I am pained to see Latter-day Saints get carried away in cynicism over the Temple because some elements are linked to modern sources such as Masonry. This is an important theme in some attacks that have gained publicity recently, where it is argued that the Temple is a fraud because it does not contain elements from Solomon’s temple but from modern Masonry. As I explain on my LDSFAQ page on the LDS Temple and Masonry, neither Masonry nor any other modern source explains the ancient majesty of the LDS temple concept, which is completely foreign to the modern world and to Joseph Smith’s world. Numerous aspects of the LDS temple concept such as washings and anointings, baptism for the dead, and the sealing of families have no relationship to Masonry or and/or predate Joseph’s exposure to Masonry, making Masonry a completely inadequate source to explain the content of the Temple. The LDS Temple is much more at home in a very ancient setting and offers strong evidence for an actual Restoration. As for Solomon’s temple, the relationship might be stronger than blind critics could ever see, as I’ll explore below.
[Read more…] about Temple Blindness
Masonry
4th Watch 9: Secret Combinations – The Masonic Mormon Connection
Podcast: Download (23.0MB)
This is a parallel podcast to the presentation made by Greg Kearney at the FAIR conference in 2005. Greg used the title “Message and the Messenger” to distinguish how a teaching, principle or concept can be illustrated by symbols. There are those who see this system as a secret combination designed to avoid public inspection. Yet in this podcast we explore the symbolic teaching method used in Masonry and in the temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints in more detail, to offer insight into what might be considered a deeper understanding of the sacred commitments we make to each other and Deity.
Best of FAIR 14: The Message and the Messenger: Latter-day Saints and Freemasonry
Podcast: Download (25.4MB)
Why are there so many similarities between the rituals and symbols of Freemasonry and the symbols and rituals found in Mormon temples? In this address from the 2005 FAIR Conference, Greg Kearney, a master mason, discusses the involvement of Joseph Smith and early members of the Church in Freemasony and gives his opinions as to why there are so many parallels between Freemasonry and Mormon Temple rituals.
The text of his presentation can be found here.
Greg Kearney was born and raised in Maine and is a life-long member of the Church. He graduated from BYU with a BFA degree in design and completed graduate work in American Studies focusing his research on Freemasonry and its influence on American history. He is a member of Franklin Lodge #123 in New Sharon, Maine as well as several lodges of research in the U.S. and Europe.
The opinions expressed in this address do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or of FAIR.
To purchase tickets to the 2013 FAIR Conference, visit this page. This short video clip also provides more information: FAIR Conference video clip.
FAIR Podcast, Episode 4: Richard L. Bushman p.2
Podcast: Download (21.9MB)
In part two, Richard Bushman discusses challenges facing Mormon graduate students, his latest book “Mormonism: A Very Short Introduction,” and other subjects including temples, the LDS sacraments, Mormon cosmology, and Zion. Bushman is an award-winning American historian, currently serving as the Howard W. Hunter Visiting Professor in Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University and Gouverneur Morris Professor of History emeritus at Columbia University. He is also a general editor of the ongoing Joseph Smith Papers project.
Runtime:
47:51
Download:
To download, right click this link and select “Save link as…” or download in iTunes here.
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An Interesting Quote
I offer up this quote for your collective consideration:
“Because of their Masonic characters the ceremonies of the temple are sacred and not for the public.”
October 15, 1911; Messages of First Presidency, 4: 250.
Walker Lewis
Walker Lewis is a key figure in early Mormon history as one of the few African-Americans that had the Melchizedek priesthood bestowed upon him. Before the restrictive priesthood policy tightened, Brigham Young singled out Lewis as “one of the best Elders.” [Read more…] about Walker Lewis
Restoring the Nauvoo Lodge room
I have been thinking how better to introduce the members of the Church to the issues surrounding church history and Masonry. One of the biggest issues here is that most Latter-days Saints know next to nothing about the subject and neither do their leaders.
Hell has frozen over…
Those of us who have followed the history of Masonry in Utah will take note that Grand Master Cook, the first Latter-day Saint ever elected to that office, quotes President Gordon Hinckley in his inaugural address.
Hell hath indeed frozen over. 🙂
Maine Masonic College
The Maine Masonic College, an educational program of the Grand Lodge of Maine, is considering a number of interesting offerings including LDS & Freemasonry and Anti-Masonry Today.
Anti-Masonry and anti-Mormonism are often carried out by the same people and one can usually count on the fact that where you find one you will find the other.
-Greg Kearney
