Latter-day Saint

Temples and
Freemasonry
Defining Terms
1. What are temple ordinances?
2. What is the Endowment?
3. What is Freemasonry?
4. Where did Freemasonry originate?
5. Is there a connection between Freemasonry and Latter-day
Saint temple worship?
 Temple
Ordinances
Temple ordinances lead to the
greatest blessings available through
the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Everything in the Church—the
meetings and activities, the
missionary efforts, the lessons
taught, and the hymns—all lead to
the work done in holy temples.

Source:
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-
topics/temples?lang=eng
Temple
Ordinances
• Baptism for the Dead and
Confirmation
• Priesthood Ordination
• Initiatory Ordinances (Washing
and Anointing)
• The Endowment
• Temple Sealing
• The Fulness of the Priesthood
 One ordinance received in the temple is called the endowment. The word
endowment means “gift,” and the temple endowment truly is a gift from God.
The ordinance consists of a series of instructions and includes covenants to
live righteously and follow the requirements of the gospel. The endowment
The Endowment focuses on the Savior, His role in Heavenly Father’s plan, and the personal
commitment of each member to follow Him.

Source: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/temples?lang=eng
The Endowment
The Endowment rite or ceremony includes teachings about the
creation of the world, the purpose of mortal life, and the path to
return to back to Heavenly Father's presence. Participants make
covenants to follow Jesus Christ, keep God's commandments, live
a life of service, and remain morally pure. This ceremony involves
prayer, learning through presentation and ritual, and receiving
blessings of protection and enlightenment for our journey back to
God.
The Endowment is also preparatory for receiving further
ordinances, including being sealed in marriage for time and eternity.
Latter-day Saints believe receiving the Endowment is an essential
ordinance, a step on the path toward eternal life with God.
The Endowment
• All the promised blessings of the endowment are in force both in
this life and for eternity. The fulfillment of these blessings depends
on faithfulness to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• The endowment is received in two parts. In the first part, a
person receives preliminary ordinances called the initiatory. The
initiatory comprises three ordinances: washing, anointing, and
clothing (see Exodus 29:4–9). It includes special blessings related
to the person’s divine heritage and potential. General Handbook 27.2
The Endowment
• During the initiatory, the member is instructed to wear the temple
garment. The garment is a sacred symbol of Jesus Christ. It is
also a reminder of temple covenants. When members keep their
covenants, including the sacred privilege to wear the garment as
instructed, they will have greater access to the Savior’s mercy,
protection, strength, and power.
• In the second part of the endowment, the plan of salvation is
taught, including the Creation, the Fall of Adam and Eve, and the
Atonement of Jesus Christ. Members also receive instruction on
how to return to the Lord’s presence. General Handbook 27.2
The Covenants made in the Endowment
In the endowment, members are invited to make sacred covenants
as follows:
1. Live the law of obedience and strive to keep Heavenly Father’s
commandments.
• Obey the law of sacrifice, which means sacrificing to support the
Lord’s work and repenting with a broken heart and contrite spirit.
General Handbook 27.2
The Covenants made in the Endowment
3. Obey the law of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which means:
Exercising faith in Jesus Christ.
Repenting daily.
Making covenants with God by receiving the ordinances of salvation and
exaltation.
Enduring to the end by keeping covenants.
Striving to live the two great commandments. These are to “love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” and to
“love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:37, 39).
4. Keep the law of chastity, which means abstaining from sexual relations outside of
a legal marriage between a man and a woman, which is according to God’s law.
5. Keep the law of consecration, which means that members dedicate their time,
talents, and everything with which the Lord has blessed them to building up Jesus
Christ’s Church on the earth. General Handbook 27.2
Refinements have
been made since 1842
The temple ceremonies have changed
since their inception in Nauvoo in the
1840s. The liturgy was originally
conveyed as a memorized oral tradition,
then in 1877 the leadership committed
it to writing to guarantee consistency
among several temples and facilitate
changes they wanted to make at that
time.
Pres. Nelson related that the Brethren
have made adjustments to the
Endowment in his address "The Temple
and Your Spiritual Foundation," Oct.
2021 General Conference.
Sacred Vestments
Today, religious and ceremonial clothing is still used to
demonstrate one’s dedication to God. From the nun’s habit and
the priest’s cassock to the Jewish prayer shawl and the Muslim
skullcap, religious vestments are common. In The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, adult Church members—both men and
women—wear a special undergarment that reminds them of
covenants they have made with God. These underclothes may not
be on public display, but they still hold special significance to
members of the Church.
Source: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/tools/what-is-the-temple-garment?lang=eng
Enduo (ἐνδύω) – Put on vestments
The Greek verb ἐνδύω (enduo) appears several times in the New
Testament and generally means "to put on" or "to clothe." In certain
contexts, it can have the connotation of putting on figurative or
spiritual clothing, and it sometimes carries a deeper meaning, like
adopting a new identity or spiritual state. The Greek word enduo as
it is used in the New Testament is often used to refer to "putting on"
spiritual qualities or the metaphorical "clothing" of a new self in
Christ.
Enduo (ἐνδύω) – Put on vestments
In the Old Testament, the special clothing worn in temple rituals was an
essential part of the sacred rites that marked the journey from the profane to
the holy. This process involved several key steps: first, the individual would
remove the profane, be ritually washed, anointed, and then clothed in special
garments. They would offer sacrifices, be ordained as their "hands are filled"
with priestly responsibilities, and offer incense at the altar before passing
through the veil.

In the Christian context, putting on clothing often symbolizes a deeper spiritual

transformation—specifically, "putting on Christ." The apostle Paul reflects this
symbolism using the Greek word enduo, which means "to clothe" or "to put
on." Interestingly, in the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament), enduo is
frequently used when referring to donning sacred vestments, linking this
concept to the temple practices of ancient Israel. For Paul, enduo captures
the transformation that takes place when one embraces Christ, symbolically
clothing oneself in His attributes and holiness. See: Ex. 28-29; Ex. 39; Lev. 8; Lev. 16.
Enduo (ἐνδύω) – Put on vestments
Paul frequently writes of putting on light, the armor of God,
immortality, Christ and the "new man."

"Let us put on (ἐνδυσώμεθα) the armor of light" – Rom. 13.12.

"This mortal body must put on (ἐνδύσασθαι) immortality" – 1 Cor.
15.53.
"As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put
on (ἐνεδύσασθε) Christ" – Gal. 3.27.
See also: Ephesians 4.24, 6.11, 6.14; Colossians 3.10-12; 1 Thes.
5.8.
Enoch and his investiture
After Michael lifts Enoch from his second prostration, God
commands him, “Take Enoch, and take off his earthly
garments, and anoint him with good oil, and clothe him in
glorious garments...” Michael does as he is commanded,
the wondrous nature of the oil is described in some detail,
and then Enoch reports, “I looked at myself, and I was
like one of the glorious ones, and there was no
apparent difference.” Enoch has become an angel.

Martha Himmelfarb, Ascent to Heaven in Jewish and Christian Apocalypses, Oxford

University Press, 1993, p.40. See also: H.F.D. Sparks, The Apocryphal Old
Testament, Oxford, 1984, p. 337-338.
Enoch and his investiture
The combination of clothing and anointing suggests that the process by
which Enoch becomes an angel is a heavenly version of priestly
investiture. The idea that there are special garments for the righteous
after death is widespread in this period... When Paul speaks of a
spiritual body (1 Cor. 15:42-50) for the righteous after death, he
seems to have in mind something similar to these heavenly
garments. What is distinctive about the glorious garments of 2 Enoch is
their association with anointing and the ceremony of priestly
consecration invoked…

It is striking that in 2 Enoch, as in the Testament of Levi and Aramaic Levi,

anointing precedes dressing in priestly garments, in opposition to the
instructions for the consecration of Aaron as high priest in Exodus 29.
See: https://www.ldsscriptureteachings.org/2021/06/dc-76-quotes-and-notes/
See also: Himmelfarb, Ascent to Heaven in Jewish and Christian Apocalypses, Oxford University Press, 1993, p. 37.
Sacred Vestments

Many cultures and religious traditions across the

world have used sacred vestments or special
clothing as part of their worship and religious rituals.
These vestments often symbolize purity, authority, or
divine connection.
Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism,
Zoroastriansim, Sikhism, Shinto all don sacred
vestments, to name a few.

