Mormons, Temples, and Masonry

The Truth is Not Hard to Find.

Remember the Knights Templar?

They were a Military-Religious Order…

1. That Guarded the Route to the Holy Land during the Crusades.

2. That Governed The Holy Land.3. That Heavily Excavated The

“Temple Mount” while in Jerusalem.

They were also the “Bankers of Europe….”

They were accused of numerous crimes through the mechanations of “Philip the Fair” in France, who also owed them a very large amount of money.

Who Had His “French Pope”…

Subject the Templars to the Tortures and Fire of the Inquisition.

All Went Underground…

Some became good.Others “not so good”

Many Scholars Have…

Shown that the Masonic Movement was born from the Underground movement of the Knights Templar.

One Thing is Clear…

The Knights could have stumbled across the Ancient Temple Rites while in Jerusalem…Or, they could have received a remnant of those rites from the “Holy See” at Rome or the Patriarch at Constantinople.

Joseph Smith’s Family…

Joseph Smith, Sr., was a documented member in upstate New York. He was raised to the degree of Master Mason on May 7, 1818 in Ontario Lodge No. 23 of Canandaigua, New York. An older son, Hyrum Smith, was a member of Mount Moriah Lodge No. 112, Palmyra New York.

Joseph Smith

Was exposed to Masonry well before he published the Book of Mormon in August, 1829.

Yet, the Book of Mormon is anything but a Masonic Manual. If Freemasonry had such an impact on Joseph Smith, it would be evident in the Book of Mormon.

Free-Masonry Teaches

There are three levels of Freemasonry:

1. Apprentice2. Fellow Craft3. Master Mason

These are taught through…

An allegory that refers to one Hyrum Abiff and the unfinished completion of the allegorical Temple at Jerusalem.Hyrum Abiff is killed by treachery in the allegory and his work remains uncompleted.

This Allegory Applies:

To the Knights Templar who were trying to “restore” the fullness of Christianity and the Temple of Solomon’s ordinances before they were disbanded and destroyed. The allegory served to remind Templars and their offspring of their true purpose…

As an Underground Organization…

The Templars relied on handshakes and other symbols that would not be recognizable to outsiders; but, would help them to recognize one another.

Yet, much of these “Templar Practices” are of older origin…

“The handclasp continued in early Christian ritual, both gnostic and "orthodox." According to Galatians 2:9, "the right hand of fellowship" (dexias koinoas didonai tini) is given "as a sign of friendship and trust," though this does not necessarily suggest ritual practice, such as we found in the Sabazian and Mithraic mysteries. The handclasp as marriage rite, however, continued in Christian surroundings. The salvific handclasp is nearly the trademark of the iconography of Christ's postcrucifixion descent into Hades. One of the most frequent scenes in this tradition is that of Christ grasping the hands of Adam and Eve to lift them up out of hell and to resurrect them. While sometimes he grasps their wrists, . . . in other depictions he lifts them with a true dextrarum iunctio.

….

The fifth-century Gospel of Nicodemus describes a true handclasp: "And the Lord . . . took the right hand of Adam and went up out of hell (tenens dexteram Adae ascendit ab inferis), and all the saints followed him. . . . He went therefore into paradise holding our forefather by the hand, and delivered him, and all the righteous, unto Michael the archangel." Here the [handclasp] starts the ascent, continues it, and ends it on the threshold of paradise. A similar handclasp is used in the apocalyptic 1 Enoch: "And the angel Michael, . . . seizing me by my right hand and lifting me up, led me out into all the secrets of mercy; and he showed me all the secrets of righteousness." "The Handclasp and Embrace as Tokens of Recognition," in By Study and Also by Faith: Essays in Honor of Hugh W. Nibley on the Occasion of His Eightieth Birthday, 27 March 1990, John M. Lundquist and Stephen D. Ricks, eds., 2 vols. (Salt Lake City and Provo: Deseret Book Co., Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1990), 1: 620 - 631.). Here is a excerpt (pp. 620-621):

Clothing, Washing and Annointing:

“And I saw seven men in white clothing, who were saying to me, "Arise, put on the vestments of the priesthood, the crown of righteousness, the oracle of understanding, the robe of truth, the breastplate of faith, the miter for the head, and the apron for prophetic power." Each carried one of these and put them on me and said, "From now on be a priest, you and all your posterity." The first anointed me with holy oil and gave me a staff. The second washed me with pure water, fed me by hand with bread and holy wine, and put on me a holy and glorious vestment. The third put on me something made of linen, like an ephod. The fourth placed . . . around me a girdle which was like purple. The fifth gave me a branch of rich olive wood. The sixth placed a wreath on my head. The seventh placed the priestly diadem on me and filled my hands with incense, in order that I might serve as priest for the Lord God.” (Testament of Levi 8:2-10)

Other Customs From Catholic Religious Orders:

“the giving of new names to those entering monasteries the ancient practice of keeping men and women separate in the church, just as they were kept separate in the temple at Jerusalem the use of a veil or covering for women's heads the atrium of the church as a symbol of paradise or the garden of Eden the porter at the door of the chapel in the primitive church to ensure that only worthy persons entered details of ritual clothing and related symbolism altars and veils in church buildings the use of the All-seeing Eye as a symbol in Renaissance and Baroque churches (shown in photographs of two old churches in Germany)”

