http://www.rickgrunder.com/Newspapers%20for%20Sale/EmmaLetter/emmaletter.htm

I'm hoping someone here can help me out. Is this letter a forgery as this site claims? I'm having a discussion with a TBM cousin and would like to know more about it.

Nevermind, I went back to the site that I originally got the letter from (Mormon Delusion FB page) and got the explanation I needed.

To directly answer your question .... I have no idea.

Whenever I hear about letters that supposedly either discredit the church or sustain the church I cringe. That's because it's very easy for both critics and apologists to attack the authenticity of such letters, and even if such letters are deemed authentic by a consensus on all sides it's quite easy to attack the contents and context of such letters. I prefer to focus my time and energy on issues that are easy to analyze.

1. DNA of the Native Americans, Mongolians/Siberians, Hebrews. It's very easy to analyze as we have people from all 3 groups wandering the planet today and barring any mass genoicides this situation isn't going to be changing in my lifetime or the next several generations.

2. Facsimiles of the Book of Abraham. It's irrefutable that Joseph Smith made interpretations on them which have been canonized as scripture.

3. Changing history on polygamy and racism. Their history is well-documented in sermons, canonized scriptures, journals of leaders/pioneers, and even the memories of those of us who grew up over 2 decades ago in Mormonism. When I think about what the LDS leaders are doing I'm reminded of 2 Ne 9:34.

Many other issues .... but I'm too tired of their BS nonsense today to comment further. May Monson and his stooges get a just reward for their cowardice and lack of ethics/honesty.

I'm with you. For me, those are the things that can be tested and proven. Doesn't matter if I think JS was a scumbag or the greatest human that ever lived. His work is verifiably false.