FAIR - User contributions [en]

Homosexuality and the Church of Jesus Christ/Boyd K. Packer October 2010 conference talk

2010-10-19T06:41:24Z

GregKearney: /* A Clarification */

On October 10, 2010, President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke during the Church's semi-annual general conference.

Portions of President Packer's talk caused a firestorm of protest and, often, misrepresentation. This article examines President Packer's address, and compares it to past talks given by President Packer. As will be seen, President Packer's address has been misunderstood and misrepresented.

==A Clarification==

President Packer's talk was presented to a world-wide audience. The original audio and visual files continue to be available [http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1298-23,00.html here] on the Church's official website. The originals have also been provided to those who produce material for the blind and print disabled, a clear sign that the Church does not intend to "suppress" or repudiate them.

Misrepresentation and misunderstanding began soon after the talk was delivered. (Ironically, though President Packer did not mention same sex attraction specifically—and despite the fact that he both opened and closed his talk with a discussion of pornography—many listeners applied his wording and reasoning solely to issues of homosexual temptation.) The resulting flurry of comment and complaint led a Church spokesman to indicate that President Packer's meaning had been clarified in the published version of the talk:

:The Monday following every General Conference, each speaker has the opportunity to make any edits necessary to clarify differences between what was written and what was delivered or to clarify the speaker’s intent. President Packer has simply clarified his intent.{{ref|scott.trotter.1}}

The published version is now available on-line [http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1298-23,00.html here]. The key passage of interest is compared in the table below.
<center>
{| valign="top" border="1" style="width:80%"
!Spoken Version!!Edited Print Version
|-
| Some suppose that they were preset and cannot overcome what they feel are inborn tendencies toward the impure and unnatural. Not so! Why would our Heavenly Father do that to anyone? Remember, He is our Heavenly Father.|| Some suppose that they were preset and cannot overcome what they feel are inborn temptations toward the impure and unnatural. Not so! Remember, God is our Heavenly Father.
|-
|}
</center>

Clearly, the Church cannot be intending to suppress or hide President Packer's original comments, since it continues to make his original address available. Church spokesmen have also pointed out directly to the media that the printed version has been clarified. This would be a strange way to run a cover-up.

It is also clear in context that President Packer's meaning in the original talk is reflected in the edited print version. For example, in both his spoken and printed version, immediately following the above phrases, President Packer said/wrote:

:Paul promised that “God . . . will not suffer you to be '''tempted''' above that ye are able; but will with the '''temptation''' also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” You can, if you will, '''break the habits and conquer an addiction''' and come away from that which is not worthy of any member of the Church. As Alma cautioned, we must “watch and pray continually.”

:Isaiah warned, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

In context, President Packer was clearly speaking about being able to resist ''temptation''. His use of the word "tendencies" led some to assume that he was arguing that such inborn temptations could be eliminated. But, such a reading is inconsistent with the scriptural citation which he uses to prove his point—Paul does not argue that Christians will be freed from temptation, but rather that they need not yield to temptation. It would indeed make little sense for God to allow us to have temptations we could not resist—such a state contradicts the core LDS doctrine of moral agency (see {{s||DC|101|78}}).

==Past talks on the same issue==

It would be unlikely for President Packer to suddenly espouse a position on issues of same sex attraction or other sexual sins which differed from his long-expressed position. In DATE, at President Spencer W. Kimball's request, then-Elder Packer addressed BYU on the subject of homosexual temptation.{{ref|swk.1}} It is clear from this early talk that Elder Packer regarded such temptations as deep, and relatively fixed. He even went so far as to indicate that those thus afflicted might have to spend ''the rest of their lives'' resisting such temptations. This view is in keeping with both his original address, and the clarification issued in print. In neither case does it match with the claim which critics wish to put in President Packer's mouth--that temptations to homosexual acts can, in all cases, be eliminated. President Packer taught precisely the opposite more than thirty years earlier. He made it very clear that in some cases at least, the member might well struggle for their entire life to resist these temptations or tendencies. After having compared such struggles to the need to undergo serious surgery, he said:

:[194] And yet our hospitals are full to overflowing with patients. They count it quite worthwhile to submit to treatment, however painful. They struggle through long periods of recuperation and '''sometimes must be content with a limited life-style thereafter, in some cases in order just to live'''. Is it not reasonable that recuperation from this disorder might be somewhat comparable?...

:[195] Now, I hope I will not disappoint you too much if I say at once that '''I do not know of any quick spiritual cure-all'''. Setting aside miracles for the moment, in which I firmly believe, generally I do not know of some spiritual shock treatment that will sear the soul of an individual and '''instantly kill this kind of temptation-or any other kind, for that matter'''. No spiritual wonder drug that I know of will do it. The cure rests in following for '''a long period of time, and thereafter continually''', some very basic, simple rules for moral and spiritual health....Establish a resolute conviction that you will '''resist for a lifetime, if necessary, any deviate thought or deviate action'''. Do not respond to those feelings; suppress them. Suppression is not a very popular word with many psychologists. Look what happened to society when it became unpopular!...

:[196] Bad thoughts often have to be evicted a hundred times, or a thousand. But '''if they have to be evicted ten thousand times, never surrender to them'''. You are in charge of you. I repeat, it is very, very difficult to eliminate a bad habit just by trying to discard it. Replace it. Read in [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/search?search=matthew+12%3A43-45&do=Search&anonymous_element_1_changed=search Matthew, chapter 12, verses 43 to 45], the parable of the empty house. There is a message in it for you....

:[197] With physical ailments we always want a quick cure. If a prescription hasn't worked by sundown, we want to get another one. For this ailment there is no other prescription that I know about. You will have to grow away from your problem with undeviating—notice that word—''undeviating'' determination. The longer you have been afflicted, or the more deeply you have been involved, the more difficult and the longer the cure. Any relapse is a setback. But if this should happen, refuse to be discouraged. Take your medicine, however bitter it tastes.

:[198]...you yourself can call upon a power that can renew your body. You yourself can draw upon a power that will '''reinforce your will. If you have this temptation-fight it!'''...

:[198]...Oh, if I could only convince you that you are a son or a daughter of Almighty God! You have a righteous spiritual power-an inheritance that you have hardly touched. You have an Elder Brother who is your Advocate, your Strength, your Protector, your Mediator, your Physician. Of Him I bear witness. The Lord loves you! You are a child of God. Face the sunlight of truth. The shadows of discouragement, of disappointment, of deviation will be cast behind you.{{ref|to.the.one.1}}

==Editing an apostle?==

Some few have expressed surprise or disappointment that an apostle's remarks would be edited for publication. Others have assumed that such editing represented a "reigning in" of President Packer by other members of the "Mormon hierarchy." Such an uncharitable reading is inconsistent with the evidence that President Packer's views are not changed on this issue.

Furthermore, it is relatively common practice—in and out of the Church—to edit talks prior to their presentation. President Packer himself expressed his appreciation for those of his fellow leaders or Church employees who, in the past, have suggested changes in wording to avoid confusion:

:I was asked to write an article for the ''Improvement Era''. It was returned with the request that I change some words. I smarted! The replacement words didn't convey exactly what I was trying to say. I balked a bit, and was told that Richard L. Evans, then of the Seventy and magazine editor, had asked that the changes be made....Now, though that article is piled under thirty-five years of paper, I'm glad, very glad, that if someone digs it out, I was "invited" to change it.

:After one of my first general conference talks, I received a call from Joseph Anderson [secretary to the First Presidency]. In a very polite way he said that President McKay and his counselors suggested that I add one word to the text of my talk. Would I mind doing that? Actually the word was in my text, I just failed to read it at the pulpit. A most embarrassing lesson -- the First Presidency! It was easier when Elder Evans corrected my work; even easier when one of my associates was kind enough to do it.

:Only last Friday while putting together some things for a presentation, I read part of it to some brethren from BYU. I noticed they looked at one another at one place in my reading, and I stopped and asked if there was a problem. Finally one of them suggested that I not use a certain scripture that I had included even though it said exactly what I wanted to convey. How dare they suppose that a member of the Twelve didn't know his scriptures! I simply said, "What do you suggest?" He said, "Better find another scripture," and he pointed out that if I put that verse back in context, it was really talking about another subject. Others had used it as I proposed to use it, but it was not really correct. I was very glad to make a change.

:Now you may not need a correlating hand in what you do, but I certainly do. This brother lingered after the meeting to thank me for being patient with him. Thank me! I was thankful to him. If I ever make that presentation, it will only be after some of our Correlation staff have checked it over for me.{{ref|bkp.1}}

President Packer's message was clear to many who heard it. Some honestly misunderstood him, and some seem to have actively sought a hostile reading. In this context, a clarification was appropriate so there can be no mistake.

==Propaganda and tactics==

Given that same-sex attraction is a charged issue with political overtones, it is not surprising that some sincerely misunderstood President Packer's talk. One would think that the clarification which he offered would be sufficient to calm any of their concerns.

As the ''Deseret News'' noted, however,

:Instead of seeking genuine common ground around issues of mutual concern, activists began this week with a grossly misguided caricature of the LDS Church's support of traditional morality.

:The tactic is now all-too familiar: take a statement out of context, embellish it with selective interpretation, presume hostile intent, and then use the distortion to isolate an entire group, in this case a church. {{ref|deseret.news.1}}

In 1993, two gay activists wrote a call-to-arms to their community, in which they outlined the strategies that they felt would be most successful in securing societal tolerance of homosexual acts as normal and appropriate. Among other techniques, they suggested "a propaganda campaign" (xxviii):

:There's a naive notion among folks in general—especially among gays—that you can argue a person out of a prejudice (such as homohatred) by overwhelming him with facts and logic about the group he hates. This is untrue....

:Logically speaking, nothing whatever is either disgusting or sinful, except as one feels it to be so...

:...if we're going to enter into arguments with [those who disagree with us] we'd better have a strong emotional appeal in our back pocket.

:...it gets a little tiresome to keep seeing and hearing [gays who]... damn all proposals as politically incorrect to precisely the degree that they rely upon cunning manipulation rather than pugnacity....

:...thus, propagandistic advertising can depict homophobic and homohating bigots as crude loudmouths...who are 'not Christian.' It can show them being criticized, hated, shunned. It can depict gays experiencing horrific suffering as the direct result of homohatred—suffering of which even most bigots would be ashamed to be the cause....Note that the bigot need not actually be made to ''believe'' that he is such a heinous creature, that others will now despise him, and that he has been the immoral agent of suffering....Rather, our effect is achieved without reference to facts, logic, or proof....

:...The objection will be raised...that we would 'Uncle TOmmify' the gay community; that we are exchanging one false sterotype for another equally false; that our ads are lies; that that is ''not'' how ''all'' gays actually look; that gays know it, and bigots know it. Yes of course—we know it, too. But it makes no difference that the ads are lies; not to us, because we're using them to ethically good effect, to counter negative stereotypes that are every bit as much lies, and far more wicked ones....{{ref|after.the.ball.1}}

Simply put, many dislike talk of sin, and are angered by those who claim to warn against it with divine authority. Many realize that they have not prevailed via a reasoned, rational discussion of the facts, and know that an ''emotional'' appeal is the only way of achieving their goals. It is not surprising, then, that some have responded to President Packer's warning by attacking the messenger, reading him in a hostile light, caricaturing his message, reading his mind, and ascribing a variety of distasteful or even evil motives to him or the Church and its members.

All of this propaganda and smokescreen should be recognized for what it is—an effort to vilify the messenger, downplay the totality of the message, and shame those who might listen to it.

==Conclusion==

Such tactics are nothing new in politics, and are certainly not new when directed at members of the Church. As President Packer once indicated, he is more concerned about communicating his message clearly:

:While we must act peaceably, we need not submit to unfair accusations and unjustified opposition…As I grow older in age and experience, I grow ever less concerned over whether others agree with us. I grow ever more concerned that they understand us. If they do understand, they have their agency and can accept or reject the gospel as they please.{{ref|bkp.2}}

And, while even a few members of the Church will reject the united voice of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve on the sinful nature of homosexual acts, as well as all other sexual acts outside of marriage, President Packer once remarked:

:There are those within the Church who are disturbed when changes are made with which they disagree or when changes they propose are not made. They point to these as evidence that the leaders are not inspired.

:They write and speak to convince others that the doctrines and decisions of the Brethren are not given through inspiration.

:Two things characterize them: they are always irritated by the word obedience, and always they question revelation. It has always been so.{{ref|bkp.3}}

The core of President Packer's message has been ignored and obscured—and that core is that God will reveal those who desire to do his will above all else how they should choose and how they should act. Obedience—a sign of faith—must always come before revelation and knowledge. But, only both can resolve this issue outside of politics, polemics, and propaganda tactics.

Our temptations and weaknesses do not define who we are, nor do they dictate our acts and choices. President Packer has been misrepresented and sometimes vilified in part so listeners will not even seriously consider the fundamental question—does God speak to prophets and apostles in our day?

:But then, as now, the world did not believe. They say that ordinary men are not inspired; that there are no prophets, no apostles; that angels do not minister unto men—not to ordinary men. That doubt and disbelief have not changed. But now, as then, their disbelief cannot change the truth. We lay no claim to being Apostles of the world—but of the Lord Jesus Christ. The test is not whether men will believe, but whether the Lord has called us—and of that there is no doubt. We do not talk of those sacred interviews that qualify the servants of the Lord to bear a special witness of Him, for we have been commanded not to do so. But we are free, indeed, we are obliged, to bear that special witness.{{ref|bkp.4}}

==Endnotes==
#{{note|scott.trotter.1}} Scott Taylor, "Mormon youths support President Packer through Facebook," ''Deseret News'' (11 October 2010) {{link|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700072794/Mormon-youths-support-President-Packer-through-Facebook.html}}
#{{note|swk.1}} "I was asked on one occasion by President Kimball if I would care to talk to the students at Brigham Young University on the subject of perversion. I begged him to excuse me from doing it, for I thought myself incapable of talking on that subject to a mixed audience. Later I repented of having declined the invitation and worked with great care to do as he had asked me to do. While "To the One" was given before a large audience at a Brigham Young University fireside, I singled out the afflicted individual for help, and also tried to inform and guide anyone who might have responsibility to help "the one" find his way." - Boyd K. Packer, ''That All May Be Edified'' (Bookcraft, 1982), 154.
#{{note|to.the.one.1}} "To The One," address given to twelve-stake fireside, Brigham Young University (5 March 1978); reprinted in Boyd K. Packer, ''That All May Be Edified'' (Bookcraft, 1982), 186–200, emphasis added; italics in original.
#{{note|bkp.1}} Boyd K. Packer, "Talk to the All-Church Coordinating Council," (18 May 1993).
#{{note|deseret.news.1}} Editorial, "A call for civility following Mormon Apostle Boyd K. Packer’s address," ''Deseret News'' (10 October 2010) {{link|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/mobile/article/700072199/A-call-for-civility-following-Mormon-Apostle-Boyd-K-Packers-address.html}}
#{{note|after.the.ball.1}} Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen, ''After the Ball'' (Plume, 1990), 112, 139-141, 151-154.
#{{note|bkp.2}} An address given at the Church Educational System fireside at BYU on 1 February 1998; reproduced in {{Ensign1|author=Boyd K. Packer|article=The Peaceable Followers of Christ|date=April 1998|pages=62}} {{link|url=http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=b7f8605ff590c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD}}
#{{note|bkp.3}} {{Ensign1|author=Boyd K. Packer|article=Revelation in a Changing World|dates=November 1989|pages=16}} {{link|url=http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=63e82150a447b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD}}
#{{note|bkp.4}} {{Ensign1|author=Boyd K. Packer|article=A Tribute to the Rank and File of the Church|date=May 1980|pages=65}} {{link|url=http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=1a17615b01a6b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD}}

Joseph Smith/Martyrdom/Masonic cry of distress

2010-04-04T10:24:09Z

GregKearney: /* Conclusion */

{{JosephSmithPortal}}
{{draft}}<br>
{{question}}

==Question==
Just before Joseph Smith died, did he begin to give the Masonic cry of distress?


==Answer==
It is reported that Joseph Smith uttered the words "Oh Lord, my God" as he stood at a second floor window in Carthage Jail -- just before he was shot by members of a mob. The words that accompany the Masonic 'Grand Hailing Sign of Distress' are "Oh Lord, my God, is there no help for the widow's son?"

'''John Taylor''' [eyewitness to the martyrdom; Master Mason]: In Carthage jail Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith "gave such signs of distress as would have commanded the interposition and benevolence of Savages or Pagans. They were both Masons in good standing. . . . Joseph's last exclamation was, 'O Lord, my God!'" (''Times and Seasons'', vol. 5, no. 13, 15 July 1844, 585).

'''Heber C. Kimball''': "Masons, it is said, were even among the mob that murdered Joseph and Hyrum in Carthage jail. Joseph, leaping the fatal window, gave the Masonic signal of distress. The answer was the roar of his murderers' muskets" (Orson F. Whitney, ''Life of Heber C. Kimball'' [Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1888], 26).

'''Zina D. H. Young''' [1878]: "I am the daughter of a Master Mason [i.e., daughter of Heber C. Kimball]! I am the widow of a Master Mason [i.e., Joseph Smith] who, when leaping from the window of Carthage jail pierced with bullets, made the Masonic sign of distress; but . . . those signs were not heeded" (Andrew Jenson, ''Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia'' [Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Company, 1901], 1:698). [NOTE: Zina's statement about 'leaping the window' matches very closely with what her father -- Heber C. Kimball -- said about the incident. But it must be kept in mind that Heber C. Kimball was not an eyewitness to what happened]

==Conclusion==
From the above accounts as well as from contemporary non-Mormon accounts it would seem clear that the last words of Joseph Smith, Jr. were indeed assumed by LAtter-day Saints of the time as being the Masonic cry of distress.

==Endnotes==

==Further Reading==

===FAIR wiki articles===
{{MasonryWiki}}

===FAIR web site===
{{MasonryFAIR}}

===DVD/MP3===
{{MasonryDVD}}

===External links===
{{MasonryLinks}}

===Printed material===
{{MasonryPrinted}}

===Related papers===
{{MasonryRelated}}

Mormonism and popular media/Dan Brown's next book and Mormonism

2009-09-19T01:16:31Z

GregKearney: /* Issue */

==Issue==
There was much speculation that the LDS Church would be featured in the sequel to the ''The DaVinci Code'' published in September 2009 as ''The Lost Symbol''.


==Response==
On the dust-jacket of ''The DaVinci Code'' author Dan Brown provided a clue about the nature of his upcoming novel by cryptically spelling out the phrase "Is there no help for the widow's son?" This is a phrase that is learned in every Masonic lodge when an initiate becomes a Master Mason. This clue pointed to the fact that Brown's new book would focus on Freemasonry.

When a Google search is performed on the phrase "Is there no help for the widow's son?" there are several page returns for a talk which was given in 1974 by Reed C. Durham at a meeting of the Mormon History Association. Since Durham's presentation spoke of Joseph Smith Jr. and the institution of Freemasonry some people drew the conclusion that perhaps Dan Brown's new literary work would deal, in a substantial way, with Mormons as well as Masons and it might speak of a connection between the two organizations.

It turned out that Dan Brown did refer to Mormonism in his fictional book called ''The Lost Symbol.'' The material appears in two short paragraphs within the manuscript.

On page 79 of the United Kingdom / Commonwealth edition. In an extened quote where Langdon talks about various inprobable stories in various religious traditions including the parting of the Red Sea we read:

"...to Joseph Smith using magic eyeglasses to translate the Book of Mormon from a series of gold plates he found buried in upstate New York. ''Wide acceptance of an idea is not proof of its validity.''"

The last sentence being printed in italic.

BROWN, Dan. The Lost Symbol. London, Transworld Publishers 2009 p. 79

In addition, he used the erroneous phrase "baptism of the dead" (instead of "for" the dead), once. In both paragraphs in the volume where Joseph Smith or the doctrine he established or his personal history are mentioned they are being compared with other religious figures and practices.

There are no connections made in ''The Lost Symbol'' between Joseph Smith and the Masonic fraternity.

==Conclusion==
Speculation about Mormonism's role in Dan Brown's latest book turned out to be unfounded.

==Endnotes==

==Further reading==

===FAIR wiki articles===
*[[Temple endowment and Freemasonry]]

Mormonism and popular media/Dan Brown's next book and Mormonism

2009-09-19T01:15:58Z

GregKearney: /* Issue */

==Issue==
There was much speculation that the LDS Church would be featured in the sequel to the ''The DaVinci Code'' published in September 2009 as "The Lost Symbol".


==Response==
On the dust-jacket of ''The DaVinci Code'' author Dan Brown provided a clue about the nature of his upcoming novel by cryptically spelling out the phrase "Is there no help for the widow's son?" This is a phrase that is learned in every Masonic lodge when an initiate becomes a Master Mason. This clue pointed to the fact that Brown's new book would focus on Freemasonry.

When a Google search is performed on the phrase "Is there no help for the widow's son?" there are several page returns for a talk which was given in 1974 by Reed C. Durham at a meeting of the Mormon History Association. Since Durham's presentation spoke of Joseph Smith Jr. and the institution of Freemasonry some people drew the conclusion that perhaps Dan Brown's new literary work would deal, in a substantial way, with Mormons as well as Masons and it might speak of a connection between the two organizations.

It turned out that Dan Brown did refer to Mormonism in his fictional book called ''The Lost Symbol.'' The material appears in two short paragraphs within the manuscript.

On page 79 of the United Kingdom / Commonwealth edition. In an extened quote where Langdon talks about various inprobable stories in various religious traditions including the parting of the Red Sea we read:

"...to Joseph Smith using magic eyeglasses to translate the Book of Mormon from a series of gold plates he found buried in upstate New York. ''Wide acceptance of an idea is not proof of its validity.''"

The last sentence being printed in italic.

BROWN, Dan. The Lost Symbol. London, Transworld Publishers 2009 p. 79

In addition, he used the erroneous phrase "baptism of the dead" (instead of "for" the dead), once. In both paragraphs in the volume where Joseph Smith or the doctrine he established or his personal history are mentioned they are being compared with other religious figures and practices.

There are no connections made in ''The Lost Symbol'' between Joseph Smith and the Masonic fraternity.

==Conclusion==
Speculation about Mormonism's role in Dan Brown's latest book turned out to be unfounded.

==Endnotes==

==Further reading==

===FAIR wiki articles===
*[[Temple endowment and Freemasonry]]

Mormonism and popular media/Dan Brown's next book and Mormonism

2009-09-19T01:14:52Z

GregKearney: /* Response */

==Issue==
There was much speculation that the LDS Church would be featured in the sequel to the ''The DaVinci Code''.


==Response==
On the dust-jacket of ''The DaVinci Code'' author Dan Brown provided a clue about the nature of his upcoming novel by cryptically spelling out the phrase "Is there no help for the widow's son?" This is a phrase that is learned in every Masonic lodge when an initiate becomes a Master Mason. This clue pointed to the fact that Brown's new book would focus on Freemasonry.

When a Google search is performed on the phrase "Is there no help for the widow's son?" there are several page returns for a talk which was given in 1974 by Reed C. Durham at a meeting of the Mormon History Association. Since Durham's presentation spoke of Joseph Smith Jr. and the institution of Freemasonry some people drew the conclusion that perhaps Dan Brown's new literary work would deal, in a substantial way, with Mormons as well as Masons and it might speak of a connection between the two organizations.

It turned out that Dan Brown did refer to Mormonism in his fictional book called ''The Lost Symbol.'' The material appears in two short paragraphs within the manuscript.

