First of all I want to thank you @Starfire for doing a great job researching and posting your findings and summarizations here. As my own thoughts on history have become more focused on early America I strongly believe this Mormon story is an integral part of the tapestry. As you are finding it is difficult to determine what is real and what is forgery when it comes to this tight lipped group.
One thing I have been meaning to discuss here is the existence and veracity of the "Salamander Letter". I first learned about it on a netflix documentary a few years ago - the main topic being the forging of the Salamander letter by a Mormon seeking recognition that eventually led to a few gruesome bombings. However like any good stolen history topic: how much of this story of the Salamander Letter is real, is a forgery, or potentially even a false story about a forgery with some nuggets of truth in it. Here is the letter in its entireity:
From Secret Teachings of All Ages, Manly P. Hall:
Since this document is now considered to be a modern forgery, there is little dissection of the actual contents and implications of this letter on the Mormon faith. If we are to take the contents of the letter at face value the implication is that Joseph Smith was practicing a form of magic known as "money-digging" in which he uses alchemy to divine gold from the earth. Furthermore the "angel" of the Joseph Smith story is replaced with a White Salamander - a symbol that is steeped in alchemy as one of the elementals. The alleged forger Hoffman was said to be critical of the LDS - documents such as the Salamander Letter would be not only helpful in his case to "debunk" the Mormon history, but it would also be a lucrative business seeing as the church would immediately purchase the letter for the purposes of hiding it away from others. So there certainly is a motive for this document to have been forged, but like anything else its not a cut and dry case.
In digging through links, I found an interesting article on the Salamander Letter. As with anything in the historical record we have our mainstream and academic takes, but just as valuable are the anecdotal stories as part of a historical tapestry.
Of course there is no way to prove that this story is true one way or the other, but it is certainly intriguing. Others who have examined the letters have lent credence to its authenticity, essentially saying that while there is no evidence it is genuine, there is also no direct evidence it is a forgery. When it comes to an entity like the Mormon church there is a distinct possibility that there are multiple layers of deception here. Could the church have made Hoffman create a forged copy of a real letter in order to misdirect the church on its authenticity? Or is this just another example of the long history of forgery sanctioned by the Mormon Church to hide its true origins?
One thing I have been meaning to discuss here is the existence and veracity of the "Salamander Letter". I first learned about it on a netflix documentary a few years ago - the main topic being the forging of the Salamander letter by a Mormon seeking recognition that eventually led to a few gruesome bombings. However like any good stolen history topic: how much of this story of the Salamander Letter is real, is a forgery, or potentially even a false story about a forgery with some nuggets of truth in it. Here is the letter in its entireity:
Palmyra October 23d 1830
Dear SirYour letter of yesterday is received & I hasten to answer as fully as I can—Joseph Smith Jr first come to my notice in the year 1824 in the summer of that year I contracted with his father to build a fence on my property in the corse [sic] of that work I approach Joseph & ask how it is in a half day you put up what requires your father & 2 brothers a full day working together he says I have not been with out assistance but can not say more only you better find out the next day I take the older Smith by the arm & he says Joseph can see any thing he wishes by looking at a stone Joseph often sees Spirits here with great kettles of coin money it was Spirits who brought up rock because Joseph made no attempt on their money I latter [sic] dream I converse with spirits which let me count their money when I awake I have in my hand a dollar coin which I take for a sign Joseph describes what I seen in every particular says he the spirits are grieved so I through [sic] back the dollar in the fall of the year 1827 I hear Joseph found a gold bible I take Joseph aside & he says it is true I found it 4 years ago with my stone but only just got it because of the enchantment the old spirit come to me 3 times in the same dream & says dig up the gold but when I take it up the next morning the spirit transfigured himself from a white salamander in the bottom of the hole & struck me 3 times & held the treasure & would not let me have it because I lay it down to cover over the hole when the spirit says do not lay it down Joseph says when can I have it the spirit says one year from to day if you obay [sic] me look to the stone after a few days he looks the spirit says bring your brother Alvin Joseph says he is dead shall I bring what remains but the spirit is gone Joseph goes to get the gold bible but the spirit says you did not bring your brother you can not have it look to the stone Joseph looks but can not see who to bring the spirit says I tricked you again look to the stone Joseph looks & sees his wife on the 22d day of Sept 1827 they get the gold bible—I give Joseph $50 to move him down to Pa Joseph says when you visit me I will give you a sign he gives me some hieroglyphics I take then to Utica Albany & New York in the last place Dr Mitchel gives me an introduction to Professor Anthon says he they are short hand Egyption [sic] the same what was used in ancient times bring me the old book & I will translate says I it is made of precious gold & is sealed from view says he I can not read a sealed book—Joseph found some giant silver spectacles with the plates he puts them in an old hat & in the darkness reads the words & in this way it is all translated & written down—about the middle of June 1829 Joseph takes me together with Oliver Cowdery & David Whitmer to have a view of the plates our names are appended to the book of Mormon which I had printed with my own money—space and time both prevent me from writing more at present if there is any thing further you wish to inquire I shall attend to itYours RespectMartin Harris
The third group of elementals is the salamanders, or spirits of fire, who live in that attenuated, spiritual ether which is the invisible fire element of Nature. Without them material fire cannot exist; a match cannot be struck nor will flint and steel give off their spark without the assistance of a salamander, who immediately appears (so the mediæval mystics believed), evoked by friction. Man is unable to communicate successfully with the salamanders, owing to the fiery element in which they dwell, for everything is resolved to ashes that comes into their presence. By specially prepared compounds of herbs and perfumes the philosophers of the ancient world manufactured many kinds of incense. When incense was burned, the vapors which arose were especially suitable as a medium for the expression of these elementals, who, by borrowing the ethereal effluvium from the incense smoke, were able to make their presence felt.
