Mormonism and Freemasonry 1

Mormonism and Freemasonry

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The relationship between Mormonism and Freemasonry began early in the life of Mormon founder Joseph Smith,
Jr., as his older brother and possibly his father were Freemasons while the family lived near Palmyra, New York.
Nevertheless, in the late 1820s, the western New York region was swept with anti-Masonic fervor, and the Book of
Mormon, a foundational religious book published by Smith in 1830, is generally considered to reflect that
anti-Masonic sentiment by condemning what it portrays as oath-bound conspiratorial organizations.
By the 1840s, however, Smith and several prominent Mormons had become Freemasons and founded a lodge in
Nauvoo, Illinois, in March 1842. Soon after joining Freemasonry, Smith introduced a temple endowment ceremony
including a number of symbolic elements that were essentially identical with their analogues within Freemasonry.
Smith remained a Freemason until his death; however, later Mormon leaders distanced themselves from
Freemasonry. In modern times, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the predominant
Mormon organization, holds no position for or against the compatibility of Masonry with LDS Church doctrine.

Historical connections
A significant numbers of leaders in the early Latter Day Saint movement were Masons prior to their involvement in
the movement. Notable examples include Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, John C. Bennett, Hyrum Smith and
Joseph Smith, Sr.
In the early 1840s a Masonic Lodge was formed by LDS Church members who were Freemasons. Joseph Smith, Jr.
and his brother Hyrum became members of the newly formed Nauvoo lodge. It appears that John C. Bennet had a
particularly strong influence in the spread of Freemasonry, and soon over 1,500 Mormon men in the city of Nauvoo
were practicing Masons. LDS historian Reed Durham writes:
"By 1840, John Cook Bennett, a former active leader in Masonry had arrived in Commerce and rapidly
exerted his persuasive leadership in all facets of the Church, including Mormon Masonry. ... Joseph and
Sidney [Rigdon] were inducted into formal Masonry ... on the same day..." being made "Masons on
Sight" by the Illinois Grandmaster.("Is There No Help for the Widow's Son?" by Dr. Reed C. Durham,
Jr., as printed in "Joseph Smith and Masonry: No Help for the Widow's Son", Martin Pub. Co., Nauvoo,
Ill., 1980, p. 17.) (This freed Joseph from having to complete the ritual and memorization necessary to
work one's way through the first three degrees.) Making one "A Mason on Sight" is generally reserved
as an honor and is a rarity in occurrence.
In 1842 Smith became a Master Mason, as indicated by in the History of the Church:
Tuesday, [March] 15. — I officiated as grand chaplain at the installation of the Nauvoo Lodge of Free
Masons, at the Grove near the Temple. Grand Master Jonas, of Columbus, being present, a large number
Mormonism and Freemasonry 2

of people assembled on the occasion. The day was exceedingly fine; all things were done in order, and
universal satisfaction was manifested. In the evening I received the first degree in Freemasonry in the
Nauvoo Lodge, assembled in my general business office. History of the Church (Joseph Smith)|History
of the Church, by Joseph Smith, Deseret Book, 1978, Vol.4, Ch.32, p.550-1)
Joseph Smith was raised to the third degree of master mason "on sight" by Grand Master Jonas of the Grand Lodge
of Illinois. This was fully within Jonas' right of office, but was a fairly rare procedure.
Wednesday, March 16. — I was with the Masonic Lodge and rose to the sublime degree. (History of the
Church, Vol.4, Ch.32, p.552)
In The Mormon Church and Freemasonry (2001), Terry Chateau writes:
[The Joseph Smith family] was a Masonic family which lived by and practiced the estimable and
admirable tenets of Freemasonry. The father, 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.
It should be noted that Hyrum Smith was not only Joseph's older brother, but succeeded their father as Patriarch to
the Church and Oliver Cowdery as assistant president of the Church (they were the only two men who held this
office) and was always closely relied on by Joseph Smith.
Problems arose concerning the special dispensation granted to the Nauvoo Lodge, brought by Bodley Lodge No. 1,
and on August 11, 1842 the special dispensation was suspended by the Grand Master until the annual
Communication of the Illinois Grand Lodge "During the short period covering its activities, this Lodge initiated 286
candidates and raised almost as many. John C. Bennett reports an instance in which sixty-three persons were elected
on a single ballot." This suspension was later lifted and the Mormon Lodges resumed work although several
irregularities in their practice were noted. The irregularities centered on mass balloting (voting on more than one
candidate at a time) and not requiring proficiency in each degree before proceeding to the next degree (in many
cases, initiates were being passed to the Fellowcraft degree and raised to the Master Mason degree within two days
of being initiated as an Entered Apprentice). In 1844, the Mormon Lodges (of which there were five at that time)
were ordered to cease work by the Grand Lodge, although they ignored the order and continued to function as
clandestine lodges until Smith's death.

