All Seeing Eye on Salt Lake Temple (Derek P. Moor)
Since 2003, Dan Brown's book "The Lost Symbol" has been on the mind of many Mormons.
Rumors and clues on the dust jacket of The Da Vinci Code led some to believe that elements of the church's relationship with Freemasonry would be emphasized in "The Solomon Key," the working title for Dan Brown's latest block buster book. The title was later changed to "The Lost Symbol."
Dan Brown's 2004 visit to Salt Lake and interest in Masonic symbols on the Salt Lake Temple elevated curiosity and speculation about his plans to discuss Mormonism's curious relationship with Freemasonry. "He was, of course, very interested in the symbology on the Mormon temple...he was interested in the pentacles and the suns and the moons and the stars and all that. So, I gather his primary interest was to sort of see the Mormon embellishment of masonry as it exists, in his mind, of course..."[Aaron Wilhelm, tour guide]
An in depth discussion of Mormonism and Masonry was a cause of concern, as the history of Mormonism and Masonry is unique.
Joseph Smith and Masonry
A national anti-Masonic movement took off when William Morgan published secret masonic rituals in 1826. Morgan was abducted in Canandiagua, NY, less than 10 miles from Joseph Smith's home. Rumors that a missing Morgan had been murdered by masons in retaliation for the expose' further fanned the excitment.
.jpg)
Lorenzo Snow, Last Living Nauvoo Mason
Four years later, the publication of he Book of Mormon raised criticism that the book was an anti-Masonic work. "Secret Combinations," a term used to describe masons was used in the Book of Mormon, and the oath-bound "Gadianton Robbers" of the Book of Mormon were thought to be a parallel to 19th century freemasons.
William Morgan's widow Lucinda Morgan later joined the Latter Day Saints, and the church's historian believed she entered into a polygamous marriage with church prophet Joseph Smith in 1839, but some historians doubt she entered a plural marriage with Joseph Smith.
In the fall of 1841, official permission was granted to open a masonic lodge in Nauvoo, Illinois, then the current gathering place of the Mormons.
Joseph Smith was initiated as a first degree mason on Mar 15, 1842 and the next day became a master mason.
Two weeks later on Mar 30th, he organized the Mormon women's organization "The Relief Society" using masonic terminology. He told the women they "should grow up by degrees," they should be "sufficiently skill'd in Masonry as to keep a secret," and they should be "good masons."
On May 4th, Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum introduced the Mormon endowment ceremony to nine men. The next day, Joseph and Hyrum received their endowments by these men.
According to Brigham Young, the endowment is a sacred ritual where Mormons receive ordinances "to enable [them] to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, being enabled to give them the key words, the signs and tokens, pertaining to the holy Priesthood."
.jpg)
Brigham Young wearing a Masonic Pin on shirt
On June 17th, apostle Heber C. Kimball wrote fellow apostle Parley P. Pratt "We have organized a Lodge here of Masons since we obtained a Charter. That was in March. Since that thare was near two hundred been made masons. Br. Joseph and Sidny was the first that was Received into the Lodg ... Thare is a similarity of preas Hood [priesthood] in Masonry. Bro. Joseph Ses Masonry was taken from preasthood but has become degenerated. But menny things are perfect."
On Oct 2nd, the Nauvoo Lodge was suspended for abuse of its charter, however 19th century Mormons continued Joseph Smith's masonic tradition.
"Is There No Help for the Widow's Son"
One of the clues about The Lost Symbol on the dust jacket of the Da Vinci Code contained the phrase "Is there no help for the widow's son." Some feel this was a masonic distress call being uttered by Joseph Smith as he was shot and killed in 1844.
Brigham Young recalled "Joseph & Hyrum Smith were Master Masons and they were put to death by masons or through there instigation and he gave the sign of distress & he was shot by masons while in the act."
Tensions between Mormons and masons continued after the Latter Day Saints migrated to Utah. Brigham Young continued "There are other Masons sent to this territory for the same purpose to Establish a lodge here & try to get an influence with some here to lay a plan to try to murder me & the leaders of the Church But they will not accomplish it."
In 1900, the last surviving Nauvoo Mormon Freemason, and Church President Lorenzo Snow authorized a statement opposing secret societies including freemasons. Utah's Masonic fraternity prohibited Mormons from joining masonic lodges beginning in 1925.
The president of the Mormon History Association, Reed Durham Jr. gave a presidential address in 1974 entitled "Is There No Help for the Widow's Son" detailing his research into the Mormon / Masonic relationship that had been largely forgotten. Durham's speech was not well received by some and he discontinued speaking or researching the topic.
By 1984, tensions between Mormons and Utah masons had eased and Utah Masons began allowing Mormons into their fraternity.
The sacred nature of the Mormon temple endowment makes open discussion of it a concern for members of the LDS church. Speculation that Dan Brown's book might provide an in depth analysis of Mormonism, Freemasonry and temple worship made church members uncomfortable. News of his 2004 visit to Utah added to the speculation.
However Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol" only mentions Joseph Smith twice, (and indirectly refers to the temple endowment) once in reference to baptism for the dead, and other about the translation method of the Book of Mormon. What potentially could have provided difficulty for the church having to explain details of its temple ceremony to a widespread international audience turned out to to be a non-issue.