On page 79 of the United Kingdom / Commonwealth edition. In an extened quote where Langdon talks about various inprobable stories in various religious traditions including the parting of the Red Sea we read:

"...to Joseph Smith using magic eyeglasses to translate the Book of Mormon from a series of gold plates he found buried in upstate New York. ''Wide acceptance of an idea is not proof of its validity.''"

The last sentence being printed in italic.

BROWN, Dan. The Lost Symbol. London, Transworld Publishers 2009 p. 79

In addition, he used the erroneous phrase "baptism of the dead" (instead of "for" the dead), once. In both paragraphs in the volume where Joseph Smith or the doctrine he established or his personal history are mentioned they are being compared with other religious figures and practices.

There are no connections made in ''The Lost Symbol'' between Joseph Smith and the Masonic fraternity.

==Conclusion==
Speculation about Mormonism's role in Dan Brown's latest book turned out to be unfounded.

==Endnotes==

==Further reading==

===FAIR wiki articles===
*[[Temple endowment and Freemasonry]]

Mormonism and popular media/Dan Brown's next book and Mormonism

2009-09-19T01:14:10Z

GregKearney: /* Response */

==Issue==
There was much speculation that the LDS Church would be featured in the sequel to the ''The DaVinci Code''.


==Response==
On the dust-jacket of ''The DaVinci Code'' author Dan Brown provided a clue about the nature of his upcoming novel by cryptically spelling out the phrase "Is there no help for the widow's son?" This is a phrase that is learned in every Masonic lodge when an initiate becomes a Master Mason. This clue pointed to the fact that Brown's new book would focus on Freemasonry.

When a Google search is performed on the phrase "Is there no help for the widow's son?" there are several page returns for a talk which was given in 1974 by Reed C. Durham at a meeting of the Mormon History Association. Since Durham's presentation spoke of Joseph Smith Jr. and the institution of Freemasonry some people drew the conclusion that perhaps Dan Brown's new literary work would deal, in a substantial way, with Mormons as well as Masons and it might speak of a connection between the two organizations.

It turned out that Dan Brown did refer to Mormonism in his fictional book called ''The Lost Symbol.'' The material appears in two short paragraphs within the manuscript.

On page 79 of the United Kingdom / Commonwealth edition. In an extened quote where Langdon talks about various inprobable stories in various religious traditions including the parting of the Red Sea we read:

"...to Joseph Smith using magic eyeglasses to translate the Book of Mormon from a series of gold plates he found buried in upstate New York. Wide acceptance of an idea is not proof of its validity."

The last sentence being printed in italic.

BROWN, Dan. The Lost Symbol. London, Transworld Publishers 2009 p. 79

In addition, he used the erroneous phrase "baptism of the dead" (instead of "for" the dead), once. In both paragraphs in the volume where Joseph Smith or the doctrine he established or his personal history are mentioned they are being compared with other religious figures and practices.

There are no connections made in ''The Lost Symbol'' between Joseph Smith and the Masonic fraternity.

==Conclusion==
Speculation about Mormonism's role in Dan Brown's latest book turned out to be unfounded.

==Endnotes==

==Further reading==

===FAIR wiki articles===
*[[Temple endowment and Freemasonry]]

Answers to Questions All Mormons Should Ask Themselves

2008-02-14T01:58:46Z

GregKearney: /* <br />41. Why do Mormons not study Hebrew and Greek so that they can intelligently discuss the accuracy of the translation of the Bible? */

{{DoYouHaveQuestions}}

==Answers to ''Questions All Mormons Should Ask Themselves''==

Anti-Mormon literature tends to recycle common themes. One popular approach over the years is for critics to ask a series of "questions" under the guise of sincerity, but with the ultimate aim of casting doubt upon faith or tripping up members of the Church.

Such tactics are not new; Jesus repeatedly faced questioners from among critics during His earthly ministry.

One set of questions that has made rounds is found at Contender Ministries. Entitled ''Questions All Mormons Should Ask Themselves,'' the list consists of 58 questions detailed and answered on this page.

In the questions, there may be two items after each question: '''Scripture reference''' and '''Other reference.''' These references are given as references for the actual questions by Contender Ministries.

__TOC__

===<br />1. If Gods are individuals who have passed through mortality and have progressed to Godhood, how has one person of the Trinity (the Holy Spirit) attained Godhood without getting a body?===

Scripture reference: {{b||Acts|5|3-4}}

===<br />2. If Gods are individuals who have passed through an earth life to attain Godhood, how is it that one person of the Trinity (Jesus Christ) was God before He received a body or passed through earth life?===

'''Scripture reference:''' {{b||Matthew|1|23}} and {{b||Hebrews|10|5}}

===<br />3. If the Book of Mormon really contains the fullness of the Gospel, why does it not teach the doctrine of “eternal progression”?===

'''Scripture reference:''' D&C 20:8,9

===<br />4. God said, “Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any”. How can there be Gods who are Elohim’s ancestors? Surely an all-knowing God would know this and wouldn’t speak falsehoods.===

'''Scripture reference:''' Isa. 44:8
'''Other reference:''' Journal of Discourses Vol. 1, pg. 123

===<br />5. How can any men ever become Gods when the Bible says, “Before me there was no god formed, neither shall there be after me”?===

'''Scripture reference:''' Isaiah 43:10

===<br />6. If Adam is the “only God with whom we have to do”, did Adam create himself?===

'''Other reference:''' Journal of Discourses Vol. 1, pg. 50, 51

===<br />7. Joseph Smith stated that without the ordinances and authority of the priesthood no man can see the face of God and live (D & C 84:21, 22). He also said that he saw God in 1820 (Joseph Smith 2:17). Joseph Smith, however, never received any priesthood until 1829 (D&C 13). How did he see God and survive? In which was he in error: his revelation in D & C 84:21, 22 or his experience in the grove?===

===<br />8. If a spirit is a being without a body (See Luke 24:39), why do Mormons teach that God the Father has a body of flesh and bones?===

'''Scripture reference:''' See John 4:24

===<br />9. If the Father is Elohim and Jesus is Jehovah (as the Mormons teach), how does a Mormon explain Deuteronomy 6:4, which in the Hebrew says, “Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our Elohim is one Jehovah”?===

===<br />10. If the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the Gospel, why doesn’t it teach that God was once a man?===

===<br />11. If Mormonism is the restored church, which is based upon the Bible, why are Mormon leaders so quick to state that the Bible is “translated wrong” when faced with some conflict between the Bible and Mormonism?===

===<br />12. If Jesus was conceived as a result of a physical union between God and Mary, how was Jesus born of a virgin?===

'''Other reference:''' Journal of Discourses Vol. 1, page 50

===<br />13. Why did Christ not return in 1891 as Joseph Smith predicted?===

'''Other reference:''' History of the Church, Vol. 2 page 182

===<br />14. Journal of Discourses Vol. 2, page 210 says Jesus was being married to Mary and Martha in Cana. Why then was he INVITED to his own wedding?===

'''Scripture reference:''' John 2:1,2

===<br />15. Why does the Mormon church teach that there is no eternal hell when the Book of Mormon teaches that there is?===

'''Scripture reference:''' I Nephi 14:3, II Ne. 9:16;28: 21-23, Mosiah 3:25, Alma 34:35, Heleman 6:28 and 3:25,26

===<br />16. How can Mormons teach that the repentant thief was not saved when the Book of Mormon states that Paradise is where the righteous go? (Luke 23:43, Alma 40:12, 16)===

===<br />17. How did Nephi with a few men on a new continent build a temple like Solomon’s while Solomon needed 163,300 workmen and seven years to build his temple? (See I Kings 5:13-18 and II Nephi 5:15-17)===

===<br />18. If the book of Mormon is true, why hasn’t a valid geography been established for the book?===

===<br />19. Why was Joseph Smith still preaching against polygamy in October 1843 after he got his revelation in July 1843 commanding the practice of polygamy? (D & C 132; and History of the Church Vol. 6, page 46, or Teachings of the Prophet, page 324)===

===<br />20. If Lehi left Jerusalem before 600 B.C., how did he learn about synagogues? (See II Nephi 26:26)===

===<br />21. If the Book of Mormon is true, why do Indians fail to become white when they become Mormons? (II Nephi 30:6 – prior to 1981 revision)===

===<br />22. What kind of chariots did the Nephites have in 90 B.C. some 1500 years before the introduction of the wheel on the Western Hemisphere? (Alma 18:9)===

===<br />23. How do Mormons account for the word “church” in the Book of Mormon, about 600 B.C., which was centuries before the beginning of the Church on the day of Pentecost? (I Nephi 4:26)===

===<br />24. How do Mormons account for the italicized words in the King James Version (indicating their absence in the Hebrew and Greek) being found in the Book of Mormon? (A comparison of Mosiah 14 and Isaiah 53 will provide at least 13 examples)===

===<br />25. How did the French word “adieu” get into the Book of Mormon? (Jacob 7:27)===

===<br />26. Was it right or wrong for Solomon to have many wives? (See Jacob 2:24; D & C 132:38,39) Which is it?===

===<br />27. If polygamy was a provision for increasing population rapidly, why did God give Adam only one wife?===

===<br />28. D&C 129:4, 5 says, “When a messenger comes saying he has a message from God, offer him your hand and request him to shake hands with you. If he be an angel he will do so, and you will feel his hand.” How can this test distinguish between an angel of God and a Jehovah’s Witness missionary...or a Mormon Elder.===

===<br />29. If Joseph Smith was a true prophet, why did he fail to realize that “Elias” is the N.T. form of the name “Elijah”? (D & C 110:12,13 and 1 Kings 17:1 and James 5:17) How could Elijah (Elias) have appeared to Joseph Smith in the Kirkland Temple as two different people?===

===<br />30. If children have no sins until they are eight years old, why are they baptized at age eight to wash away non-existent sins? (See Moroni 8:8)===

===<br />31. How could the Garden of Eden have been in Missouri when the Pearl of Great Price declares that it was in the vicinity of Assyria and had the Euphrates and Hiddekel Rivers in it? (See P of GP Moses 3:14 and D&C 116 and 117; Genesis 2:8-15)===

===<br />32. Brigham Young said, “The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy”. (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 11, page 269) Why did the Mormons yield to the pressure of the government and stop practicing polygamy?===

===<br />33. Heber C. Kimball stated, “We are th people of Deseret, she shall be no more Utah: we will have our own name”. Why did this prophecy fail? (J of D. Vol. 5, page 161)===

===<br />34. How did Joseph Smith carry home the golden plates of the Book of Mormon, and how did the witnesses lift them so easily? (They weighted about 230 lbs. Gold, with a density of 19.3 weighs 1204.7 lbs. Per cubic foot. The plates were 7” x 8” by about 6”. See Articles of Faith, by Talmage, page 262, 34th Ed.)===

===<br />35. When Christ died, did darkness cover the land for three days of for three hours? (See Luke 23:44 and III Nephi 8:19, 23)===

===<br />36. If the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, why have the Mormons changed it? (There have been over 3,000 changes in the Book of Mormon, exclusive of punctuation changes)===

===<br />37. If God speaks through a prophet, why do Mormons vote on whether or not to receive and authorize it?===

===<br />38. It has been established that the “Sensen” manuscript was simply a common Egyptian burial papyrus. Why do the Mormons still accept the Book of Abraham which was translated from that manuscript?===

===<br />39. Why is it that no other writings have been found in the language of “Reformed Egyptian”, the supposed language of the Book of Mormon plates? Is there evidence that such a language really existed?===

===<br />40. Joseph Smith said that there are men living on the moon who dress like Quakers and live to be nearly 1000 years old. Since he was wrong about the moon, is it safe to trust him regarding the way to heaven? (See The Young Woman’s Journal, Vol 3, pages 263, 264.)===

===<br />41. Why do Mormons not study Hebrew and Greek so that they can intelligently discuss the accuracy of the translation of the Bible?===
A: We do see: http://saas.byu.edu/catalog/2008-2009ucat/departments/HCCL/GreekEmph.php and http://asiane.byu.edu/heb.php

===<br />42. Joseph Smith prepared fourteen Articles of Faith. Why has the original No. 11 been omitted?===

===<br />43. According to Hebrews 7:24, the Melchizedek Priesthood is not transferable. Why do Mormons pass it from one to another?===

===<br />44. If Mormonism came as a revelation from God, why are the Mormon Temple Oaths almost identical to the oaths of the Masonic Lodge?===
A: They are not the same. The LDS temple patrons make commitments to live by the gospel of Jesus Christ. to obey the law of chastity, consecration of time and talents and other religious tenants.

In Masonry our oaths center around the promotion of brotherhood of the fraternity, aiding our fellow Masons their widows and orphans in times of distress and in holding inviolate the means of identifying a fellow Mason. So while the temple teaches man relationship with God and Christ the Masonic Lodge teaches of man's relationship to his fellow men.

Greg Kearney, Franklin Lodge #123 A.F.&A.M.

===<br />45. Why did the Nauvoo House not stand forever and ever? (D&C 124:56-60)===

===<br />46. If genealogies are important, why does the New Testament tell Christians to avoid them? (I Timothy 1:4; Titus 3:9)===

===<br />47. The Bible says, “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin”. Why did Brigham Young say that there are some sins which can be atoned for only by the shedding of ones own blood.===

===<br />48. God rejected the fig leaf aprons which Adam and Eve made. Why do Mormons memorialize the fall by using fig leaf aprons? (Gen. 3:21)===

===<br />49. Why do Mormons insist that Ezekiel 37:15-22 is about two books instead of about two kingdoms as god Himself explained in verse 22?===

===<br />50. If Acts 3:20, 21 is a prophecy about the restoration of Mormonism, why didn’t Jesus return in 1830?===

===<br />51. Revelation 14:6,7 is part of the body of prophecy about the future Great Tribulation. How could that passage have been fulfilled by Moroni in 1830?===

===<br />52. In light of Ezekiel 28:13-15 and Hebrews 1:5, how can Satan and Jesus be brothers (as the Mormons teach)? (note: Satan was created)===

===<br />53. If no person ever receives the Holy Spirit before baptism or without the laying on of hands, how does a Mormon explain the case of Cornelius? (See Acts 10:44-47)===

===<br />54. If baptism for the dead was a Christian ceremony, why did Paul use the pronoun “they” rather than “we” or “ye”? Why did he exclude himself and other Christians when referring to it? (I Cor. 15:29)===

===<br />55. Since the Bible says that a Bishop should be the husband of one wife, how can Mormons claim that polygamy is proper for New Testament Christians? (I Timothy 3:2)===

===<br />56. Why does the Mormon church teach that the broad way leads to the Terrestrial Heaven when Jesus taught that it leads to destruction? (Matthew 7:13, 14)===

===<br />57. Are you sincere enough about your personal salvation that you will carefully study the following Bible references to discover the Bible’s way to salvation?===

John 10:9; I Corinthians 1:18; Ephesians 2:8-10; Colossians 1:12-14; Romans 4:8; I Peter 2:24; Acts 16:31; John 1:12; I John 5:12, 13; Romans 5:1 and Romans 8:1

===<br />58. Are you courageous enough to personally receive the Lord Jesus Christ into your heart and follow the truth regardless of ridicule, antagonism or persecution?===
John 1:12; Col. 1:27, and Revelation 3:20

{{DoYouHaveQuestions}}

==Footnotes==

Answers to Questions All Mormons Should Ask Themselves

2008-02-14T01:50:10Z

GregKearney: /* <br />44. If Mormonism came as a revelation from God, why are the Mormon Temple Oaths almost identical to the oaths of the Masonic Lodge? */

{{DoYouHaveQuestions}}

==Answers to ''Questions All Mormons Should Ask Themselves''==

Anti-Mormon literature tends to recycle common themes. One popular approach over the years is for critics to ask a series of "questions" under the guise of sincerity, but with the ultimate aim of casting doubt upon faith or tripping up members of the Church.

Such tactics are not new; Jesus repeatedly faced questioners from among critics during His earthly ministry.

One set of questions that has made rounds is found at Contender Ministries. Entitled ''Questions All Mormons Should Ask Themselves,'' the list consists of 58 questions detailed and answered on this page.

In the questions, there may be two items after each question: '''Scripture reference''' and '''Other reference.''' These references are given as references for the actual questions by Contender Ministries.

__TOC__

===<br />1. If Gods are individuals who have passed through mortality and have progressed to Godhood, how has one person of the Trinity (the Holy Spirit) attained Godhood without getting a body?===

Scripture reference: {{b||Acts|5|3-4}}

===<br />2. If Gods are individuals who have passed through an earth life to attain Godhood, how is it that one person of the Trinity (Jesus Christ) was God before He received a body or passed through earth life?===

'''Scripture reference:''' {{b||Matthew|1|23}} and {{b||Hebrews|10|5}}

===<br />3. If the Book of Mormon really contains the fullness of the Gospel, why does it not teach the doctrine of “eternal progression”?===

'''Scripture reference:''' D&C 20:8,9

===<br />4. God said, “Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any”. How can there be Gods who are Elohim’s ancestors? Surely an all-knowing God would know this and wouldn’t speak falsehoods.===

'''Scripture reference:''' Isa. 44:8
'''Other reference:''' Journal of Discourses Vol. 1, pg. 123

===<br />5. How can any men ever become Gods when the Bible says, “Before me there was no god formed, neither shall there be after me”?===

'''Scripture reference:''' Isaiah 43:10

===<br />6. If Adam is the “only God with whom we have to do”, did Adam create himself?===

'''Other reference:''' Journal of Discourses Vol. 1, pg. 50, 51

===<br />7. Joseph Smith stated that without the ordinances and authority of the priesthood no man can see the face of God and live (D & C 84:21, 22). He also said that he saw God in 1820 (Joseph Smith 2:17). Joseph Smith, however, never received any priesthood until 1829 (D&C 13). How did he see God and survive? In which was he in error: his revelation in D & C 84:21, 22 or his experience in the grove?===

===<br />8. If a spirit is a being without a body (See Luke 24:39), why do Mormons teach that God the Father has a body of flesh and bones?===

'''Scripture reference:''' See John 4:24

===<br />9. If the Father is Elohim and Jesus is Jehovah (as the Mormons teach), how does a Mormon explain Deuteronomy 6:4, which in the Hebrew says, “Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our Elohim is one Jehovah”?===

===<br />10. If the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the Gospel, why doesn’t it teach that God was once a man?===

===<br />11. If Mormonism is the restored church, which is based upon the Bible, why are Mormon leaders so quick to state that the Bible is “translated wrong” when faced with some conflict between the Bible and Mormonism?===

===<br />12. If Jesus was conceived as a result of a physical union between God and Mary, how was Jesus born of a virgin?===

'''Other reference:''' Journal of Discourses Vol. 1, page 50

===<br />13. Why did Christ not return in 1891 as Joseph Smith predicted?===

'''Other reference:''' History of the Church, Vol. 2 page 182

===<br />14. Journal of Discourses Vol. 2, page 210 says Jesus was being married to Mary and Martha in Cana. Why then was he INVITED to his own wedding?===

'''Scripture reference:''' John 2:1,2

===<br />15. Why does the Mormon church teach that there is no eternal hell when the Book of Mormon teaches that there is?===

'''Scripture reference:''' I Nephi 14:3, II Ne. 9:16;28: 21-23, Mosiah 3:25, Alma 34:35, Heleman 6:28 and 3:25,26

===<br />16. How can Mormons teach that the repentant thief was not saved when the Book of Mormon states that Paradise is where the righteous go? (Luke 23:43, Alma 40:12, 16)===

===<br />17. How did Nephi with a few men on a new continent build a temple like Solomon’s while Solomon needed 163,300 workmen and seven years to build his temple? (See I Kings 5:13-18 and II Nephi 5:15-17)===

===<br />18. If the book of Mormon is true, why hasn’t a valid geography been established for the book?===

===<br />19. Why was Joseph Smith still preaching against polygamy in October 1843 after he got his revelation in July 1843 commanding the practice of polygamy? (D & C 132; and History of the Church Vol. 6, page 46, or Teachings of the Prophet, page 324)===

===<br />20. If Lehi left Jerusalem before 600 B.C., how did he learn about synagogues? (See II Nephi 26:26)===

===<br />21. If the Book of Mormon is true, why do Indians fail to become white when they become Mormons? (II Nephi 30:6 – prior to 1981 revision)===

===<br />22. What kind of chariots did the Nephites have in 90 B.C. some 1500 years before the introduction of the wheel on the Western Hemisphere? (Alma 18:9)===

===<br />23. How do Mormons account for the word “church” in the Book of Mormon, about 600 B.C., which was centuries before the beginning of the Church on the day of Pentecost? (I Nephi 4:26)===

===<br />24. How do Mormons account for the italicized words in the King James Version (indicating their absence in the Hebrew and Greek) being found in the Book of Mormon? (A comparison of Mosiah 14 and Isaiah 53 will provide at least 13 examples)===

===<br />25. How did the French word “adieu” get into the Book of Mormon? (Jacob 7:27)===

===<br />26. Was it right or wrong for Solomon to have many wives? (See Jacob 2:24; D & C 132:38,39) Which is it?===

===<br />27. If polygamy was a provision for increasing population rapidly, why did God give Adam only one wife?===

===<br />28. D&C 129:4, 5 says, “When a messenger comes saying he has a message from God, offer him your hand and request him to shake hands with you. If he be an angel he will do so, and you will feel his hand.” How can this test distinguish between an angel of God and a Jehovah’s Witness missionary...or a Mormon Elder.===

===<br />29. If Joseph Smith was a true prophet, why did he fail to realize that “Elias” is the N.T. form of the name “Elijah”? (D & C 110:12,13 and 1 Kings 17:1 and James 5:17) How could Elijah (Elias) have appeared to Joseph Smith in the Kirkland Temple as two different people?===

===<br />30. If children have no sins until they are eight years old, why are they baptized at age eight to wash away non-existent sins? (See Moroni 8:8)===

===<br />31. How could the Garden of Eden have been in Missouri when the Pearl of Great Price declares that it was in the vicinity of Assyria and had the Euphrates and Hiddekel Rivers in it? (See P of GP Moses 3:14 and D&C 116 and 117; Genesis 2:8-15)===

===<br />32. Brigham Young said, “The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy”. (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 11, page 269) Why did the Mormons yield to the pressure of the government and stop practicing polygamy?===

===<br />33. Heber C. Kimball stated, “We are th people of Deseret, she shall be no more Utah: we will have our own name”. Why did this prophecy fail? (J of D. Vol. 5, page 161)===

===<br />34. How did Joseph Smith carry home the golden plates of the Book of Mormon, and how did the witnesses lift them so easily? (They weighted about 230 lbs. Gold, with a density of 19.3 weighs 1204.7 lbs. Per cubic foot. The plates were 7” x 8” by about 6”. See Articles of Faith, by Talmage, page 262, 34th Ed.)===

===<br />35. When Christ died, did darkness cover the land for three days of for three hours? (See Luke 23:44 and III Nephi 8:19, 23)===

===<br />36. If the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, why have the Mormons changed it? (There have been over 3,000 changes in the Book of Mormon, exclusive of punctuation changes)===

===<br />37. If God speaks through a prophet, why do Mormons vote on whether or not to receive and authorize it?===

===<br />38. It has been established that the “Sensen” manuscript was simply a common Egyptian burial papyrus. Why do the Mormons still accept the Book of Abraham which was translated from that manuscript?===

===<br />39. Why is it that no other writings have been found in the language of “Reformed Egyptian”, the supposed language of the Book of Mormon plates? Is there evidence that such a language really existed?===

===<br />40. Joseph Smith said that there are men living on the moon who dress like Quakers and live to be nearly 1000 years old. Since he was wrong about the moon, is it safe to trust him regarding the way to heaven? (See The Young Woman’s Journal, Vol 3, pages 263, 264.)===

===<br />41. Why do Mormons not study Hebrew and Greek so that they can intelligently discuss the accuracy of the translation of the Bible?===

===<br />42. Joseph Smith prepared fourteen Articles of Faith. Why has the original No. 11 been omitted?===

===<br />43. According to Hebrews 7:24, the Melchizedek Priesthood is not transferable. Why do Mormons pass it from one to another?===

===<br />44. If Mormonism came as a revelation from God, why are the Mormon Temple Oaths almost identical to the oaths of the Masonic Lodge?===
A: They are not the same. The LDS temple patrons make commitments to live by the gospel of Jesus Christ. to obey the law of chastity, consecration of time and talents and other religious tenants.

