The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon, Upon Plates taken from the Plates of Nephi (Two copies- one copy inscribed by Mark Hofmann, the other inscribed by Dan Lafferty)
Salt Lake City, UT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2010; 2011. Modern reprints. Two books. Twentyfourmo [13 cm] and duodecimo [18 cm] Blue wraps with gilt stamped titles on the backstrip and front wrap. Both books are only negligibly worn. The copy inscribed by Mark Hofmann has an ink stamp on the title page which states: "Issued by Office of Chaplaincy for Personal Consumable Use." Item #70374
Two copies of the Book of Mormon inscribed by two of Utah's most notorious criminals and murderers while they were both in prison.
One copy is inscribed by Dan Lafferty, with a small sketch of a barred prison window, on the title page: "Dan Lafferty 17801 / 11-6-19 / Put me in coach." Excommunicated members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and self-proclaimed prophets Dan and Ron Lafferty were convicted of killing their sister-in-law Brenda Lafferty and her 15-month-old daughter, Erica, on July 24, 1984. They claimed that they had received a divine revelation that Brenda and her infant daughter were to be "removed." The Lafferty brothers are the subject of Jon Krakauer's "Under the Banner of Heaven."
The second book is inscribed by rare books and manuscript dealer and infamous forger Mark Hofmann on the title page: "Don't believe every- / thing you read. / Mark W. Hofmann / Mark Hofmann / 5-1-17." In 1985 a string of the bombs went off in Salt Lake City, leaving two innocent people dead and uncovering years of fraud and forgeries leading to those murders, all caused by Mormon forger, bomber and murderer, Mark Hofmann. Hofmann swindled the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, document dealers, archivists and librarians, and collectors over several years as he attempted to alter Mormon and literary history by creating false documents, including letters by Joseph Smith and a forgery of an Emily Dickenson poem. Worried his fraud might be exposed, he used homemade bombs to murder two people, including one of his clients. His crimes have been the focus of much media coverage.
Two copies of the Book of Mormon inscribed by two fanatical figures from Utah's dark 1980s criminal past, each of whom committed crimes embedded in Utah's particular history and culture. ***Provenance linking the prisoners to the former owner of the books will be provided upon purchase.
Price: $5,000.00