Why do some people say that Freemasons and Mormons are connected?

Answer 1

You can compare a lot of the similarities between masonic initiation and the LDS Endowment (pre-1990) at the following sites:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qKG5kMnZZcM
http://youtube.com/watch?v=dtwdZeTpecY&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=r_CWpbm2GxA
http://youtube.com/watch?v=iiQfkU3SWjs&feature=related (start about 1:30 of the way into the last video)

Following are some LDS symbols "borrowed" from masonry:

Compass
Five Points of Fellowship (abandoned in 1990)
The term "dispensation" and its frequency
Throat Penalty Sign (abandoned in 1990)
Symbolic Half-Apron
Heart Penalty Sign (abandoned in 1990)
Square
Structure and Architecture of SLC, Manti, Mesa, and Portland temples
Bowels Penalty Sign (abandoned in 1990)
Five-pointed upside-down star
Face-in-sun sculpture on pre-1904 temples
Washings and Anointings
Oaths of secrecy (and the infamous Oath of Vengeance, abandoned near 1927)
Members-only restriction on temples (not originally practiced under Smith, but later adopted under Brigham Young)
Slogan: "We take good men, and make them better"
Law of Consecration (Pledge of one's own life in dedication to the organization)
All 4 signs and all 4 tokens of the endowment, along with their respective names (except the 4th, which varies)
The name "Lucifer" (as opposed to Mammon, Satan, Devil, etc) in the endowment
The altar
Prayer circles (both inside the temple and out)

A lot of LDS people do get quite offended when their sacred rituals are referred to as "secret"; however, long before they were considered sacred, they had been secret for hundreds of years. Joseph Smith himself was initiated (and 3 days later, became a Master Mason; previously unprecedented) less than 60 days prior to unveiling the Temple Endowment, although his father and brother had been trying to persuade him to join since 1834, which was the first time he spoke publicly about an endowment of a higher priesthood. Interestingly enough, this was also the first time any member recorded anything about the Melchizadek Priesthood and the supposed visit of Peter, James, and John. From 1834 until at least 1838, the "endowment" referred simply to members receiving this priesthood.

Read up a bit about the history of the endowment. You'll be pleasantly surprised at all the things you will learn.

Cheers!
Will

Answer 2

The Temple Endowment was originally created to protect the "higher law" of polygamy. Because many masons were in the church at that time, it was an appropriate allegory. The church was young, and the Council of Fifty needed to be truly devoted to the cause of protecting the church. If Joseph Smith's and other leaders' polygamy (including some in the Council) had been made public at that time, who knows what would have happened. The temple garments were an additional reminder of the promise they had made to devote their lives to protecting the church. When Joseph saw how effective the endowment was, he felt inspired to share it with other members and incorporate more evolved messages regarding eternity. This later evolved over decades into the Endowment we have today, which was last revised in April 1990, as cited above.

As time has gone by, fewer and fewer members are masons, and so the Endowment has become less and less masonic over time. It doesn't need the masonic penalty signs or points of fellowship anymore, because they don't speak to the members of the church of our day.

I just wish that they would have gotten rid of these things sooner, and that they wouldn't say that the endowment "can't change", because that's obviously not the case.

I see the Temple Endowment a little differently than most members: rather than believing it is absolutely essential in order to enter into the presence of God, I see it as a reminder to us of what is truly important by employing hyperbole and symbolism in the manner that we best understand. Of course the Endowment isn't literal (Peter, James and John obviously couldn't have given Adam the signs & tokens; they didn't even have bodies yet! They wouldn't have shaken Adam's hand), but that doesn't mean it's not valuable and important.

Answer 3

According to some documentaries I've seen on TV, the LDS incorporate a lot of the Masonic secret ceremonies into the LDS Temple ceremonies.

Free Masons never admit this but they are a religion secretly connected to Islam.

Which is why there are Muslim symbols on Shriner's Hats.

Until you get up past the 30th degree, you would not know this.

So most Free Masons are not aware of this.

I'm going to a "debate watching party", so this will my last message posted here until the debate is over and the party is over and then another hour to drive home.

Pastor Art

Answer 4

Fireball, the K of C is a strictly Catholic fraternal service organization. http://www.kofc.org/un/eb/en/about/index.html

As for Freemasons and Mormons, I am no expert by any means but perhaps the connection is due to similarities between temple rituals and those of the masons. Without first-hand experience, obviously this is just a guess.

Answer 5

Because if you study things from the freemasons and compare them to things in the mormon religion you will find scary similarities. This includes ceremonial things like in the temple, etc.
Even some of the symbols on the temples (look at the SLC one for example) you will see masonic symbols all over it.

Joseph Smith WAS a mason, thats in the records somewhere down the line. Just have to find the ones the church doesnt speak of often to learn all these facts.