In Masonry our oaths center around the promotion of brotherhood of the fraternity, aiding our fellow Masons their widows and orphans in times of distress and in holding inviolate the means of identifying a fellow Mason. So while the temple teaches man relationship with God and Christ the Masonic Lodge teaches of man's relationship to his fellow men.

Greg Kearney, Franklin Lodge #123 A.F.&A.M.

===<br />45. Why did the Nauvoo House not stand forever and ever? (D&C 124:56-60)===

===<br />46. If genealogies are important, why does the New Testament tell Christians to avoid them? (I Timothy 1:4; Titus 3:9)===

===<br />47. The Bible says, “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin”. Why did Brigham Young say that there are some sins which can be atoned for only by the shedding of ones own blood.===

===<br />48. God rejected the fig leaf aprons which Adam and Eve made. Why do Mormons memorialize the fall by using fig leaf aprons? (Gen. 3:21)===

===<br />49. Why do Mormons insist that Ezekiel 37:15-22 is about two books instead of about two kingdoms as god Himself explained in verse 22?===

===<br />50. If Acts 3:20, 21 is a prophecy about the restoration of Mormonism, why didn’t Jesus return in 1830?===

===<br />51. Revelation 14:6,7 is part of the body of prophecy about the future Great Tribulation. How could that passage have been fulfilled by Moroni in 1830?===

===<br />52. In light of Ezekiel 28:13-15 and Hebrews 1:5, how can Satan and Jesus be brothers (as the Mormons teach)? (note: Satan was created)===

===<br />53. If no person ever receives the Holy Spirit before baptism or without the laying on of hands, how does a Mormon explain the case of Cornelius? (See Acts 10:44-47)===

===<br />54. If baptism for the dead was a Christian ceremony, why did Paul use the pronoun “they” rather than “we” or “ye”? Why did he exclude himself and other Christians when referring to it? (I Cor. 15:29)===

===<br />55. Since the Bible says that a Bishop should be the husband of one wife, how can Mormons claim that polygamy is proper for New Testament Christians? (I Timothy 3:2)===

===<br />56. Why does the Mormon church teach that the broad way leads to the Terrestrial Heaven when Jesus taught that it leads to destruction? (Matthew 7:13, 14)===

===<br />57. Are you sincere enough about your personal salvation that you will carefully study the following Bible references to discover the Bible’s way to salvation?===

John 10:9; I Corinthians 1:18; Ephesians 2:8-10; Colossians 1:12-14; Romans 4:8; I Peter 2:24; Acts 16:31; John 1:12; I John 5:12, 13; Romans 5:1 and Romans 8:1

===<br />58. Are you courageous enough to personally receive the Lord Jesus Christ into your heart and follow the truth regardless of ridicule, antagonism or persecution?===
John 1:12; Col. 1:27, and Revelation 3:20

{{DoYouHaveQuestions}}

==Footnotes==

MormonFAQ

2007-10-16T16:00:10Z

GregKearney:

Mormon FAQ page is under construction.

The purpose of this page is two-fold:

# to provide factual information about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons, the LDS Church);
# to provide reporters and other authors with advice on the consistent use of words, names, places and other elements in writing about the Church and related restorationist groups.

It is hoped that the information given will be helpful to journalists and others who write about restorationist faiths and their members, doctrines, practices, or beliefs.

''Disclosure statment:''While this page is sponsored by a pro-LDS group, every effort has been made to take a neutral position on the issues presented here. There may be links in some of the entries. Be forewarned that following those links may lead to information that is likely sponsored by sources favorable to the religions described.

= WHO ARE THEY? =

==Restorationist Faiths.==

Restorationist faiths or churches are defined as all faiths who can trace their origins to Joseph Smith, Jr. [1805-1844] and the religious manifestations that he reported during his life. Restorationist movements either spring directly from the religious community founded by Smith, or via separation from some other restorationist faith(s), much as Protestant groups broke with Roman Catholicism and then fragmented further.

It is vital that writers maintain a neutral tone when reporting on events. This is of particular concern when the writer is a member of one of the restorationist churches. Pejoratives such as ''apostate'' or ''break-off'' should never be used to describe faith groups, except when directly citing a source. When this is done, it ought to be clear that the characterization belongs to the source, not the media.

===The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS)===

This is the largest of all of the restorationist movements and is based in Salt Lake City.
Note the lower case on the word "day" and the use of hyphenation. Also, since the starting "The" is part of the formal name of the Church, it should be capitalized, even if used in the middle of a sentence.
http://www.lds.org/, http://www.mormon.org/

===The Community of Christ (RLDS)===

Previously known as The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This church is the only other world wide church with in the restorationist movement, and is headquartered in Independence, Mo. Note the lack of hyphenization in "Latter Day," and the fact that both words are capitalized.

http://www.cofchrist.org/

===Restoration Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.===

This group was formally organized in 1991 in response to what they felt was the liberal direction of the Community of Christ (RLDS). Note the lack of hyphenization in "Latter Day," and the fact that both words are capitalized.

===Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints===

This church also broke with the The Community of Christ over the issues of the ordination of women and other changes in that church. Note the lack of hyphenization in "Latter Day," and the fact that both words are capitalized.

http://www.theremnantchurch.com/

===The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS)===

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS Church) is one of America's largest practitioners of plural marriage. The FLDS Church emerged in the 1930s largely because of the LDS Church's continued practice of excommunicating any practitioners of plural marriage. There is no connection between the FLDS Church and the LDS Church, as members of the FLDS church are mostly children or grandchildren of people who were excommunicated from the LDS church because of their practice of polygamy.

Note the lack of hyphenization in "Latter Day," and the fact that both words are capitalized.

===Others===

There are many other small denominations of restorationist churches. The purpose of this guide is not to list them all, but to make interested authors aware that they exist. The various denominations are not affiliated with each other, so it is important to correctly identify which denomination you are referring to in anything you may write. There is no "synod" or "umbrella group" of restorationist movements.

===Mormon===

The term ''Mormon'' was originally used as a pejorative to identify a person who believed in The Book of Mormon (some early critics also used the term ''Mormonite,'' but this quickly fell from favour. Some early newspapers used the term Mormonite. While it may be tempting to use the label "Mormon" to identify all that that belong to a restorationist movement church, that would be incorrect. Using the term "Mormon" without additional modifiers has come to represent members of the Salt Lake City based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is not appropriate to identify members of the Community or Christ or members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints as "Mormon" as that would be confusing. It becomes especially objectionable to the LDS church members to identify members of the FLDS as Mormons because the founders of that denomination were excommunicated from the LDS church.

=ORGANIZATION AND LEADERSHIP=
==The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS)==
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is led at the highest levels by two presiding quorums: The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. [http://www.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=e72c12fccd78f010VgnVCM100000176f620aRCRD&vgnextchannel=3e0511154963d010VgnVCM1000004e94610aRCRD LDS Newsroom - Organizational Structure of the Church]

===The First Presidency===
The First Presidency consists of the President of the Church—often referred to more informally as the Prophet of the Church—and counselors, generally two. Historically there have been occasions when more than two counselors were used, usually when the President of the Church had health issues that would not allow him to function at full administrative capacity.

Upon the death of a councelor, the President will call a replacement—such replacements generally come from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (see below), but any faithful male may be called. If the current President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is called as a counselor in the First Presidency, then the next most senior Apostle is designated as Acting president of the Quorum while he serves in the First Presidency.

The First Presidency is automatically dissolved upon the death of the President—the councelors have no role or authority apart from him. If councelors were members of the Quorum of the Twelve prior to joining the First Presidency, they resume their previous place in the senority of that Quorum. If the President of the Quorum had been selected as a counselor then he resumes his duties as President of the Quorum.

===The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles===
The second governing quorum of the Church is the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Quorum members are called by the First Presidency, and are ranked by seniority. The President of the Quorum is thus that quorum member who has served in the quorum for the longest period of time.

The President presides over this body, and assumes the leadership of the Church upon dissolution of the First Presidency. When this occurs, the pre-eminent function of this body is to reconstitute the First Presidency.

''Exception'': As noted above, councilors of the First Presidency resume their positions within the Quorum of the Twelve upon the death of the Church President, and are ranked by seniority. The longest-serving member of the Quorum of the Twelve is ''always'' the President of the Quorum of the Twelve, even if he is a member of the First Presidency. For administrative reasons, however, the next-longest serving apostle will be designated the "Acting President" of the Quorum of the Twelve.

This situation actually exists at present—President Thomas S. Monson of the First Presidency is the longest-serving apostle after the current Church president. President Monson is thus "President of the Quorum of the Twelve." The next-longest serving apostle is Boyd K. Packer, designated the "Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve" because of President Monson's assignment in the First Presidency.

===Succession in the Church===

Historically, the longest-serving apostle will be chosen by the Quorum of the Twelve to replace a deceased president of the Church. Generally, this will be the President of the Quorum of the Twelve. If, however, the longest-serving apostle was a member of the First Presidency at the death of the Church president, when he resumes his place and senority within the the Quorum of the Twelve he becomes the presiding authority for both the Twelve and the Church.

Once the Quorum of the Twelve has designated a new President of the Church, the President chooses two councelors, generally from among the remaining apostles. This leaves the Quorum of the Twelve with eleven apostles remaining, and a replacement apostle is chosen. Being the most recently called, he assumes the lowest position of senority.

===The Quorums of the Seventy===
The Quorums of the Seventy serve throughout the Church under the direction of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Seventies may help supervise large geographic areas, oversee missionary work, and represent the Church leadership around the globe. The Seventy are presided over by seven presidents that together form a quorum called the Presidents of the Seventy. The roles of the Seventy have, historically, been frequently adapted and altered to meet the needs of a growing Church.

====First Quorum of Seventies====

Members of the First Quorum of Seventy are called for life and serve full-time. They generally receive inactive "emeritus status" at age 75. They are general authorities of the Church, with world-wide responsibility, as assigned by the First Presidency and Twelve.

====Second Quorum of Seventies====

Members of the Second Quorum of Seventy serve full-time for a period of five years. After their term of service, they return to regular occupations and pursuits. They are general authorities of the Church, with world-wide responsibility, as assigned by the First Presidency and Twelve.

====Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Seventies====

Members of these quorums are designated "Area Seventies," and continue their previous occupations. They receive assignments from The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve, generally in geographic areas relatively close to their homes. Members of these quorums are considered "general officers," of the Church, but have no authority except as designated by the First President and Twelve. They can, however, be assigned to any duty anywhere in the world.

The specific quorums are assigned on the basis of geography:
* Third Quorum -
* Fourth Quorum -
* Fifth Quorum -
* Sixth Quorum -
* Seventh Quorum -

===The Presiding Bishopric===
The Presiding Bishopric oversees the work of the Aaronic Priesthood throughout the Church. This includes work related to welfare, building construction and maintenance, and youth programs. The Presiding Bishopric also sits on the "Council for the Distribution of the Tithes," which oversees and manages the Church's financial affairs. '''NEED MORE HERE? Check membership of Council?'''

The Presiding Bishopric consists of a Bishop and two counselors.

===Stake Leadership===
At the local level, the highest governing body is the Stake presidency. A stake oversees a group of local congregations (called wards). The leadership form is patterned after the leadership of the Church. There is a Stake Presidency with a President and two counselors, and a high council of twelve men. Unlike the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, however, the high council has no seniority system. Replacement stake presidents are chosen by the Twelve Apostles or Seventies as assigned, and not necessarily from the high council. All positions in Stake and in Ward leadership are strictly filled by volunteer labor. There is no remuneration for serving in these "callings" so people who serve will also have a regular job outside of their church position. The Stake President also serves as the President of the High Priests Quorum in the Stake.

====Stake Auxillaries====
Most of the auxillary organizations at the ward level have a corresponding stake-level presidency. For example, there are stake level young mens and young womens presidencies, a stake level relief society presidency, and a stake level primary presidency. These presidencies serve as advisors to the Ward level presidencies and provide coordination when multiple wards participate in a project.

===Ward Leadership===
A ward is the local congregation of the Church. The minimum size of a ward is that it must have sufficient priesthood to fill the required positions of leadership within the ward. If there are not enough priesthood then a Branch will be formed. The goal of a ward is to allow all members to contribute to its function so that all might be given the opportunity to serve. It is through service that members perfect themselves in love for their neighbor. If a ward becomes too large to allow all to participate it will generally be divided.

====The Bishopric====
A ward or local congregation is presided over by a Bishopric, which consists of a Bishop and two counselors. Bishops are chosen by stake presidents, and approved by the First Presidency prior to their call. It is a volunteer positions and the Bishop and his counselors receive no income for their position or labor. The Bishop is both Presiding High Priest in the ward and President of the Aaronic Priesthood. As presiding High Priest he watches over the congregation and ministers to the needs of the saints. As President of the Aaronic Priesthood he has a special duty to watch over the youth (ages 12-18) of the congregation and guide them.

In conjunction with other lay priesthood leaders, the Bishopric forms a committee called the Priesthood Executive Committee (PEC). This committee regulates the functioning of local priesthood units. The Bishopric, in conjuction with all other leadership of the ward and its auxilary organizations, form a committee called the Ward Correlation Committee. Through this committee, ward efforts are brought together in unity. The Bishop also presides over the Ward Welfare Committee that watches over members during sickness, financial distress, and other family emergencies.

====Relief Society====
The woman's organization is titled "Relief Society". All women of age 18 or over are members of the Relief Society. It has a president and counselors drawn from its membership. The Relief Society president serves in two important councils of the local congregation. The Ward Correlation Committee, where ward efforts are harmonized, and the Welfare Committee, where physical needs of members of the ward are discussed and efforts are made to relieve sick, impoverished, and otherwise afflicted members. The Relief Society President is often called the "mother of the ward". She is often the first to hear of families in need, and her hands are often the first to respond to that need.

====The Adult (Melchizedek) Priesthood====
Since the LDS Church has a lay ministry, all worthy male members will hold the priesthood. And, since one of the goals of the Church is to "Make bad men good, and good men better" the quorums will work to help men become worthy to hold the priesthood. Holding the priesthood does not require a man to be perfect, nor does it indicate a large amount of training such as might be expected in other faiths. A priesthood holder simply should have a desire to serve God and his fellow man. All priesthood members are expected to serve as home teachers to one or more families in the ward. The home teaching program encourages fellowship throughout the ward while allowing family needs to be brought back to the Bishop. There are two priesthood quorums in the LDS Ward, the High Priests Group and the Elders Quorum.

=====The High Priests Group=====
The High Priests are actually organized on the stake level and the Stake President serves as President of the High Priests Quorum. To serve the High Priests at the local level a High Priest Group Leader is called, and he generally serves with one or more counselors. The High Priests generally are older men and recently the management of Ward Family History Consultants was placed under the High Priest Group Leader. The High Priests have always had an emphasis on Temple work and Family history.
=====Elders Quorum=====
The Elders Quorum includes all men over the age of 18 who are not in High Priests Quorum. The Elder's quorum is presided over by a President and two counselors. Besides home teaching, Elders typically provide service through service projects in the ward to help reach out to those in need.

====Youth Organizations====
=====The Youth (Aaronic) Priesthood=====
Also known as the Young men. This organization includes young men from ages 12 to 18. It is subdivided into three groups; Deacons, Teachers, and Priests. In the USA and in many western european countries each of these has a corresponding scouting name; Deacons - Scouts, Teachers - Ventures, and Priests - Explorers. This represents the dual nature of this organization. On the Priesthood side each quorum has a President and two counselors taken from the quorum. (The Priests Quorum president is the Bishop and he calls a youth assistant to lead the quorum) On the scouting side there is a Young Mens President and two counselors called to oversee the Young Mens program. '''(Perhaps someone could word this better)'''

======Deacons Quorum======
The Deacons Quorum includes all young men ages 12 and 13. This quorum is presided over by a president and two counselors chosen from the quorum. This quorum traditionally provides service by passing the sacrament and collecting fast offerings.

======Teachers Quorum======
The Teachers Quorum includes all young men ages 14 and 15. This quorum is presided over by a president and two counselors chosen from the quorum. This quorum traditionally provides service by preparing the sacrament prior to sacrament meetings and disposing what remains after the meeting and cleaning sacramental trays. These young men also begin service as home teachers, serving as junior companions to Elders.

======Priests Quorum======
The Priests Quorum includes all young men ages 16 and 17, though it can include 18 year olds who haven't finished high school. This quorum is presided over by the Bishop but an assistant is chosen from the quorum to preside under direction of the Bishop. Traditionally this group blesses the sacrament during sacrament meetings and serves as home teachers. Generally they serve as junior companions to High Priests.

=====The Young Women=====
This group includes all young women ages 12 to 18. The young women are presided over by a President and two counselors, women who watch over and provide counsel to the youth presidencies of the subgroups. At one time this organization was know as the Young Womens Mutual Improvement Association or YWMIA. Remnants of this name persist. An example is the name of the 14-15 year old girls, MIA Maids.

======Beehives======
All young women ages 12 and 13. They are presided over by a President and two counselors drawn from their group.

======MIA Maids======
All young women ages 14 and 15. They are presided over by a president and two counselors drawn from their group.

======Laurels======
All young women ages 16 and 17, although an 18 year old may remain in this group until graduating from high school. They are presided over by a president and two counselors drawn from their group.

====Sunday School====
Sunday School is presided over by a President and two counselors. Traditionally these are men, called to oversee the function of the Sunday School. All members over the age of 12 are listed in the Sunday School rolls and are encouraged to participate in the various Sunday School classes.

====Primary====
The children's organization is called "Primary." It is traditionally presided over by a presidency consisting of a president and two counselors, all women. The primary oversees the teaching of all children ages 3 to 12. A nursery for children 18 months to age 3 is also maintained through the primary organization during the time when parents are in Sunday School and Priesthood or Relief Society meetings.

=BELIEFS AND PRACTICES=

=TERMS=

== A ==

'''Aaronic Priesthood''' This is one of the two Latter-Day Saints priesthoods. It is made
up of three offices Deacon, Teacher and Priest each with increasing duties. In the
LDS Church it is generally given to young men starting at age 12. In the RLDS and
most other restorationist churches it is given to adults most of the time. Capitalize
both words. See priesthood.

'''Aaronic Order''' A communal restorationist faith in and around Esk-Dale, Utah.

'''apostate''' Never use the word ''apostate'' to describe or label any church or person. If a
church can trace its origins to another church, then it should be so stated.
For example: ''The Restoration Church of Jesus Christ was formed by members of
the RLDS Church in 1989.''

'''Apostle''' A calling usually in reference to a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
In the RLDS Church it may be used as a title, ''Apostle John Smith''. Use the term
Elder in the LDS Church, ''Elder John Smith. a member of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles.''

'''Area Authority Seventy'''

'''Articles of Faith'''

'''Auditorium, The''' Capitalize when referencing to the building (RLDS) at Independence, Mo.

== B ==

'''baptism for the dead''' The practice of baptizing a person by proxy for a deceased person.
Do not capitalize. This rite is performed most often in the temples of the LDS Church.

'''Barlow University''' A college in Colorado City, Arizona operated by the Fundamentalist
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Barlow)

'''Beehive''' A term used for a class of young women age 12 or 13.

'''bishop''' A lay person called to oversee the operation of a local congregation (LDS) or to assist
in the temporal affairs of the church in a given area (RLDS). Capitalize when part of
the title. ''Bishop John Smith'' otherwise lower case as in ''the bishop's storehouse''. In
the RLDS and Temple Lot, etc. bishops have the general oversight and responsibility
for all the temporal affairs of the church and its members.

'''Book of Commandments''' A book of scripture first published in 1833, consisting of revelations received by Joseph Smith. It was reissued in 1835 with additional revelations as the Doctrine and Covenants. The Book of Commandments is still used by the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) and several other restorationist churches. .

'''Book of the Law of the Lord''' A book of scripture translated by James J. Strang in
1851. Used by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strang) and related
groups.

'''The Book of Mormon''' A book of scripture used by most, but not all, of the restorationist churches. Translated by Joseph Smith, Jr. it is also known as ''The Record of
the Nephites'' by some churches.
The LDS Church's media style guide gives the name as ''The Book of Mormon - Another Testament of Jesus Christ'' which is rarely used even within the LDS Church.
Citing scriptures from the Book of Mormon. Because the Book of Mormon has two
different verse numbering systems in use it is important to cite verses from it in a
consistent way. The numbering system used by the church about which the story
is concerning should be used with the alternate system used afterwards. The two
systems are noted as either LDS or RLDS. For example: 1Ne. 1:1 (1Ne. 1:1 RLDS)
You should do this even in cases where the two numbering systems agree.
Abbreviations of book titles The following are the accepted abbreviations.

*1 Ne. 1 Nephi
*2 Ne. 2 Nephi
*Jacob Jacob
*Enos Enos
*Jarom Jarom
*Omni Omni
*W of M Words of Mormon
*Mosiah Mosiah
*Alma Alma
*Hel. Helaman
*3 Ne. 3 Nephi
*4 Ne. 4 Nephi
*Morm. Mormon
*Ether Ether
*Moro. Moroni

'''Brigham Young University''' Also known as BYU or "The Y". A University in Provo, Utah operated by the LDS church. It is one of the largest private Universities in the West with approximately 27,000 daytime students. It has received many national recognitions and is ranked high in several categories. http://www.byu.edu

'''Brigham Young University-Idaho''' A University in Rexburg, Idaho operated by the LDS church. Formerly known as "Ricks College." http://www.byui.edu/

'''Brigham Young University-Hawaii''' A University in Laie, Hawaii operated by the LDS church. http://www.byuh.edu/
== C ==
'''Celestial Kingdom'''

== D ==
'''Deacon''' An office in the Aaronic Priesthood. In the LDS Church this office is generally given to boys at the age of 12. In the Community of Christ (RLDS) it is held by adults, both men and women. This office generally performs non-ecclesiastical duties such as collecting offerings and passing the sacrament (communion) to the congregation.

'''Doctrine and Covenants'''

== E ==

'''Elder''' There are three uses for the term "Elder." First it is a level of priesthood that belongs to most male members between the ages of 18 and 50. Secondly, it is the title used when referring to all male LDS missionaries. Third, it is the title used when referring to members of the the Quorum of the Twelve, or the Seventy. For example, Thomas S. Monson may be referred to as "Elder Monson."

'''Endowment'''

'''Exaltation'''

== F ==
'''Family Home Evening '''

'''Family Prayer'''

'''Fasting'''

'''Fast Offerings'''

'''First Presidency'''

== G ==

'''Garments'''

'''General Authorities'''

'''General Conference'''

'''Gift of the Holy Ghost'''

'''Godhead'''

== H ==

'''High Priest''' This is a level in the LDS priesthood given to most males over the age of 50, or to those who have served in Ward or Stake leadership positions.

