It's very rare for me to praise an LDS employee/clergy/G.A.

But this time Ryan Roos seems to be making sense and predicting a future that not only Mormons, but Exmormons need to be wary of. He predicts the possibility of another Mark Hofmann. So we need to keep our eyes open on possible frauds/forgeries.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865639714/Expect-another-Mark-Hofmann-to-emerge-says-expert-on-rare-Mormon-books.html?pg=all

Isn't this guy about 180 years too late?

:-)

From the article, the best description of Joseph Smith although it was supposed to be about someone else:

"It was bone-chilling," he said. "I just couldn't tell. This guy knows he's lying, and he's just as cool as can be. .. The problem is he was a great forger, but he was a master manipulator and a master at pressure. With him, you always had to a make a decision and make it now."

Mark Hoffman and Joseph Smith were cut from the same cloth. When the Mormon leaders realized they had been had, they should have fallen on their knees in front of Hoffman and declared him their new leader. "Finally a man as crafty as Joseph. I bet this guy could write another book of ancient scripture for us just like Joseph. Halleluja."

I knew Mark Hofmann and he was a pathological liar, but he was not a great intellectual nor a persuasive talker. He knew how to find patsies and how to use their own greed and stupidity against themselves. He knew that a sucker is born every minute and most of them are Mormons. Most people who engaged with Mark would politely excuse themselves after about 30 seconds. He was creepy person with few friends.

Very interesting, even if it does knock holes in my theory haha.

Warning the Mormon church about getting fleeced is a little ironic. No?

+1

I have often wondered why the "inspired leaders even a prophet" were unable to discern the fraud?

I KNOW! They were speaking as men!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2015 03:20PM by desertman.

It's so tricky how that works.

While he may well be correct, the article as a whole is typical Desperate News tripe.

Consider this bit of revisionist history:
"Hofmann was exposed because the LDS Church history department acquired documents and did due diligence on them, said Brad Kramer, Roos' business partner."

Really? Then why did The Corporation continue buying forgeries?

Or this from a BYU professor:
"'I've tested most of (those held by the church), and most are likely not fake,' he said."

Still being fooled, eh?

And finally this gem of understanding:
"'I can't make sense of the lack of interest in it on the faith-promoting side. Scholars dedicated to using their scholarly tools to neutralize criticism owe it to themselves to figure out why Hofmann is such a big deal.'"

It isn't hard to figure out why Hofmann is such a big deal. He is living proof that Mormon leaders don't get inspiration from anywhere.

He's talking about the latest set of forgeries, the church essays.