Answer 6

The Gold plates are a freemason story, he would only know this if he were a freemason:
12. As predicted after the flood, a great king, named Solomon, came to power and desired to build a sacred house for the in-dwelling of the divine presence.
13. Solomon and his builders, the Masons, while building and excavating for the temple at Mt. Moriah, discovered the cavern and the sacred treasure.
14. After three attempts to obtain the treasure, they were finally successful. Those Masons were very rejoiceful upon receiving these preserved Mysteries.
15. But. three wicked men intervened and committed a horrible crime. They attempted to force one of the Masons, one of the faithful Masons who had discovered the treasure. Hiram Abif; or Hiram, the widow's son, to reveal the hiding (place) and the contents of the hidden treasure.
16. He would not reveal his knowledge and therefore they killed him.
17. While being slain, Hiram. with uplifted hands, cried out, "Oh Lord, My God, is there no help for the widow's son?" This has since become a general Masonic distress call.
18. Then three loyal Masons, seeking revenge, pursued the three evil ones.
19. One of the three faithful Masons overtook one of the arch-villains. He was asleep with his word, or knife, nearby. 20. The Mason slew the villain with his own knife by cutting off his head.
21. In Masonic ceremonies, the words ``strike off his head" were employed.
22. Also in Masonic ceremonies, in revolutionary France, the re-enacting of the killing of this villain. the tyrant's name was King Philippe le Bel (Philip IV or the Fair who destroyed the Knights Templar. M. B. H.)
23. The loyal Mason was rewarded by King Solomon.
24. The recovered treasures then became part of the temple treasury. It consisted of the brass records, the gold plate, the metal ball, the breast plate and the urim and thummim.
Such is the Masonic legend of the Secret Doctrine, or the sacred treasure in the sacred hill, or the treasure of the widow's son.
The parallels of Joseph Smith and the history of Mormonism are so unmistakable, that to explain them only as coincidence would be ridiculous.
Joseph Smith was named Enoch, even by God. He was 25 when he brought forth his sacred record. His sacred record was buried in the hill by a man who had the initial "M". There were GOLD PLATES containing the mysteries of God. They were also in Egyptian hieroglyphics or some Egyptian form. There were brass plates, which also contained an account of the creation of the world. There was another record which contained an account of the tower of Babel. The cavity in the hill, and the hill and the cavity Joseph both saw in vision, was covered with a stone lid. The other treasures in the stone box were the breastplate, the urim and thummim, as well as the round metal ball which served as a director and was called the Liahona.
Joseph Smith also claimed to be an Israelite, and he too made several fruitless attempts at getting the treasure when he first saw it. Joseph Smith had three witnesses to the Book of Mormon and the record itself bears witness that an arch-villain named Laban, or Laban, was thwarting the availability and accessibility of the sacred records, had his head cut off by his own sword. This prophet also built temples for the in-dwelling of God's spirit. Now these parallels, dramatic as they seem, still do not represent the strangest part of the story. All of these aspects of the legend seem transformed into the history of Joseph Smith, so much so that even it appears to be a kind of symbolic acting out of Masonic lore.
But there is a point in this drama where the action goes beyond metaphor and the symbol merges into a tragic reality. This has to do, of course, with the death of Hiram Abif in the legend and the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, in June Joseph Smith gave himself up to be imprisoned and on June 27, 1844, a mob stormed the little Carthage jail. Hyrum was killed instantly and John Taylor seriously wounded. Joseph Smith, Master Mason and widow's son, went to the window and with upraised hands, commenced giving the Masonic distress call to fraternal Masons who were present in the mob: "Oh, Lord, My God." He was unable to complete his plea and fell out of the window to his death.
How does a Mormon historian interpret Joseph Smith and the Masonic Enoch legend? The parallels demand an answer. Was Joseph Smith the fruition of Enoch's prophecy? Was this an extreme "grabbing on" by the Prophet? Or did mysterious and divine, even magical, forces attach themselves to him? Can anyone deny that Masonic influence on Joseph Smith and the Church, either before or after his personal Masonic membership? The evidence demands comments.
I have attempted to indicate that with regard to Mormonism and Masonry, there remains an abundance of that which is "new under the sun." I do not believe that the Nauvoo story can adequately be told without an inquiry into Masonry.
There are many questions which still demand the answers. I earnestly hope I have raised some questions. Perhaps I have answered a few. But if we, as Mormon historians, respond to these questions and myriads like them relative to Masonry in an ostrich-like fashion, with our heads buried in the traditional sand, then I submit: there never will be "any help for the widow's son."

Answer 7

Smith was a Master Mason (he was not a Grand Master) and organized (founded) the Mormon Church...

here is a good site:

http://masonicinfo.com/mormons.htm

to some others:

* the Knights of Columbus is a strictly Catholic group
* deny it all you want, the conspiracy theories are not facts, just anti-mason propoganda.... do some real research and learn the facts and you won't get the thumbs down...
* the only secrecy in masonry is the imagery that anti-masons place on it, masonry has not had secrets for almost 300 years

Answer 8

Joseph Smith Sr. was a freemason too.

Answer 9

Joseph Smith was a Grand Master and he implemented many of Fremasonry stuff to the church shortly after he joined the lodge.

Answer 10

Mormon Temple rituals use Masonic imagery and secrecy.