'''Home Teaching'''

'''Homosexuality'''

== I ==

'''Institute'''

== J ==

'''Jesus Christ'''

'''Joseph Smith '''

== K ==

== L ==

'''Laurel'''

== M ==
'''Melchizedek Priesthood'''

'''Mia Maid'''

== N ==

== O ==

== P ==

'''Patriarch'''

'''Patriarchal Blessings '''

'''Pearl of Great Price'''

'''Priest''' a level in the LDS priesthood held by young men ages 16-18. It is also often held by newer male converts in the LDS church. In the Community of Christ (RLDS) the office of Priest as with other Priesthood offices is generally held by adults, both men and women.

'''Primary'' the children's organization in the LDS church.

== Q ==

== R ==

'''Relief Society''' the woman's organization within the LDS church. All women within the church belong to this organization.

== S ==

'''Sabbath'''

'''Seminary'''

'''Stake'''

== T ==

'''Teacher'''

'''Telestial Kingdom'''

'''Temple'''

'''Terrestrial Kingdom'''

'''Testimony'''

'''Tithing '''

== U ==

== V ==

== W ==

'''Ward'''

'''Welfare'''

'''Word of Wisdom '''

== X ==

== Y ==

== Z ==

'''Zion'''

MormonFAQ

2007-10-15T02:42:11Z

GregKearney:

Mormon FAQ page is under construction.

The purpose of this page is two-fold. First it is to give factual information about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons); second it is to give advice on the consistent use of words, names, places and other elements in writing. It is hoped that the information given will be helpful to journalists and others who write about the LDS church, its doctrines or beliefs. While this page is sponsored by a pro-LDS group, every effort has been made to take a neutral position on the issues presented here. There may be links in some of the entries. Be forewarned that following those links may lead to information that is likely sponsored by pro-LDS sources.

= WHO ARE THEY? =

==Restorationist Faiths.==

Restorationist faiths or churches are defined as all faiths who can trace their origins to Joseph Smith, Jr. [1805-1844] and the religious manifestations that he had over the course of his life. Either directly or through some other faith.

It is most important that the writer keep a neutral tone when reporting on events. This is of particular concern when the writer is a member of one of the restorationist churches. Pejoratives such as apostate or break-off should never be used except in
direct quotes.

===The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS).===

This is the largest of all of the restorationist movements and is based in Salt Lake City.
Note the lower case on the word "day" and the use of hyphenation.

===The Community of Christ (RLDS)===

Previously known as The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This church is the only other world wide church with in the restorationist movement. Headquartered in Independence, Mo.

http://www.cofchrist.org/

===Restoration Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.===

This group was formally organized in 1991 in response to what they felt was the liberal direction of the Community of Christ (RLDS).

==='Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints===

Another church which broke from the The Community of Christ over the issues of woman's ordination and other changes in that church

http://www.theremnantchurch.com/

===The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS)===

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS Church) is one of America's largest practitioners of plural marriage. The FLDS Church emerged in the 1930s largely because of the LDS Church's continued practice of excommunicating any practitioners of plural marriage. There is no connection between the FLDS Church and the LDS Church as members of the FLDS church are mostly children or grandchildren of people who were excommunicated from the LDS church because of their practice of polygamy.

==='Others===

There are many other small denominations of restorationist churches. The purpose of this guide is not to list them all, but just to be aware that they exist. The various denominations are not affiliated with each other, so it is important to correctly identify which denomination you are referring to in anything you may write.

===Mormon===

The term Mormon originally started as a pejorative to identify a person who believed in The Book of Mormon. Some early newspapers used the term Mormonite. While it may be tempting to use that label the same way today, the term "Mormon" used without additional modifiers has come to represent members of the Salt Lake City based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is not appropriate to identify members of the Community or Christ or members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints as "Mormon" as that would be confusing. It becomes especially objectionable to the LDS church members to identify members of the FLDS as Mormons because the founders of that denomination were excommunicated from the LDS church.

=OGANIZATION AND LEADERSHIP=

=BELIEFS AND PRACTICES=

=TERMS=

== A ==

'''Aaronic Priesthood''' This is one of the two Latter-Day Saints priesthoods. It is made
up of three offices Deacon, Teacher and Priest each with increasing duties. In the
LDS Church it is generally given to young men starting at age 12. In the RLDS and
most other restorationist churches it is given to adults most of the time. Capitalize
both words. See priesthood.

'''Aaronic Order''' A communal restoratiomst faith in and around Esk-Dale, Utah.

'''apostate Never''' use the word apostate to describe or label any church or person. If a
church can trace it's origins to another church then it should be stated in that way.
For example: ''The Restoration Church of Jesus Christ which formed by members of
the RLDS Church in 1989.''

'''Apostle''' A calling usually in reference to a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
In the RLDS Church it may be used as a title, ''Apostle John Smith''. Use the term
Elder in the LDS Church, ''Elder John Smith. a member of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles.''

'''Auditorium''', The Capitalize when referencing to the building at Independence, Mo.

== B ==

'''baptism for the dead''' The practice of baptizing a person by proxy for a deceased person.
Do not capitalize. This rite is performed most often in the temples of the LDS Church.

'''Barlow University''' A college in Colorado City, Arizona operated by the Fundamentalist
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Barlow)

'''bishop''' A lay person called to oversee the operation of a local congregation (LDS) or to assist
in the temporal affairs of the church in a given area (RLDS). Capitalize when part of
the title. ''Bishop John Smith'' otherwise lower case as in ''the bishop's storehouse''. In
the RLDS and Temple Lot, etc. bishops have the general oversight and responsibility
for all the temporal affairs of the church and its members.

'''Book of Commandments''' A book of scripture first published in 1833. It was reissued
in 1835 as the Doctrine and Covenants. The Book of Commandments is still used by
the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) and several other restorationist churches. .

'''Book of the Law of the Lord''' A book of scripture translated by James J. Strang in
1851. Used by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strang) and related
groups.

'''The Book of Mormon''' A book of scripture used by most, but not all, of the restora-
tionist churches. Translated by Joseph Smith, Jr. it is also known as ''The Record of
the Nephites'' by some churches.
Use the word Mormon only in the context of The Book of Mormon, not as a nickname
for a church or its members. The LDS Church's media style guide give the name as
''The Book of Alormon - Another Testament of Jesus Christ'' which is rarely used even
with in the LDS Chruch.
Citing scriptures from the Book of Mormon. Because the Book of Mormon has two
di_erent verse numbering systems in use it is important to cite verses from it in a
consistent way. The numbering system used by the church about which the story
is concerning should be used with the alternate system used afterwards. The two
systems are noted as either LDS or RLDS. For example: 1Ne. 1:1 (1Ne. 1:1 RLDS)
You should do this even in cases where the two numbering systems agree.
Abbreviations of book titles The following are the accepted abbreviations.
Table 1: default
1 Ne. 1 Nephi
2 Ne. 2 Nephi
Jacob Jacob
Enos Enos
Jarom Jarom
Omni Omni
W of M Words of Mormon
Mosiah Mosiah
Alma Alma
Hel. Helaman
3 Ne. 3 Nephi
4 Ne. 4 Nephi
Morm. Mormon
Ether Ether
Moro. Moroni

MormonFAQ

2007-10-15T02:39:20Z

GregKearney: Reformatted a bunch of stuff mad a bunch of corrections from the OCR text.

Mormon FAQ page is under construction.

The purpose of this page is two-fold. First it is to give factual information about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons); second it is to give advice on the consistent use of words, names, places and other elements in writing. It is hoped that the information given will be helpful to journalists and others who write about the LDS church, its doctrines or beliefs. While this page is sponsored by a pro-LDS group, every effort has been made to take a neutral position on the issues presented here. There may be links in some of the entries. Be forewarned that following those links may lead to information that is likely sponsored by pro-LDS sources.

= WHO ARE THEY? =

==Restorationist Faiths.==

Restorationist faiths or churches are defined as all faiths who can trace their origins to Joseph Smith, Jr. [1805-1844] and the religious manifestations that he had over the course of his life. Either directly or through some other faith.

It is most important that the writer keep a neutral tone when reporting on events. This is of particular concern when the writer is a member of one of the restorationist churches. Pejoratives such as apostate or break-off should never be used except in
direct quotes.

==='The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS).===

This is the largest of all of the restorationist movements and is based in Salt Lake City.
Note the lower case on the word "day" and the use of hyphenation.

===The Community of Christ (RLDS)===

Previously known as The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This church is the only other world wide church with in the restorationist movement. Headquartered in Independence, Mo.

http://www.cofchrist.org/

===Restoration Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.===

This group was formally organized in 1991 in response to what they felt was the liberal direction of the Community of Christ (RLDS).

==='Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints===

Another church which broke from the The Community of Christ over the issues of woman's ordination and other changes in that church

http://www.theremnantchurch.com/

===The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS)===

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS Church) is one of America's largest practitioners of plural marriage. The FLDS Church emerged in the 1930s largely because of the LDS Church's continued practice of excommunicating any practitioners of plural marriage. There is no connection between the FLDS Church and the LDS Church as members of the FLDS church are mostly children or grandchildren of people who were excommunicated from the LDS church because of their practice of polygamy.

==='Others===

There are many other small denominations of restorationist churches. The purpose of this guide is not to list them all, but just to be aware that they exist. The various denominations are not affiliated with each other, so it is important to correctly identify which denomination you are referring to in anything you may write.

===Mormon===

The term Mormon originally started as a pejorative to identify a person who believed in The Book of Mormon. Some early newspapers used the term Mormonite. While it may be tempting to use that label the same way today, the term "Mormon" used without additional modifiers has come to represent members of the Salt Lake City based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is not appropriate to identify members of the Community or Christ or members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints as "Mormon" as that would be confusing. It becomes especially objectionable to the LDS church members to identify members of the FLDS as Mormons because the founders of that denomination were excommunicated from the LDS church.

=OGANIZATION AND LEADERSHIP=

=BELIEFS AND PRACTICES=

=TERMS=

== A ==

'''Aaronic Priesthood''' This is one of the two Latter-Day Saints priesthoods. It is made
up of three offices Deacon, Teacher and Priest each with increasing duties. In the
LDS Church it is generally given to young men starting at age 12. In the RLDS and
most other restorationist churches it is given to adults most of the time. Capitalize
both words. See priesthood.

'''Aaronic Order''' A communal restoratiomst faith in and around Esk-Dale, Utah.

'''apostate Never''' use the word apostate to describe or label any church or person. If a
church can trace it's origins to another church then it should be stated in that way.
For example: ''The Restoration Church of Jesus Christ which formed by members of
the RLDS Church in 1989.''

'''Apostle''' A calling usually in reference to a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
In the RLDS Church it may be used as a title, ''Apostle John Smith''. Use the term
Elder in the LDS Church, ''Elder John Smith. a member of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles.''

'''Auditorium''', The Capitalize when referencing to the building at Independence, Mo.

== B ==

'''baptism for the dead''' The practice of baptizing a person by proxy for a deceased person.
Do not capitalize. This rite is performed most often in the temples of the LDS Church.

'''Barlow University''' A college in Colorado City, Arizona operated by the Fundamentalist
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Barlow)

'''bishop''' A lay person called to oversee the operation of a local congregation (LDS) or to assist
in the temporal affairs of the church in a given area (RLDS). Capitalize when part of
the title. ''Bishop John Smith'' otherwise lower case as in ''the bishop's storehouse''. In
the RLDS and Temple Lot, etc. bishops have the general oversight and responsibility
for all the temporal affairs of the church and its members.

'''Book of Commandments''' A book of scripture first published in 1833. It was reissued
in 1835 as the Doctrine and Covenants. The Book of Commandments is still used by
the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) and several other restorationist churches. .

'''Book of the Law of the Lord''' A book of scripture translated by James J. Strang in
1851. Used by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strang) and related
groups.

'''The Book of Mormon''' A book of scripture used by most, but not all, of the restora-
tionist churches. Translated by Joseph Smith, Jr. it is also known as ''The Record of
the Nephites'' by some churches.
Use the word Mormon only in the context of The Book of Mormon, not as a nickname
for a church or its members. The LDS Church's media style guide give the name as
''The Book of Alormon - Another Testament of Jesus Christ'' which is rarely used even
with in the LDS Chruch.
Citing scriptures from the Book of Mormon. Because the Book of Mormon has two
di_erent verse numbering systems in use it is important to cite verses from it in a
consistent way. The numbering system used by the church about which the story
is concerning should be used with the alternate system used afterwards. The two
systems are noted as either LDS or RLDS. For example: 1Ne. 1:1 (1Ne. 1:1 RLDS)
You should do this even in cases where the two numbering systems agree.
Abbreviations of book titles The following are the accepted abbreviations.
Table 1: default
1 Ne. 1 Nephi
2 Ne. 2 Nephi
Jacob Jacob
Enos Enos
Jarom Jarom
Omni Omni
W of M Words of Mormon
Mosiah Mosiah
Alma Alma
Hel. Helaman
3 Ne. 3 Nephi
4 Ne. 4 Nephi
Morm. Mormon
Ether Ether
Moro. Moroni

Criticism of Mormonism/Video/Search for the Truth DVD/The "Occult"

2007-03-26T02:30:23Z

GregKearney:

{{DVDHeadingBox|Joseph Smith's Character: The Occult}}

{| style="border-spacing:8px;margin:0px -8px"
| class="MainPageBG" style="width:85%;border:1px solid #cedff2;background-color:#f5faff;vertical-align:top"|
{| width="100%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5" style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f5faff"
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Symbols and practices with an "occult" connection?</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|
This section of the video is a good example of a common error: using modern standards to pass judgment on historical figures. The segment opens with the portrayal of an inverted pentagram, with sinister flames behind the symbol. The DVD obviously hopes that the viewer will conclude this is an "evil" symbol.

[[Image:MedalOfHonor.png|frame|Congressional Medal of Honor]]
The inverted pentagram has a long history, and only took on negative connotations in the last one hundred years, well after Joseph Smith's death. Joseph Smith and others of his day would have known the symbol from its use in many aspects of American life. Many Americans were Masons, and used this symbol to represent light from the heavens to man.

The inverted pentagram is found in many contexts, including the Congressional Medal of Honor, on
the Great Star Flag of the United States (used from 1837 to 1845), as well as in the cathedrals of Chartes and Amiens in France. Do the producers of this DVD expect us to believe that all these groups are, in fact, part of the "occult"?

Some occult groups have even used the symbol of the cross as part of their symbolism. Does this make all Christians "occult" by association? Such an idea is laughable.

The meaning of a symbol can only be defined by the person or group using it. If others find different meanings in that particular symbol it does not negate the meaning to the first group. For thousands of years the swastika had been used as a symbol of good fortune and well being by numerous societies. Does that mean we need to believe that the German Nazis, by their use of the swastika, wanted nothing but good fortune and well being for the countries they overran during WWII, or the millions of people they murdered in the Holocaust? The idea is nonsense. In the same way the cross, before it was utilized by Christians all over the world, was the symbol known as the "Staff of Apollo" and was used in the worship of that deity. The cross was also used by the people of pre-Columbian America, and people in other parts of the world, to signify the sun. Does that suggest that we ought to criticize those who use the cross to signify the Savior's atonement and suggest that they take their symbols from pagan worship? Of course not, that would be ridiculous. It is just as nonsensical to apply a later interpretation to symbols used by the Latter-Day Saints, and then attack the Latter-Day Saints for something which they do not believe.

'''To read more:'''
* Matthew B. Brown, [http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/Stars.pdf Inverted Stars on LDS Temples]
* [[Symbols on the Nauvoo Temple]]

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: Money digging was an example of Joseph Smith being involved in the occult.</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

The video's first attempt to tie Joseph Smith to the "occult" uses the Smith family's involvement in "money digging." The video takes a practice common to the nineteenth century, and turns it into something sinister.

During the nineteenth century, belief in folk magic of this kind was common in the United States. Indeed, in parts of New England it is still a common practice with so-called "water witches" still listed in the phone book. (See, for example, the 2007 phone book published by Verizon, Inc., for Augusta, Maine.)

Dowsing or water witching was—and to some degree still is—used to locate wells, buried objects such as pipes or utility lines, and lost valuables. It was not then, and is not now (where it is still practiced), considered sinister or "occult." For these people, they simply consider it to be "how the world works." By analogy, such people might not understand the principles of magnetism behind a mariner's compass, but still use it because "that's how the world is."

The fact that Joseph Smith and his family were involved in seeking for buried valuables is not unusual. When Joseph was 16 years old, his local newspaper printed such remarks as the following:
* ''"digging for money hid in the earth is a very common thing and in this state it is even considered as honorable and profitable employment"''
* ''"One gentleman...digging...ten to twelve years, found a sufficient quantity of money to build him a commodious house."''
* ''"another...dug up...fifty thousand dollars!"''
::<small>—''Palmyra Herald'' (24 July 1822); cited in Russell Anderson, "The 1826 Trial of Joseph Smith," (2002 FAIR Conference presentation.){{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2002_1826_Trial_of_Joseph_Smith.html}}</small>

Given how common and respectable such an activity was, it is hardly surprising that the poverty-stricken Smith family took a legitimate opportunity to improve their station in life. Despite all their toil, they lost their farm because they could not make the final mortgage payment.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Joseph Smith and money digging]]
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "On March 15th, 1842, Joseph joined the Masons which is an organization that believes Jesus is not divine and is on the same level as Buddha, Muhammad or any other religious teacher."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

This is a severe misrepresentation of Masonry. Masonry is not a religion and has never claimed to be a religion. Masonry only requires that its members profess belief in a Supreme Being: Christians, Buddhists, Jews, and Muslims are all eligible. In this respect, Masonry is like many other such fraternal organization, or even the Boy Scouts. The policy of open membership does not make Masonry "an organization that believes Jesus is not divine." The millions of Christian Freemasons down through the centuries would find such a statement an insult to themselves and to Freemasonry.

For example, many prominent Baptists over the last two hundred years were also Masons. Robert E. Baylor, founder of Baylor University, was both a Baptist and a Mason. One of the university's presidents, William R. White (served from 1948 to 1961) was a 33rd-degree Mason and served as pastor of First Baptist Church of Austin, First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, First Baptist Church of Lubbock, and Broadway Baptist Church of Fort Worth. He also served as executive secretary, and later as president, of The Baptist General Convention of Texas.

George W. Truett, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, was also a Mason and remained such as he served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1927 to 1929, president of the Baptist World Alliance from 1934 to 1939, and trustee of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Are these men no longer Christians, or somehow involved in the "occult"?

These are just a few of the many prominent individuals who saw no conflict between their Baptist brand of Christianity and Freemasonry. Since their participation in Masonry would presumably not taint the roots of the Baptist faith, why would the several Baptist ministers associated with ''Search for the Truth'' find it necessary to insist that Masonry cast a sinister shadow over the roots of the Church?

'''To read more:'''
* <i>Famous Baptists Who Were Freemasons</i> (Adherents.com) {{link|url=http://www.adherents.com/largecom/fam_bap_freemasons.html}}
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "Within one day Smith rose to the highest degree which is the sublime degree."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

Church critics commonly make this error. The visual accompanying this claim shows an old Masonic chart showing the ''supplemental degrees'' of Scottish and York Rite Freemasonry, thereby implying that Joseph Smith was a member of these bodies. This would have been impossible, since Masonry in Illinois at the time (1842) did not have the Scottish Rite at time and there is no record of Joseph being a member of any of York rite supplemental bodies which existed in Springfield.

The video makes much of the fact that Joseph was raised in a single day, as if this was unusual and a sign of someone of great "occult" status, but fails to point out that Joseph's raising was actually done in two days and in complete accord with the Masonic practice of making a person a Mason "upon sight." The ''Sixth Landmark of Freemasonry'' states:

:''The prerogative of the Grand Master to grant Dispensations for conferring degrees at irregular times, is another and a very important Landmark. The statutory law of Masonry requires a month, or other determinate period, to elapse between the presentation of a petition and the election of a candidate. But '''the Grand Master has the power to set aside or dispense with this probation, and allow a candidate to be initiated at once'''. This prerogative he possessed in common with all Masters, before the enactment of the law requiring a probation, and as no statute can impair his prerogative, he still retains the power, although the Masters of Lodges no longer possess it.''
::<small>—''The Landmarks of Freemasonry''{{link|url=http://www.jabron.net/lmarks.htm}}</small>

This was the process followed in Joseph Smith's case. While rare, it is not an unheard of or unprecedented procedure, and Grand Master Abraham Jonas (the grand lodge of Illinois grand master who raised the Prophet) was well within his rights in making Joseph a Mason "upon sight" without any sinister undertones.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "Joseph's Masonic membership affected the development of the Mormon church in many ways but the most significant area appears to be in the development of the Mormon temple ceremonies."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

Masonry and the teaching methods it employs may well have had some influence in the development of the temple endowment ritual. The degree of that influence is a debated issue among Mormon scholars and laymen alike. The video does the subject a grave disservice by not acknowledging complexity of this issue. There are many more points of dis-similarity between the endowment and the rites of Freemasonry than there are of apparent parallel.

The video shows re-enactments of some LDS temple rituals (borrowed directly from the notorious anti-Mormon film ''The God Makers II'') and implies that these originated in Masonry. This is simply not the case. The ordinances shown in the video (washing and anointing) actually first appeared in the Kirtland, Ohio, temple, many years before Joseph's involvement with Masonry.

Latter-day Saints consider the temple ceremony to be the most sacred expression of their religious worship. To have it held up for public display and discussion in this manner is in extremely poor taste. It is difficult to feel "loved" by those presenting the video when they do something which they know will be offensive and hurtful to most devout Mormons.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Temple endowment and Freemasonry|The Temple Endowment and Freemasonry]]

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Statement: "I suggest that enough evidence presently exists to declare the entire institution of the political kingdom of God, including the Council of Fifty, the living constitution, the proposed flag of the kingdom and the anointing and coronation of a king had its genesis in connection with Masonic thoughts and ceremonies." - Dr. Reed Durham</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|
It is important to note that many of Dr. Durham's conclusions were subsequently thought by some to be premature and somewhat ill-advised. {{link|url=http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&id=278}}

It seems that the producers of the ''Search for Truth'' video believe that Dr. Durham's statement somehow taints Mormonism. Even if it is true—a supposition open to debate among scholars—that does not mean much within the context of the times. Modern Americans are often unaware of it, but many elements of our society that we take for granted today have their roots in early American practices, and most have Masonic overtones. A quick examination of United States currency, for instance, will find many Masonic elements, such as the all-seeing eye, pyramids, and mottoes. These same elements (and more) are found on many governmental buildings.

There is some evidence that these symbols may have had their roots in Masonry or may have been heavily influenced by Masonry. Thus, it would not be surprising if some aspects of LDS governmental theory—wittingly or unwittingly—invoked some Masonic themes. Does this reality of nineteenth century life and thought mean that, somehow, the roots of American society are based in the occult?

Joseph Smith also spoke English, because it was the language of his time and place, but this does not mean that he had no divine revelations given to him. Prophets—Biblical and otherwise—express themselves in the idiom of their own culture.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Statement: "...included in the actual vocabulary of Joseph Smith's counsel and instructions to the sisters were such words...indicating that the society's orientation possessed Masonic overtones." - Dr. Reed Durham</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

Dr. Durham's assertions regarding the formation of the Nauvoo Relief Society are certainly interesting, but they are far from representing a scholarly consensus on the topic.

Dr. Durham, in other places, suggested a connection between the Relief Society and the Masonic "Lodges of Adoption" with women members—which were founded in revolutionary France. The problem with this theory is that there is no indication that Joseph Smith or anyone else in Nauvoo at the time (in the early 1840s) intended this. Lodges of Adoption never found their way to the United States and disappeared from France within a few years of their formation, well before the establishment of the LDS Church in 1830.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: The Jupiter Talisman was evidence of Joseph's belief and participation in occultic rituals.</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

The final issue of purported "occult" evidence against Joseph Smith used by the video is perhaps the least significant of all. Strangely, it is the one upon which the most time is spent. The Jupiter Talisman allegedly belonging to Joseph Smith is an item which at one time was on public display in the old Church Museum on Temple Square. The carrying of tokens supposed to bring a person luck (like a rabbit's foot or a four-leaf clover) has been common practice throughout much of American history, and particularly in the nineteenth century.