Similarities in symbology and ritual

Mormon temple worship shares an extensive commonality of symbols, signs, vocabulary and clothing with
Freemasonry, including robes, aprons, handshakes, ritualistic raising of the arms, etc. The interpretation of many of
these symbols has been adapted to the Mormon narrative from their original meanings in Freemasonry. For example,
whereas Masons exchange secret handshakes to identify fellow Freemasons, Mormonism teaches that these
handshakes must be given to sentinel angels in order for Mormons to be admitted into the highest kingdom of
heaven. Mormon temple garments also bear the Masonic symbols of the Square and Compass, although Mormons
have imbued these symbols with religious meaning that exceeds the meaning of the symbols as intended by
Freemasonry.
In the "Temple and Salvation for the Dead" part of Discourses of Brigham Young, Brigham Young gives a quote
about the temple which directly relates to the story of Hiram Abiff from Masonic folklore. Although Young changed
some of the key masonic aspects about Hiram to fit better with Mormonism's view of the temple, the story is the
same.
It is true that Solomon built a temple for the purpose of giving endowments, but from what we can learn
of the history of that time they gave very few if any endowments, and one of the high priests [Hiram
Abiff] was murdered by wicked and corrupt men, who had already begun to apostatize, because he
Mormonism and Freemasonry 3

would not reveal those things appertaining to the priesthood that were forbidden him to reveal until he
came to the proper place. (Discourses of Brigham Young, compiled by John A Widtsoe, Deseret Book
Company, 1977)
When Smith was in the Carthage Jail in 1844, after he fired his last round in a small pepper-box pistol (which had
been given to him that morning by Cyrus Wheelock), he held up his arms and may have been giving the Masonic
call of distress, hoping Masons in the contingent would honor this call and not fire on him. It is recorded that he ran
towards the open window with uplifted hands, and proclaimed, "Oh Lord my God."[2] Most people saw this as only a
plea to God for aid, although others suspect otherwise.[3]

Modern official LDS Church policy

From 1925 to 1984 the Grand Lodge of Utah prohibited Latter-day Saints from joining, but no other Grand Lodge
followed this ban and Mormons were free to join Lodges outside Utah. In 1984 the Grand Lodge of Utah officially
dropped its anti-Mormon position and allowed LDS church members to join. Today there is no formal obstacle in
Utah or in any other Grand Lodge preventing Mormons from becoming Freemasons.
The presidency of the LDS Church has not made an official statement as to whether or not Freemasonry is
compatible with Mormonism. However Don LeFevre, a past spokesman for the church has said the church
"...strongly advises its members not to affiliate with organizations that are secret, oath-bound, or would cause them
to lose interest in church activities."[4] There are many LDS Masons in Utah and other Grand Lodges who serve and
have served in various leadership positions, including Grand Masters, other Grand Officers, and Worshipful Masters.

Recent explorations of the issue

• Clyde R. Forsberg published Equal Rites: The Book of Mormon, Masonry, Gender, and American Culture in 2004
through Columbia University Press.
• Greg Kearney, an endowed Mormon who is also a Freemason, gave a presentation of the issue of Mormonism and
Freemasonry at the 2005 conference of the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research.
• In 2009 Matthew B. Brown published Exploring the Connection Between Mormons and Masons.
• A forthcoming book by Nick Literski, called Method Infinite: Freemasonry and the Mormon Restoration, has
been anticipated for some years.