Right: Initiation ceremony (navjote) showing the adoption of the white undervest (sudreh) and the
chord (kusti) which all Zoroastrians are enjoined to wear. The vest symbolises the ‘good mind’ and is
not taken off except to wash; the chord represents direction and is tied and untied with appropriate
prayers five times a day. Mistree, The Zoroastrian Flame, 2018.
Sacred Vestments - Israel

While all priests wore the basic garments (A, B, C)

of white linen, the "broidered coat" (B) being of a
curiously woven plaid or checker pattern, the high
priest wore all the vestments (A-H). The names of
the twelve tribes are inscribed on the two onyx
stones of the shoulder bands of the ephod (F) as
well as on the twelve stones of the breastplate (G);
thus the high priest " bears" all Israel when he
stands before the Lord. The Urim and Thummim are
kept in the pouch formed by folding up the
embroidered panel behind the breastplate stones.
Hugh Nibley, Temple and Cosmos, 92/489 epub version.
3000 – 2000 BC – Sumerian
Religious Iconography

This Sumerian priest (A), c. 3000 BC, wears a

checkered apron, either a woven plaid or a
stylized sheepskin. On this Neo-Sumerian
limestone stele (B), c. 2200 B.C., the crowned
gods wear the sacred fleece garment, the
kaunakēs, over their shoulders; Ningizzida holds
Gudea by the wrist and leads him into the
presence of the gods.
Nibley, Temple and Cosmos, p. 97/489.
Gamma patterns

In 1966, in the Bar Kokhba Cave,

on the Dead Sea, was found a cave
of scrolls, and also many old
garments, remarkably well
preserved. Some of them bore the
gamma patterns. Here is one of
them with the gamma pattern (fig.
23). This is evidence that these
patterns stay around and are
interpreted in various ways. These
date from the time of Bar Kokhba,
the early part of the second
century.
 Christian Art

The discoverer of these garments, Professor Yadin, writes about

them: "An amusing development in early Christian art can now be
better explained: in many of the famous mosaics in Rome, Ravenna,
and Naples, especially from the fifth century A.D. and later [but
earlier also], one can see that all the mantles of the biblical figures
are depicted with a single pattern similar to the Greek letter gamma"
— a little more like a right angle — a square. The most famous
examples come from the fifth century, from Ravenna. The pattern
is on the edges of the robe, but it is quite common (fig. 24). There are
many examples of it in the earliest Christian representations, but not
later, because by then they had been transferred to the altar cloth
(fig. 25). Originally they belonged to the veil of the temple.
Nibley, Temple and Cosmos, 97/489.
Right (fig. 24, mosaic, Church of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy).
Christian Art

The gamma transferred to the

altar cloth.

Right: Sacrifices of Abel,

Mechizedek, and Abraham.
Egyptian gammadia markings
In the 1800s in Egypt, Petrie excavated
numerous mummies with amulets arranged
in the wrappings. Figure 27A shows, as
Petrie describes it, the compass-like level
and the square on the breast. He was able
to generalize that the square probably
means "rectitude," uprightness, and that the
other tool (which is hung in that position,
they assume, because it has a mark on the
top of it) means "making equilibrium, . . .
evenly balanced mind," or measure in all
things.
Egyptian gammadia markings
Schäfer discovered some among other
amulets, and here are pictures of what they
were like (fig. 27B, C - left). Thus the Egyptians
also used gammadia marks, sometimes
located on either breast. Some garments
bearing gammadia have been found in graves
in Palestine. Are all instances of gammadia of
Egyptian origin? Not necessarily. These things
do get around. They become lost; they
become simply designs; nobody
understands what they are; nobody
understands any more the meaning of the
words. Thus we speculate as we try to
reconstruct them.
Nibley, Temple and Cosmos, 100/489.
Central Asia
Most challenging are the veils from Taoist-Buddhist tombs at
Astana, in Central Asia, originally Nestorian (Christian) country,
discovered by Sir Aurel Stein in 1925 (fig. 28, right). We see the king
and queen embracing at their wedding, the king holding the
square on high, the queen a compass. As it is explained, the
instruments are taking the measurements of the universe, at the
founding of a new world and a new age.
Above the couple's head is the sun surrounded by twelve disks,
meaning the circle of the year or the navel of the universe. Among
the stars depicted, Stein and his assistant identified the Big Dipper
alone as clearly discernable. As noted above, the garment draped
over the coffin and the veil hung on the wall had the same marks;
they were placed on the garment as reminders of personal
commitment, while on the veil they represent man's place in the
cosmos.
Nibley, Temple and Cosmos, 100-102/489.
Christian literature – sacred vestments
The garment motif is almost an obsession in the literature of
Christ's forty-day ministry after the resurrection. Christ, sitting
with the apostles, says, "Do not touch me. I am not in the right
garments yet." He had left his garment in the tomb. The disciples
had found an angel sitting at the foot of the couch on which Christ
had been lying, on which the garment lay neatly folded. He was
gone, and he had put on another garment, the one he was wearing
when Mary met him. (According to a very old account, he told her not to touch him:
"I'm going to my father and receive the garment that is waiting for me." He talked to the apostles
a lot saying, "When I have finished my work here, and have had my last meeting with you, then I
will put on that other garment. I cannot until I am finished with my earthly mission here." Then
he will go back and put on his garment, returning to his robes of glory, as each of us will.)
Nibley, Temple and Cosmos, 104/489.
Sacred Vestments
Hugh Nibley wrote:
There are certain marks on the garment, certain marks of
recognition for the initiated, and the marks themselves
always have cosmic symbolism. The Pistis Sophia makes
a great many references to these. For example: "I found an
ordinance inscribed upon my garment (enduma)," says the
hero, "written in five words. . . . It is the garment which
belonged to you in the pre-existence, from the beginning,
and when your time is come on the earth, you will put
it on and return home to us."
Hugh Nibley, "Sacred Vestments," Temple and Cosmos: Beyond This Ignorant Present, Deseret Book, 1992. See also:
G.R.S. Mead, Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, p. 462.
Sacred Vestments
"In this garment, it has the five marks," which he calls charagme, meaning
"cuts" or "marks." The second garment has the marks and all the glory of
the name; the third garment has all the mysteries of the ordinances. This is
the doctrine of the three garments of Jesus, and of the five charagme. In
the Manichaean Kephalaia (written in Coptic), there are five mysteries;
the strings — which later become the tzitzit — were considered the fifth
sign or mark, because they were special. These five mysteries, the five
tokens, first originated among the Godhead. The mysteries were brought
to this world, being preached by an apostle. Men learned them and
established them in their midst. These five tokens are the marks of the
church. The first is the greeting of peace, by which one becomes a son of
peace. The second is the grasp of the right hand, by which he is brought
into the church. The third is the embrace, by which he becomes "a son."
Hugh Nibley, "Sacred Vestments," Temple and Cosmos: Beyond This Ignorant Present, Deseret Book, 1992.
Pearl of Great Price – sacred vestments
The theme is clearly reflected, incidentally, in the book of Moses in
the expression "clothed upon with glory" (Moses 7:3). Why the
insistence on that particular word? Enoch says, "I was clothed
upon with glory. Therefore I could stand in the presence of God" (cf.
Moses 1:2, 31). Otherwise he could not. It is the garment that gives
confidence in the presence of God; one does not feel too exposed
(2 Nephi 9:14). That garment is the garment that awaits us above,
the official garment of heaven, the garment of divinity. So as Enoch
says, "I was clothed upon with glory, and I saw the Lord" (Moses
7:3-4), just as Moses saw Him "face to face, . . . and the glory of God
was upon Moses; therefore Moses could endure his presence"
(Moses 1:2). Nibley, Temple and Cosmos, 104/489.
2 Enoch

In 2 Enoch, discovered in 1892, we read,

"The Lord spoke to me with his own mouth:
. . . 'Take Enoch and remove his earthly
garments and anoint him with holy oil and
clothe him in his garment of glory.' . . . And I
looked at myself, and I looked like one of
the glorious ones." Being no different from
him in appearance, he is qualified now, in
the manner of initiation. He can go back
and join them because he has received a
particular garment of glory.