Commentators in the video draw all sorts of conclusions about the Jupiter Talisman which are not supported by the available facts. Many respected LDS scholars do not believe that Joseph Smith actually owned the Jupiter Talisman, since it is claimed by some that he had it in his possession when he died but ''it was not actually listed among the objects found upon his person after he was murdered''. Even if Joseph did own and carry the Jupiter Talisman, there is no record of what Joseph might have believed or not believed about it.

One video commentator, Sandra Tanner, claims that "The fact that [Joseph] died with the Jupiter Talisman on his body shows that throughout his life he continued to hang on to that hope and that trust in that magic object." Realistically, the only thing that it may show (if substantiated) is that he had it in his possession when the mob attacked. We do not know where the talisman came from, who gave it to Joseph, or what significance, if any, he applied to it.

It is telling that the only person who claimed that the Jupiter Talisman (a) belonged to Joseph, and (b) was on Joseph's person when he died was Emma's second husband's son. ''He made this claim over ninety years after the Prophet's martyrdom when he was trying to sell the item''.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Joseph Smith and Jupiter talisman|Joseph Smith and the Jupiter Talisman]]
* The Jupiter Talisman Myth {{link|url=http://www.angelfire.com/sk2/ldsdefense/talis.html}}

|-

|}


{{DVDRightColumn}}
|}
{{DoYouHaveQuestions}}

Criticism of Mormonism/Video/Search for the Truth DVD/The "Occult"

2007-03-24T15:06:11Z

GregKearney:

{{DVDHeadingBox|Joseph Smith's Character: The Occult}}

{| style="border-spacing:8px;margin:0px -8px"
| class="MainPageBG" style="width:85%;border:1px solid #cedff2;background-color:#f5faff;vertical-align:top"|
{| width="100%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5" style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f5faff"
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Symbols and practices with an "occult" connection?</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|
This section of the video is a good example of a common error: using modern standards to pass judgment on historical figures. The segment opens with the portrayal of an inverted pentagram, with sinister flames behind the symbol. The DVD obviously hopes that the viewer will conclude this is an "evil" symbol.

[[Image:MedalOfHonor.png|frame|Congressional Medal of Honor]]
The inverted pentagram has a long history, and only took on negative connotations in the last one hundred years, well after Joseph Smith's death. Joseph Smith and others of his day would have known the symbol from its use in many aspects of American life. Many Americans were Masons, and used this symbol to represent light from the heavens to man.

The inverted pentagram is found in many contexts, including the Congressional Medal of Honor, on
the Great Star Flag of the United States (used from 1837 to 1845), as well as in the cathedrals of Chartes and Amiens in France. Do the producers of this DVD expect us to believe that all these groups are, in fact, part of the "occult"?

Some occult groups have even used the symbol of the cross as part of their symbolism. Does this make all Christians "occult" by association? Such an idea is laughable.

The meaning of a symbol can only be defined by the person or group using it. If others find different meanings in that particular symbol it does not negate the meaning to the first group. For thousands of years the swastika had been used as a symbol of good fortune and well being by numerous societies. Does that mean we need to believe that the German Nazis, by their use of the swastika, wanted nothing but good fortune and well being for the countries they overran during WWII, or the millions of people they murdered in the Holocaust? The idea is nonsense. In the same way the Cross, before it was utilized by Christians all over the world, was the symbol known as the "Staff of Apollo" and was used in the worship of that deity. The Cross was also used by the people of pre-Columbian America, and people in other parts of the world, to signify the sun. Does that suggest that we ought to criticize those who use the Cross to signify the Savior's atonement and suggest that they take their symbols from pagan worship? Of course not, that would be ridiculous. It is ust nonsensical to apply a later interpretation to symbols used by the Latter-Day Saints, and then attack the Latter-Day Saints for something which they do not believe.

'''To read more:'''
* Matthew B. Brown, [http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/Stars.pdf Inverted Stars on LDS Temples]
* [[Symbols on the Nauvoo Temple]]

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: Money digging was an example of Joseph Smith being involved in the occult.</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

The video's first attempt to tie Joseph Smith to the "occult" uses the Smith family's involvement in "money digging." The video takes a practice common to the nineteenth-century, and turns it into something sinister.

During the nineteenth century, belief in folk magic of this kind was common in the United States. Indeed, in parts of New England it is still a common practice with so called "water witches" still listed in the phone book. (See, for example, the 2007 phone book published by Verizon, Inc., for Augusta, Maine.)

Dowsing or water witching was—and to some degree still is—used to locate wells, buried objects such as pipes or utility lines, and lost valuables. It was not then, and is not now (where it is still practiced), considered sinister or "occult." For these people, they simply consider it to be "how the world works." By analogy, such people might not understand the principles of magnetism behind a mariner's compass, but still use it because "that's how the world is."

The fact that Joseph Smith and his family were involved in seeking for buried valuables is not unusual. When Joseph was 16 years old, his local newspaper printed such remarks as the following:
* ''"digging for money hid in the earth is a very common thing and in this state it is even considered as honorable and profitable employment"''
* ''"One gentleman...digging...ten to twelve years, found a sufficient quantity of money to build him a commodious house."''
* ''"another...dug up...fifty thousand dollars!"''
::<small>—''Palmyra Herald'' (24 July 1822); cited in Russell Anderson, "The 1826 Trial of Joseph Smith," (2002 FAIR Conference presentation.){{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2002_1826_Trial_of_Joseph_Smith.html}}</small>

Given how common and respectable such an activity was, it is hardly surprising that the poverty-stricken Smith family took a legitimate opportunity to improve their station in life. Despite all their toil, they lost their farm because they could not make the final mortgage payment.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Joseph Smith and money digging]]
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "On March 15th, 1842, Joseph joined the Masons which is an organization that believes Jesus is not divine and is on the same level as Buddha, Muhammad or any other religious teacher."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

This is a severe misrepresentation of Masonry. Masonry is not a religion and has never claimed to be a religion. Masonry only requires that its members profess belief in a Supreme Being: Christians, Buddhists, Jews, and Muslims are all eligible. In this respect, Masonry is like many other such fraternal organization, or even the Boy Scouts. The policy of open membership does not make Masonry "an organization that believes Jesus is not divine." The millions of Christian Freemasons down through the centuries would find such a statement an insult to themselves and to Freemasonry.

For example, many prominent Baptists over the last two hundred years were also Masons. Robert E. Baylor, founder of Baylor University, was both a Baptist and a Mason. One of the university's presidents, William R. White (served from 1948 to 1961) was a 33rd-degree Mason and served as pastor of First Baptist Church of Austin, First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, First Baptist Church of Lubbock, and Broadway Baptist Church of Fort Worth. He also served as executive secretary, and later as president, of The Baptist General Convention of Texas.

George W. Truett, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, was also a Mason and remained such as he served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1927 to 1929, president of the Baptist World Alliance from 1934 to 1939, and trustee of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Are these men no longer Christians, or somehow involved in the "occult"?

These are just a few of the many prominent individuals who saw no conflict between their Baptist brand of Christianity and Freemasonry. Since their participation in Masonry would presumably not taint the roots of the Baptist faith, why would the several Baptist ministers associated with ''Search for the Truth'' find it necessary to insist that Masonry cast a sinister shadow over the roots of the Church?

'''To read more:'''
* <i>Famous Baptists Who Were Freemasons</i> (Adherents.com) {{link|url=http://www.adherents.com/largecom/fam_bap_freemasons.html}}
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "Within one day Smith rose to the highest degree which is the sublime degree."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

Church critics commonly make this error. The visual accompanying this claim shows an old Masonic chart showing the ''supplemental degrees'' of Scottish and York Rite Freemasonry, thereby implying that Joseph Smith was a member of these bodies. This would have been impossible, since Masonry in Illinois at the time (1842) did not have these supplemental bodies.

The video makes much of the fact that Joseph was raised in a single day, as if this was unusual and a sign of someone of great "occult" status, but fails to point out that Joseph's raising was actually done in two days and in complete accord with the Masonic practice of making a person a Mason "upon sight." The ''Sixth Landmark of Freemasonry'' states:

:''The prerogative of the Grand Master to grant Dispensations for conferring degrees at irregular times, is another and a very important Landmark. The statutory law of Masonry requires a month, or other determinate period, to elapse between the presentation of a petition and the election of a candidate. But '''the Grand Master has the power to set aside or dispense with this probation, and allow a candidate to be initiated at once'''. This prerogative he possessed in common with all Masters, before the enactment of the law requiring a probation, and as no statute can impair his prerogative, he still retains the power, although the Masters of Lodges no longer possess it.''
::<small>—''The Landmarks of Freemasonry''{{link|url=http://www.jabron.net/lmarks.htm}}</small>

This was the process followed in Joseph Smith's case. While rare, it is not an unheard of or unprecedented procedure, and Grand Master Abraham Jonas (the grand lodge of Illinois grand master who raised the Prophet) was well within his rights in making Joseph a Mason "upon sight" without any sinister undertones.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "Joseph's Masonic membership affected the development of the Mormon church in many ways but the most significant area appears to be in the development of the Mormon temple ceremonies."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

Masonry and the teaching methods it employs may well have had some influence in the development of the temple endowment ritual. The degree of that influence is a debated issue among Mormon scholars and laymen alike. The video does the subject a grave disservice by not acknowledging complexity of this issue. There are many more points of dis-similarity between the endowment and the rites of Freemasonry than there are of apparent parallel.

The video shows re-enactments of some LDS temple rituals (borrowed directly from the notorious anti-Mormon film ''The God Makers II'') and implies that these originated in Masonry. This is simply not the case. The ordinances shown in the video (washing and anointing) actually first appeared in the Kirtland, Ohio, temple, many years before Joseph's involvement with Masonry.

Latter-day Saints consider the temple ceremony to be the most sacred expression of their religious worship. To have it held up for public display and discussion in this manner is in extremely poor taste. It is difficult to feel "loved" by those presenting the video when they do something which they know will be offensive and hurtful to most devout Mormons.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Temple endowment and Freemasonry|The Temple Endowment and Freemasonry]]

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Statement: "I suggest that enough evidence presently exists to declare the entire institution of the political kingdom of God, including the Council of Fifty, the living constitution, the proposed flag of the kingdom and the anointing and coronation of a king had its genesis in connection with Masonic thoughts and ceremonies." - Dr. Reed Durham</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|
It is important to note that Dr. Durham subsequently distanced himself from some of the remarks he made during his 1974 Mormon History Association speech. {{link|url=http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&id=278}}

It seems that the producers of the ''Search for Truth'' video believe that Dr. Durham's statement somehow taints Mormonism. Even if it is true—a supposition open to debate among scholars—that does not mean much within the context of the times. Modern Americans are often unaware of it, but many elements of our society that we take for granted today have their roots in early American practices, and most have Masonic overtones. A quick examination of United States currency, for instance, will find many Masonic elements, such as the all-seeing eye, pyramids, and mottoes. These same elements (and more) are found on many governmental buildings.

There is some evidence that these symbols may have had their roots in Masonry or may have been heavily influenced by Masonry. Thus, it would not be surprising if some aspects of LDS governmental theory—wittingly or unwittingly—invoked some Masonic themes. Does this reality of nineteenth century life and thought mean that, somehow, the roots of American society are based in the occult?

Joseph Smith also spoke English, because it was the language of his time and place, but this does not mean that he had no divine revelations given to him. Prophets—Biblical and otherwise—express themselves in the idiom of their own culture.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Statement: "...included in the actual vocabulary of Joseph Smith's counsel and instructions to the sisters were such words...indicating that the society's orientation possessed Masonic overtones." - Dr. Reed Durham</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

Dr. Durham's assertions regarding the formation of the Nauvoo Relief Society are certainly interesting, but they are far from representing a scholarly consensus on the topic.

Dr. Durham, in other places, suggested a connection between the Relief Society and the Masonic "Lodges of Adoption" with women members—which were founded in revolutionary France. The problem with this theory is that there is no indication that Joseph Smith or anyone else in Nauvoo at the time (in the early 1840s) intended this. Lodges of Adoption never found their way to the United States and disappeared from France within a few years of their formation, well before the establishment of the LDS Church in 1830.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: The Jupiter Talisman was evidence of Joseph's belief and participation in occultic rituals.</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

The final issue of purported "occult" evidence against Joseph Smith used by the video is perhaps the least significant of all. Strangely, it is the one upon which the most time is spent. The Jupiter Talisman allegedly belonging to Joseph Smith is an item which at one time was on public display in the old Church Museum on Temple Square. The carrying of tokens supposed to bring a person luck (like a rabbit's foot or a four-leaf clover) has been common practice throughout much of American history, and particularly in the nineteenth century.

Commentators in the video draw all sorts of conclusions about the Jupiter Talisman which are not supported by the available facts. Many respected LDS scholars do not believe that Joseph Smith actually owned the Jupiter Talisman, since it is claimed by some that he had it in his possession when he died but ''it was not actually listed among the objects found upon his person after he was murdered''. Even if Joseph did own and carry the Jupiter Talisman, there is no record of what Joseph might have believed or not believed about it.

One video commentator, Sandra Tanner, claims that "The fact that [Joseph] died with the Jupiter Talisman on his body shows that throughout his life he continued to hang on to that hope and that trust in that magic object." Realistically, the only thing that it may show (if substantiated) is that he had it in his possession when the mob attacked. We do not know where the talisman came from, who gave it to Joseph, or what significance, if any, he applied to it.

It is telling that the only person who claimed that the Jupiter Talisman (a) belonged to Joseph, and (b) was on Joseph's person when he died was Emma's second husband's son. ''He made this claim over ninety years after the Prophet's martyrdom when he was trying to sell the item''.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Joseph Smith and Jupiter talisman|Joseph Smith and the Jupiter Talisman]]
* The Jupiter Talisman Myth {{link|url=http://www.angelfire.com/sk2/ldsdefense/talis.html}}

|-

|}


{{DVDRightColumn}}
|}
{{DoYouHaveQuestions}}

Criticism of Mormonism/Video/Search for the Truth DVD/The "Occult"

2007-03-24T14:13:46Z

GregKearney:

{{DVDHeadingBox|Joseph Smith's Character: The Occult}}

{| style="border-spacing:8px;margin:0px -8px"
| class="MainPageBG" style="width:85%;border:1px solid #cedff2;background-color:#f5faff;vertical-align:top"|
{| width="100%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5" style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f5faff"
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Symbols and practices with an "occult" connection?</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|
This section of the video is a good example of a common error: using modern standards to pass judgment on historical figures. The segment opens with the portrayal of an inverted pentagram, with sinister flames behind the symbol. The DVD obviously hopes that the viewer will conclude this is an "evil" symbol.

[[Image:MedalOfHonor.png|frame|Congressional Medal of Honor]]
The inverted pentagram has a long history, and only took on negative connotations in the last one hundred years, well after Joseph Smith's death. Joseph Smith and others of his day would have known the symbol from its use in many aspects of American life. Many Americans were Masons, and used this symbol to represent light from the heavens to man.

The inverted pentagram is found in many contexts, including the Congressional Medal of Honor, on
the Great Star Flag of the United States (used from 1837 to 1845), as well as in the cathedrals of Chartes and Amiens in France. Do the producers of this DVD expect us to believe that all these groups are, in fact, part of the "occult"?

Some occult groups have even used the symbol of the cross as part of their symbolism. Does this make all Christians "occult" by association? Such an idea is laughable.

The meaning of a symbol can only be defined by the person or group using it. If others find different meanings in that particular symbol it does not negate the meaning to the first group. For thousands of years the swastika had been used as a symbol of good fortune and well being by numerous societies. Does that mean we need to believe that the German Nazis, by their use of the swastika, wanted nothing but good fortune and well being for the countries they overran during WWII, or the millions of people they murdered in the Holocaust? The idea is nonsense. In the same way the Cross, before it was utilized by Christians all over the world, was the symbol known as the "Staff of Apollo" and was used in the worship of that deity. The Cross was also used by the people of pre-Columbian America, and people in other parts of the world, to signify the sun. Does that suggest that we ought to criticize those who use the Cross to signify the Savior's atonement and suggest that they take their symbols from pagan worship? Of course not, that would be ridiculous. It is ust nonsensical to apply a later interpretation to symbols used by the Latter-Day Saints, and then attack the Latter-Day Saints for something which they do not believe.

'''To read more:'''
* Matthew B. Brown, [http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/Stars.pdf Inverted Stars on LDS Temples]
* [[Symbols on the Nauvoo Temple]]

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: Money digging was an example of Joseph Smith being involved in the occult.</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

The video's first attempt to tie Joseph Smith to the "occult" uses the Smith family's involvement in "money digging." The video takes a practice common to the nineteenth-century, and turns it into something sinister.

During the nineteenth century, belief in folk magic of this kind was common in the United States. Indeed, in parts of New England it is still a common practice with so called "water witches" still listed in the phone book. (See, for example, the 2007 phone book published by Verizon, Inc., for Augusta, Maine.)

Dowsing or water witching was—and to some degree still is—used to locate wells, buried objects such as pipes or utility lines, and lost valuables. It was not then, and is not now (where it is still practiced), considered sinister or "occult." For these people, they simply consider it to be "how the world works." By analogy, such people might not understand the principles of magnetism behind a mariner's compass, but still use it because "that's how the world is."

The fact that Joseph Smith and his family were involved in seeking for buried valuables is not unusual. When Joseph was 16 years old, his local newspaper printed such remarks as the following:
* ''"digging for money hid in the earth is a very common thing and in this state it is even considered as honorable and profitable employment"''
* ''"One gentleman...digging...ten to twelve years, found a sufficient quantity of money to build him a commodious house."''
* ''"another...dug up...fifty thousand dollars!"''
::<small>—''Palmyra Herald'' (24 July 1822); cited in Russell Anderson, "The 1826 Trial of Joseph Smith," (2002 FAIR Conference presentation.){{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2002_1826_Trial_of_Joseph_Smith.html}}</small>

Given how common and respectable such an activity was, it is hardly surprising that the poverty-stricken Smith family took a legitimate opportunity to improve their station in life. Despite all their toil, they lost their farm because they could not make the final mortgage payment.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Joseph Smith and money digging]]
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "On March 15th, 1842, Joseph joined the Masons which is an organization that believes Jesus is not divine and is on the same level as Buddha, Muhammad or any other religious teacher."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

This is a severe misrepresentation of Masonry. Masonry is not a religion and has never claimed to be a religion. Masonry only requires that its members profess belief in a Supreme Being: Christians, Buddhists, Jews, and Muslims are all eligible. In this respect, Masonry is like many other such fraternal organization, or even the Boy Scouts. The policy of open membership does not make Masonry "an organization that believes Jesus is not divine." The millions of Christian Freemasons down through the centuries would find such a statement an insult to themselves and to Freemasonry.

For example, many prominent Baptists over the last two hundred years were also Masons. Robert E. Baylor, founder of Baylor University, was both a Baptist and a Mason. One of the university's presidents, William R. White (served from 1948 to 1961) was a 33rd-degree Mason and served as pastor of First Baptist Church of Austin, First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, First Baptist Church of Lubbock, and Broadway Baptist Church of Fort Worth. He also served as executive secretary, and later as president, of The Baptist General Convention of Texas.

George W. Truett, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, was also a Mason and remained such as he served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1927 to 1929, president of the Baptist World Alliance from 1934 to 1939, and trustee of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Are these men no longer Christians, or somehow involved in the "occult"?

These are just a few of the many prominent individuals who saw no conflict between their Baptist brand of Christianity and Freemasonry. Since their participation in Masonry would presumably not taint the roots of the Baptist faith, why would the several Baptist ministers associated with ''Search for the Truth'' find it necessary to insist that Masonry cast a sinister shadow over the roots of the Church?

'''To read more:'''
* <i>Famous Baptists Who Were Freemasons</i> (Adherents.com) {{link|url=http://www.adherents.com/largecom/fam_bap_freemasons.html}}
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "Within one day Smith rose to the highest degree which is the sublime degree."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

Church critics commonly make this error. The visual accompanying this claim shows an old Masonic chart showing the ''supplemental degrees'' of Scottish and York Rite Freemasonry, thereby implying that Joseph Smith was a member of these bodies. This would have been impossible, since Masonry in Illinois at the time (1842) did not have these supplemental bodies.

The video makes much of the fact that Joseph was raised in a single day, as if this was unusual and a sign of someone of great "occult" status, but fails to point out that Joseph's raising was actually done in two days and in complete accord with the Masonic practice of making a person a Mason "upon sight." The ''Sixth Landmark of Freemasonry'' states:

:''The prerogative of the Grand Master to grant Dispensations for conferring degrees at irregular times, is another and a very important Landmark. The statutory law of Masonry requires a month, or other determinate period, to elapse between the presentation of a petition and the election of a candidate. But '''the Grand Master has the power to set aside or dispense with this probation, and allow a candidate to be initiated at once'''. This prerogative he possessed in common with all Masters, before the enactment of the law requiring a probation, and as no statute can impair his prerogative, he still retains the power, although the Masters of Lodges no longer possess it.''
::<small>—''The Landmarks of Freemasonry''{{link|url=http://www.jabron.net/lmarks.htm}}</small>

This was the process followed in Joseph Smith's case. While rare, it is not an unheard of or unprecedented procedure, and Grand Master Abraham Jonas (the grand lodge of Illinois grand master who raised the Prophet) was well within his rights in making Joseph a Mason "upon sight" without any sinister undertones.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "Joseph's Masonic membership affected the development of the Mormon church in many ways but the most significant area appears to be in the development of the Mormon temple ceremonies."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

Masonry and the teaching methods it employs may have had some influence in the development of the temple endowment ritual. The degree of that influence is a debated issue among Mormon scholars and laymen alike. The video does the subject a grave disservice by not acknowledging complexity of this issue. There are many more points of dis-similarity between the endowment and the rites of Freemasonry than there are of apparent parallel.

The video shows re-enactments of some LDS temple rituals (borrowed directly from the notorious anti-Mormon film ''The God Makers II'') and implies that these originated in Masonry. This is simply not the case. The ordinances shown in the video (washing and anointing) actually first appeared in the Kirtland, Ohio, temple, many years before Joseph's involvement with Masonry.

Latter-day Saints consider the temple ceremony to be the most sacred expression of their religious worship. To have it held up for public display and discussion in this manner is in extremely poor taste. It is difficult to feel "loved" by those presenting the video when they do something which they know will be offensive and hurtful to most devout Mormons.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Temple endowment and Freemasonry|The Temple Endowment and Freemasonry]]

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Statement: "I suggest that enough evidence presently exists to declare the entire institution of the political kingdom of God, including the Council of Fifty, the living constitution, the proposed flag of the kingdom and the anointing and coronation of a king had its genesis in connection with Masonic thoughts and ceremonies." - Dr. Reed Durham</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|
It is important to note that Dr. Durham subsequently distanced himself from some of the remarks he made during his 1974 Mormon History Association speech. {{link|url=http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&id=278}}

It seems that the producers of the ''Search for Truth'' video believe that Dr. Durham's statement somehow taints Mormonism. Even if it is true—a supposition open to debate among scholars—that does not mean much within the context of the times. Modern Americans are often unaware of it, but many elements of our society that we take for granted today have their roots in early American practices, and most have Masonic overtones. A quick examination of United States currency, for instance, will find many Masonic elements, such as the all-seeing eye, pyramids, and mottoes. These same elements (and more) are found on many governmental buildings.

