LDS/Mormon Was Joseph Smith a Mason?

Question

LDS/Mormon Was Joseph Smith a Mason? Before or after the Church started? Any sources from creditable/non anti-LDS sights would greatly appreciated.

freebird - I said I wanted creditable sources. You are not a creditable sources unless you quote a source.

TMFHS Girl - I am LDS too and didn't say it mattered. I just asked a question. Thanks for judging.

Answer 1

Joe Smith became a Freemason (initiated in 1842) after he founded LDS (1829/30).

Here is a good site with no bias: http://www.masonicinfo.com/mormons.htm

to some other points:

* most freemasons do not make the 33rd degree - it is an honrary degree of the Scottish Rite

* really intelligent response Uncle Sam...

* there is no link between LDS and Masonic ritual, there may be similiarity but no linkage...

Answer 2

Was Joseph Smith A Mason

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
LDS/Mormon Was Joseph Smith a Mason?
LDS/Mormon Was Joseph Smith a Mason? Before or after the Church started? Any sources from creditable/non anti-LDS sights would greatly appreciated.

Answer 4

Joseph Smith Freemason

Answer 5

It has been assumed and speculated Joseph Smith was a mason because some of the masonic temple rituals are very similar to LDS temple rituals. I have an interesting explanation for this if you're interested.

Answer 6

No actually the Book of Mormon is supposed to be anti-masonic. The masonic influences on Joseph Smith about 12-13 years after the church was founded after he joined masonry, he used for the church. Washington D.C. is Masonic inspired city. The White house streets to the north, form a pentagram pointing to the White house.

Answer 7

Yes, about three years before his death, he joined the Masons and established the Nauvoo Lodge, F. and A.M. He was hoping that the brotherhood of the Lodge members would help the church. Didn't work. They didn't care that they were destroying fellow Masons.

Answer 8

Yes, he was. He got in a couple of years before he died. He never made 33rd Mason. I hope these help.

http://www.freemason.org/cfo/may_june_2001/mormon.htm
http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/people/joseph_smith/masonry.html

Answer 9

From my understanding he was a member of the Free Masons in New York as was his father and grandfather, etc. That shouldn't matter. I know members of the church today who are Masons in their respective communities. There are also Junior League members, Lions Club, etc. What does it matter? There are Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, etc. parts of these groups as well.

Yes, I am LDS.

Answer 10

yes. 32nd degree.

so was brigham young, and many other early mormons. they were actually encouraged to join the masons in the early days. There are two main reasons why Joseph Smith encouraged the members of the church to join the Masons.

REASON #1: The first reasons was political. At the time the Saints lived in Nauvoo the two political parties were pretty well balanced in numbers in Illinois. It would have been very dangerous for the Saints to have thrown that delicate political balance to one side or the other, but Joseph Smith felt that they had to start to do some things to try to become a part of the mainstream political system and not be on the other side of the fence with any of the big powerful political groups. He knew that because Nauvoo had now become bigger than Chicago and the Mormons pretty much voted as a block that how they voted (republican or democrat)it would mean more violence and possibly death. so... they voted instead for Joseph Smith and effectively ended the election year problem.

In another political move, they also aligned themselves with another powerful group in the state called the Masons. Most of the men in Illinois no matter what political party they belonged to were Masons. Joseph Smith and the other brethren joined the Masonic Order so that they could become brothers with the Masons and seek protection from them to help stop the persecution. It worked well at first, but after about a year there were more Mormon Masons than non Mormon Masons and some became fearful that the mormons would take over the masons. The Masons tried to kick them all out. The Mason issue and the political imbalance issue became very hot issues at that time in church history.

REASON #2 Joseph Smith allowed the members of the church to join the Masonic Order to later help save the lives of the mormons and perhaps specifically future prophet, John Taylor.

Joseph Smith himself became a 32nd degree mason. Being a mason Joseph knew that every mason is under oath to protect the life of any other mason if they give them a certain sign called the distress signal. That sign is given if your life is in danger by raising both your hands high above your head and lowering them three times. If you are where you are in the dark or can not be seen by the other fellow Masons then instead of raising your hands above your head in the distress signal, you can instead call out the words, Oh Lord My God, have mercy on the widows son. If any person who is also a Mason sees or hears that distress signal, they are under obligation and oath themselves to help save you unless it would put their own life in jeopardy.

When Joseph Smith jumped up in the window he did not go there to jump out of the jail window to escape (as some people have thought).... He jumped up into the window so he could be seen in full view by the mob and give the Masonic distress signal so they would be obligated to help him save his life. He jumped up in the window, threw up both of his arms high in the air above his head as the beginning of the distress signal and he also shouted out to any who could not see him, "OH LORD MY GOD...." but before he could lower his arms or finish what he was trying to say, the shots rang out.... bam bam bam. The men in the mob down below seeing him in the window shot him dead before he could finish what he was trying to do or say. He then fell out of the second story window (which would have likely killed him anyway if he had jumped) down to the ground by the well, where he died.

Elder Richards was the one (he was a Dr) who protected JohnTaylor with a matress and hid him under the bed. They were not held in a jail cell, but in the jailers living quarters. The jailer had left thinking there might be trouble. After Joseph was dead, Willard Richards drug John Taylor to the top of the stairs on the matress, and made the distress call. The masons below backed the mob out of the building and allowed him clear passage.

Richards did what he knew would keep the mob from coming up the stairs to kill them. He gave the Masonic distress signal.

After this incidence, most Mormons had little to do with the Masons. In Utah the anti Mormons (who were all still Masons) then started the Masonic order there again in Utah but now it was all Anti-Mormons. They actually made a Masonic ruling that no Mormon could be a Mason in Utah or Idaho. I believe that is still in effect in their rules of the Utah and Idaho Masonic Order today. But many members have joined outside the state of Utah and then moved to Utah or Idaho so the Masons have had to sort of relax the rule because they could not kick them out of the Masons if they were already a Mormon and a Mason when they moved there.