Nibley, Temple and Cosmos, 104/489.

Adam and Eve's garment
‫ּול ִא ְשּתֹו כ ְָתנֹות עֹור ַוי ְַל ִב ֵׁשם‬
ְ ‫ֹלהים ְלאָ ָדם‬
ִ ֱ‫ַויַעַ ׂש יְהוָה א‬
"And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife coats of
skins, and he clothed them." (Gen. 3.21)

The fate of the garment of the priesthood — the garment of

Adam — is quite an epic. Adam, when he came to earth,
had a garment. He received a garment of light, when, in the
Garden of Eden, he was gloriously clothed in 'ur (he
changed it for ᶜor). The fact that ᶜor and 'ur are so similar
has led to a great deal of controversy. 'Ur is "light" (‫ ;)אֹור‬ᶜor
is "skin" (‫)עֹור‬. So Adam lost his garment of light at the Fall
and had to clothe himself in a garment of skin, a reversal
of the process. Nibley, Temple and Cosmos, 109/489.
 What is Freemasonry?

Freemasonry is a fraternal organization that traces its origins

to the medieval stonemason guilds. It is centered on moral and
ethical teachings, personal development, and charitable
works. Members advance through a series of symbolic rituals
and degrees, which use allegory and symbolism drawn from
architecture, particularly the tools and practices of
stonemasons, to convey lessons about virtue, self-
improvement, and brotherhood. Freemasonry emphasizes
values such as integrity, friendship, and service to others while
promoting religious tolerance and mutual respect among its
members.
What is Freemasonry?

The United Grand Lodge of England defines Freemasonry as a

“secular” fraternal organization and emphasizes that it is not a religion
or a substitute for religion and does not allow discussions about religion
to take place during its meetings.

United Grand Lodge of England website, path: all about Masonry, What is Freemasonry? Introduction
and Freemasonry and Religion, accessed Sept. 2010. See also: https://www.ugle.org.uk/discover-
freemasonry/what-is-freemasonry
 Freemasons work to build a
better community and world.
What do Freemasons do? They contribute financially to
make the world a better place
and give an estimated 5
million hours every year of
voluntary service in the UK.

The United Grand Lodge of

England states that precepts
are taught to initiates of
Freemasonry “by a series of
ritual dramas, which follow
ancient forms, and use
stonemasons’ customs and
tools as allegorical guides.”

United Grand Lodge of England, “What is

Freemasonry?” See also: Brown, Exploring
the Connection between Masons and
Mormons, p. 14.
What is the purpose of Freemasonry?
A widely promoted catchphrase of Freemasonry says
that the organization exists to "make good men
better." The overall goal of the Masonic ceremonies
(which is emphasized through symbolic costume and
action) is to bring a person from a state of figurative
darkness to one of light. There is an expectation in
many (but not all) forms of Freemasonry that the
application of Masonic initiation principles to one's
life will result in being allowed, after death, to go to the
Grand Lodge Above and be in the presence of the
Grand Architect of the Universe.
Matt Brown, Exploring the Connection Between Mormons and Masons, Covenant Communications, 2009, p.
15. Albert G. Mackey, The Symbolism of Freemasonry, Clark and Maynard, 1869, p. 147-158.
Where did the Freemasons originate?
Theories:
1. They originated with the pyramid builders of Egypt.
2. The Rosicrucian connection. The Rosicrucians were a secretive
mystical group from the early 17th century that claimed to
possess esoteric knowledge blending alchemy, Hermeticism,
and Christian mysticism, aimed at spiritual enlightenment and
societal reform.
3. Masonry came out of the Knights Templar, a monastic order that
was established in 1118 AD to create a safe passage between
the Holy Land and Europe for Christian pilgrims. Piers Read, The
Templars, Da Capo Press, 1999.
Origins
Freemasonry first emerged in its modern form in early 18th-century
Britain, with the establishment of the Grand Lodge of England in
1717 in London. This marked the transition from "operative"
stonemasons' guilds, who were skilled builders, to "speculative"
Freemasonry, which used the tools and symbols of masonry as
allegories for moral and philosophical teachings. However, earlier
forms of Freemasonry are believed to have existed in Scotland and
England during the late medieval period, with records of Masonic
lodges dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries.
Where did the Freemasons originate?
We are uncertain.
"There seems to be no solid consensus on where the Masonic
organization and its ritualas came from." Brown, Exploring the
Connections Beween Mormons and Masons, p. 29.

"How, when, and why Freemasonry arose are still questions to

which we have no final answers." Hamill and Gilbert, eds.,
Freemasonry: A Celebration of the Craft, p. 25.
A Mutual Protection Society

"Freemasonry admits any believer in a

monotheistic God. Their ritual makes no mention
of Jesus Christ... Taken all together, what had been
learned about Freemasonry indicated that it was
essentially a mutual protection society of men at
odds with the church or state, or both, and not a
building society."
John Robinson, Born in Blood, p. 198.
Freemasonry a result of the
Knights Templar persecution?
"That geographic isolation of Freemasonry over
many generations was in itself a Masonic
mystery supportive of the hypothesis of Templar
origins because the Templars in Britain alone
had been given the advantage of three months
warning of their impending arrests, and Britain,
with its unique attitudes toward the Church of
Rome, had never permitted the Inquisition to set
up shop on its side of the Channel."
Robinson, Born in Blood, p. 268.
Who were the Knights Templar?

Benedict of Nicosia establishes a monastery at Monte Cassino – 530 AD

He creates an order of monks that make vows of: poverty, chastity,
and obedience. – p. 68-69
From this group of men arise the order of the Templars. These
individuals developed a system whereby great wealth could cross
thousands of miles in safety, for a fee. Over the centuries, the Templars’
wealth would grow tremendously.

Robinson, Born in Blood, p. 70-75.

Seal of the Templars

The Freemasons come out of hiding -1717
John Robinson sees the "coming out" of hiding of Freemasons and
its date to be significant. In chapter 23 of his book Born in Blood, he
asserts that once those in England were assured a Catholic would
never again reach the throne (right around 1715), Freemasons were
no longer in need of being a secret organization.
He writes, "The Jacobite cause, the struggle to return Britain to the
Roman church, was effectively broken—just two years before four
Masonic lodges in London decided to reveal themselves to the
world. Now, indeed, Freemasons had no more need for secrecy,
no reason to hide from the establishment, or to plot against the
establishment. Freemasonry had become the establishment."
Robinson, Born in Blood, p. 304.
Timeline – One Theory
1000 BC – Solomon builds the First Temple
640-630 BC – Josiah's reforms
586 BC – The First Temple is destroyed
538-536 BC – Second Temple under construction
70 AD – Romans destroy the Jerusalem Temple
1118 AD – Knights Templar given quarter on Temple Mount by King Baldwin II
1307 AD - King Philip IV of France arrests many Templars
1312 AD - Pope Clement V disbands the Templars
1314 – Jacques DeMolay burned at the stake. He curses King Philip IV & Pope Clement V, who both die
within the year.
1312-1717 AD- Templars infiltrate Scotland masonic guilds, and Freemaons become public in 1717.
In 1307, King Philip IV of France and Pope Clement V combined to take
down the Knights Templar, arresting the grand master, Jacques de
Molay, on charges of heresy, sacrilege and Satanism. Under torture,
Molay and other leading Templars confessed and were eventually
burned at the stake. De Molay curses both king and pope whilst in
flames, that they’d die within the year. It came true! –chapter 9

After almost 200 pages of laying out the history, Robinson writes, “All this
is speculative, no matter how much evidence of the existence of a
secret society specifically based on the fugitive Templars… all of the
foregoing could be the first logical explanation of the very heart of
Freemasonry… to ask us to believe that (the central theme of belief in
God) could have evolved from a medieval guild is too much.” – p. 168-
169.

