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.
Relationship between the temple endowment and Freemasonry
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Criticism
Critics of the LDS Church often cite similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and the LDS temple endowment. It is pointed out that the development of the endowment parallels Joseph Smith Jr.'s introduction to Masonry in Nauvoo. Critics often imply, or state outright, that the temple endowment was taken from Freemasonry.
It is worthwhile to note that these critics are also often critical of Freemasonry, and thus attempt guilt by association.
Source(s) of the Criticism
Website: josephlied.com
Response
In order to address this issue, a few facts are needed:
- Joseph Smith, Jr. was a Mason, as were his brother Hyrum and his father.
- Many of the early leaders of the church were also Masons. These include Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, John Taylor, Wilfred Woodruff and other leading members.
- Masonry was a common social institution in mid-19th century America.
- There are similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and those of the LDS Temple endowment. These similarities center around
- the use of a ritual drama—the story of Hiram Abiff is used by the Masons, while the LDS endowment uses the story of Adam and Eve
- some similar hand actions.
In order to understand the relationship between the temple and Freemasonry it is useful to consider the temple experience. In the temple, participants are confronted with ritual in a form which is unknown in LDS worship outside of that venue. The temple is, in fact, made up of two parts:
- The endowment proper, which consists of the doctrine taught and the covenants made with God
- The method of presentating the endowment, or the "ritual" mechanics themselves.
It is in the ritual presentation of the endowment teachings and covenants that the similarities between the LDS temple worship and Freemasonry are the most apparent. The question is, why would this be the case?
In developing the endowment, Joseph faced a problem. He wished to communicate, in a clear and effective manner, some new (and, in some cases, complex) religious ideas. These included such abstract concepts as
- the nature of creation
- matter being organized and not created out of nothing
- humanity's relationship to God and each other
- eternal marriage
Joseph needed to communicate these ideas to a population with limited educational attainments, many of whom were immigrants with only modest skills in English.
Joseph's experience with Freemasonry—including serving as the Chaplain of Rising Sun Lodge in Nauvoo—taught him the power of instruction through ritual and repetition. Many believe that Joseph seized on this insight as a tool for teaching the doctrines and covenants of the endowment. By using ritual forms akin to Freemasonry—forms with which many Saints were already were acquainted—he insured that their focus would be on the endowment proper, and not on the means chosen to present it.
It is also worth noting that many of the similarities highlighted by church criticsare superficial. For example, critics focus on the common use of architectural elements on the Salt Lake Temple and in Masonry, even though the endowment makes no references to such elements. In almost every case, shared symbolic forms have different meanings.
Conclusion
The goals of Masonry and the endowment are not the same. Both teach important truths, but the truths they teach are different. Masonry teaches of man's relationship to his fellow men and offers no means of salvation; it is not a religion. The temple endowment teaches of man's relationship to God, and Latter-day Saints consider it essential for exaltation.
With time, modern Saints have lost their connection to the institution of Freemasonry. Therefore, the understanding of these ritual forms has been lost by most members. As members no longer require or respond to such rituals elements, some have been modified or removed from the temple's ritual. The ritual of the temple has undergone (and will likely continue to undergo) modification and improvement to meet the needs of the Saints in the coming years.
Conclusion
The temple endowment is made up of two elements. The endowment proper being what we are taught and the ordinances of the temple, and the presentation of the endowment through ritual.
While the ritual has elements that originated in Freemasonry, the use of the allegorical ritual drama, aprons and other ritual elements, the presentation is not the endowment. Joseph used these ritual elements due to the familiarity of the Saints of his day with them. Masonic ritual provided a teaching tool for the prophet to communicate the endowment to a population of limited education.
Further the presentation of the endowment has, and will continue to, change under priesthood direction to meet the changing needs of Latter-day Saints around the world. Many of the masonic elements once found in the presentation of the endowment are no longer in use.
Greg Kearney
Franklin Lodge #123 A.F. & A.M. of Maine
Further reading
FAIR wiki articles
- Links to related articles in the wiki
FAIR web site
- FAIR Topical Guide: Masonic influence
External links
Printed material
- Printed resources whose text is not available online