There is some evidence that these symbols may have had their roots in Masonry or may have been heavily influenced by Masonry. Thus, it would not be surprising if some aspects of LDS governmental theory—wittingly or unwittingly—invoked some Masonic themes. Does this reality of nineteenth century life and thought mean that, somehow, the roots of American society are based in the occult?

Joseph Smith also spoke English, because it was the language of his time and place, but this does not mean that he had no divine revelations given to him. Prophets—Biblical and otherwise—express themselves in the idiom of their own culture.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Statement: "...included in the actual vocabulary of Joseph Smith's counsel and instructions to the sisters were such words...indicating that the society's orientation possessed Masonic overtones." - Dr. Reed Durham</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

Dr. Durham's assertions regarding the formation of the Nauvoo Relief Society are certainly interesting, but they are far from representing a scholarly consensus on the topic.

Dr. Durham, in other places, suggested a connection between the Relief Society and the Masonic "Lodges of Adoption" with women members—which were founded in revolutionary France. The problem with this theory is that there is no indication that Joseph Smith or anyone else in Nauvoo at the time (in the early 1840s) intended this. Lodges of Adoption never found their way to the United States and disappeared from France within a few years of their formation, well before the establishment of the LDS Church in 1830.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: The Jupiter Talisman was evidence of Joseph's belief and participation in occultic rituals.</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

The final issue of purported "occult" evidence against Joseph Smith used by the video is perhaps the least significant of all. Strangely, it is the one upon which the most time is spent. The Jupiter Talisman allegedly belonging to Joseph Smith is an item which at one time was on public display in the old Church Museum on Temple Square. The carrying of tokens supposed to bring a person luck (like a rabbit's foot or a four-leaf clover) has been common practice throughout much of American history, and particularly in the nineteenth century.

Commentators in the video draw all sorts of conclusions about the Jupiter Talisman which are not supported by the available facts. Many respected LDS scholars do not believe that Joseph Smith actually owned the Jupiter Talisman, since it is claimed by some that he had it in his possession when he died but ''it was not actually listed among the objects found upon his person after he was murdered''. Even if Joseph did own and carry the Jupiter Talisman, there is no record of what Joseph might have believed or not believed about it.

One video commentator, Sandra Tanner, claims that "The fact that [Joseph] died with the Jupiter Talisman on his body shows that throughout his life he continued to hang on to that hope and that trust in that magic object." Realistically, the only thing that it may show (if substantiated) is that he had it in his possession when the mob attacked. We do not know where the talisman came from, who gave it to Joseph, or what significance, if any, he applied to it.

It is telling that the only person who claimed that the Jupiter Talisman (a) belonged to Joseph, and (b) was on Joseph's person when he died was Emma's second husband's son. ''He made this claim over ninety years after the Prophet's martyrdom when he was trying to sell the item''.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Joseph Smith and Jupiter talisman|Joseph Smith and the Jupiter Talisman]]
* The Jupiter Talisman Myth {{link|url=http://www.angelfire.com/sk2/ldsdefense/talis.html}}

|-

|}


{{DVDRightColumn}}
|}
{{DoYouHaveQuestions}}

Criticism of Mormonism/Video/Search for the Truth DVD/The "Occult"

2007-03-24T14:12:31Z

GregKearney:

{{DVDHeadingBox|Joseph Smith's Character: The Occult}}

{| style="border-spacing:8px;margin:0px -8px"
| class="MainPageBG" style="width:85%;border:1px solid #cedff2;background-color:#f5faff;vertical-align:top"|
{| width="100%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5" style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f5faff"
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Symbols and practices with an "occult" connection?</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|
This section of the video is a good example of a common error: using modern standards to pass judgment on historical figures. The segment opens with the portrayal of an inverted pentagram, with sinister flames behind the symbol. The DVD obviously hopes that the viewer will conclude this is an "evil" symbol.

[[Image:MedalOfHonor.png|frame|Congressional Medal of Honor]]
The inverted pentagram has a long history, and only took on negative connotations in the last one hundred years, well after Joseph Smith's death. Joseph Smith and others of his day would have known the symbol from its use in many aspects of American life. Many Americans were Masons, and used this symbol to represent light from the heavens to man.

The inverted pentagram is found in many contexts, including the Congressional Medal of Honor, on
the Great Star Flag of the United States (used from 1837 to 1845), as well as in the cathedrals of Chartes and Amiens in France. Do the producers of this DVD expect us to believe that all these groups are, in fact, part of the "occult"?

Some occult groups have even used the symbol of the cross as part of their symbolism. Does this make all Christians "occult" by association? Such an idea is laughable.

The meaning of a symbol can only be defined by the person or group using it. If others find different meanings in that particular symbol it does not negate the meaning to the first group. For thousands of years the swastika had been used as a symbol of good fortune and well being by numerous societies. Does that mean we need to believe that the German Nazis, by their use of the swastika, wanted nothing but good fortune and well being for the countries they overran during WWII, or the millions of people they murdered in the Holocaust? The idea is nonsense. In the same way the Cross, before it was utilized by Christians all over the world, was the symbol known as the "Staff of Apollo" and was used in the worship of that deity. The Cross was also used by the people of pre-Columbian America, and people in other parts of the world, to signify the sun. Does that suggest that we ought to criticize those who use the Cross to signify the Savior's atonement and suggest that they take their symbols from pagan worship? Of course not, that would be ridiculous. It is ust nonsensical to apply a later interpretation to symbols used by the Latter-Day Saints, and then attack the Latter-Day Saints for something which they do not believe.

'''To read more:'''
* Matthew B. Brown, [http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/Stars.pdf Inverted Stars on LDS Temples]
* [[Symbols on the Nauvoo Temple]]

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: Money digging was an example of Joseph Smith being involved in the occult.</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

The video's first attempt to tie Joseph Smith to the "occult" uses the Smith family's involvement in "money digging." The video takes a practice common to the nineteenth-century, and turns it into something sinister.

During the nineteenth century, belief in folk magic of this kind was common in the United States. Indeed, in parts of New England it is still a common practice with so called "water witches" still listed in the phone book. (See, for example, the 2007 phone book published by Verizon, Inc., for Augusta, Maine.)

Dowsing or water witching was—and to some degree still is—used to locate wells, buried objects such as pipes or utility lines, and lost valuables. It was not then, and is not now (where it is still practiced), considered sinister or "occult." For these people, they simply consider it to be "how the world works." By analogy, such people might not understand the principles of magnetism behind a mariner's compass, but still use it because "that's how the world is."

The fact that Joseph Smith and his family were involved in seeking for buried valuables is not unusual. When Joseph was 16 years old, his local newspaper printed such remarks as the following:
* ''"digging for money hid in the earth is a very common thing and in this state it is even considered as honorable and profitable employment"''
* ''"One gentleman...digging...ten to twelve years, found a sufficient quantity of money to build him a commodious house."''
* ''"another...dug up...fifty thousand dollars!"''
::<small>—''Palmyra Herald'' (24 July 1822); cited in Russell Anderson, "The 1826 Trial of Joseph Smith," (2002 FAIR Conference presentation.){{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2002_1826_Trial_of_Joseph_Smith.html}}</small>

Given how common and respectable such an activity was, it is hardly surprising that the poverty-stricken Smith family took a legitimate opportunity to improve their station in life. Despite all their toil, they lost their farm because they could not make the final mortgage payment.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Joseph Smith and money digging]]
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "On March 15th, 1842, Joseph joined the Masons which is an organization that believes Jesus is not divine and is on the same level as Buddha, Muhammad or any other religious teacher."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

This is a severe misrepresentation of Masonry. Masonry is not a religion and has never claimed to be a religion. Masonry only requires that its members profess belief in a Supreme Being: Christians, Buddhists, Jews, and Muslims are all eligible. In this respect, Masonry is like many other such fraternal organization, or even the Boy Scouts. The policy of open membership does not make Masonry "an organization that believes Jesus is not divine." The millions of Christian Freemasons down through the centuries would find such a statement an insult to themselves and to Freemasonry.

For example, many prominent Baptists over the last two hundred years were also Masons. Robert E. Baylor, founder of Baylor University, was both a Baptist and a Mason. One of the university's presidents, William R. White (served from 1948 to 1961) was a 33rd-degree Mason and served as pastor of First Baptist Church of Austin, First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, First Baptist Church of Lubbock, and Broadway Baptist Church of Fort Worth. He also served as executive secretary, and later as president, of The Baptist General Convention of Texas.

George W. Truett, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, was also a Mason and remained such as he served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1927 to 1929, president of the Baptist World Alliance from 1934 to 1939, and trustee of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Are these men no longer Christians, or somehow involved in the "occult"?

These are just a few of the many prominent individuals who saw no conflict between their Baptist brand of Christianity and Freemasonry. Since their participation in Masonry would presumably not taint the roots of the Baptist faith, why would the several Baptist ministers associated with ''Search for the Truth'' find it necessary to insist that Masonry cast a sinister shadow over the roots of the Church?

'''To read more:'''
* <i>Famous Baptists Who Were Freemasons</i> (Adherents.com) {{link|url=http://www.adherents.com/largecom/fam_bap_freemasons.html}}
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "Within one day Smith rose to the highest degree which is the sublime degree."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

Church critics commonly make this error. The visual accompanying this claim shows an old Masonic chart showing the ''supplemental degrees'' of Scottish and York Rite Freemasonry, thereby implying that Joseph Smith was a member of these bodies. This would have been impossible, since Masonry in Illinois at the time (1842) did not have these supplemental bodies.

The video makes much of the fact that Joseph was raised in a single day, as if this was unusual and a sign of someone of great "occult" status, but fails to point out that Joseph's raising was actually done in two days and in complete accord with the Masonic practice of making a person a Mason "upon sight." The ''Sixth Landmark of Freemasonry'' states:

:''The prerogative of the Grand Master to grant Dispensations for conferring degrees at irregular times, is another and a very important Landmark. The statutory law of Masonry requires a month, or other determinate period, to elapse between the presentation of a petition and the election of a candidate. But '''the Grand Master has the power to set aside or dispense with this probation, and allow a candidate to be initiated at once'''. This prerogative he possessed in common with all Masters, before the enactment of the law requiring a probation, and as no statute can impair his prerogative, he still retains the power, although the Masters of Lodges no longer possess it.''
::<small>—''The Landmarks of Freemasonry''{{link|url=http://www.jabron.net/lmarks.htm}}</small>

This was the process followed in Joseph Smith's case. While rare, it is not an unheard of or unprecedented procedure, and Grand Master Abraham Jonas (the grand lodge of Illinois grand master who raised the Prophet) was well within his rights in making Joseph a Mason "upon sight" without any sinister undertones.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "Joseph's Masonic membership affected the development of the Mormon church in many ways but the most significant area appears to be in the development of the Mormon temple ceremonies."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

Masonry and the teaching methods it employs may have had some influence in the development of the temple endowment. The degree of that influence is a debated issue among Mormon scholars and laymen alike. The video does the subject a grave disservice by not acknowledging complexity of this issue. There are many more points of dis-similarity between the endowment and the rites of Freemasonry than there are of apparent parallel.

The video shows re-enactments of some LDS temple rituals (borrowed directly from the notorious anti-Mormon film ''The God Makers II'') and implies that these originated in Masonry. This is simply not the case. The ordinances shown in the video (washing and anointing) actually first appeared in the Kirtland, Ohio, temple, many years before Joseph's involvement with Masonry.

Latter-day Saints consider the temple ceremony to be the most sacred expression of their religious worship. To have it held up for public display and discussion in this manner is in extremely poor taste. It is difficult to feel "loved" by those presenting the video when they do something which they know will be offensive and hurtful to most devout Mormons.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Temple endowment and Freemasonry|The Temple Endowment and Freemasonry]]

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Statement: "I suggest that enough evidence presently exists to declare the entire institution of the political kingdom of God, including the Council of Fifty, the living constitution, the proposed flag of the kingdom and the anointing and coronation of a king had its genesis in connection with Masonic thoughts and ceremonies." - Dr. Reed Durham</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|
It is important to note that Dr. Durham subsequently distanced himself from some of the remarks he made during his 1974 Mormon History Association speech. {{link|url=http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&id=278}}

It seems that the producers of the ''Search for Truth'' video believe that Dr. Durham's statement somehow taints Mormonism. Even if it is true—a supposition open to debate among scholars—that does not mean much within the context of the times. Modern Americans are often unaware of it, but many elements of our society that we take for granted today have their roots in early American practices, and most have Masonic overtones. A quick examination of United States currency, for instance, will find many Masonic elements, such as the all-seeing eye, pyramids, and mottoes. These same elements (and more) are found on many governmental buildings.

There is some evidence that these symbols may have had their roots in Masonry or may have been heavily influenced by Masonry. Thus, it would not be surprising if some aspects of LDS governmental theory—wittingly or unwittingly—invoked some Masonic themes. Does this reality of nineteenth century life and thought mean that, somehow, the roots of American society are based in the occult?

Joseph Smith also spoke English, because it was the language of his time and place, but this does not mean that he had no divine revelations given to him. Prophets—Biblical and otherwise—express themselves in the idiom of their own culture.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Statement: "...included in the actual vocabulary of Joseph Smith's counsel and instructions to the sisters were such words...indicating that the society's orientation possessed Masonic overtones." - Dr. Reed Durham</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

Dr. Durham's assertions regarding the formation of the Nauvoo Relief Society are certainly interesting, but they are far from representing a scholarly consensus on the topic.

Dr. Durham, in other places, suggested a connection between the Relief Society and the Masonic "Lodges of Adoption" with women members—which were founded in revolutionary France. The problem with this theory is that there is no indication that Joseph Smith or anyone else in Nauvoo at the time (in the early 1840s) intended this. Lodges of Adoption never found their way to the United States and disappeared from France within a few years of their formation, well before the establishment of the LDS Church in 1830.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: The Jupiter Talisman was evidence of Joseph's belief and participation in occultic rituals.</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

The final issue of purported "occult" evidence against Joseph Smith used by the video is perhaps the least significant of all. Strangely, it is the one upon which the most time is spent. The Jupiter Talisman allegedly belonging to Joseph Smith is an item which at one time was on public display in the old Church Museum on Temple Square. The carrying of tokens supposed to bring a person luck (like a rabbit's foot or a four-leaf clover) has been common practice throughout much of American history, and particularly in the nineteenth century.

Commentators in the video draw all sorts of conclusions about the Jupiter Talisman which are not supported by the available facts. Many respected LDS scholars do not believe that Joseph Smith actually owned the Jupiter Talisman, since it is claimed by some that he had it in his possession when he died but ''it was not actually listed among the objects found upon his person after he was murdered''. Even if Joseph did own and carry the Jupiter Talisman, there is no record of what Joseph might have believed or not believed about it.

One video commentator, Sandra Tanner, claims that "The fact that [Joseph] died with the Jupiter Talisman on his body shows that throughout his life he continued to hang on to that hope and that trust in that magic object." Realistically, the only thing that it may show (if substantiated) is that he had it in his possession when the mob attacked. We do not know where the talisman came from, who gave it to Joseph, or what significance, if any, he applied to it.

It is telling that the only person who claimed that the Jupiter Talisman (a) belonged to Joseph, and (b) was on Joseph's person when he died was Emma's second husband's son. ''He made this claim over ninety years after the Prophet's martyrdom when he was trying to sell the item''.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Joseph Smith and Jupiter talisman|Joseph Smith and the Jupiter Talisman]]
* The Jupiter Talisman Myth {{link|url=http://www.angelfire.com/sk2/ldsdefense/talis.html}}

|-

|}


{{DVDRightColumn}}
|}
{{DoYouHaveQuestions}}

Criticism of Mormonism/Video/Search for the Truth DVD/The "Occult"

2007-03-24T14:11:24Z

GregKearney:

{{DVDHeadingBox|Joseph Smith's Character: The Occult}}

{| style="border-spacing:8px;margin:0px -8px"
| class="MainPageBG" style="width:85%;border:1px solid #cedff2;background-color:#f5faff;vertical-align:top"|
{| width="100%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5" style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f5faff"
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Symbols and practices with an "occult" connection?</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|
This section of the video is a good example of a common error: using modern standards to pass judgment on historical figures. The segment opens with the portrayal of an inverted pentagram, with sinister flames behind the symbol. The DVD obviously hopes that the viewer will conclude this is an "evil" symbol.

[[Image:MedalOfHonor.png|frame|Congressional Medal of Honor]]
The inverted pentagram has a long history, and only took on negative connotations in the last one hundred years, well after Joseph Smith's death. Joseph Smith and others of his day would have known the symbol from its use in many aspects of American life. Many Americans were Masons, and used this symbol to represent light from the heavens to man.

The inverted pentagram is found in many contexts, including the Congressional Medal of Honor, on
the Great Star Flag of the United States (used from 1837 to 1845), as well as in the cathedrals of Chartes and Amiens in France. Do the producers of this DVD expect us to believe that all these groups are, in fact, part of the "occult"?

Some occult groups have even used the symbol of the cross as part of their symbolism. Does this make all Christians "occult" by association? Such an idea is laughable.

The meaning of a symbol can only be defined by the person or group using it. If others find different meanings in that particular symbol it does not negate the meaning to the first group. For thousands of years the swastika had been used as a symbol of good fortune and well being by numerous societies. Does that mean we need to believe that the German Nazis, by their use of the swastika, wanted nothing but good fortune and well being for the countries they overran during WWII, or the millions of people they murdered in the Holocaust? The idea is nonsense. In the same way the Cross, before it was utilized by Christians all over the world, was the symbol known as the "Staff of Apollo" and was used in the worship of that deity. The Cross was also used by the people of pre-Columbian America, and people in other parts of the world, to signify the sun. Does that suggest that we ought to criticize those who use the Cross to signify the Savior's atonement and suggest that they take their symbols from pagan worship? Of course not, that would be ridiculous. It is ust nonsensical to apply a later interpretation to symbols used by the Latter-Day Saints, and then attack the Latter-Day Saints for something which they do not believe.

'''To read more:'''
* Matthew B. Brown, [http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/Stars.pdf Inverted Stars on LDS Temples]
* [[Symbols on the Nauvoo Temple]]

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: Money digging was an example of Joseph Smith being involved in the occult.</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

The video's first attempt to tie Joseph Smith to the "occult" uses the Smith family's involvement in "money digging." The video takes a practice common to the nineteenth-century, and turns it into something sinister.

During the nineteenth century, belief in folk magic of this kind was common in the United States. Indeed, in parts of New England it is still a common practice with so called "water witches" still listed in the phone book. (See, for example, the 2007 phone book published by Verizon, Inc., for Augusta, Maine.)

Dowsing or water witching was—and to some degree still is—used to locate wells, buried objects such as pipes or utility lines, and lost valuables. It was not then, and is not now (where it is still practiced), considered sinister or "occult." For these people, they simply consider it to be "how the world works." By analogy, such people might not understand the principles of magnetism behind a mariner's compass, but still use it because "that's how the world is."

The fact that Joseph Smith and his family were involved in seeking for buried valuables is not unusual. When Joseph was 16 years old, his local newspaper printed such remarks as the following:
* ''"digging for money hid in the earth is a very common thing and in this state it is even considered as honorable and profitable employment"''
* ''"One gentleman...digging...ten to twelve years, found a sufficient quantity of money to build him a commodious house."''
* ''"another...dug up...fifty thousand dollars!"''
::<small>—''Palmyra Herald'' (24 July 1822); cited in Russell Anderson, "The 1826 Trial of Joseph Smith," (2002 FAIR Conference presentation.){{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2002_1826_Trial_of_Joseph_Smith.html}}</small>

Given how common and respectable such an activity was, it is hardly surprising that the poverty-stricken Smith family took a legitimate opportunity to improve their station in life. Despite all their toil, they lost their farm because they could not make the final mortgage payment.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Joseph Smith and money digging]]
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "On March 15th, 1842, Joseph joined the Masons which is an organization that believes Jesus is not divine and is on the same level as Buddha, Muhammad or any other religious teacher."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

This is a severe misrepresentation of Masonry. Masonry is not a religion and has never claimed to be a religion. Masonry only requires that its members profess belief in a Supreme Being: Christians, Buddhists, Jews, and Muslims are all eligible. In this respect, Masonry is like many other such fraternal organization, or even the Boy Scouts. The policy of open membership does not make Masonry "an organization that believes Jesus is not divine." The millions of Christian Freemasons down through the centuries would find such a statement an insult to themselves and to Freemasonry.

For example, many prominent Baptists over the last two hundred years were also Masons. Robert E. Baylor, founder of Baylor University, was both a Baptist and a Mason. One of the university's presidents, William R. White (served from 1948 to 1961) was a 33rd-degree Mason and served as pastor of First Baptist Church of Austin, First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, First Baptist Church of Lubbock, and Broadway Baptist Church of Fort Worth. He also served as executive secretary, and later as president, of The Baptist General Convention of Texas.

George W. Truett, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, was also a Mason and remained such as he served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1927 to 1929, president of the Baptist World Alliance from 1934 to 1939, and trustee of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Are these men no longer Christians, or somehow involved in the "occult"?

These are just a few of the many prominent individuals who saw no conflict between their Baptist brand of Christianity and Freemasonry. Since their participation in Masonry would presumably not taint the roots of the Baptist faith, why would the several Baptist ministers associated with ''Search for the Truth'' find it necessary to insist that Masonry cast a sinister shadow over the roots of the Church?

'''To read more:'''
* <i>Famous Baptists Who Were Freemasons</i> (Adherents.com) {{link|url=http://www.adherents.com/largecom/fam_bap_freemasons.html}}
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "Within one day Smith rose to the highest degree which is the sublime degree."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

Church critics commonly make this error. The visual accompanying this claim shows an old Masonic chart showing the ''supplemental degrees'' of Scottish and York Rite Freemasonry, thereby implying that Joseph Smith was a member of these bodies. This would have been impossible, since Masonry in Illinois at the time (1842) did not have these supplemental bodies.

The video makes much of the fact that Joseph was raised in a single day, as if this was unusual and a sign of someone of great "occult" status, but fails to point out that Joseph's raising was actually done in two days and in complete accord with the Masonic practice of making a person a Mason "upon sight." The ''Sixth Landmark of Freemasonry'' states:

:''The prerogative of the Grand Master to grant Dispensations for conferring degrees at irregular times, is another and a very important Landmark. The statutory law of Masonry requires a month, or other determinate period, to elapse between the presentation of a petition and the election of a candidate. But '''the Grand Master has the power to set aside or dispense with this probation, and allow a candidate to be initiated at once'''. This prerogative he possessed in common with all Masters, before the enactment of the law requiring a probation, and as no statute can impair his prerogative, he still retains the power, although the Masters of Lodges no longer possess it.''
::<small>—''The Landmarks of Freemasonry''{{link|url=http://www.jabron.net/lmarks.htm}}</small>

This was the process followed in Joseph Smith's case. While rare, it is not an unheard of or unprecedented procedure, and Grand Master Abraham Jonas (the grand lodge of Illinois grand master who raised the Prophet) was well within his rights in making Joseph a Mason "upon sight" without any sinister undertones.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "Joseph's Masonic membership affected the development of the Mormon church in many ways but the most significant area appears to be in the development of the Mormon temple ceremonies."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

"Masonry and the teaching methods it employs may have had some influence in the development of the temple endowment. The degree of that influence is a debated issue among Mormon scholars and laymen alike." The video does the subject a grave disservice by not acknowledging complexity of this issue. There are many more points of dis-similarity between the endowment and the rites of Freemasonry than there are of apparent parallel.

