When Mark Hofmann's deadly bombs left SLC in terror!
Source: AXIOS Salt Lake City
Story By Erin Alberty, October 16, 2025
Forty years ago, Salt Lake was reeling in terror as multiple bombs exploded in deadly attacks around the city, stemming from a forgery spree involving purportedly historical Mormon documents.
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What drove the news: Two people were killed Oct. 15, 1985, when they picked up packages wrapped in brown paper and rigged to explode.
- The first blast, around 8am at the Judge Building downtown, killed financial adviser Steven F. Christensen, 31.
- Two hours later, 50-year-old Nancy Sheets died after picking up a package left outside her home in Holladay. Her husband was a former business associate of Christensen — and the company they had once built was rumored to be nearing collapse.
That was the motive police suspected until a third bomb exploded the next day, critically wounding a rare documents dealer named Mark Hofmann.
- Yes, but: Hofmann's injuries didn't match his account of the blast, police said. They also found checks and other evidence showing Christensen had just paid Hofmann more than $100,000 in connection with "rare historical documents pertaining to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
Catch up quick: Hofmann had gained notoriety in previous years for historical records he claimed to have found, some of which challenged church narratives of its origins....