Finding “safe lodging” – chapter 11

An underground network – p. 163
The Argument

Joseph Smith ripped off Freemasonry to create temple ordinances,

specifically the endowment.

"A good deal of the ceremony performed after the rituals of washing
and anointing was borrowed from the Freemasons. From his
earliest youth in Palmyra Joseph had known the old Masonic
legend that Masonry dated back to the time of Solomon's temple.
Although he had peppered the Book of Mormon with anti-Masonic
strictures stemming from the Morgan hysteria, he had long since lost
his hostility to the craft. Masonry was now as respectable as before
1827, and when Judge James Adams, Deputy Grand Master of the
Illinois Masonic Order, urged him to set up a lodge in Nauvoo, he
complied at once."
Fawn Brodie, No Man Knows My History, p. 279-280.
The Argument

Historian Fawn Brodie (niece of David O. McKay, and critic of

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) wrote:
"The lodge was formally installed on March 15, 1842, with
headquarters in the big room over Joseph's store. John C.
Bennett was secretary. Joseph became a first-degree Mason
on the night of the installation, and the next night rose to
the sublime degree. His interest in Masonry became so
infectious that many Mormon elders hastened to follow his
lead, and within six months the lodge had 286 candidates...
The Argument
There is no doubt that Joseph's primary interest in Masonry lay in its
ritual. Like Solomon he was a temple-builder. Whatever had come
down through the ages that was of value he meant to incorporate into his
church. Six weeks after the installation of the lodge he called seven of his
leading men — Masonic Grand Master James Adams among them — and
instructed them "in the principles and order of the Priesthood, attending
to washings, anointings, endowments and the communication of keys."
In this council, he said, "was instituted the ancient order of things for the
first time in these last days." This order was an elaborate ritual designed
for performance in the Nauvoo Temple. The ceremony, which for a time
was kept completely secret, was reserved for the faithful, who believed it
to be the summation of all spiritual blessings."
Fawn Brodie, No Man Knows, p. 280.
The Argument
Some argue that Joseph Smith borrowed Freemasonry
to create temple ordinances, specifically the
endowment.
Historian Michael Quinn responds:
"Some interpreters, both non-Mormons and Mormons,
have described the endowment as borrowed directly
from contemporary Freemasonry. Although there are
superficial similarities of symbol and rite between
Masonic rituals and the Mormon endowment, I believe
that the underlying philosophy and purpose of the two
were fundamentally different. Mormon revelation, in
fact, proclaimed that the LDS endowment directly
restored what Masonry acknowledged it had only some
connection with—the occult mysteries of the ancient
world."

D. Michael Quinn, Mormonism and the Magic World View, p. 226-227.

The Argument
"This pattern of resemblances indicates that
Smith drew on Masonic rites in shaping the
temple endowment and specifically borrowed
tokens, signs, and penalties, as well as
possibly the Creation narrative and ritual
anointings. Still, the temple ceremony
cannot be explained as wholesale
borrowing, neither can it be dismissed as
completely unrelated."
David J. Buerger, The Mysteries of Godliness, p. 56, emphasis added.
Reed Durham's observations
In 1974 Institute director Reed C. Durham delivered an address on the
connections between the temple and Freemasonry. His address was
entitled, "Is There No Help for the Widow's Son?" About the Endowment
and its relationship to Freemasonry, he said:

"There is absolutely no question in my mind that the Mormon ceremony

which came to be known as the Endowment, introduced by Joseph Smith
to Mormon Masons initially, just a little over one month after he became
a Mason, had an immediate inspiration from Masonry. This is not to
suggest that no other source of inspiration could have been involved, but
the similarities between the two ceremonies are so apparent and
overwhelming that some dependent relationship cannot be denied."
(Jeffers, Freemasons: A History and Exploration, p. 173.)
The Counter Argument (s)
1. There is no similarity. (To me this is untenable)
2. There are some similarities, but these are not evidence that
Joseph repackaged Freemasonry's rituals.
3. The similarities exist because Freemasonry contains ancient
motifs and symbols that were part of the ancient tradition.
4. The elements in Freemasonry were used by Joseph creatively to
teach truths to the Saints in Nauvoo. Joseph recontextualized
these ideas to communicate divine truths to the Saints.
5. Some combination of 3 & 4
The Problem
Latter-day Saints covenant to not discuss certain elements of the
Endowment. Because of this, we must tread lightly when discussing
certain elements of the Endowment ceremony.

Buerger discusses the similarities in his work. He lays out the similarities
between the rites in the Nauvoo ceremony and rites of the Entered
Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason. He quotes Quinn regarding
prayer circles, as they existed in American Protestant revivals as well as
in Masonic ceremonies. He writes, "The clearest evidence of Masonic
influence on the Nauvoo temple ceremony is a comparison of texts.
Three elements of the Nauvoo endowment and its contemporary
Masonic ritual resemble each other so closely that they are sometimes
identical."
Buerger, The Mysteries of Godliness, p. 52.
Early LDS view of Freemasonry
Joseph Fielding, friend of the Prophet, wrote in 1844:
"Many have joined the Masonic institution. This seems to have been
a stepping-stone or preparation for something else, the true origin
of Masonry. This I have also seen and rejoice in it.... I have evidence
enough that Joseph is not fallen. I have seen him after giving, as I
before said, the origin of Masonry."
Andrew F. Ehat, "'They Might Have Known That He Was Not a Fallen Prophet'—The Nauvoo Journal of Joseph Fielding," BYU Studies 19 no. 2 (1979): 145, 147.
Early LDS view of Freemasonry
"We have received some precious things through the
prophet on the priesthood that would cause your soul to
rejoice. I cannot give them to you on paper for they are not
to be written. So you must come and get them for yourself...
There is a similarity of priesthood in masonry. Brother
Joseph says masonry was taken from priesthood but has
become degenerated. But many things are perfect."
(Parley P. Pratt Papers, Church Historical Department, Ehat, "'They Might Have Known That He Was
Not a Fallen Prophet'—The Nauvoo Journal of Joseph Fielding," BYU Studies 19 no. 2, 1979, p. 145,
spelling modernized.)
The relationship was understood in the 1840’s
This testimony of the early introduction of the endowment and its
relationship to freemasonry speaks of the power of the principles
advocated by the prophet for while Heber C. Kimball had been a
mason since his 1823 victor lodge days his reaction to what might
have been considered a blatant adaptation of freemasonry was
one only of awe and respect.

Ehat, p. 145.
The Real Thing – Heber
C. Kimball's Reaction
Heber C. Kimball once stated:

"We have the true Masonry the Masonry of

today is received from the apostasy which took
place in the days of Solomon and David. They
have now and then a thing that is correct, but
we have the real thing." (Manuscript history of Brigham Young
unpublished 13, November 1858, p. 1085. See also: Stanley B. Kimball, "Heber
C. Kimball and Family,” p. 459.)
Franklin D. Richards
Apostle Franklin D. Richards explained to his
colleagues in the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, "A
Masonic Lodge...was established in Nauvoo and
Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Willard Richards, John
Taylor, Lorenzo Snow, Orson Hyde, F. D. Richards, and
about 1000 others in all became Masons. Joseph the
Prophet, was aware that there were some things
about Masonry which had come down from the
beginning and he desired to know what they were,
hence the lodge. The Masons admitted some keys of
knowledge appertaining to Masonry were lost. Joseph
enquired of the Lord concerning the matter and He
revealed to the Prophet true Masonry, as we have it in
our temples."
Stan Larson, ed., A Ministry of Meetings: The Apostolic Diaries of Rudger Clawson, p. 42. See also Buerger, The
Mysteries, p. 57.
Greg Kearney's Argument
Q: Wouldn’t it be more correct to say that Masonry came out of the
endowment?
KEARNEY: It would be if you believed that Freemasonry has a
continuous historical line from King Solomon’s Temple to the
current. Unfortunately, there is no historical evidence to support a
continuous functioning line from Solomon’s Temple to the present.
We know what went on in Solomon’s Temple; it’s the ritualistic
slaughter of animals.
(Greg Kearny, "The Message and the Messenger: Latter-day Saints and Freemasonry," August 2005 Fair Conference. See also:
https://missedinsunday.com/memes/temple/true-masonry/ )
Kearney's Argument Opposed
Kearney’s argument appears coherent upon an initial reading of the
Tanakh. However, a more in-depth analysis reveals the presence of
significant ritual elements embedded within the text, particularly in
the Psalms. These include motifs of creation drama, cosmic
combat, ritual feasting, sacred vestments, symbolic death and
resurrection, enthronement, and kingship. The Psalms, which
served as the liturgical backdrop for temple worship during the First
Temple Period, reflect these rites. This rich ritual framework was,
however, altered by the reforms of Josiah, which subsequently
influenced the final form of the Hebrew Bible.
Sources to counter Kearney's view
Barker, Margaret. The Older Testament: The Survival of Themes from the Ancient Royal Cult in Sectarian Judaism and Early
Christianity, Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2005.
Bentzen, Aage. King and Messiah, Cambridge: James & Clark, 2002.
Butler, David. In the Language of Adam: Reading Scripture Like The Book of Mormon's Visionary Men, Plain and Precious
Publishing, 2024.
Eaton, John H. Festal Drama in Deutero-Isaiah, London: SPCK, 1979.
---.Kingship and the Psalms, London: SCM Press Ltd., 1975.
Johnson, Aubrey R. Sacral Kingship in Ancient Israel, Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1967.
---.The Cultic Prophet and Israel's Psalmody, Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1979.
---.“The Role of the King in the Jerusalem Cultus,” in Hooke (ed.), The Labyrinth: Further Studies in the Relation between Myth
and Ritual in the Ancient World, London: SPCK, 1935, p. 71-112.
Mowinckel, Sigmund. The Psalms in Israel’s Worship, 2 volumes, New York: Abingdon Press, 1967.
Ricks, Stephen D. and Baker, LeGrand. Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord?:The Psalms in Israel’s Temple Worship In the
Old Testament and in the Book of Mormon, Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2011.
Welch, John W. Illuminating the Sermon at the Temple and the Sermon on the Mount: An Approach to 3 Nephi 11-18 and
Matthew 5-7, FARMS, 1999.
Weinfeld, Moshe. Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomic School, London: Oxford University Press, 1972.
Things to Consider
• Sermon on the Mount shows us a preserved tradition, that the
temple was not just a place where animals were sacrificed. There
was an ancient tradition that many who heard Jesus speak
recognized.

• Much of early Christian ritual, though lost to us, is preserved in art

and architecture.
Repackaging,
Borrowing
"Dance has a place in the mysteries
because of its divine origin which are
said to be "danced out" (ἐξορχεῖσθαι)
therefore not a single ancient mystery-
cult can be found that is without
dancing... The Early (Christian)
Church borrows from classical
antiquity the concept of χορός to
designate the congregation, and the
worship in song in heaven and on
earth."
Nicoletta Isar, Χορóς: The Dance of Adam, p. 27.
An antiphonal chorus
"A special place in the Christian tradition is held by the
Gnostic and apocryphal text from the Acts of John known
as the Hymn of the Dance. The name is due to its
choreographic view of the antiphonal chorus, a circle
dance performed by Jesus and his disciples on the night
before his death." Isar, Χορóς: The Dance of Adam, p. 36.
Circles, Rites of the Ancients
Helaman 5
23 And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi were
encircled about as if by fire, even insomuch that they
durst not lay their hands upon them for fear lest they
should be burned. Nevertheless, Nephi and Lehi were
not burned; and they were as standing in the midst of
fire and were not burned.
24 And when they saw that they were encircled about
with a pillar of fire, and that it burned them not, their
hearts did take courage.

See also: 1 Ne. 1; 3 Ne. 17; 1 Enoch 14.17-23; Dan. 7.9-

10; Apocalypse of Abraham 18; Ezk. 1.4-28; Ex. 3.1-10.
Circles – The Ancient
Cosmos

“The sacred ring dance is a cosmic dance…The

geocentric cosmos is the cosmos which was then
– and is now – actually seen in the sky. The earth
lay at the center of a series of concentric crystal
spheres. The viewer is the center of his cosmos.
The temple lies at the center of its cosmos. The
circle-dance necessarily takes place at the center
of the cosmos for the participants. The cosmos of
the circle-dance is the ancient, sacred, geocentric
cosmos, the cosmos embodied in St. Peter’s
Basilica, in the cathedral at Chartres, in
Stonehenge, and in Westminster Abbey.”
Frederick Huchel, The Cosmic Ring Dance of the Angels, p. 35.
Axis Mundi – Latin: world axis: line or stem through the center
of the earth connecting its surface to the underworld and the
heavens
“So, the sacred circle dance is a dance of circumambulation, and the
dancing is around some focal point, whether it be the cross, Jesus, the
Ark, or the altar- or Mary herself, as the Asherah pillar. The cross is clearly
a representation of the axis mundi. From the altar of the temple arose the
column of smoke which ascended as a pillar unto heaven. The Ark of the
covenant stood in the Holy of Holies… the pillar of smoke arose directly
above the Ark. The sacred ring dance, then, takes place around the
axis mundi… (which is the) precursor for opening the hollow pillar of
the Canalis Mundorum (channel of the worlds/canal of the universe),
the conduit between the temple, or altar, or holy circle or the
crossing of the cardo and deumanus, and heaven itself. After one is
sensitized to this principle, one can see this in the scriptures.”
Huchel, Ring Dance, p. 143.
 Nicoletta Isar
demonstrates that the
Circles – The ring dance of early
Christianity was rooted in
Ancient an ancient tradition
spanning centuries
Tradition before Christ.

Image Right: Isar, p. 298

Circles – The
Ancient Tradition
“The gesture of Christ rising swiftly
by the hand the forefather Adam will
be central in my analysis, which
aims to revalue it as a rhetorical and
performative figure ascribed to a
definite ritual.”

Nicoletta Isar, Χορóς: The Dance of Adam, p.