The salamanders are as varied in their grouping and arrangement as either the undines or the gnomes. There are many families of them, differing in appearance, size, and dignity. Sometimes the salamanders were visible as small balls of light. Paracelsus says: "Salamanders have been seen in the shapes of fiery balls, or tongues of fire, running over the fields or peering in houses." (Philosophia Occulta, translated by Franz Hartmann.)
Mediæval investigators of the Nature spirits were of the opinion that the most common form of salamander was lizard-like in shape, a foot or more in length, and visible as a glowing Urodela, twisting and crawling in the midst of the fire. Another group was described as huge flaming giants in flowing robes, protected with sheets of fiery armor. Certain mediæval authorities, among them the Abbé de Villars, held that Zarathustra (Zoroaster) was the son of Vesta (believed to have been the wife of Noah) and the great salamander Oromasis. Hence, from that time onward, undying fires have been maintained upon the Persian altars in honor of Zarathustra's flaming father.
One most important subdivision of the salamanders was the Acthnici. These creatures appeared only as indistinct globes. They were supposed to float over water at night and occasionally to appear as forks of flame on the masts and rigging of ships (St. Elmo's fire). The salamanders were the strongest and most powerful of the elementals, and had as their ruler a magnificent flaming spirit called Djin, terrible and awe-inspiring in appearance. The salamanders were dangerous and the sages were warned to keep away from them, as the benefits derived from studying them were often not commensurate with the price paid. As the ancients associated heat with the South, this corner of creation was assigned to the salamanders as their drone, and they exerted special influence over all beings of fiery or tempestuous temperament. In both animals and men, the salamanders work through the emotional nature by means of the body heat, the liver, and the blood stream. Without their assistance there would be no warmth.
Since this document is now considered to be a modern forgery, there is little dissection of the actual contents and implications of this letter on the Mormon faith. If we are to take the contents of the letter at face value the implication is that Joseph Smith was practicing a form of magic known as "money-digging" in which he uses alchemy to divine gold from the earth. Furthermore the "angel" of the Joseph Smith story is replaced with a White Salamander - a symbol that is steeped in alchemy as one of the elementals. The alleged forger Hoffman was said to be critical of the LDS - documents such as the Salamander Letter would be not only helpful in his case to "debunk" the Mormon history, but it would also be a lucrative business seeing as the church would immediately purchase the letter for the purposes of hiding it away from others. So there certainly is a motive for this document to have been forged, but like anything else its not a cut and dry case.
In digging through links, I found an interesting article on the Salamander Letter. As with anything in the historical record we have our mainstream and academic takes, but just as valuable are the anecdotal stories as part of a historical tapestry.
There is absolutely no way that I can cover the Salamander topic righteously in the space provided to me, especially its relation to Mormon lore, but I would like to share one very interesting, although anecdotal story that was shared with me by my new colleague and friend Andrew Kosorok while I was digging around the “fire pit.” Andrew is an incredibly talented Utah County based glass artist. He has designed and created many of the windows for the Mormon Temples, the new Provo Temple among them.
Here is Andrew’s story as he related it to me…
“When Mark Hoffman and his partners first approached Elder Dallin Oaks about the salamander letters, his response was that they would be nice to have but not right now. When official church dudes weren’t biting (or at least not biting hard enough), Mark started grooming other private collectors. After hemming and hawing he finally started producing the letters and, as the FBI finally recognized that the sugar in the ink had crystallized in a manner inconsistent to ink in use at the time the letters were supposed to be written, eventually Mark lost it. He blew up a lady unconnected directly to the case, just to throw the FBI off! Anyway, the letters were proven to be Mark’s forgeries.
A couple years later, my mom is helping some of the undergrads unfortunate enough to get “ancient records cataloging” duty, when one of these kids makes a startling discovery which, at the time, did not seem as big of a deal as it later turned out to be. They were poking through a stinky old trunk that looked like it had not been touched “since the early ’60s”, when one of the kids noticed some really old letters. These BYU student employees had stumbled upon the actual Joseph Smith salamander letters, discovered in a trunk that had been under a pile of crap while Mark Hoffman had been doing his thing… How’s that for weird? My mom died a few years later, and she has yet to respond to my questions about this, so I’m unable to get further details. However, that’s pretty much the way she told it to me.”
Of course there is no way to prove that this story is true one way or the other, but it is certainly intriguing. Others who have examined the letters have lent credence to its authenticity, essentially saying that while there is no evidence it is genuine, there is also no direct evidence it is a forgery. When it comes to an entity like the Mormon church there is a distinct possibility that there are multiple layers of deception here. Could the church have made Hoffman create a forged copy of a real letter in order to misdirect the church on its authenticity? Or is this just another example of the long history of forgery sanctioned by the Mormon Church to hide its true origins?