The video shows re-enactments of some LDS temple rituals (borrowed directly from the notorious anti-Mormon film ''The God Makers II'') and implies that these originated in Masonry. This is simply not the case. The ordinances shown in the video (washing and anointing) actually first appeared in the Kirtland, Ohio, temple, many years before Joseph's involvement with Masonry.

Latter-day Saints consider the temple ceremony to be the most sacred expression of their religious worship. To have it held up for public display and discussion in this manner is in extremely poor taste. It is difficult to feel "loved" by those presenting the video when they do something which they know will be offensive and hurtful to most devout Mormons.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Temple endowment and Freemasonry|The Temple Endowment and Freemasonry]]

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Statement: "I suggest that enough evidence presently exists to declare the entire institution of the political kingdom of God, including the Council of Fifty, the living constitution, the proposed flag of the kingdom and the anointing and coronation of a king had its genesis in connection with Masonic thoughts and ceremonies." - Dr. Reed Durham</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|
It is important to note that Dr. Durham subsequently distanced himself from some of the remarks he made during his 1974 Mormon History Association speech. {{link|url=http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&id=278}}

It seems that the producers of the ''Search for Truth'' video believe that Dr. Durham's statement somehow taints Mormonism. Even if it is true—a supposition open to debate among scholars—that does not mean much within the context of the times. Modern Americans are often unaware of it, but many elements of our society that we take for granted today have their roots in early American practices, and most have Masonic overtones. A quick examination of United States currency, for instance, will find many Masonic elements, such as the all-seeing eye, pyramids, and mottoes. These same elements (and more) are found on many governmental buildings.

There is some evidence that these symbols may have had their roots in Masonry or may have been heavily influenced by Masonry. Thus, it would not be surprising if some aspects of LDS governmental theory—wittingly or unwittingly—invoked some Masonic themes. Does this reality of nineteenth century life and thought mean that, somehow, the roots of American society are based in the occult?

Joseph Smith also spoke English, because it was the language of his time and place, but this does not mean that he had no divine revelations given to him. Prophets—Biblical and otherwise—express themselves in the idiom of their own culture.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Statement: "...included in the actual vocabulary of Joseph Smith's counsel and instructions to the sisters were such words...indicating that the society's orientation possessed Masonic overtones." - Dr. Reed Durham</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

Dr. Durham's assertions regarding the formation of the Nauvoo Relief Society are certainly interesting, but they are far from representing a scholarly consensus on the topic.

Dr. Durham, in other places, suggested a connection between the Relief Society and the Masonic "Lodges of Adoption" with women members—which were founded in revolutionary France. The problem with this theory is that there is no indication that Joseph Smith or anyone else in Nauvoo at the time (in the early 1840s) intended this. Lodges of Adoption never found their way to the United States and disappeared from France within a few years of their formation, well before the establishment of the LDS Church in 1830.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: The Jupiter Talisman was evidence of Joseph's belief and participation in occultic rituals.</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

The final issue of purported "occult" evidence against Joseph Smith used by the video is perhaps the least significant of all. Strangely, it is the one upon which the most time is spent. The Jupiter Talisman allegedly belonging to Joseph Smith is an item which at one time was on public display in the old Church Museum on Temple Square. The carrying of tokens supposed to bring a person luck (like a rabbit's foot or a four-leaf clover) has been common practice throughout much of American history, and particularly in the nineteenth century.

Commentators in the video draw all sorts of conclusions about the Jupiter Talisman which are not supported by the available facts. Many respected LDS scholars do not believe that Joseph Smith actually owned the Jupiter Talisman, since it is claimed by some that he had it in his possession when he died but ''it was not actually listed among the objects found upon his person after he was murdered''. Even if Joseph did own and carry the Jupiter Talisman, there is no record of what Joseph might have believed or not believed about it.

One video commentator, Sandra Tanner, claims that "The fact that [Joseph] died with the Jupiter Talisman on his body shows that throughout his life he continued to hang on to that hope and that trust in that magic object." Realistically, the only thing that it may show (if substantiated) is that he had it in his possession when the mob attacked. We do not know where the talisman came from, who gave it to Joseph, or what significance, if any, he applied to it.

It is telling that the only person who claimed that the Jupiter Talisman (a) belonged to Joseph, and (b) was on Joseph's person when he died was Emma's second husband's son. ''He made this claim over ninety years after the Prophet's martyrdom when he was trying to sell the item''.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Joseph Smith and Jupiter talisman|Joseph Smith and the Jupiter Talisman]]
* The Jupiter Talisman Myth {{link|url=http://www.angelfire.com/sk2/ldsdefense/talis.html}}

|-

|}


{{DVDRightColumn}}
|}
{{DoYouHaveQuestions}}

Criticism of Mormonism/Video/Search for the Truth DVD/The "Occult"

2007-03-22T07:31:59Z

GregKearney:

{{DVDHeadingBox|Joseph Smith's Character: The Occult}}

{| style="border-spacing:8px;margin:0px -8px"
| class="MainPageBG" style="width:85%;border:1px solid #cedff2;background-color:#f5faff;vertical-align:top"|
{| width="100%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5" style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f5faff"
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Symbols and practices with an "occult" connection?</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|
This section of the video is a good example of a common error: in their hurry to condemn, critics use modern standards to pass judgement on historical figures. The segment opens with the portrayal of an inverted pentagram, with sinister flames behind the symbol. The DVD obviously hopes that the viewer will conclude this is an "evil" symbol.

The inverted pentagram has a long history, and only took on negative connotations in the last one hundred years, well after Joseph Smith's death. Joseph Smith and others of his day would have known the symbol from its use in many aspects of American life. Many Americans were Masons, and used this symbol to represent light from the heavens to man.

The inverted pentogram is found in many contexts, including the Congressional Medal of Honor, on
the Great Star Flag of the United States (used from 1837 to 1845), as well as in the cathedrals of Chartes and Amiens in France. Do the producers of this DVD expect us to believe that all these groups are, in fact, part of the "occult"?

Some occult groups have even used the symbol of the cross as part of their symbolism. Does this make all Christians "occult" by association? Such an idea is laughable.

The meaning of a symbol can only be defined by the person or group using it. If others find different meanings in that particular symbol it does not negate the meaning to the first group. For thousands of years the swastica has been used as a symbol of good fortune and well being by numerous societies. Does that mean we need to believe that the German Nazis, by their use of the swastica, wanted nothing but good fortune and well being for the countries they overran during WWII, or the millions of people they murdered in the Holocast? The idea is nonsense. No more so than to assign unintended meanings to symbols used by other people and thereby determine their intent.

'''To read more:'''
* Matthew B. Brown, [http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/Stars.pdf Inverted Stars on LDS Temples]

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: Money digging was an example of Joseph Smith being involved in the occult.</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

The video's first attempt to tie Joseph Smith to the "occult" uses the Smith family's involvement in "money digging." The video takes a practice common to the nineteenth-century, and turns it into something sinister.

During the nineteenth century, belief in folk magic of this kind was common in the United States. Indeed, in parts of New England it is still a common practice with so called "water witches" still listed in the phonebook. (See, for example, the 2007 phone book published by Verizon, Inc., for Augusta, Maine.)

Dowsing or water witching was—and to some degree still is—used to locate wells, buried objects such as pipes or utility lines, and lost valuables. It was not then, and is not now (where it is still practiced), considered sinister or "occult." For these people, they simply consider it to be "how the world works." By analogy, such people might not understand the principles of magnetism behind a mariner's compass, but still use it because "that's how the world is."

The fact that Joseph Smith and his family were involved in seeking for buried valuables is not unusual. When Joseph was 16 years old, his local newspaper printed such remarks as the following:
* ''"digging for money hid in the earth is a very common thing and in this state it is even considered as honorable and profitable employment"''
* ''"One gentleman...digging...ten to twelve years, found a sufficient quantity of money to build him a commodious house."''
* ''"another...dug up...fifty thousand dollars!"''
::<small>—''Palmyra Herald'' (24 July 1822); cited in Russell Anderson, "The 1826 Trial of Joseph Smith," (2002 FAIR Conference presentation.){{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2002_1826_Trial_of_Joseph_Smith.html}}</small>

Given how common and respectable such an activity was, it would have been strange for the poverty-stricken Smith family not to take any legitimate opportunity to improve their station in life: despite all their toil, they lost their farm because they could not make the final mortgage payment.

The historical record is clear on this point, but the DVD producers wish to hide that aspect of the truth.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Joseph_Smith_and_money_digging|Joseph Smith and Money Digging]]
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "On March 15th, 1842, Joseph joined the Masons which is an organization that believes Jesus is not divine and is on the same level as Buddha, Muhammad or any other religious teacher."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

This is a severe misrepresentation of Masonry. Masonry is not a religion and has never claimed to be a religion. Masonry only requires that its members profess belief in a supreme being: Christians, Buddhists, Jews, or Muslims are all eligible. In this respect, Masonry is like many other such fraternal organization, or even the Boy Scouts. The policy of open membership does not make Masonry "an organization that believes Jesus is not divine." The millions of Christian Freemasons down through the centuries would find such a statement an insult to themselves and Freemasonry. It would appear the DVD producers know as little of Masonry as they do "Mormonism"!

They ignore, for example, the many prominent Baptists who were also Masons over the last two hundred years. For instance, Robert E. Baylor, founder of Baylor University, was both a Baptist and a Mason. One of the university's presidents, William R. White (served from 1948 to 1961) was a 33rd-degree Mason and served as pastor of First Baptist Church of Austin, First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, First Baptist Church of Lubbock, and Broadway Baptist Church of Fort Worth. He also served as executive secretary, and later as president, of The Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Geroge W. Truett, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, was also a Mason and remained such as he served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1927 to 1929, president of the Baptist World Alliance from 1934 to 1939, and trustee of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Are these men no longer Christians, or somehow involved in the "occult"?

These are just a few of the many prominent individuals who saw no conflict between their Baptist brand of Christianity and Freemasonry. Since their participation in Masonry would presumably not taint the roots of the Baptist faith, why would the several Baptist ministers associated with ''Search for the Truth'' find it necessary to insist that Masonry cast a sinister shadow over the roots of the Church?

'''To read more:'''
* <i>Famous Baptists Who Were Freemasons</i> (Adherents.com) {{link|url=http://www.adherents.com/largecom/fam_bap_freemasons.html}}
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "Within one day Smith rose to the highest degree which is the sublime degree."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

Church critics commonly make this error. The visual accompanying this claim shows an old Masonic chart showing the ''supplemental degrees'' of Scottish and York Rite Freemasonry, thereby implyingthat Joseph was a member of these bodies.

This would have been impossible, since Masonry in Illinois at the time (1842) did not have these supplemental bodies. The video also errs in the name of the degree. Joseph was a Master Mason, which is also refered to in the Masonic rites as "the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason," but never as "the sublime degree." There is no such degree. The critics' lack of research is again apparent.

The video makes much of the fact that Joseph was raised in a single day, as if this was unusual and a sign of someone of great "occult" status, but fails to point out that Joseph's raising was done in complete accord with the Masonic practice of making a person Mason "upon sight." The ''Sixth Landmark of Freemasonry'' states:

:''The prerogative of the Grand Master to grant Dispensations for conferring degrees at irregular times, is another and a very important Landmark. The statutory law of Masonry requires a month, or other determinate period, to elapse between the presentation of a petition and the election of a candidate. But the Grand Master has the power to set aside or dispense with this probation, and allow a candidate to be initiated at once. This prerogative he possessed in common with all Masters, before the enactment of the law requiring a probation, and as no statute can impair his prerogative, he still retains the power, although the Masters of Lodges no longer possess it.''
::<small>—(''The Landmarks of Freemasonry''{{link|url=http://www.jabron.net/lmarks.htm}})</small>

This was the process followed in Joseph Smith's case. While rare, it is not an unheard of or unprecedented procedure, and Grand Master Johnas (the grand lodge grand master who raised Joseph) was well within his rights in making Joseph Smith a Mason "upon sight" without any sinister undertones.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "Joseph's Masonic membership affected the development of the Mormon church in many ways but the most significant area appears to be in the development of the Mormon temple ceremonies."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

That Masonry and the methods of teaching it employs have had an infulence in the development of the temple endowment is without question. However, the video does the subject a grave disservice, because there is much discussion and debate among scholars as to the actual amount of influence. The endowment took many years to develop, and there are many points where there are no similarities between the endowment and the rites of Freemasonry.

The video shows re-enactments of some LDS temple rituals (borrowed directly from a classic anti-Mormon film, ''The God Makers II'') and implies that these originated in Masonry. This is simply not the case. The ordinances shown in the video (washing and annointing) actually first appeared in Kirtland, Ohio, years before Joseph's involvement with Masonry.

Latter-day Saints consider the temple ceremony to be the most sacred expression of their worship of Jesus Christ. To have it held up for public discussion and display in this matter is in extremely poor taste. It is difficult to feel "loved" by those presenting the video when they do something which they know will be offensive and hurtful to most members.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Temple_endowment_and_Freemasonry|The Temple Endowment and Freemasonry]]

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Statement: "I suggest that enough evidence presently exists to declare the entire institution of the political kingdom of God, including the Council of Fifty, the living constitution, the proposed flag of the kingdom and the anointing and coronation of a king had its genesis in connection with Masonic thoughts and ceremonies." - Dr. Reed Durham</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

It seems that the producers of the ''Search for Truth'' video believe that this statement somehow taints Mormonism. Even if it is true—a supposition open to debate among scholars—that does not mean much within the context of the times.

Many elements of our society that we take for granted today have their roots in early American practices, and most have Masonic overtones. A quick examination of United States currency, for instance, will find many Masonic elements, such as the all-seeing eye, pyramids, and mottos. These same elements (and more) are found on many governmental buildings. There is evidence that these symbols have their roots in Masonry or were heavily influenced by Masonry. Does such reality of the nineteenth century mean that, somehow, the roots of American society are based in the occult?

Joseph Smith also spoke English, because it was the language of his time and place, but this does not mean he had no revelation. Prophets—Biblical and otherwise—express themselves in the idiom of their own culture.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Statement: "...included in the actual vocabulary of Joseph Smith's counsel and instructions to the sisters were such words...indicating that the society's orientation possessed Masonic overtones." - Dr. Reed Durham</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

Dr. Durham's assertions regarding the formation of the Relief Society are certainly interesting, but they are far from representing a scholarly consensus.

Dr. Durham, in other places, has suggested a connection between the Relief Society and the Masonic "Lodges of Adoption" lodges with women members found in revolutionary France. The problem is that there is no indication that Joseph Smith or anyone else in Nauvoo at the time (in the early 1840s) intended this. Lodges of Adoption never found their way to the United States and disappeared from France within a few years of their formation, well before the establishment of the LDS Church in 1830.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: The Jupiter Talisman was evidence of Joseph's belief and participation in occultic rituals.</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

The final issue of purported "occult" evidence against Joseph Smith used by the video is perhaps the least significant of all. Strangely, it is the one upon which the most time is spent. Joseph Smith's Jupiter Talisman is an item which at one time was on public display in the old Church Museum on Temple Square. The carrying of tokens supposed to bring a person luck (like a rabbit's foot or a four-leaf clover) has been common practice throughout much of American history, and particularly in the nineteenth century.

Commentators in the video draw all sorts of conclusions about the Jupiter Talisman which are not supported by the available facts. (Many scholars even question whether Joseph Smith owned the Jupiter Talisman, as it was not on the Carthage Jail inventory of his possessions before he was murdered.) Even if Joseph did own and carry the Jupiter Talisman, there is no record of what Joseph might have believed or not believed about it.

One video commentator, Sandra Tanner, states that "The fact that [Joseph] died with the Jupiter Talisman on his body shows that throughout his life he continued to hang on to that hope and that trust in that magic object." Realistically, the only thing that it may show is that he had it in his possession when the mob attacked. (if Joseph did, indeed, have it on his person when he died, which has not been established and there is significant evidence that it was not in his possession) We do not know where the talisman came from, who gave it to Joseph, or what significance, if any, he applied to it. The ''Search for Truth'' engages in idle speculation where there are no facts to support that speculation.

Most damaging for this theory, is the list of items found on Joseph's body after his murder (and signed for by his widow, Emma, who claimed his personal effects). This list ''does not include a Jupiter talisman'' as part of Joseph's possessions.

It is significant that the only person who claimed that the Jupiter Talisman (a) belonged to Joseph, and (b) was on Joseph's person when he died was Emma's second husband's son. He made this claim over ninety years after the martyrdom when he was trying to sell the item.

Such circumstances call for more balance and skepticism than the video commentators are willing to muster.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Joseph_Smith_and_Jupiter_talisman|Joseph Smith and the Jupiter Talisman]]
* The Jupiter Talisman Myth {{link|url=http://www.angelfire.com/sk2/ldsdefense/talis.html}}

|-

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{{DoYouHaveQuestions}}

Criticism of Mormonism/Video/Search for the Truth DVD/The "Occult"

2007-03-22T07:20:56Z

GregKearney:

{{DVDHeadingBox|Joseph Smith's Character: The Occult}}

{| style="border-spacing:8px;margin:0px -8px"
| class="MainPageBG" style="width:85%;border:1px solid #cedff2;background-color:#f5faff;vertical-align:top"|
{| width="100%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5" style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f5faff"
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Symbols and practices with an "occult" connection?</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|
This section of the video is a good example of a common error: in their hurry to condemn, critics use modern standards to pass judgement on historical figures. The segment opens with the portrayal of an inverted pentagram, with sinister flames behind the symbol. The DVD obviously hopes that the viewer will conclude this is an "evil" symbol.

The inverted pentagram has a long history, and only took on negative connotations in the last one hundred years, well after Joseph Smith's death. Joseph Smith and others of his day would have known the symbol from its use in many aspects of American life. Many Americans were Masons, and used this symbol to represent light from the heavens to man.

The inverted pentogram is found in many contexts, including the Congressional Medal of Honor, on
the Great Star Flag of the United States (used from 1837 to 1845), as well as in the cathedrals of Chartes and Amiens in France. Do the producers of this DVD expect us to believe that all these groups are, in fact, part of the "occult"?

Some occult groups have even used the symbol of the cross as part of their symbolism. Does this make all Christians "occult" by association? Such an idea is laughable.

The meaning of a symbol can only be defined by the person or group using it. If others find different meanings in that particular symbol it does not negate the meaning to the first group. For thousands of years the swastica has been used as a symbol of good fortune and well being by numerous societies. Does that mean we need to believe that the German Nazis, by their use of the swastica, wanted nothing but good fortune and well being for the countries they overran during WWII, or the millions of people they murdered in the Holocast? The idea is nonsense. No more so than to assign unintended meanings to symbols used by other people and thereby determine their intent.

'''To read more:'''
* Matthew B. Brown, [http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/Stars.pdf Inverted Stars on LDS Temples]

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: Money digging was an example of Joseph Smith being involved in the occult.</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

The video's first attempt to tie Joseph Smith to the "occult" uses the Smith family's involvement in "money digging." The video takes a practice common to the nineteenth-century, and turns it into something sinister.

During the nineteenth century, belief in folk magic of this kind was common in the United States. Indeed, in parts of New England it is still a common practice with so called "water witches" still listed in the phonebook. (See, for example, the 2007 phone book published by Verizon, Inc., for Augusta, Maine.)

Dowsing or water witching was—and to some degree still is—used to locate wells, buried objects such as pipes or utility lines, and lost valuables. It was not then, and is not now (where it is still practiced), considered sinister or "occult." For these people, they simply consider it to be "how the world works." By analogy, such people might not understand the principles of magnetism behind a mariner's compass, but still use it because "that's how the world is."

The fact that Joseph Smith and his family were involved in seeking for buried valuables is not unusual. When Joseph was 16 years old, his local newspaper printed such remarks as the following:
* ''"digging for money hid in the earth is a very common thing and in this state it is even considered as honorable and profitable employment"''
* ''"One gentleman...digging...ten to twelve years, found a sufficient quantity of money to build him a commodious house."''
* ''"another...dug up...fifty thousand dollars!"''
::<small>—''Palmyra Herald'' (24 July 1822); cited in Russell Anderson, "The 1826 Trial of Joseph Smith," (2002 FAIR Conference presentation.){{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2002_1826_Trial_of_Joseph_Smith.html}}</small>

Given how common and respectable such an activity was, it would have been strange for the poverty-stricken Smith family not to take any legitimate opportunity to improve their station in life: despite all their toil, they lost their farm because they could not make the final mortgage payment.

The historical record is clear on this point, but the DVD producers wish to hide that aspect of the truth.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Joseph_Smith_and_money_digging|Joseph Smith and Money Digging]]
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "On March 15th, 1842, Joseph joined the Masons which is an organization that believes Jesus is not divine and is on the same level as Buddha, Muhammad or any other religious teacher."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

This is a severe misrepresentation of Masonry. Masonry is not a religion and has never claimed to be a religion. Masonry only requires that its members profess belief in a supreme being: Christians, Buddhists, Jews, or Muslims are all eligible. In this respect, Masonry is like many other such fraternal organization, or even the Boy Scouts. The policy of open membership does not make Masonry "an organization that believes Jesus is not divine." The millions of Christian Freemasons down through the centuries would find such a statement an insult to themselves and Freemasonry. It would appear the DVD producers know as little of Masonry as they do "Mormonism"!

They ignore, for example, the many prominent Baptists who were also Masons over the last two hundred years. For instance, Robert E. Baylor, founder of Baylor University, was both a Baptist and a Mason. One of the university's presidents, William R. White (served from 1948 to 1961) was a 33rd-degree Mason and served as pastor of First Baptist Church of Austin, First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, First Baptist Church of Lubbock, and Broadway Baptist Church of Fort Worth. He also served as executive secretary, and later as president, of The Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Geroge W. Truett, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, was also a Mason and remained such as he served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1927 to 1929, president of the Baptist World Alliance from 1934 to 1939, and trustee of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Are these men no longer Christians, or somehow involved in the "occult"?

These are just a few of the many prominent individuals who saw no conflict between their Baptist brand of Christianity and Freemasonry. Since their participation in Masonry would presumably not taint the roots of the Baptist faith, why would the several Baptist ministers associated with ''Search for the Truth'' find it necessary to insist that Masonry cast a sinister shadow over the roots of the Church?

'''To read more:'''
* <i>Famous Baptists Who Were Freemasons</i> (Adherents.com) {{link|url=http://www.adherents.com/largecom/fam_bap_freemasons.html}}
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "Within one day Smith rose to the highest degree which is the sublime degree."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

Church critics commonly make this error. The visual accompanying this claim shows an old Masonic chart showing the ''supplemental degrees'' of Scottish and York Rite Freemasonry, thereby implyingthat Joseph was a member of these bodies.

This would have been impossible, since Masonry in Illinois at the time (1842) did not have these supplemental bodies. The video also errs in the name of the degree. Joseph was a Master Mason, which is also refered to in the Masonic rites as "the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason," but never as "the sublime degree." There is no such degree. The critics' lack of research is again apparent.

