By Jerald and Sandra Tanner

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In his book, Nightfall At Nauvoo, the Mormon writer Samuel W. Taylor commented that “the Salt Lake City Messenger, contains some of the liveliest reading ever to emerge from the city of the Saints.” In the Messenger we have tried very hard to provide information that is both accurate and up-to-date. Fortunately, we have had some very good sources and have been able to break some important stories.

For instance, in March 1983 we reprinted a money-digging agreement which Joseph Smith and his father entered into with seven other men and stated that we had heard that “a Mormon researcher had discovered the original handwritten copy” of the document. We commented that the details of the discovery would “probably be announced soon.” One year later, March 1984, we still had nothing further to report on the money-digging agreement, but we did announce the discovery of the Salamander letter and printed important extracts from it. In the September 1984 issue of the Messenger, we revealed that the Mormon Church had bought a letter which linked Joseph Smith to magic. We said that the letter was dated June 18, 1825, and bore the signature “Joseph Smith, Jun.” We printed a typed copy of the letter in that issue of the Messenger.

As the months passed, we realized that we had announced the discovery of three very important documents, but had no way to absolutely confirm their contents. In fact, we had no way to prove that the money-digging agreement and the 1825 letter even existed. Although we had complete confidence in our sources, we began to wonder if some of our readers might feel that we were listening to too many rumors.

Nevertheless, an October 24, 1984, we went even a step further and reported that there was a possibility that William E. McLellin’s copy of Joseph Smith’s revelation to sell the copyright of the Book of Mormon to someone in Canada had been found (see The Money-Digging Letters, pages 21-22). (This revelation completely failed and caused Joseph Smith a great deal of embarrassment.) Finally, in the January 1985 issue of the Messenger we wrote that “it has recently been reported that Mark Hofmann has obtained the original Egyptian Papyrus which Joseph Smith used as Fac. No. 2 in the Book of Abraham.”

Since publishing the January 1985 issue of the Messenger, many things have come to light which tend to vindicate our statements concerning these documents. In the June 1985 issue of the Messenger, we were able to print photocopies of both the Salamander letter and the 1825 letter. Although the money-digging agreement has still not been released, the Mormon scholar Ronald W. Walker wrote concerning the “agreement” and said that “A facsimile of the original document has recently been obtained by Salt Lake businessman, Steven Christensen.” (“American Treasure Digging: A Persisting Idea,” unpublished paper, footnote 124)

McLellin Collection

On July 6, 1985, our statement concerning the discovery of the original of Facsimile No. 2 was verified in an article written by Dawn Tracy:

One of the most famous relics in Mormondom— considered by the faithful to be sacred scripture—has been located and sold in Texas. But the manuscript’s location and name of the buyer are secret, according to a collector who discovered the relic and other significant documents.

The relic, called Facsimile No. 2, is part of a collection containing papyrus fragments that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe church founder Joseph Smith translated into the Book of Abraham. . . .

Mark Hoffman, a Salt Lake seller of historical autographs and manuscripts, said he located a collection—including Facsimile No. 2—that at one time belonged to William McLellin, an early Mormon apostle. . . .

Mr. Hoffman said other items in the latest find are diaries of William McLellin, including “day-to-day and weekly activities, and papers, letters and affidavits written around the 1830’s.” “The collection is of considerable historical value in regards to the early [Mormon] church,” he said. (Salt Lake Tribune, July 6, 1985)

We had been aware of the possibility of more of the Joseph Smith Papyri coming to light since 1971. In the May 1971 issue of the Messenger, we quoted from a letter which related that Dr. Hugh Nibley had told someone that “there was more papyri found and that it was discovered in Texas. . . . Mention was made by Nibley that Facsimile No. 2 was among the papyri.” Research by Michael Marquardt and Wesley P. Walters led us to believe that the papyri might be in the possession of a Mr. Markham, the owner of Markham’s Trading Post in Cleveland, Texas. Dawn Tracy contacted Mr. Markham’s children, and although she learned that Mark Hofmann had been in contact with their father, they claimed no knowledge of the McLellin documents. If Mark Hofmann did not obtain the McLellin collection from Mr. Markham, it is very likely that he found them in that area of Texas. It appears that J. L. Traughber, who had McLellin’s diaries at the turn of the century, lived in Tyler County, which is not very far from Cleveland, Texas. In a letter written from Mobile, Tyler County, Texas, on July 11, 1901, Mr. Traughber commented:

I have some little manuscript books written by Dr. W. E. McLellin. I also have his journal for parts of the years 1831-2-3-4-5-6. I have over thirty letters compactly written by Dr. McLellin containing much on the subject of Mormonism. (Handwritten copy made by Michael Marquardt)

The reader will remember that Dawn Tracy said that Mark Hofmann had obtained the “diaries of William McLellin.” These diaries must have been the same ones Mr. Traughber had in his possession in 1901. We have learned also that Mark Hofmann did obtain a copy of the revelation to sell the copyright of the Book of Mormon as part of the McLellin collection. In The Money-Digging Letters, page 22, we told of a letter in which McLellin said he had made a copy of this revelation. The following is taken from a typed copy of this letter in Michael Marquardt’s possession:

But again, Joseph had a revelation for Oliver and friends to go to Canada to get a copy-right secured in that Dominion to the Book of Mormon, it proved so false that he never would have it recorded, printed or published. I have seen and mad (sic) a copy of it, so that I know it existed. (Letter from William McLellin to Joseph Smith III, dated July 1872)

Dawn Tracy reported that Hofmann also obtained “papers, letters and affidavits written around the 1830’s.” We understand that these affidavits and/or statements were given by John and David Whitmer, Martin Harris, Emma Smith and Elizabeth Cowdery. In his letter to Joseph Smith III, McLellin claimed what Joseph Smith did not use the Urim and Thummin in translating the Book of Mormon “but translated the entire Book of M. by means of a small stone. I have certificates to that effect from E. A. Cowdery (Oliver’s widow,) Martin Harris, and Emma Bidamon. And I have the testimony of John and David Whitmer” (Ibid., page 5). Martin Harris’s affidavit could throw important light on the Salamander letter.

The McLellin collection is also supposed to have letters between McLellin and Book of Mormon witness David Whitmer, as well as other letters, documents and four fragments from the Joseph Smith Papyri.

While Mr. Hofmann’s statement that he had acquired the McLellin collection did not appear in print until July 6, 1985, he probably discovered it over three years ago. In an interview published in Sunstone Review, September 1982, Hofmann commented: “I can tell you about some of the things I have sold this last year since the Joseph Smith III blessing. One of my favorites is the 1831 journal of William E. McLellin.” Seventh East Press for September 28, 1982, reported:

Hofmann has bought and sold many other important historical documents that have not come to the media’s attention. . . . Hofmann did not make copies of any of these historically significant documents for Church historians because, in his words, “of course, that would make the document less valuable.” Speaking specifically of the McClellan journal, Hofmann remarked that he was sorry that historians will not soon have the chance to study the journal, but “I am not in the business for historians: I am in it to make a living.”

At the time we read about the 1831 journal we were not aware that this was only part of a large collection. Consequently, we were not too disturbed about the fact that it was being suppressed.

Just before we published the January 1985 issue of the Messenger, an anonymous source informed us that Mr. Hofmann had said that he was selling the original of Fac. No. 2 to the Mormon Church and that it would never be seen again. According to Dawn Tracy, however, “Jerry Cahill stated the church does not own or possess the collection,” and “Brent Metcalfe said . . . evidence suggests the documents are owned by a private individual.” No one seems to know who this “individual” is or where the collection is now located. When the church was still suppressing Joseph Smith’s 1825 letter, George Smith stated that it was his understanding that President Gordon B. Hinckley “purchased the letter in 1983 in his own name from collector Mark Hofmann . . .” We have no additional information to support this accusation, but if President Hinckley bought the letter in his own name, the church leaders could say that the church did not own it. According to the Church Section of the Deseret News, June 30, 1985, “President Hinckley said he acquired” the letter “for the Church.”

In any case, it is not known if the individual who holds the McLellin collection is trying to suppress it for the Mormon Church. Dawn Tracy reported that “Mr. Hofmann said terms of the sale agreement stipulate he is not to divulge the name of the buyer nor the amount of the sale.” In the June 1985 issue of the Messenger, page 9, we quoted Mark Hofmann’s admission that if the church wanted him to, he was willing to help suppress knowledge of the Joseph Smith III Blessing document and “not breathe a word of its existence to anyone . . .” That Mr. Hofmann would even think of allowing such an important document to go into a “black hole” forever is deplorable, to say the least. We hope that the individual who has the McLellin collection will not continue to suppress it.

Archivists who are concerned with authenticating old documents are anxious to learn their provenance, i.e., their origin and how they came into the hands of their present owners. In the case of the Salamander letter, Hofmann and Jacobs refused to provide any information that would help scholars find out if it has a pedigree which can be traced back to the time it was supposed to have been written. With the McLellin collection, however, we find ourselves in a far better position. We know that J. L. Traughber had McLellin’s journals in 1901, and it may be possible to trace where they went from there. As we have shown, McLellin himself mentions some of the other documents. So far we have not found anything concerning McLellin having the original of Fac. No. 2. Although it has been alleged that McLellin may have stolen it from Joseph Smith in 1838, there is evidence that Smith still had it 1842.

In any case, if the original should ever become available, we do have two different drawings to compare it with. In Mormonism—Shadow or Reality? pages 335-336, we demonstrated that the circular object found in Fac. No. 2 of the Book of Abraham is in reality a magic disk or hypocephalus which Egyptians placed under the head of a mummy. We have presented good evidence to show that it was damaged when Joseph Smith obtained it and that his reconstruction has been falsified. We believe that the release of the original disc would vindicate our criticism of Fac. No. 2.

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