Notes
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ w/ index. php?title=Template:Freemasonry& action=edit
[2] Times and Seasons, vol. 5 no. 13 [July 15, 1844], p. 585
[3] .
Unauthorized transcription (http:/ / www. mormonismi. net/ temppeli/ durhamin_puhe1974. shtml) by Melvin B. Hogan, as found at
mormonismi.net.
Another version (http:/ / www. cephasministry. com/ mormon_is_there_no_help. html) of Hogan's transcription as found at
CephasMinistry.com.
[4] Salt Lake Tribune Section D1, Monday Feb. 17, 1992
Mormonism and Freemasonry 4

References
• Anderson, Devery S.; Bergera, James, eds. (2005). Joseph Smith's Quorum of the Anointed, 1842-1845: A
Documentary History (http://signaturebooks.com/2010/02/quorum-of-the-anointed/). Salt Lake City:
Signature Books. ISBN 1-56085-186-4. OCLC  57965858 (http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57965858)..
• Brodie, Fawn M. (1971), No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith (2nd ed.), New York: Knopf,
ISBN 0-394-46967-4.
• Brooke, John L. (1994), The Refiner's Fire: The Making of Mormon Cosmology, 1644–1844, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
• Buerger, David John (1987), "The Development of the Mormon Temple Endowment Ceremony" (http://content.
lib.utah.edu/u?/dialogue,20139), Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 20 (4): 33–76.
• Buerger, David John (2002), The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship (2nd ed.), Salt
Lake City: Signature Books, ISBN 1-56085-176-7.
• Bullock, Steven C. (1996), Revolutionary Brotherhood: Freemasonry and the Transformation of the American
Social Order, 1730-1840, Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.
• Compton, Todd (1997), In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith, Salt Lake City: Signature
Books, ISBN 1-56085-085-X.
• Forsberg, Clyde R. (2004), Equal rites: the Book of Mormon, Masonry, gender, and American culture, New York:
Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-0-231-12640-3.
• Goodwin, S.H. (1920), Mormonism and Masonry: Origins, Connections and Coincidences Between Mason and
Mormon Temple/Templar Rituals (http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/mormonisn_and_masonry.htm).
• Homer, Michael W. (1992), "Masonry and Mormonism in Utah, 1847–1984" (http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/
jmh,16644), Journal of Mormon History 18 (2): 57–96.
• Homer, Michael W. (1994), "Similarity of Priesthood in Masonry: The Relationship between Freemasonry and
Mormonism." (http://content.lib.utah.edu/u?/dialogue,16999), Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 27
(3): 1–113.
• Hogan, Mervin B. (1967), "Mormonism and Free Masonry under Covert Masonic Influences", The Royal Arch
Mason 9 (Spring): 3–11.
• Hoyos, Arturo; Morris, S. Brent (2004), Freemasonry in Context: History, Ritual, Controversy, Lanham, Md.:
Lexington Books.
• Morgan, William (1826), Illustrations of Masonry by One of the Fraternity Who has devoted Thirty Years to the
Subject: "God said, Let there be Light, and there was light" (https://archive.org/details/
illustrationsofm00morg), Batavia, N.Y.: David C. Miller, LCCN  01005502 (http://lccn.loc.gov/01005502),
OCLC  22186577 (http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/22186577).
• Walgren, Kent L. (1982), "James Adams: Early Springfield Mormon and Freemason", Journal of the Illinois State
Historical Society 75 (Summer): 121–36.

Further reading
• Ivins, Anthony W. (1934), The Relationship of "Mormonism" and Freemasonry, Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret
News Press, OCLC  9638443 (http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/9638443). Online reprint (http://www.
shields-research.org/General/LDS_Leaders/1stPres/Ivins-Anthony_W/Relationship_Mormonism_Masonry/
Relationship_Mormonism_Masonry.htm) at shields-research.org.
• Lindsay, Jeff, Questions About the LDS Temple Ceremony and Masonry (http://www.jefflindsay.com/
LDSFAQ/FQ_masons.shtml), "LDSFAQ (Mormon Answers)", jefflindsay.com. - apologetic discussion of
Mormonism and freemasonry
• Tanner, Jerald and Sandra (1969), "13. Captain Morgan and the Masonic Influence in Mormonism" (http://www.
utlm.org/onlineresources/mormonkingdomvol1ch13masonicinfluence.htm), The Mormon Kingdom Vol. 1, Utah
Mormonism and Freemasonry 5

Lighthouse Ministry, OCLC  19836200 (http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/19836200). - polemic discussion of

Mormonism and freemasonry
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