What is the white salamander in Mormon history?

Question

Gramps

I had a someone ask concerning the white salamander in Mormon history and if there is any truth to it. Could you shed a little light on what it is and what it contains. Or do you have a place to go to get information on this?

Scott

Answer

Dear Scott,

In 1983 a person by the name of Mark Hoffman produced a letter which he claimed had been written by Martin Harris in 1830 in which he says that Joseph Smith told him that the spirit guarding “the gold” in the Hill Cumorah was transformed from a white salamander that Joseph saw in the hole in which he was digging. Hoffman tried to sell this letter to the Church, and there was considerable publicity about it in 1983 and ‘84. As I recall, the letter was subsequently proven to be a forgery.

Gramps