FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Array
Relationship between the temple endowment and Freemasonry: Difference between revisions
MatthewBrown (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
MatthewBrown (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
||
| Line 8: | Line 8: | ||
==Response== | ==Response== | ||
Joseph Smith was initiated as a Freemason on the 15th and 16th of March 1842. But previously, on the 19th of Janaury 1841, the Lord gave a revelation to Joseph Smith wherein He stated that He was going to "restore again" through the Prophet the "lost" ordinances which had once been practiced in the Tabernacle built by Moses and the house built in the land of promise -- meaning the temple of Solomon (D&C 124:28, 38). The Lord also provided within this revealtion a list of many ritual elements that would be practiced inside of the Nauvoo Temple. Some of the elements mentioned in this revelation are the same ones that Joseph Smith is accused of plagiarizing from the Freemasons.[1] | Joseph Smith was initiated as a Freemason on the 15th and 16th of March 1842. But previously, on the 19th of Janaury 1841, the Lord gave a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith wherein He stated that He was going to "restore again" through the Prophet the "lost" ordinances which had once been practiced in the Tabernacle built by Moses and the house built in the land of promise -- meaning the temple of Solomon (D&C 124:28, 38). The Lord also provided within this revealtion a list of many ritual elements that would be practiced inside of the Nauvoo Temple. Some of the elements mentioned in this revelation are the same ones that Joseph Smith is accused of plagiarizing from the Freemasons.[1] | ||
A detailed look at LDS Church history before the 15th and 16th of March 1842 reveals that | A detailed look at LDS Church history before the 15th and 16th of March 1842 reveals that Joseph Smith and some of his collegues were well aware of a number of Nauvoo-style temple ritual items early on - including ideology, vestments, language, forms, architecture and actions. Knowledge of many of these things even predated the revelation given on 19 January 1841 (D&C 124).[2] A careful look at the pre-1842 scriptural texts produced through Joseph Smith's instrumentality is also very instructive because they reveal a wealth of knowledge connected with the rites that would be introduced among the Saints during the Nauvoo period. | ||
A great weakness in the claim that Joseph Smith 'borrowed' from the Freemasons and 'created' the LDS temple ceremony is that Joseph Smith's version of things can be compared with the rites of ancient Israel and early Christianity in order to see if a restoration of orthodox material has indeed occurred. The Mormon and Masonic patterns can be weighed against what was once practiced among God's covenant peoples and a determination can then be made about whose pattern is closer to the original (i.e., the biblical pattern). A comparison between the LDS rites and modern Christian ordinances (particularly of the Eastern variety) is also most instructive. | A great weakness in the claim that Joseph Smith 'borrowed' from the Freemasons and 'created' the LDS temple ceremony is that Joseph Smith's version of things can be compared with the rites of ancient Israel and early Christianity in order to see if a restoration of orthodox material has indeed occurred. The Mormon and Masonic patterns can be weighed against what was once practiced among God's covenant peoples and a determination can then be made about whose pattern is closer to the original (i.e., the biblical pattern). A comparison between the LDS rites and modern Christian ordinances (particularly of the Eastern variety) is also most instructive. | ||
| Line 19: | Line 17: | ||
==Endnotes== | ==Endnotes== | ||
[1] There are several places in D&C 124 where elements of the temple rites are mentioned. For an analysis of the content of section 124 of the Doctrine and Covenants see the following article - http://www.templestudy.com/2009/09/27/lord-speaks-ancient-temple-patterns-dc-124/ | [1] There are several places in D&C 124 where elements of the temple rites are mentioned. For an analysis of the content of section 124 of the Doctrine and Covenants see the following article - http://www.templestudy.com/2009/09/27/lord-speaks-ancient-temple-patterns-dc-124/ | ||
[2] For a detailed timeline that identifies some of these elements see - | [2] For a detailed timeline that identifies some of these elements see - http://bookstore.fairlds.org/product.php?id_product=612 | ||
http://en.fairmormon.org/Freemasonry_Origins | http://en.fairmormon.org/Freemasonry_Origins | ||
Revision as of 21:07, 31 December 2009
| Answers portal |
| Temples |
|
 RESOURCES
|
|---|
|
General:
Endowment: Masonry: |
 PERSPECTIVES
|
 MEDIA
|
| OTHER PORTALS
|
Important note: Members of FAIR take their temple covenants seriously. We consider the temple teachings to be sacred, and will not discuss their specifics in a public forum.
Claim
Some critics of Mormonism see similarities between the rites of Freemasonry and LDS temple ceremonies and assume that since Joseph Smith was initiated as a Freemason shortly before he introduced the Nauvoo-style endowment he must have plagiarized elements of the Masonic rituals. This viewpoint leads them, in turn, to conclude that the LDS endowment is nothing but a variant form of Masonic initiation and therefore not from a divine source.
To see citations to the critical sources for these claims, [[../CriticalSources|click here]]
Response
Joseph Smith was initiated as a Freemason on the 15th and 16th of March 1842. But previously, on the 19th of Janaury 1841, the Lord gave a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith wherein He stated that He was going to "restore again" through the Prophet the "lost" ordinances which had once been practiced in the Tabernacle built by Moses and the house built in the land of promise -- meaning the temple of Solomon (D&C 124:28, 38). The Lord also provided within this revealtion a list of many ritual elements that would be practiced inside of the Nauvoo Temple. Some of the elements mentioned in this revelation are the same ones that Joseph Smith is accused of plagiarizing from the Freemasons.[1]
A detailed look at LDS Church history before the 15th and 16th of March 1842 reveals that Joseph Smith and some of his collegues were well aware of a number of Nauvoo-style temple ritual items early on - including ideology, vestments, language, forms, architecture and actions. Knowledge of many of these things even predated the revelation given on 19 January 1841 (D&C 124).[2] A careful look at the pre-1842 scriptural texts produced through Joseph Smith's instrumentality is also very instructive because they reveal a wealth of knowledge connected with the rites that would be introduced among the Saints during the Nauvoo period.
A great weakness in the claim that Joseph Smith 'borrowed' from the Freemasons and 'created' the LDS temple ceremony is that Joseph Smith's version of things can be compared with the rites of ancient Israel and early Christianity in order to see if a restoration of orthodox material has indeed occurred. The Mormon and Masonic patterns can be weighed against what was once practiced among God's covenant peoples and a determination can then be made about whose pattern is closer to the original (i.e., the biblical pattern). A comparison between the LDS rites and modern Christian ordinances (particularly of the Eastern variety) is also most instructive.
Another thing that needs to be taken into consideration about the 'Mormonism/Masonry' issue is that depsite the claims of some people the origin of Masonic patterns (lodge make-up and arrangement) and ritual can be readily determined. Several Masonic historians have pointed out the striking parallels between what they do and what the orthodox Christians have done for a very long time. These correspondences correlate very well with what Joseph Smith and other nineteenth century Mormons said about the origin of Freemasonry.
Endnotes
[1] There are several places in D&C 124 where elements of the temple rites are mentioned. For an analysis of the content of section 124 of the Doctrine and Covenants see the following article - http://www.templestudy.com/2009/09/27/lord-speaks-ancient-temple-patterns-dc-124/
[2] For a detailed timeline that identifies some of these elements see - http://bookstore.fairlds.org/product.php?id_product=612
http://en.fairmormon.org/Freemasonry_Origins