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The letter was one of hundreds of documents concerning the history of the Latter Day Saint movement that surfaced in the early 1980s. The salamander letter presented a view of the life of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, that stood sharply at odds with the commonly accepted version of the early progression of the church Smith established.
In the early 1980s, the apparent discovery of an early Mormon manuscript, which came to be known as the "Salamander Letter", received much publicity. This letter, reportedly discovered by a scholar named Mark Hofmann, alleged that the Book of Mormon was given to Joseph Smith by a being that changed itself into a salamander , not by an angel as ...
During this time the infamous Salamander Letter surfaced, challenging the orthodox story of Mormon beginnings, though the letter was eventually found to be a forgery. As an ardent student of LDS history the letter caused Palmer to consider the influences of American folk magic on Joseph Smith's religious practices. [2]
After the letter had been purchased for the church and became public knowledge, LDS Church apostle Dallin H. Oaks asserted to Mormon educators that the words "white salamander" could be reconciled with Smith's Angel Moroni because, in the 1820s, the word salamander might also refer to a mythical being thought to be able to live in fire, and a ...
During this time the infamous Salamander letter surfaced, which challenged the orthodox story of Mormon beginnings, though the letter was eventually found to be a forgery. As an ardent student of LDS history, the letter caused Palmer to consider the influences of American folk magic on Joseph Smith's religious practices. [ 49 ]
Metcalfe had become an ardent supporter of the forged Salamander letter, and was hired by Christensen to research the letter. [11] When it became rumored that Metcalfe had lost his belief in the historical claims of the LDS Church, Christensen terminated the project and fired Metcalfe. [4]
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is the largest Latter Day Saint denomination. Founded by Joseph Smith during the Second Great Awakening , the church is headquartered in Salt Lake City , Utah, and has established congregations and built temples worldwide.
He was a collaborator with Wesley P. Walters, and made some of the first critical arguments for a different timeline of early Mormonism.Specifically, they argued that the Joseph Smith family did not move to Manchester until after 1820, and that the religious excitement Smith spoke of in his 1838 first vision account did not occur until 1823–1824.