Cont…the raising of the hands of the priest done anciently the hand symbol of a hollowed palm in the left hand when approaching the altar (see Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, 23:21-22) the prayer offered for the church and the world by the priest which was repeated by the congregation, praying for names of people written on folded parchments (diptychs), especially for those who were ill or needed special consideration the ritual embrace and "kiss of peace" to welcome the initiate into the community ritual knocking (three times) with a hammer on the portal of a door, now acted out in the ritual of the Porta Santa at St. Peter in Rome, representing entry of the children of God into the presence of the Lord.”"The Catholic Liturgy and the Mormon Temple" by Marcus von Wellnitz in BYU Studies, Vol. 21, No. 1, Winter 1981, pp. 3-35.

The Comparison…

Often relies on the symbols of the “all seeing eye” and “Square” and “Compass” being used by both Mormons and Masons.

Yet, when one considers the influence of the Knights Templars on Masonry one thing becomes evident….

This is also easily explained…

“We have received some precious things through the Prophet on the priesthood that would cause your soul to rejoice. I can not give them to you on paper for they are not to be written. So you must come and get them for your self. We have organized a lodge here of Masons since we obtained a charter. That was in March. Since that there was near two hundred been made masons. Br. Joseph and Sidney [Rigdon] was the first that was received into the lodge. All of the twelve apostles have become members except Orson Pratt. He hangs back. He will wake up soon, there is a similarity of priesthood in Masonry. Bro. Joseph says Masonry was taken from priesthood but has become degenerated. But many things are perfect." (quoted in Kimball, p. 85)

Joseph Smith’s Involvement?

I assert to you that the evidence given by masons themselves proves conclusively that Joseph Smith never knew the first thing of masonry until years after he had received the visit of Elijah, and had delivered to men the keys of the holy priesthood, and the ceremonies and ordinances had by us in these sacred temples, and had given the endowments to men long before he knew the first thing pertaining to the ordinances and the ceremonies of masonry. What is masonry? Why, a fragment of the old truth coming down perhaps from Solomon's temple of ancient days, and but a fragment, as Christianity is but a fragment of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was only to be had and enjoyed by those who hold the holy priesthood. The prophet Elijah revealed these truths; he possessed them anciently and he gave them in their perfectness, and simplicity and purity to the Prophet Joseph Smith.

Mormon Temples Also Have:

baptisms for the dead washings anointings the keys of the Holy Priesthood memorials of Levitical sacrifices solemn assemblies oracles, conversations, statues and judgments ordinances that have been kept hidden the fullness of the priesthood

It is a mistake to suggest that Joseph and Sidney received "only the first three of over 30 degrees in Masonry," or that the additional Scottish Rite degrees (the other 30), confer anything above the degree of Master Mason. I will briefly explain. Grand Master Abraham Jonas only had the authority to administer the three degrees of "Ancient Craft Masonry" (Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason). He did not have the authority to confer the 30 degrees of the Scottish Rite. In fact, the Scottish Rite was not established in Illinois until after the martyrdom. (See Alphonse Cerza, A History of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite in Illinois, 1846-1965 [Bloomington, IL: Pantagraph, 1966]).

Non-Masons frequently--and incorrectly--assume that the degrees of the Scottish Rite are "higher" than those of the Grand Lodge, but this is incorrect. In other words, a Master Mason is as "high" as a 33d degree. All appendent bodies of Masonry (such as the Scottish Rite, the York Rite, the C.B.C.S., the A.M.D., the Royal Order of Scotland, etc.) are subordinate to the Grand Lodge, and only attempt to explain the teachings of the three Craft degrees. Joseph and Sidney had all the "Masonry" they needed to make them as "high" as any Mason living.

And Yet…Joseph Contributed Little to Freemasonry

"The Prophet was so busy with Church matters that he never took an active part in lodge work. It seems from the meager records that are extant, that Joseph Smith attended as many meetings on those two days as he did during the rest of his lifetime [about 6 total]. Initiated in haste and hurriedly promoted through three degrees, he learned scarcely nothing about the secret practices and elaborate ritual of the Masons. In the months that followed, he left the lodge work in the hands of others, never attending more than three subsequent meetings and never receiving a higher degree. . . . It was not his plan to neglect Church business in order to promote the lodge. The morning of March 17 [1842], he attended a meeting of the high council. . . . Later on that historic day, he organized the Relief Society. From the moment, he never took an active part in Masonry."

Which Could Explain…

Why, in-spite of hailing the mob that killed him (most were fellow Masons) with the Masonic Distress Call of “Oh Lord My God” they killed him anyway. Joseph was a Mormon First and a Mason second.

The Truth of the Matter is…

Free-Masonry came from the Knights Templar who had nothing but a small remnant of the Ancient Temple Rituals.

Mormon Temple Worship…

Came through Revelation from a man who was a Prophet of God and received them in their pure and uncorrupted state through Revelation.