Mark Hofmann, a premed student, decided at age 25 to become a professional forger of old documents.... His Mormon upbringing and ... research into the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints enabled Mr. Hofmann to forge ... the so-called Salamander Letter, which raised questions about the very foundation of Mormonism. ... When he found himself facing exposure, he ... selected two men who were innocently involved in his fraudulent transactions and left pipe bombs to kill them.