Mark Hoffman

[noodle]

Many of you probably know that it is the 20-year anniversary of the Mark Hoffman bombings. I thought that this was an interesting article, originally appearing in Sunstone back in 1982:

http://www.sltrib.com/search/ci_3117888

[elder_nomo]

Many of you probably know that it is the 20-year anniversary of the Mark Hoffman bombings. I thought that this was an interesting article, originally appearing in Sunstone back in 1982:

http://www.sltrib.com/search/ci_3117888
Thanks, Mamajama... very interesting.
I know very little about the whole Mark Hoffman affair, only the outlines of the basic story. There are probably entire websites devoted to the topic of Mark Hoffman, but I am curious about this one detail - the Joseph Smith III blessing that he mentions in this article.
Anybody know... a) was it a real document, or one of his fakes? and b) what was so controversial about it (that it "shook up a few people in the church")?
Thanks.

[peter_mary]

Thanks, Mamajama... very interesting.
I know very little about the whole Mark Hoffman affair, only the outlines of the basic story. There are probably entire websites devoted to the topic of Mark Hoffman, but I am curious about this one detail - the Joseph Smith III blessing that he mentions in this article.
Anybody know... a) was it a real document, or one of his fakes? and b) what was so controversial about it (that it "shook up a few people in the church")?
Thanks.

I haven't read the article, but I assume the JS III blessing to which this is referring is the alleged blessing by which Joseph Smith conferred upon his (then) young son (like age 11 or thereabouts) the succession of leadership when Joseph Smith died. In other words, according to the story, Joseph's son was designated to be the next prophet, not Brigham Young, or Sidney Rigdon, or Joseph Strang, or anyone else.

As far as anyone knows, there is no extant copy of such a blessing, only reference to it in the journal of some apostle or high ranking official. But if such a document were to come to light, imagine the shake-up it would cause! Brigham would then be understood to have taken over the Church by subversive means, because it was God's intention to pass it along to Joseph's son...and thus the Reorganized Church (now the Community of Christ) would have had it right all along!

It's exactly the kind of tidbit Hoffman was always "finding." And the Church was DYING to buy and hide!

Peter_Mary

[noodle]

Thanks, Mamajama... very interesting.
I know very little about the whole Mark Hoffman affair, only the outlines of the basic story. There are probably entire websites devoted to the topic of Mark Hoffman, but I am curious about this one detail - the Joseph Smith III blessing that he mentions in this article.
Anybody know... a) was it a real document, or one of his fakes? and b) what was so controversial about it (that it "shook up a few people in the church")?
Thanks.

Found this reference to it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Smith_III

...and the following is more general stuff:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Hoffman


mamajama

[elder_nomo]

Found this reference to it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Smith_III

...and the following is more general stuff:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Hoffman


mamajama
WOW... (and i don't mean word of wisdom)...
Thanks, Mamajama and thanks P_M...
This is fascinating stuff.