50.
Circles – The Ancient Tradition
Nibley explains:
The further back we go the more prominent
becomes the rite in the church. The actual
performance of such a rite is described in a
very old text attributed to Clement of Rome
and preserved in a seventh-century Syriac
translation entitled “The Testament of Our
Lord Jesus Christ as delivered orally by him to
us the apostles after his resurrection following
his death.” In celebrating the sacrificial death
of the Lord (Pulver calls his study “The Round
Dance and the Crucifixion”), the bishop would:
Chora Church, Istanbul, Turkey
Circles – The Ancient Tradition
“make the sacrifice, the veil of the gate being drawn aside as a sign of the straying of the former
people; he would make the offering within the veil along with priests, deacons, authorized widows,
subdeacons, deaconesses, readers and such as were endowed with spiritual gifts. As leader the
bishop stands in the middle . . . [the men and women are assigned their places, north, south, east and
west, around him]. Then all give each other the sign of peace. Next, when absolute silence is
established, the deacon says: “Let your hearts be to heaven. If anyone has any ill feeling towards his
neighbor, let him be reconciled. If anyone has any hesitation or mental reservations [doubts] let him
make it known; if anyone finds any of the teachings incongenial, let him withdraw [etc.]. For the
Father of Lights is our witness with the Son and visiting angels. Take care lest you have aught against
your neighbor . . . . Lift up your hearts for the sacrifice of redemption and eternal life. Let us be
grateful for the knowledge which God is giving us.” The bishop . . . says in an awesome voice: “Our
Lord be [or is] with you!” And all the people respond: “And with thy spirit.” After this, “a sort of
antiphonal follows with the people in the ring responding to the worlds of the bishop.”
Hugh Nibley, “The Early Christian Prayer Circle,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Vol. 19, No. 2, 2010, p. 66. Nibley cites Rahmani, Testamentum Domini Nostri Jesu
Christi, Mainz: Kirchleim, 1899, 36–37.
The Great Center – The Axis Mundi
The idea of the universal center of the race is found throughout the
ancient world. It's the scene of great events. At hundreds of holy
shrines, each believed to mark the exact center of the universe
and represented as the point at which the four corners of the earth
converged [the middle omphalos] — "the navel of the earth" [the
umbilicus] — one might have seen assembled at the New Year —
the moment of creation, the beginning and ending of time — vast
concourses of people, each thought to represent the entire human
race in the presence of all its ancestors and gods.
Nibley, Temple and Cosmos, 133/489.
Remember Christ, the Rock
And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of
our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build
your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty
winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his
mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to
drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of
the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a
foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall. (Helaman 5.12)
Helaman 5: What map are you using?
Eden, the rock, the creation and Helaman 5.12
Traditional Jewish sources mention the stone as the place from
which the creation of the world began. Classical Jewish sources
also identify its location with that of the Holy of Holies.
(Tractate Yoma 2:12; y. Yoma 5:3; b. Yoma 54b; PdRK 26:4; Lev. R. 20:4. The History of al-Tabari, vol. XII, p. 194–195.)
Eden (‫)עֵׁ ֶדן‬: The center of the center of the world
The Garden of Eden was the central point between the heavens and
the earth, what is referred to as "an axis mundi." From it radiate
primal streams to the four quarters of the world. It is the navel or
omphalos, this central point, where primal streams extend to the
four quarters. Eden acts as the navel or omphalos, with the tree of
life situated at “the center of this center.” Eden contained the first
earth that penetrated the waters of chaos at creation. Coming to
the rock meant coming home to Eden.
The Benben
stone
The term "Benben" in ancient
Egyptian refers to the primeval
mound or the first land that emerged
from the chaotic waters of Nun at the
beginning of creation. The word itself
is derived from the verb "bn" (ben),
which means "to rise" or "to swell."
Thus, "Benben" can be understood to
mean "the mound that rises" or "the
rising mound."
George Washington within the Omphalos
George
Washington
Masonic National
Memorial –
Alexandria,
Virginia.
Emanuel Leutze
(1816-1868), George
Washington as a
Master Mason
https://nationalheritagemuseum.typepad.com/library_
and_archives/2009/02/george-washington-in-
lexington.html
Washington as a
Freemason

lithograph by
Strobridge &
Gerlach.

Source:
https://www.loc.gov/resource/pga.
02796/
The Center
Our Lady of the Pillar –
Chartres Cathedral,
France.
Inverted
Omphalos Stone –
Church of the Holy
Sepulchre,
Jerusalem.
Jerusalem – The Center
Point of the World
In contrast to other omphalos stones, this stone at the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre is inverted. In this
configuration, it symbolizes the sacred feminine as a
womb of the Virgin Mary, the cup of Christ.

In its center is a rounded disk embossed with an

equilateral cross, similar to a sun disk, indicating that
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the navel of the
world. Allegorically this stone depicts Jesus, as the son
of God and Mary, the foundation stone of the world.
Personal application
How is Jesus Christ your foundation?

How can you make sure he becomes or remains

foundational to your life?
Bees, Beehives, and the
Holy of Holies
"Land of milk and honey” (about 20 times in
the Old Testament)
Honey was “the food of the gods” (Ransome, The
Sacred Bee, p. 123; Cook, The Bee in Greek Mythology, p. 15.)

The Hebrew words for bee (‫)דבורה‬, honey

(‫)דבש‬, and oracle, or inner sanctuary (‫ )דבר‬are
all related words.
Bees were considered sacred (Steiner, Bees)
The Greeks used honey in ritual connected
with the transition between the material and
spiritual worlds (Steiner, Bees, p. 205.)
Bees, Beehives, and the
Holy of Holies
Asenath (bride of Joseph) has an angelic visitor
she shares honeycomb with (Joseph and Asenath 16.7)
Jesus eats honeycomb as he reveals his
resurrected state to his disciples (Luke 24)
Bees were considered the messengers of
the heavens and prophecy (Ransome, p. 82-99 and Cook, p.
8.)

Bees are the creatures from our pre-existent

world (Nibley, “The Deseret Connection,” Abraham in Egypt.)
Adam and Eve were guided by bees when
they left Eden (Nibley, “The Deseret Connection,” Abraham in Egypt.)
Asenath's beatitude
In Jewish literature only a few beatitudes belong to the type we find
in association with mystery cults. Of this group the most instructive
one is found in the Hellenistic- Jewish novel joseph and Aseneth, a
work heavily influenced by mystery-cult language. After Aseneth, an
Egyptian woman (cf. Gen 41:45, 50; 46:20), has converted to the
Jewish religion, she passes through an elaborate initiation ritual,
at the culmination of which the initiating "angel of God" pronounces
this beatitude upon her (Jos. Asen. 16.7-8):
Asenath – initiated into the
mysteries
Blessed are you, Aseneth (μακαρία εἶ συ,
Ἀσενέθ) because the ineffable mysteries of God
have been revealed to you, and blessed are those
who attach themselves to the Lord in repentance,
because they eat from the (honey-)comb. For the
bees of the paradise of delight have made this
honey, and the angels of God eat of it, and
everyone who eats from it will not die forever. (Betz,
p. 100)
Deseret is waiting
Deseret designates the land as the goal of migration—
the promised land, quite literally, "the Holy Land” …
Why has the bee been brought back to our consciousness
among the more exotic baggage of the Restored Gospel?
The most likely explanation is the least appealing one.
Repeated echoes from the remote past keep reminding
us that the office and calling of the bee was to bring about
the stirrings of life, reviving the biological cycle in a world
that had been totally ravaged by cosmic forces of
destruction. Is, then, Deseret waiting in the wings, held
in reserve against the day, soon to come, when its salutary
services will be required again?
Nibley, “The Deseret Connection,” Abraham in Egypt.
The architecture and furniture
of the temple are used by
BOM prophets to teach truth

Ziony Zevit points out that Eden literally

means “Bountiful.”
Ziony Zevit, What Really Happened in the Garden of Eden?, 2013, p.
89, 98, 113, 253, 239.
Adam was both a king and a priest, a
sacred representation of God on the
earth, having dominion over all created
things in sacred space. The king not
only had dominion over this sacred
space, but as a priest, his role was also
to protect it. In this way the king and
queen combined with the persons of
Adam and Eve, figures in the original
Bountiful, Eden, or garden of paradise.

Mike Day, dissertation (unpublished), University of Utah, 2024.

 Signs

Revelation 1.1
Ἀποκάλυψις Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἣν ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ θεός
δεῖξαι τοῖς δούλοις αὐτοῦ ἃ δεῖ γενέσθαι ἐν τάχει καὶ
ἐσήμανεν ἀποστείλας διὰ τοῦ ἀγγέλου αὐτοῦ τῷ
δούλῳ αὐτοῦ Ἰωάννῃ
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto
him, to shew unto his servants things which must
shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by
his angel unto his servant John.

Image source: Innis Fripp, “John the Revelator Shown the Heavenly City.”
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2023/12/3/23984922/come-
follow-me-december-4-10-church-leaders-scholars-said-about-revelation-1-5/
Signs
Sēmainō - σημαίνω
1. "To give a sign, signify, indicate"
2. "To make known"

A ritual hand gesture can also signify an oath, it can also signify
"entering into an action."

