The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a long history of hiding documents that might prove harmful to the faith of its members — even if the letters are true history.
On January 11, 1983, Gordon B. Hinckley purchased a letter from a forger (though he was not known as a forger at the time.) The forger was one Mark Hofmann. Hofmann had been raised as a devout member of the church but spent much of his later life forging historical documents for purchase by the Church and the United States Government.
The letter purchased by Hinckley spoke of Joseph Smith’s treasure digging with Josiah Stowell. It referenced “clever spirits” and magical powers to detect treasure. It was dated June 18th 1825, 5 years after the First Vision supposedly took place. The letter posed a problem for the Church. If released to the public, members who were previously unaware of Joseph’s treasure digging might be made aware—and that was something the Church was trying to avoid. So, Hinckley offered $15,000 to Hofmann for the letter. Hinckley, it must be said, believed the letter plausible enough to purchase it on the spot. He knew of Joseph’s treasure digging. He knew of his magical beliefs. And he knew the timeline of Joseph’s treasure digging (that it did not stop for several years after the First Vision was received.)
Hinckley hid the letter. There were no news articles surrounding its existence. No statements in General Conference. The letter, according to the members, did not exist.
This didn’t satisfy Hofmann. Now acting as an apostate, Hofmann sought to wound the faith of believing members. Hofmann leaked the existence of the letter to the press. When the press contacted the Church, Jerry Cahill, LDS Church Public Communications director, denied the existence of the letter. The LA Times told the Church they were going to publish the story, claiming the Church was hiding information from its members. On April 28th, 1985, the Church, scrambling to cover their tracks, published an article in the Church News acknowledging the existence of the letter, though they did not publish the letter itself.
As public interest in the letter grew, the Church was forced to publish the hidden letter. On May 12, 1985, the forgery was published in the Church News as an authentic letter.
The Coverup of the Coverup:
In 1987, Dallin H. Oaks addressed the claim that the church hid the document from its members.
“Are documents ever acquired by the Church and then closed to the public? Of course. This is true of most large archives. The Church Historical Department restricts access to certain materials.”
“In addition, our belief in life after death causes us to extend this principle to respect the privacy of persons who have left mortality but live beyond the veil. Descendants who expect future reunions with deceased ancestors have a continuing interest in their ancestors’ privacy and good name.” [1]
In this explanation of the Church’s behavior, Oaks seems to support the claim that the Church may hide information which might portray its leaders in a negative light, even when the Church believes the information is true.
It would seem that Oaks is suggesting that most documents are hidden from the public for a time, perhaps in order to verify their authenticity. Why, then, was the 1980 discovery of the “Anthon Transcript” a document authenticating the translation of the Book of Mormon, published immediately — especially when the “Anthon Transcript” was later proven to be a Mark Hofmann forgery as well?
Are we to assume that the only documents the Church will publish are those which are portray the Church and its leaders in a positive light, while those other documents which may shed a more negative light are hidden away? Stored up? Locked in a safe, away from the curious eyes of its gullible members?
How is that honesty?
The Church also removed and hid all evidence of the Anthon Transcript publication from its July 1980 Ensign archives, a choice which, to me, remains mysterious from a self-described “honest” church. [2]
[1] Dallin H. Oaks, “Recent Events Involving Church History and Forged Documents,” Oct. 1987
[2] In July 1980, the Church published an article written by Mark Hofmann in its Ensign. The ensign article also included a section in which a prominent Church leader called the documents real, even going so far as to cite his reasoning for the conclusion. This decision would later be brought into question following Mark Hofmann’s murders and the discoveries of his forgeries.
Upon these discoveries, the Church erased all evidence of this article ever having been published on its member-accessible Ensign archive.
