View source for Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/For my Wife and Children (Letter to my Wife)/Chapter 6

{{FairMormon}}
{{H1
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/For my Wife and Children (Letter to my Wife)/Chapter 6
|H=Response to "For my Wife and Children" ("Letter to my Wife"): Chapter 6 - The Endowment
|T=[[../|For my Wife and Children (Letter to my Wife)]]
|A=Anonymous
|>=[[../Chapter 7|Chapter 7 - Polygamy]] 
|<=[[../Chapter 5|Chapter 5 - The Word of Wisdom]] 
}}
[[File:Chart LTMW endowment.png|center|frame]]
<onlyinclude>
{{H2
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/For my Wife and Children (Letter to my Wife)/Chapter 6
|H=Response to claims made in "For my Wife and Children" ("Letter to my Wife"): Chapter 6- The Endowment
|S=
|L1=Response to claim: "Church leaders claim that the connection between Masons and Mormons date back to the stonemasons who built Solomon’s temple in the Old Testament"
|L2=Response to claim: "Unfortunately for the Church, Freemason historians cite its origins to the late 14th to early 15th century in Scotland as a trade guild; not 950 BC in Jerusalem"
|L3=Response to claim: "Joseph’s family and several of the first members of the Church were Masons"
|L4=Response to claim: "Just seven weeks after his initiation as a first-degree mason, on April 4, 1842, Joseph introduces the endowment ceremony"
|L5=Response to claim: "What exactly was Joseph exposed to during this initiation and is it possible that any of it made its way into the endowment ceremony?"
|L6=Response to claim: "Masonic Symbol Use on Early Temples"
}}
</onlyinclude>
==Response to claim: "Church leaders claim that the connection between Masons and Mormons date back to the stonemasons who built Solomon’s temple in the Old Testament"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title="For my Wife and Children" ("Letter to my Wife")
|claim=Church leaders claim that the connection between Masons and Mormons date back to the stonemasons who built Solomon’s temple in the Old Testament
|authorsources=<br>
#Grand Lodge of British Columbia, The Halliwell Manuscript. http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/texts/regius.html
#http://www.mastermason.com/jjcrowder/ history/history.html
}}
{{information|Some Church leaders have claimed that Freemasonry dated back to the stonemasons who built Solomon's temple.
}}
{{:Question: Where did 19th-Century Latter-day Saints believe that Freemasonry came from?}}

==Response to claim: "Unfortunately for the Church, Freemason historians cite its origins to the late 14th to early 15th century in Scotland as a trade guild; not 950 BC in Jerusalem"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title="For my Wife and Children" ("Letter to my Wife")
|claim=Unfortunately for the Church, Freemason historians cite its origins to the late 14th to early 15th century in Scotland as a trade guild; not 950 BC in Jerusalem. Jerusalem. President Kimball and Elder Ballard appear to be mistaken about the origins of masonry and thus the Church’s historical connection for the endowment ceremony.
}}
{{propaganda|We are not sure why this is "unfortunate for the Church," despite President Kimball's and Elder Ballard's opinions, since the Church believes that the endowment was revealed to Joseph from God, and that it was not derived from Freemasonry.
}}
{{:Question: What criticisms are associated with the temple ritual and its relationship to Freemasonry?}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph Smith incorporate Masonic elements into the temple ritual?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith copy Masonic material in order to create the Mormon temple rites?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith make up the temple ordinance or borrow them from an earthly source?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s family and several of the first members of the Church were Masons"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title="For my Wife and Children" ("Letter to my Wife")
|claim=Joseph’s family and several of the first members of the Church were Masons
}}
{{information|This is correct. Quite a few Church leaders were Freemasons. There was a Masonic Lodge (now restored) in Nauvoo, Illinois.
}}

==Response to claim: "Just seven weeks after his initiation as a first-degree mason, on April 4, 1842, Joseph introduces the endowment ceremony"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title="For my Wife and Children" ("Letter to my Wife")
|claim=Just seven weeks after his initiation as a first-degree mason, on April 4, 1842, Joseph introduces the endowment ceremony in the upper room of his red brick store; the same room where his Masonic initiation took place.
|authorsources=<br>
#Joseph Smith, Journal Dec. 1841–Dec. 1842. Also in History of the Church, vol.4, pp.550
}}
{{misinformation|There is a great deal more historical evidence that the Prophet Joseph Smith knew of Nauvoo-era endowment ritual, phraseology, vestments, and theology long before he ever became a Freemason.
}}
{{:Question: When did Joseph Smith demonstrate knowledge of the elements of the endowment ritual?}}

==Response to claim: "What exactly was Joseph exposed to during this initiation and is it possible that any of it made its way into the endowment ceremony?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title="For my Wife and Children" ("Letter to my Wife")
|claim=What exactly was Joseph exposed to during this initiation and is it possible that any of it made its way into the endowment ceremony?
}}
{{misinformation| The ceremony involved in the presentation of the endowment is simply a teaching tool - a means to an end, rather than the end itself.
}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph Smith use a non-religious vehicle for presenting a temple ordinance?}}
{{:Question: What is the value of a ritual presentation?}}

==Response to claim: "Masonic Symbol Use on Early Temples"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title="For my Wife and Children" ("Letter to my Wife")
|claim=Masonic Symbol Use on Early Temples...Masonic All Seeing Eye on Salt Lake Temple...Masonic Order of the Eastern Star on Nauvoo Temple...Masonic use of Sun, Moon and Stars also on Nauvoo Temple.
}}
{{misinformation|The symbolic images used on the templates can be matched up with information provided in the Joseph Smith Translation of the 12th chapter of the book of Revelation.
}}
{{:Question: Does the Nauvoo Temple display symbols that are either occult or Masonic?}}
{{:Question: Isn't the inverted five-pointed star on some Mormon temples really a symbol of evil?}}
{{:Question: Why is the Masonic symbol of the "All Seeing Eye" present on the Salt Lake Temple?}}

{{endnotes sources}}