David Calabro, Understanding Ritual Hand Gestures of the Ancient World: Some Basic Tools, Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint
Faith and Scholarship 37 (2020): 293-308. See also: Calabro, Ritual Gestures of Lifting, Extending, and Clasping the Hand(s) in
Northwest Semitic Literature and Iconography, Dissertation, University of Chicago, 2014.
Brigham Young's Explanation
Let me give you a definition in brief. Your endowment
is, to receive all those ordinances in the house of the
Lord, which are necessary for you, after you have
departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the
presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand
as sentinels, being enabled to give them the key
words, the signs and tokens, pertaining to the holy
Priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation in spite
of earth and hell.
Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, 1941, p. 416.
Signs or Tokens

• Rainbow after the flood – Gen. 9.12-17

• Abrahamic covenantal token of circumcision – Gen. 17.11-12
• Moses receives a token – Ex. 3.12
• Blood of the Passover Lamb – Ex. 12 & 13.14-16
• Aaron's rod – Num. 17.10
• Jesus' hands and feet as tokens of his suffering – John 20.26-27, 3
Ne. 11.14-15
The Lord swears an oath
‫אתי אֶ ת־י ִָדי לָ ֵׁתת אֹ ָתּה ְלאַ ְב ָרהָ ם ְליִצְ חָ ק‬ ִ ‫אתי אֶ ְתכֶם אֶ ל־הָ אָ ֶרץ אֲ ֶשר נ ָָׂש‬
ִ ֵׁ‫וְהֵׁ ב‬
‫מֹור ָשה אֲ נִי יְהוָה‬ ָ ‫ּול ַיעֲקֹ ב ְונ ַָת ִּתי אֹ ָתּה לָ כֶם‬
ְ

And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did
swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will
give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD. (Ex. 6.8)

ִ ‫ אֲ ֶשר נ ָָׂש‬literally reads, "which I did lift up my hand to

‫אתי אֶ ת־י ִָדי לָ ֵׁתת‬
give"
See also: Gen. 14.22; Num. 14.30; Deut. 32.40; Neh. 9.15, 28; Ps. 106.26; Ezk 20.5-6, 15, 23; Ezk. 47.14.
Oath of Office
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I
will faithfully execute the Office of
President of the United States, and
will to the best of my Ability, preserve,
protect and defend the Constitution
of the United States."

The oath is found in Article II of the

Constitution.
The Beatitudes in
Matthew 5
Μακάριος Makarios = "blessed," or "in the state
of the gods." (Matt. 5.1-12) The original function
of these statements were:
1. Their original function (Sitz im Leben) is in
ritual.
2. Their nature is that of declarative
statements.
3. The future orientation is eschatological as
well as this-worldly. (Betz, p. 93)
The Beatitudes in
Matthew 5

In their present context, the Beatitudes are

doctrinal statements; they are intended to be
learned by heart and remembered. This
secondary function is quite appropriate in that it
shows the connections between doctrine and
ritual. (Betz, p. 95)
 Classical Pistis
• Pistis refers to trusting both gods and men.
• Sophocles discussed the active consulting of the gods to
learn desirable courses of action. Once a god revealed the
proper course of action, pistis was described as the ability
to “put faith in the god.” Oed. Tyr., 1445

• Xenophon linked pistis with fidelity within friendship. An. 1.6.3

• Aristotle commented that there “is no stable friendship

without fidelity (aneu pisteōs), and fidelity (pistis) comes
with time.” Eud. Eth. 7.2.39 1237b 12-13

Source: Brent Schmidt, Faith — “pistis (πίστις),” BYU New Testament Commentary Conference, 2019.
 Pistis as a pledge or covenant
• In the third-century BC Septuagint rendition, pistis
was used to describe the Jewish leaders’ commitment
(2 Esdr. 20:1; Neh. 10:1)

• Of the 195 occurrences of pistis in Josephus, 58 have

the sense of "pledge"
• For Gentile Christians, pistis would have avoided the
traditionally strong Jewish associations of the Old
Covenant (hē diathēkē)
Schmidt, Faith - Pistis
 Pistis in the Gospels
• The phrase “for my sake” frequently emphasizes faithfulness to
Jesus as a broker (Matt. 10:18, 39; 16:25; Mark 8:35; 10:29;
13:9; Luke 9:24)
• The new trustworthy in-group of fictive kin receives Jesus’ total
allegiance as his own family once did (Mark 3:31-35; Matt.
12:46-50; Luke 8:19-21)
• Now members of this in-group owe similar allegiance to Jesus
because one cannot serve both God’s goals and anything or
anyone else (Matt. 6:24; Luke 16:11)
• To demonstrate faith one should keep commandments, give
money to the poor, and follow him, “keeping commandments
and good works of selling and giving” (Mark 10:20-21)
 Pistis, covenantal relationships in the NT
• Old Testament patriarchs were faithful models of the
centrality of the covenant in Hebrews
• Likewise Paul demonstrated pistis in preaching Christ’s
gospel throughout Macedonia and Achaea (1
Thessalonians 1:8).
• Pistis was characterized as a three-way relationship
between God the Father and the faithful and also
Christ and the faithful in 1 and 2 Timothy
Schmidt, Faith — pistis (πίστις)
 Pistis leads to commitments and baptism
During a baptismal service in the
fourth-century Apostolic
Constitutions, the baptizand
solemnly testified “I align myself
with Christ, I pledge commitment
(pisteuō), and I am baptized”
Constitutiones Apostolorum 7:41:2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8.

Brent Schmidt, Faith

Pistis/Fides Coins 1st-3rd Centuries AD
Pistis/Fides Seals Marriages and Fidelity
 Clasped Right Hands = Faith
• The Roman historian Tacitus used the
phrase “renew right hands” (renovare
dextras) as a synonym for renewing a
treaty Annales II.58
• Romans sometimes sent clasped right
hands (dextras) in effigy before
entering into a contract
• This ritual invited another to a
renewed handclasp signifying a
renewal of an alliance relationship.
Historiae I, 54, II, 8
Schmidt, Faith — pistis (πίστις)
Ancient Many ritual hand gestures, oaths, and ceremonial clothing

Source likely have an ancient source

Receiving a name and a handclasp
Isaiah 56.5
‫ּומבָ נֹות ֵׁשם עֹולָ ם אֶ ֶּתן־לֹו אֲ ֶשר ל ֹא‬
ִ ‫ֹתי יָד ו ֵָׁשם טֹוב ִמבָ נִ ים‬
ַ ‫ּובחֹומ‬
ְ ‫יתי‬
ִ ֵׁ‫ְונ ַָת ִּתי לָ הֶ ם ְבב‬
‫ִיכ ֵָׁרת‬

Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and
a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an
everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. (Isa. 56.5 KJV)

To them I will give a handclasp and a name within the walls of my house
that is better than sons and daughters; I will endow them with an
everlasting name that shall not be cut off. (Isa. 56.5, Gileadi trans.)
“The figure of linking arms by placing the “hand over the wrist” (ἐπὶ καρπῷ χεῖρας
ἔχοντες) is an epic formula and a particular type of ritual gesture. This ritual gesture
was enacted during the sacred dances performed by gods on the wedding day.
Archaeological sources indicate similar representations on Athenian red-painted
vases from the 5th century BC used in wedding ceremonials.”

(Isar, Χορóς: The Dance of Adam, p. 55)

 A symbol of the resurrected Christ and Marriage Bond
“Christ is the originating principle of uniting the separated elements of the cosmos. It
is my assumption that Christ’s gesture analyzed in this chapter (“hand over the wrist”)
is the visual metaphor of the doctrinal aspect of the Anastasis (resurrection) defined
as a mystical link or a nuptial bond. Theologically, as well as iconographically, Adam
stands for humanity as a whole.” (Isar, Χορóς: The Dance of Adam, p. 73.)
Eternal lineage – Isaiah
The promise of an eternal lineage for a man and woman who enter into
God's covenantal promises:

I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant
with them. And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their
offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them,
that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed. I will
greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath
clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the
robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with
ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
(Isaiah 61.8-10)
Matt Brown's timeline of Masonry & the
Temple
Accusation: Because there is similarity between the Endowment
and Masonry, some critics say Joseph Smith cribbed Masonic
symbols to create the Endowment ceremony in the temple.

1.What was revealed to Joseph before he became a Mason?

2.Where did these symbols come from?
3.Can God reveal truths to us “in our culture?” (D&C 1:24)

Brown, Exploring the Connection Between Mormons and Masons, p. 70-103.