Comments
The connections between Masonry and Mormonism are superficial and aesthetic.
Joseph Smith claimed to be a restorer of lost truths.
With Masonry, that pursuit was no different. He claimed that some elements of an ancient Christian ritual had been preserved in Masonry. The emphasis here is "some." Joseph extracted relevant ritual elements from Masonry while leaving most of it out of Mormonism.
Many critics of Mormonism falsely presume that Joseph Smith's interaction with Masonry "caused" the LDS Temple ceremony to appear.
However, a close examination of the history and coming forth of the LDS temple purpose and cermony reveals that its fundamental core doctrines and principles had been revealed long before the "outward" ritual gestures were combined with it.
It's one thing to share an outward similarity between a ritual gesture. The interesting and distinguishing feature in Mormonism is that there are, very little if any, shared meanings.
You hit the nail on the head.The symbolism of the LDS Temple ritual and the Masonic Blue Lodge degrees..the grips, tokens and penalties are carbon copies of Masonry. Congratulations on a job well done.
@TomH well said. Amen
Oh no, not Ed Decker. Yikes, look out. As a Mason and Mormon I can attest that the ceremonies are not "carbon copies" and to say so is being intellectually dishonest. Sure, there are some similarities, but most of the early heavy masonic influence on the structure the way the endowment is presented has been revised to no longer include those, but as Bro. Ed has not been to the temple in quite a long time, I am sure he was just aware.
An entertaining piece of fiction, Clair Barrus. However, if you're a Dan Brown wannabe, you need a thrilling car-chase scene and a beautiful woman in your story.
Thanks for the article. I did not learn anything new but am glad you are opening the door to others. I am working on a novel (fiction with historial truths) on Joseph Smith. If you know of anyone who has journal entries or documentation on how the "Freemasons " felt about Joseph Smith" using their temple rituals and symbolisms I would appreciate your help.
Joseph Smith was the biggest "fraud" in the 1800 century"
The sacred ceremonies in which new monarchs are crowned kings and queens in the United Kingdom have significant parallels to the LDS Mormon endowment. These traditions stem from ancient times in English history, and have remained relatively unchanged in form throughout ages. The most recent coronation ceremony was on June 2, 1953, when Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne. Go read it and you will see. Did Smith borrow that too - I doubt it. Also, the finding of some ancient Kung-Fu skills that had been depicted amid writings from the Shaolin Temple’s (in China) practices. These apparently were secret chi techniques used by the Monks for the Shaolin Temple. “The chi building handgrips Duncan discovered resembled ordinary handshakes. He says these grips transferred chi between between two people and allowed each person to more sharply focus internal power. Continued...
1) [details removed]. During the first handclasp, standing facing your partner and extend your right hand, as if to shake hands. You and your partner then place the {details removed} of each other’s right hand. Now let your chi flow into your partner’s body.” I won’t bother listing the other “grips” and other secrets found from the Shaolin Temple, but they are the same as Mormons have experienced. How is that? Ancient Chinese Monks have parts of the temple ceremony? What do you think are the chances that Joseph Smith somehow stumbled on all of these different ancient practices? Joseph Smith was not aware of Queen’s ordinations or of Pope new names or of many other practices that are similar to the endowment but came about hundreds and maybe thousands of years before. Masonry is a small part of a much bigger picture.
I am only about 100 pages into the book and am kind of laughing at your conclusions. Yes, the Mormon church's fear that the book would outline it's ceremonies to the uninitiated was unfounded. However, the Mormon church does need to worry about temple-endowed Mormons (over the age of 38, before they changed much of the endowment ritual in 1990), many of whom have way less knowledge about the church's Masonic history than you have outlined here. When they read about the first character going through a ceremony where he vows to have his throat slit ear to ear, his heart ripped out, etc. or about the capitol rotunda and it's connection to men becoming Gods, or the many symbols of masonry, some of which are markings on Mormon sacred underwear, they may have an a-ha moment. Of course, the church has done much pre-release damage control in this area and the apologists are on the case. But as a former temple Mormon, I am LOVING the book and the things I can pick up on becuase of that.
I see no reasons for members of the church to be upset by similarities between masonry and the temple ceremony.
Heber C. Kimball said "There is a similarity of priesthood in Masonry. Brother Joseph says Masonry was taken from priesthood but has become degenerated. But many things are perfect."
He suggests that the temple endowment was used anciently and was passed down through time, gradually evolving into freemasonry. With his explanation, similarities should be expected.
According to this line of thinking, Joseph then restored it as he restored other items.
I can understand people being surprised at learning similarities between the two because they never learned about them in church. But Heber C. Kimball seems to put the relationship between masonry and the endowment into a perspective that fits well into the church's philosophy.
Jaimes Taylor,
For quotes from journals, you may want to look up Nick Literski on the internet and get a hold of him. My understanding is that he is working on a book about Mormonism and Masonry.
Bungus,
Fascinating similarities between the Shaolin ceremony, masonry and Mormonism. It is a puzzle to explain how these elements ended up in such distant traditions.
I was unaware of the coronation ceremony similarities. Thanks for mentioning that.
David Icke says these rituals and ceremonies open up people to demonic possession. i think Icke is right.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!