My daughter called me on Saturday and asked if I wanted to come with her to grandma’s house and look at some books and things that her grandma is getting ready to donate or toss. Grandma is 88, in pretty good health, still lives alone, drives regularly but only makes right turns in the daylight.

She has a condo that she and her late husband bought in 1995 and he passed in 2000. She has been a baby sitter for 4 of 5 of my grandkids on and off (one lives in Wyoming) and has saved the kids tons of money, since she won’t take any. And they all love her.

I went over there on Sunday, and she has a few boxes of books and magazines and I looked into one when she said that some of the things in there were things that I loaned her. I looked in the box and it’s mostly old paperback mysteries that I don’t remember loaning her since I don’t buy many books. There’s a copy of The Mormon Murders, about Hofmann and his doings. I don’t remember loaning it to her but I may have, but if I’d bought it, I would have written my name in it.

I do remember that when it was published in 1988, Steven Naifeh was on a book tour and stopped in SLC at a downtown bookstore (Sam Weller?) and had a book signing and a presentation. I went to that but it was so crowded I couldn’t see or hear much of him.

https://www.amazon.com/Mormon-Murders-Story-Forgery-Deceit-ebook/dp/B00WRGWN2S

I brought it home and have been looking at portions of it, including the pictures. Not a person in it, from GBH on down, comes across as anything less than greedy, mean and money-grabbing.

I read some about the authors and there’s an interesting story there. They were partners in life as well as co-authors, and wrote several books together. They were married to each other in 2011 and then Gregory White Smith, who battled a rare brain tumor for four decades, and died in 2012.

Interesting back story. I never knew.

I remember the shock I felt when I read in that book about the "correlations" folks who went out to libraries and offered free, updated editions of all the church related material. Such nice, generous people.

Also, learned that members were told not to read things that were not "faith-promoting". That explained so much!

I'll have to take another look. Time and distance may provide some new retrospectives that I didn't have before.

I must've known a half-dozen people mentioned--or met them afterwards; Brent Metcalf comes to mind since he presented at the first Ex-mormon activity I attended...

I went to school with Hofmann's older sister; one of his victims lived a half mile south of my parents (her daughter was friends with my sister), and Tribune/AP reporter Mike Carter--who initially thought Hofmann innocent--is an old friend as well.

I remember it was a scary time for Salt Lake...

The late Linda Sillitoe co-authored "Salamander," the other "must read" account of the Hofmann bombings. She brings a local perspective that Smith and Naifeh weren't able to, although there's an excellent account.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/salamander-linda-sillitoe/1113026440

And of course, there's Turley's "Victims" that give's the church's side. Hmmm, I just learned Turley's middle name...

Is anyone surprised it's "Eyring"?

I've mentioned this before, but it seems like the Hofmanns were all over the place when he got famous. I was working in the finance department of a local VW dealership in about 1982 when his dad came in to buy a used Buick Electra (about a 78-79). Mark was with him and people kept walking up and down the hallway to peek at him. He was in the same ward as the sales manager.

Also, my son's father-in-law is Mark's 1st cousin and they look remarkably alike. Of course, he didn't become father-in-law for another 20 years or so. I've only heard that his wife, after he was in prison, used to come to the Hofmann family Christmas parties with the kids --but it's been a while since anyone has seen them, according the my daughter in law.

Mormon Murders, Part Five heading:


CONTENDING WITH LUCIFER:

(turn page) "Now it was the prosecutors' turn to approach Gordon Hinkley."