not have covered. ETA: Oh, just saw that my link wasn't with Brent, but this one is ... http://mormonstories.org/brent-metcalfe-mark-hofmann-salamander-letter-bombings/. Probably the one you were talking about. Sorry about that. Got the two mixed up. Usually try to avoid linking Mormon Stories on this board, it's taboo, but it was very good. Sad, but informative.Just saw this. Thanks for the link, Tacenda!
rhythm Posted October 18, 2015 Posted October 18, 2015 Here's the other MS podcast I was referring to (with Allen Roberts (co-author of Salamander) and Curt Bench): http://mormonstories.org/203-204-the-mormon-forgery-bombings-the-complex-legacy-of-mark-hofmann-25-years-later/
Five Solas Posted October 19, 2015 Posted October 19, 2015 I was a junior in high school (Hillcrest, in Midvale, a suburb of Salt Lake City) when Hoffman's bombs went off. It was pretty unnerving--bombs exploding seemingly at random in SLC & initially no one having any idea why. Like we were suddenly in a war but didn't know who the enemy was. Happily I've never experienced anything like it since. And as details emerged in the ensuing weeks and months, it was remarkable to see the difference in coverage between the Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune (my parents had a home subscription to Deseret News while I had access to the Tribune at school, all well before the internet). If you wanted to know what really went down, you had to read the Tribune as the Deseret News was pretty much useless on the story. It didn't mark the end of my faith in Mormonism & its leaders (I would continue to be an active member for the next two decades). But I'll admit it diminished my confidence more than a little and was a significant factor in my inability to express a proper Mormon testimony that in turn kept me from going to the temple, serving a mission, etc. --Erik
thesometimesaint Posted October 19, 2015 Posted October 19, 2015 Exactly what was the Church to do with a murdering liar that the Salt Lake City police couldn't? 1
Five Solas Posted October 27, 2015 Posted October 27, 2015 Hate to say it, but I'm a little disappointed by the responses on this thread. I'm curious if anyone else was there in the Salt Lake Valley at the time and feels he or she was shaped by the experience (i.e., coping with the knowledge that bombs were exploding in your city and that initially, no one knew why or what was coming next). I'll never forget that week (beginning on a Tuesday)--facts and rumors swirling at Hillcrest High (in Midvale, a suburb to the South of SLC). But reading ~ 5 pages of posts, it seems like for most, it's an academic/historical matter, one which may (or may not) have reflected poorly on the then leadership of the LDS Church. Am I really the only one? No one else was there & felt changed by the experience? Kindly share if you were there too. I can't be that old...;0) --Erik
Tacenda Posted October 27, 2015 Posted October 27, 2015 Hate to say it, but I'm a little disappointed by the responses on this thread. I'm curious if anyone else was there in the Salt Lake Valley at the time and feels he or she was shaped by the experience (i.e., coping with the knowledge that bombs were exploding in your city and that initially, no one knew why or what was coming next). I'll never forget that week (beginning on a Tuesday)--facts and rumors swirling at Hillcrest High (in Midvale, a suburb to the South of SLC). But reading ~ 5 pages of posts, it seems like for most, it's an academic/historical matter, one which may (or may not) have reflected poorly on the then leadership of the LDS Church. Am I really the only one? No one else was there & felt changed by the experience? Kindly share if you were there too. I can't be that old...;0) --Erik I don't know that I was changed, could have started a seed of doubt about the church, I don't know. The Salamander Letter was a mystery to me, when the news discussed it. I lived in Riverton and newly married when it occurred and remember the news reports. My friend's uncle was the owner of Mr. Mac and I remember going to the store when we were younger and meeting him, therefore her cousin was Steve. She's no longer an LDS believer but I don't know if any of it stems from the Mark Hofmann case. So that is all the effect it had on me I guess. Years later I read the Mormon Murders book but it didn't really affect my testimony of the church, but did make me very angry about this dude. Utah has always had the weirdest crimes committed by members, and this one was just one more to the list. 1
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