In True Crime Series 'Murder Among the Mormons,' LDS Church Reckons with Rewritten History
A reenactment of a bomb test, which was ultimately used to kill two people. Photo courtesy of Netflix.
(REVIEW) Do you know about the two Mormons who were killed in 1985 bombings over foundational religious documents?
“Murder Among the Mormons,” the newest true crime documentary from Netflix, is here to tell you about them.
Two people died as a result of the bombing: Steve Christensen, a documents dealer, and Kathy Sheets, the wife of another documents dealer. Both Christensen and Gary Sheets were close associates of Mark Hofmann, a boy genius in the world of religious and historical documents who was injured in a third bombing of his car.
The story of their deaths and the following investigation is told as a mini-series of only three episodes that takes less than three hours to finish (making it ideal for binging). It features a cast of characters who were directly involved in 1985, most of whom were Mormons involved in the business of rare, religious documents and antiques.
These characters were interviewed recently for the documentary and are often laid side by side with themselves in the past. It echoes the past sentiments of many, offers a richer personal story and allows some to look back with regret.
The story is told under the assumption that its viewers will not have heard the story of these bombings, despite the fact that the event wasn’t all that long ago and was covered thoroughly in local news. So for Mormons or others familiar with the bombings and resulting investigation, “Murder Among the Mormons” may lose some entertainment value.
But its structure is a tantalizing slow build that never feels tedious and is packed full of suspense, making it an enjoyable — and in many ways profound — piece of true crime fare.
That said, the rest of this review will include a thorough discussion of the guilty party and facts of the case; if you plan to watch “Murder Among the Mormons” completely blind, now’s your last chance.
The central character and guilty party in the bombings is Hofmann, the top figure in the world of Mormon religious documents at the time. He was raised in a devoted Latter Day Saints (LDS) family and was seen as independently devout; close friend Shannon Flynn said that in Celestial Pursuit (a version of Trivial Pursuit exclusively for Mormons), he never got a question wrong.
Journalist Rod Decker said Hofmann “spent his life finding treasure that nobody else could find.” Hofmann told friends on mission in England that he could walk into a book story and know instantly the size and color of books with relevant church history.
The first treasure that brought him acclaim was the Anthon Transcript, which Hofmann discovered when he was still a student at Utah State University. The document was written by Joseph Smith himself and confirmed core parts of Mormonism.
Then came the white salamander letter. It was dictated by Joseph Smith and claimed that Joseph Smith was led to the Golden Plates by a white salamander — not an angel. It undermined a fundamental part of LDS history by painting it almost as a folktale.
But this letter was forged by Hofmann, as was the Anthon Transcript. In fact, Hoffman had developed an entire system of forgery that extended beyond religious letters and texts to U.S. historical documents.
The rest of his story is standard, for fans of true crime. Hofmann had a successful empire. No one was catching his forgeries. He was making enough money to live a lavish lifestyle and push money around to keep from owing debt for too long. But on the eve of a forgery sale so large he couldn’t succeed, he hoped to get out of it by way of these bombings.
The rest carries far weightier implications. Hofmann had become an atheist when he was 14, and had been creating successful forgeries even longer. With the white salamander letter, he hoped to dismantle the LDS Church by changing its history. He was almost successful; and he was successful in undermining the church prophets and leaders by convincing them his forgery was truthful.
“Murders Among the Mormons” doesn’t do much to try and redeem the reputation of the LDS Church. The church is treated as the first suspect instead (with a motive of concealing documents from its congregants) and it’s never addressed that the church might not have this motive at all, though they were not guilty in these murders.
It instead discusses the fact that the LDS Church keeps some documents secret. Historian Brent Metcalfe says he was fired by the church out of fear he’d publish something they didn’t like. And it leaves this distrust in LDS leaders hanging with the viewer.
This negative sentiment is perhaps made up for by Hofmann’s victims.
Alvin Rust, who lost all of his savings because of Hofmann’s forgeries and was never reimbursed a cent, says in the documentary that for some time he couldn’t sleep and was destroyed by what happened to him. But one day he decided he had to change that. So he called Hofmann’s father, said to pass along the message that Rust forgave him, and from then on he was at peace.
Christensen’s widow similarly said that she had no hate in her heart for Hofmann, that she had better things to worry over.
It’s the kind of explicit forgiveness and goodwill not normally displayed by victims like this, and something that feels linked tightly to the strong faith of the community.
It’s unclear from the documentary what lasting effects Hofmann’s attempt to rewrite Mormon history have had on the LDS community. But the stories of those close to the tragedy show there are plenty among the faithful.
“Murder Among the Mormons” is now streaming on Netflix.
Jillian Cheney is a Poynter-Koch fellow for Religion Unplugged who loves consuming good culture and writing about it. She also reports on American Protestantism and evangelical Christianity. You can find her on Twitter @_jilliancheney.