 1842 Joseph Smith
becomes a Mason

Masonry
and the May 4 1842

Temple: A Mar. 15 – Mar. 16

Timeline Joseph Smith

inaugurates the
Endowment in the
upstairs of the Red Brick
Store in Nauvoo
Conflicts and Challenges to Faith
“Because of the conflicts and challenges we face in today’s
world, I wish to suggest a single choice—a choice of peace and
protection and a choice that is appropriate for all. That choice
is faith. … Choose faith over doubt, choose faith over fear,
choose faith over the unknown and the unseen, and choose
faith over pessimism. …

“When logic, reason, or personal intellect come into conflict

with sacred teachings and doctrine, or conflicting messages
assault your beliefs … , choose to not cast the seed out of your
heart by unbelief [see Alma 32:28]. Remember, we receive not
a witness until after the trial of our faith (see Ether 12:6)”
(Richard C. Edgley, “Faith—the Choice Is Yours,” 31, 32–33).
My story
1988-89 – Faith crisis
What was revealed
to Joseph before he
became a Mason?
 1842 Joseph Smith
becomes a Mason

Masonry
and the May 4 1842

Temple: A Mar. 15 – Mar. 16

Timeline Joseph Smith

inaugurates the
Endowment in the
upstairs of the Red Brick
Store in Nauvoo
Masonry and the Temple: A Timeline

“The Promises made to the Mount Zion, acceptable offerings Keys pertaining to the Gospel of
fathers” (D&C 2) in the House of the Lord (D&C 84) Abraham (D&C 110)

1829 1833

1823 1832 1836

The Book of Mormon has Elizabeth Tyler’s vision on a man in

Endowment, or Ancient a white robe, as she had never
Covenant/Ritual texts – Mosiah 2- seen
6, 3 Nephi 11-18
 Ancient Covenant Pattern

1. The preamble
2. Historical prologue (description of what the king has done for the subjects)
3. Stipulations – Terms of the Covenant (to secure fidelity of the subjects to the king)
4. Deposition of the text of the treaty or covenant (special writings and other means
to ensure that the covenants aren't forgotten and are recorded and reviewed)
5. List of witnesses
6. Statement of curses and blessings (the results of disobedience or obedience)

(Source: Jon Levenson, Sinai and Zion, An Entrance into the Jewish Bible. See also Stephen D. Ricks, “Kingship, Coronation, and Covenant in Mosiah 1–
6,” in King Benjamin’s Speech: “That Ye May Learn Wisdom,” ed. John W. Welch and Stephen D. Ricks, FARMS, 1998, 256–60.)
Treaty Covenant Pattern in Mosiah 1-6, The Old
Testament and in the Endowment

The Endowment in the 1800’s included

a preamble, and the antecedent
history would obviously have included
the creation narrative. The current
endowment includes language that
brings to mind the pre-earth council.
The terms of the covenant with its
blessings and cursings were also
included in the 1800’s. The recitation
of the covenant was given at the
conclusion of the rite.
Masonry and the Temple: A Timeline

Mount Zion, acceptable Keys pertaining to the

“The Promises made to the offerings in the House of the Gospel of Abraham (D&C 1842 – Joseph becomes a
fathers” (D&C 2) Lord (D&C 84) 110) Mason

1829 1833 Jan. 19 1841 May 4 1842

1823 1832 1836 Mar. 15 – Mar. 16

Ancient Covenant/Ritual Elizabeth Tyler’s vision of a “You shall receive washings, Joseph inaugurates the
texts – Mosiah 2-6, 3 Nephi man in a white robe, as she anointings, oracles in the Endowment in the RBS
11-18 had never seen most holy place, keys to
‘ask and receive’, statutes,
judgments, etc. (D&C 124)
Matt Brown’s Conclusion
“By examining all of the above timeline items, it becomes
obvious that the Nauvoo-era temple ordinances and
doctrines did not suspiciously materialize after Joseph Smith
became a Freemason. It can be plainly seen that the Lord was
involved in the restoration of the fullness of temple activities
from the outset of the latter-day dispensation (JS-H 1.30-41).
He not only taught His prophet the concepts of temple
worship (see D&C 84), but He also sent His representatives to
bestow keys of accomplishment on Joseph Smith (D&C 110),
and then He listed the ritual activities that would take place
inside of His holy house (D&C 124)- all before the Prophet was
taught the mysteries of Masonry.”
Brown, Exploring the Connection Between Mormons and Masons, p. 99.
Where did these symbols come
from?
Nauvoo Temple Weather Vane
Detail, circa 1841–1845

Architect William Weeks made this

sketch of the angel weather vane
placed atop the Nauvoo Temple in
January 1846.
The basis for the symbols of
Freemasonry
One author writes, “The real basis of Freemasonry… is Christian
understanding,” and the purpose of the rites is to place man on a
figurative pilgrimage to God’s heavenly temple.”

Jeff Roundy, Latter-day Saints Q&A. See also: Freemasonry Today, issue
43, Winter 2007/08, p. 18.
 Masonry and the Temple

Symbols come from an ancient source

Masonry in
scripture
Joseph was a “tekton” (Matt 13:55)

Matthew 16 Upon this Rock I will

build my church… thou art PETROS…
upon this PETRA I will build my church!

1 Corinthians 3 Ye are the temple of

God

(Masonry marks in a church in Toledo,

Spain)
Masonry in
scripture
The stone which the builders
rejected, the same is the head of the
corner. (Luke 20:17)

This Jesus is the stone that was

rejected by you, the builders, which
has become the cornerstone. And
there is salvation in no one else, for
there is no other name under heaven
given among men by which we must
be saved" (Acts 4:11–12)
Procession of the Saints, The Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo. This structure was built
by Theoderic (493-526) next to his palace and was originally used as a Palatine
Church of Arian religion.
Cyril of Jerusalem (313-386 AD) and the
holy anointing
You were anointed on your brow and your other sense-organs, and so while the body is
anointed in outward appearance with myrrh, the soul (psyche) is sanctified by the life-
bestowing Holy Spirit.

First of all you were anointed on the brow (metopon, forehead and eyes, lit. “space
between the eyes”) to free you from the shame which completely involved the First Man
when he fell, and that you might clearly perceive (or reflect, katoptrizisthe), the glory of the
Lord with wide-open mind (lit. with uncovered face). Then your ears that you might receive
the hearing ears of the mysteries of God…. Next come the nostrils, that upon receiving the
holy ordinance you may say: “We are the sweet odor of Christ to God among the saved.”
After that (you were anointed) on the breast (“the seat of feeling, passion and thought,”
Liddell and Scott), that, clothed with the breastplate of righteousness, you may stand
against the wiles of the Devil—(countering his evil thoughts with good ones)…
https://www.templestudy.com/2008/04/23/cyril-of-jerusalem-on-washings-and-anointings/
God reveals truths to us in
our culture. In other
words, God uses things
we understand to teach
us higher truth.
God uses things we understand to teach us higher truth

And the Word became

flesh, and dwelt among us
(and we beheld his glory,
glory as of the only
begotten from the Father),
full of grace and truth.
(John 1:14 ASV)
Points to Remember
• The temple lies at the center of strengthening our faith, since the Savior
and His doctrine are the very heart of the temple.
• Joseph was a seer. We may not see all that he saw as he made
connections with the symbols of his time.
• Joseph did the best he could under his circumstances. Temple
ordinances have been gradually refined since his day.
• The temple and its covenants prepare us to receive further light and
knowledge, and to live a consecrated life, and establish Zion.
• “The word becoming flesh” in our day and in us can mean that God will
use elements from our current world to teach us about his world.
Bits added later

On October 16, 1646, Ashmole recorded in his diary that he was

made a Freemason at Warrington, Lancashire. This is one of the
earliest known written records of an English Masonic initiation.
He wrote:
"I was made a Free Mason at Warrington in Lancashire, with
Colonel Henry Mainwaring of Karincham in Cheshire.“ This entry
is significant because it provides concrete evidence of the
existence of Freemasonry in the mid-17th century in England,
predating the establishment of the first Grand Lodge in 1717.
Stevenson writes, “This, then, is the first known 'lodge' in
England (apart from Medieval-type building-site lodges), and the
first 'lodge' known anywhere with no operative members.” –
Stevenson, The Origins of Freemasonry, p. 219. See also:
Baigent and Leigh, The Temple and the Lodge, p. 156.
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