The video makes much of the fact that Joseph was raised in a single day, as if this was unusual and a sign of someone of great "occult" status, but fails to point out that Joseph's raising was done in complete accord with the Masonic practice of making a person Mason "upon sight." The ''Sixth Landmark of Freemasonry'' states:

:''The prerogative of the Grand Master to grant Dispensations for conferring degrees at irregular times, is another and a very important Landmark. The statutory law of Masonry requires a month, or other determinate period, to elapse between the presentation of a petition and the election of a candidate. But the Grand Master has the power to set aside or dispense with this probation, and allow a candidate to be initiated at once. This prerogative he possessed in common with all Masters, before the enactment of the law requiring a probation, and as no statute can impair his prerogative, he still retains the power, although the Masters of Lodges no longer possess it.''
::<small>—(''The Landmarks of Freemasonry''{{link|url=http://www.jabron.net/lmarks.htm}})</small>

This was the process followed in Joseph Smith's case. While rare, it is not an unheard of or unprecedented procedure, and Grand Master Johnas (the grand lodge grand master who raised Joseph) was well within his rights in making Joseph Smith a Mason "upon sight" without any sinister undertones.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "Joseph's Masonic membership affected the development of the Mormon church in many ways but the most significant area appears to be in the development of the Mormon temple ceremonies."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

That Masonry and the methods of teaching it employs have had an infulence in the development of the temple endowment is without question. However, the video does the subject a grave disservice, because there is much discussion and debate among scholars as to the actual amount of influence. The endowment took many years to develop, and there are many points where there are no similarities between the endowment and the rites of Freemasonry.

The video shows re-enactments of some LDS temple rituals (borrowed directly from a classic anti-Mormon film, ''The God Makers II'') and implies that these originated in Masonry. This is simply not the case. The ordinances shown in the video (washing and annointing) actually first appeared in Kirtland, Ohio, years before Joseph's involvement with Masonry.

Latter-day Saints consider the temple ceremony to be the most sacred expression of their worship of Jesus Christ. To have it held up for public discussion and display in this matter is in extremely poor taste. It is difficult to feel "loved" by those presenting the video when they do something which they know will be offensive and hurtful to most members.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Temple_endowment_and_Freemasonry|The Temple Endowment and Freemasonry]]

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Statement: "I suggest that enough evidence presently exists to declare the entire institution of the political kingdom of God, including the Council of Fifty, the living constitution, the proposed flag of the kingdom and the anointing and coronation of a king had its genesis in connection with Masonic thoughts and ceremonies." - Dr. Reed Durham</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

It seems that the producers of the ''Search for Truth'' video believe that this statement somehow taints Mormonism. Even if it is true—a supposition open to debate among scholars—that does not mean much within the context of the times.

Many elements of our society that we take for granted today have their roots in early American practices, and most have Masonic overtones. A quick examination of United States currency, for instance, will find many Masonic elements, such as the all-seeing eye, pyramids, and mottos. These same elements (and more) are found on many governmental buildings. There is evidence that these symbols have their roots in Masonry or were heavily influenced by Masonry. Does such reality of the nineteenth century mean that, somehow, the roots of American society are based in the occult?

Joseph Smith also spoke English, because it was the language of his time and place, but this does not mean he had no revelation. Prophets—Biblical and otherwise—express themselves in the idiom of their own culture.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Statement: "...included in the actual vocabulary of Joseph Smith's counsel and instructions to the sisters were such words...indicating that the society's orientation possessed Masonic overtones." - Dr. Reed Durham</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

Dr. Durham's assertions regarding the formation of the Relief Society are certainly interesting, but they are far from representing a scholarly consensus.

Dr. Durham, in other places, has suggested a connection between the Relief Society and the Masonic "lodges of Adoption" found in revolutionary France. The problem is that there is no indication that Joseph Smith or anyone else in Nauvoo at the time (in the early 1840s) intended this. Lodges of Adoption never found their way to the United States and disappeared from France within a few years of their formation, well before the establishment of the LDS Church in 1830.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: The Jupiter Talisman was evidence of Joseph's belief and participation in occultic rituals.</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

The final issue of purported "occult" evidence against Joseph Smith used by the video is perhaps the least significant of all. Strangely, it is the one upon which the most time is spent. Joseph Smith's Jupiter Talisman is an item which at one time was on public display in the old Church Museum on Temple Square. The carrying of tokens supposed to bring a person luck (like a rabbit's foot or a four-leaf clover) has been common practice throughout much of American history, and particularly in the nineteenth century.

Commentators in the video draw all sorts of conclusions about the Jupiter Talisman which are not supported by the available facts. (Many scholars even question whether Joseph Smith owned the Jupiter Talisman, as it was not on the Carthage Jail inventory of his possessions before he was murdered.) Even if Joseph did own and carry the Jupiter Talisman, there is no record of what Joseph might have believed or not believed about it.

One video commentator, Sandra Tanner, states that "The fact that [Joseph] died with the Jupiter Talisman on his body shows that throughout his life he continued to hang on to that hope and that trust in that magic object." Realistically, the only thing that it may show is that he had it in his possession when the mob attacked. (if Joseph did, indeed, have it on his person when he died, which has not been established and there is significant evidence that it was not in his possession) We do not know where the talisman came from, who gave it to Joseph, or what significance, if any, he applied to it. The ''Search for Truth'' engages in idle speculation where there are no facts to support that speculation.

Most damaging for this theory, is the list of items found on Joseph's body after his murder (and signed for by his widow, Emma, who claimed his personal effects). This list ''does not include a Jupiter talisman'' as part of Joseph's possessions.

It is significant that the only person who claimed that the Jupiter Talisman (a) belonged to Joseph, and (b) was on Joseph's person when he died was Emma's second husband's son. He made this claim over ninety years after the martyrdom when he was trying to sell the item.

Such circumstances call for more balance and skepticism than the video commentators are willing to muster.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Joseph_Smith_and_Jupiter_talisman|Joseph Smith and the Jupiter Talisman]]
* The Jupiter Talisman Myth {{link|url=http://www.angelfire.com/sk2/ldsdefense/talis.html}}

|-

|}



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! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#003366;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #258;text-align:left;color:#fff;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Jump to...</h2>
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{{DoYouHaveQuestions}}

Criticism of Mormonism/Video/Search for the Truth DVD/The "Occult"

2007-03-22T07:20:30Z

GregKearney:

{{DVDHeadingBox|Joseph Smith's Character: The Occult}}

{| style="border-spacing:8px;margin:0px -8px"
| class="MainPageBG" style="width:85%;border:1px solid #cedff2;background-color:#f5faff;vertical-align:top"|
{| width="100%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5" style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f5faff"
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Symbols and practices with an "occult" connection?</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|
This section of the video is a good example of a common error: in their hurry to condemn, critics use modern standards to pass judgement on historical figures. The segment opens with the portrayal of an inverted pentagram, with sinister flames behind the symbol. The DVD obviously hopes that the viewer will conclude this is an "evil" symbol.

The inverted pentagram has a long history, and only took on negative connotations in the last one hundred years, well after Joseph Smith's death. Joseph Smith and others of his day would have known the symbol from its use in many aspects of American life. Many Americans were Masons, and used this symbol to represent light from the heavens to man.

The inverted pentogram is found in many contexts, including the Congressional Medal of Honor, on
the Great Star Flag of the United States (used from 1837 to 1845), as well as in the cathedrals of Chartes and Amiens in France. Do the producers of this DVD expect us to believe that all these groups are, in fact, part of the "occult"?

Some occult groups have even used the symbol of the cross as part of their symbolism. Does this make all Christians "occult" by association? Such an idea is laughable.

The meaning of a symbol can only be defined by the person or group using it. If others find different meanings in that particular symbol it does not negate the meaning to the first group. For thousands of years the swastica has been used as a symbol of good fortune and well being by numerous societies. Does that mean we need to believe that the German Nazis, by their use of the swastica, wanted nothing but good fortune and well being for the countries they overran during WWII, or the millions of people they murdered in the Holocast? The idea is nonsense. No more so than to assign unintended meanings to symbols used by other people and thereby determine their intent.

'''To read more:'''
* Matthew B. Brown, [http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/Stars.pdf Inverted Stars on LDS Temples]

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: Money digging was an example of Joseph Smith being involved in the occult.</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

The video's first attempts to tie Joseph Smith to the "occult" uses the Smith family's involvement in "money digging." The video takes a practice common to the nineteenth-century, and turns it into something sinister.

During the nineteenth century, belief in folk magic of this kind was common in the United States. Indeed, in parts of New England it is still a common practice with so called "water witches" still listed in the phonebook. (See, for example, the 2007 phone book published by Verizon, Inc., for Augusta, Maine.)

Dowsing or water witching was—and to some degree still is—used to locate wells, buried objects such as pipes or utility lines, and lost valuables. It was not then, and is not now (where it is still practiced), considered sinister or "occult." For these people, they simply consider it to be "how the world works." By analogy, such people might not understand the principles of magnetism behind a mariner's compass, but still use it because "that's how the world is."

The fact that Joseph Smith and his family were involved in seeking for buried valuables is not unusual. When Joseph was 16 years old, his local newspaper printed such remarks as the following:
* ''"digging for money hid in the earth is a very common thing and in this state it is even considered as honorable and profitable employment"''
* ''"One gentleman...digging...ten to twelve years, found a sufficient quantity of money to build him a commodious house."''
* ''"another...dug up...fifty thousand dollars!"''
::<small>—''Palmyra Herald'' (24 July 1822); cited in Russell Anderson, "The 1826 Trial of Joseph Smith," (2002 FAIR Conference presentation.){{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2002_1826_Trial_of_Joseph_Smith.html}}</small>

Given how common and respectable such an activity was, it would have been strange for the poverty-stricken Smith family not to take any legitimate opportunity to improve their station in life: despite all their toil, they lost their farm because they could not make the final mortgage payment.

The historical record is clear on this point, but the DVD producers wish to hide that aspect of the truth.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Joseph_Smith_and_money_digging|Joseph Smith and Money Digging]]
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "On March 15th, 1842, Joseph joined the Masons which is an organization that believes Jesus is not divine and is on the same level as Buddha, Muhammad or any other religious teacher."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

This is a severe misrepresentation of Masonry. Masonry is not a religion and has never claimed to be a religion. Masonry only requires that its members profess belief in a supreme being: Christians, Buddhists, Jews, or Muslims are all eligible. In this respect, Masonry is like many other such fraternal organization, or even the Boy Scouts. The policy of open membership does not make Masonry "an organization that believes Jesus is not divine." The millions of Christian Freemasons down through the centuries would find such a statement an insult to themselves and Freemasonry. It would appear the DVD producers know as little of Masonry as they do "Mormonism"!

They ignore, for example, the many prominent Baptists who were also Masons over the last two hundred years. For instance, Robert E. Baylor, founder of Baylor University, was both a Baptist and a Mason. One of the university's presidents, William R. White (served from 1948 to 1961) was a 33rd-degree Mason and served as pastor of First Baptist Church of Austin, First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, First Baptist Church of Lubbock, and Broadway Baptist Church of Fort Worth. He also served as executive secretary, and later as president, of The Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Geroge W. Truett, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, was also a Mason and remained such as he served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1927 to 1929, president of the Baptist World Alliance from 1934 to 1939, and trustee of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Are these men no longer Christians, or somehow involved in the "occult"?

These are just a few of the many prominent individuals who saw no conflict between their Baptist brand of Christianity and Freemasonry. Since their participation in Masonry would presumably not taint the roots of the Baptist faith, why would the several Baptist ministers associated with ''Search for the Truth'' find it necessary to insist that Masonry cast a sinister shadow over the roots of the Church?

'''To read more:'''
* <i>Famous Baptists Who Were Freemasons</i> (Adherents.com) {{link|url=http://www.adherents.com/largecom/fam_bap_freemasons.html}}
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "Within one day Smith rose to the highest degree which is the sublime degree."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

Church critics commonly make this error. The visual accompanying this claim shows an old Masonic chart showing the ''supplemental degrees'' of Scottish and York Rite Freemasonry, thereby implyingthat Joseph was a member of these bodies.

This would have been impossible, since Masonry in Illinois at the time (1842) did not have these supplemental bodies. The video also errs in the name of the degree. Joseph was a Master Mason, which is also refered to in the Masonic rites as "the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason," but never as "the sublime degree." There is no such degree. The critics' lack of research is again apparent.

The video makes much of the fact that Joseph was raised in a single day, as if this was unusual and a sign of someone of great "occult" status, but fails to point out that Joseph's raising was done in complete accord with the Masonic practice of making a person Mason "upon sight." The ''Sixth Landmark of Freemasonry'' states:

:''The prerogative of the Grand Master to grant Dispensations for conferring degrees at irregular times, is another and a very important Landmark. The statutory law of Masonry requires a month, or other determinate period, to elapse between the presentation of a petition and the election of a candidate. But the Grand Master has the power to set aside or dispense with this probation, and allow a candidate to be initiated at once. This prerogative he possessed in common with all Masters, before the enactment of the law requiring a probation, and as no statute can impair his prerogative, he still retains the power, although the Masters of Lodges no longer possess it.''
::<small>—(''The Landmarks of Freemasonry''{{link|url=http://www.jabron.net/lmarks.htm}})</small>

This was the process followed in Joseph Smith's case. While rare, it is not an unheard of or unprecedented procedure, and Grand Master Johnas (the grand lodge grand master who raised Joseph) was well within his rights in making Joseph Smith a Mason "upon sight" without any sinister undertones.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "Joseph's Masonic membership affected the development of the Mormon church in many ways but the most significant area appears to be in the development of the Mormon temple ceremonies."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

That Masonry and the methods of teaching it employs have had an infulence in the development of the temple endowment is without question. However, the video does the subject a grave disservice, because there is much discussion and debate among scholars as to the actual amount of influence. The endowment took many years to develop, and there are many points where there are no similarities between the endowment and the rites of Freemasonry.

The video shows re-enactments of some LDS temple rituals (borrowed directly from a classic anti-Mormon film, ''The God Makers II'') and implies that these originated in Masonry. This is simply not the case. The ordinances shown in the video (washing and annointing) actually first appeared in Kirtland, Ohio, years before Joseph's involvement with Masonry.

Latter-day Saints consider the temple ceremony to be the most sacred expression of their worship of Jesus Christ. To have it held up for public discussion and display in this matter is in extremely poor taste. It is difficult to feel "loved" by those presenting the video when they do something which they know will be offensive and hurtful to most members.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Temple_endowment_and_Freemasonry|The Temple Endowment and Freemasonry]]

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Statement: "I suggest that enough evidence presently exists to declare the entire institution of the political kingdom of God, including the Council of Fifty, the living constitution, the proposed flag of the kingdom and the anointing and coronation of a king had its genesis in connection with Masonic thoughts and ceremonies." - Dr. Reed Durham</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

It seems that the producers of the ''Search for Truth'' video believe that this statement somehow taints Mormonism. Even if it is true—a supposition open to debate among scholars—that does not mean much within the context of the times.

Many elements of our society that we take for granted today have their roots in early American practices, and most have Masonic overtones. A quick examination of United States currency, for instance, will find many Masonic elements, such as the all-seeing eye, pyramids, and mottos. These same elements (and more) are found on many governmental buildings. There is evidence that these symbols have their roots in Masonry or were heavily influenced by Masonry. Does such reality of the nineteenth century mean that, somehow, the roots of American society are based in the occult?

Joseph Smith also spoke English, because it was the language of his time and place, but this does not mean he had no revelation. Prophets—Biblical and otherwise—express themselves in the idiom of their own culture.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Statement: "...included in the actual vocabulary of Joseph Smith's counsel and instructions to the sisters were such words...indicating that the society's orientation possessed Masonic overtones." - Dr. Reed Durham</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

Dr. Durham's assertions regarding the formation of the Relief Society are certainly interesting, but they are far from representing a scholarly consensus.

Dr. Durham, in other places, has suggested a connection between the Relief Society and the Masonic "lodges of Adoption" found in revolutionary France. The problem is that there is no indication that Joseph Smith or anyone else in Nauvoo at the time (in the early 1840s) intended this. Lodges of Adoption never found their way to the United States and disappeared from France within a few years of their formation, well before the establishment of the LDS Church in 1830.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: The Jupiter Talisman was evidence of Joseph's belief and participation in occultic rituals.</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

The final issue of purported "occult" evidence against Joseph Smith used by the video is perhaps the least significant of all. Strangely, it is the one upon which the most time is spent. Joseph Smith's Jupiter Talisman is an item which at one time was on public display in the old Church Museum on Temple Square. The carrying of tokens supposed to bring a person luck (like a rabbit's foot or a four-leaf clover) has been common practice throughout much of American history, and particularly in the nineteenth century.

Commentators in the video draw all sorts of conclusions about the Jupiter Talisman which are not supported by the available facts. (Many scholars even question whether Joseph Smith owned the Jupiter Talisman, as it was not on the Carthage Jail inventory of his possessions before he was murdered.) Even if Joseph did own and carry the Jupiter Talisman, there is no record of what Joseph might have believed or not believed about it.

One video commentator, Sandra Tanner, states that "The fact that [Joseph] died with the Jupiter Talisman on his body shows that throughout his life he continued to hang on to that hope and that trust in that magic object." Realistically, the only thing that it may show is that he had it in his possession when the mob attacked. (if Joseph did, indeed, have it on his person when he died, which has not been established and there is significant evidence that it was not in his possession) We do not know where the talisman came from, who gave it to Joseph, or what significance, if any, he applied to it. The ''Search for Truth'' engages in idle speculation where there are no facts to support that speculation.

Most damaging for this theory, is the list of items found on Joseph's body after his murder (and signed for by his widow, Emma, who claimed his personal effects). This list ''does not include a Jupiter talisman'' as part of Joseph's possessions.

It is significant that the only person who claimed that the Jupiter Talisman (a) belonged to Joseph, and (b) was on Joseph's person when he died was Emma's second husband's son. He made this claim over ninety years after the martyrdom when he was trying to sell the item.

Such circumstances call for more balance and skepticism than the video commentators are willing to muster.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Joseph_Smith_and_Jupiter_talisman|Joseph Smith and the Jupiter Talisman]]
* The Jupiter Talisman Myth {{link|url=http://www.angelfire.com/sk2/ldsdefense/talis.html}}

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{{DoYouHaveQuestions}}

Criticism of Mormonism/Video/Search for the Truth DVD/Summary

2007-03-20T16:22:46Z

GregKearney:

Criticism of Mormonism/Video/Search for the Truth DVD/The "Occult"

2007-03-19T19:11:49Z

GregKearney:

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<div style="font-size:300%;border:none;margin: 0;padding:.1em;color:#000">Joseph Smith's Character: The Occult</div>
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{| width="100%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5" style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f5faff"
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Symbols and practices with an "occult" connection?</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|
This section of the video is a good example of a common error: in their hurry to condemn, critics use modern standards to pass judgement on historical figures. The segment opens with the portrayal of an inverted pentagram, with sinister flames behind the symbol. The DVD obviously hopes that the viewer will conclude this is an "evil" symbol.

The inverted pentagram has a long history, and only took on negative connotations in the last one hundred years, well after Joseph Smith's death. Joseph Smith and others of his day would have known the symbol from its use in many aspects of American life. Many Americans were Masons, and used this symbol to represent light from the heavens to man.

The inverted pentogram is found in many contexts, including the Congressional Medal of Honor, on
the Great Star Flag of the United States (used from 1837 to 1845), as well as in the cathedrals of Chartes and Amiens in France. Do the producers of this DVD expect us to believe that all these groups are, in fact, part of the "occult"?

Some occult groups have even used the symbol of the cross as part of their symbolism. Does this make all Christians "occult" by association? Such an idea is laughable.

'''To read more:'''
* Matthew B. Brown, [http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/Stars.pdf Inverted Stars on LDS Temples]

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: Money digging was an example of Joseph Smith being involved in the occult.</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

The video's first attempt to tie Joseph Smith to the "occult" uses the Smith family's involvement in "money digging." The video takes a practice common to the nineteenth-century, and turns it into something sinister.

During the nineteenth century, belief in folk magic of this kind was common in the United States. Indeed, in parts of New England it is still a common practice with so called "water witches" still listed in the phonebook. (See, for example, the 2007 phone book published by Verizon, Inc., for Augusta, Maine.)

Dowsing or water witching was—and to some degree still is—used to locate wells, buried objects such as pipes or utility lines, and lost valuables. It was not then, and is not now (where it is still practiced), considered sinister or "occult." For these people, they simply consider it to be "how the world works." By analogy, such people might not understand the principles of magnetism behind a mariner's compass, but still use it because "that's how the world is."

The fact that Joseph Smith and his family were involved in seeking for buried valuables is not unusual. When Josehp was 16 years old, his local newspaper printed such remarks as the following:
* ''"digging for money hid in the earth is a very common thing and in this state it is even considered as honorable and profitable employment"
* "One gentleman...digging...ten to twelve years, found a sufficient quantity of money to build him a commodious house."
* "another...dug up...fifty thousand dollars!"''
::<small>—''Palmyra Herald'' (24 July 1822); cited in Russell Anderson, "The 1826 Trial of Joseph Smith," (2002 FAIR Conference presentation.){{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2002_1826_Trial_of_Joseph_Smith.html}}</small>

Given how common and respectable such an activity was, it would have been strange for the poverty-stricken Smith family not to take any legitimate opportunity to improve their station in life: despite all their toil, they lost their farm because they could not make the final mortgage payment.

The historical record is clear on this point, but the DVD producers wish to hide that aspect of the truth.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Joseph_Smith_and_money_digging|Joseph Smith and Money Digging]]
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "On March 15th, 1842, Joseph joined the Masons which is an organization that believes Jesus is not divine and is on the same level as Buddha, Muhammad or any other religious teacher."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

This is a severe misrepresentation of Masonry. Masonry is not a religion and has never claimed to be a religion. Masonry only requires that its members profess belief in a supreme being: Christians, Buddhists, Jews, or Muslims are all eligible. In this respect, Masonry is like many other such fraternal organization, or even the Boy Scouts. The policy of open membership does not make Masonry "an organization that believes Jesus is not divine." The millions of Christian Freemasons down through the centuries would find such a statement an insult to themselves and Freemasonry. It would appear the DVD producers know as little of Masonry as they do "Mormonism"!

They ignore, for example, the many prominent Baptists who were also Masons over the last two hundred years. For instance, Robert E. Baylor, founder of Baylor University, was both a Baptist and a Mason. One of the university's presidents, William R. White (served from 1948 to 1961) was a 33rd-degree Mason and served as pastor of First Baptist Church of Austin, First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, First Baptist Church of Lubbock, and Broadway Baptist Church of Fort Worth. He also served as executive secretary, and later as president, of The Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Geroge W. Truett, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, was also a Mason and remained such as he served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1927 to 1929, president of the Baptist World Alliance from 1934 to 1939, and trustee of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Are these men no longer Christians, or somehow involved in the "occult"?

These are just a few of the many prominent individuals who saw no conflict between their Baptist brand of Christianity and Freemasonry. Since their participation in Masonry would presumably not taint the roots of the Baptist faith, why would the several Baptist ministers associated with ''Search for the Truth'' find it necessary to insist that Masonry cast a sinister shadow over the roots of the Church?

'''To read more:'''
* <i>Famous Baptists Who Were Freemasons</i> (Adherents.com) {{link|url=http://www.adherents.com/largecom/fam_bap_freemasons.html}}
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "Within one day Smith rose to the highest degree which is the sublime degree."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

Church critics commonly make this error. The visual accompanying this claim shows an old Masonic chart showing the ''supplemental degrees'' of Scottish and York Rite Freemasonry, thereby implyingthat Joseph was a member of these bodies.

This would have been impossible, since Masonry in Illinois at the time (1842) did not have these supplemental bodies. The video also errs in the name of the degree. Joseph was a Master Mason, which is also refered to in the Masonic rites as "the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason," but never as "the sublime degree." There is no such degree. The critics' lack of research is again apparent.

The video makes much of the fact that Joseph was raised in a single day, as if this was unusual and a sign of someone of great "occult" status, but fails to point out that Joseph's raising was done in complete accord with the Masonic practice of making a person Mason "upon sight." The ''Sixth Landmark of Freemasonry'' states:

:''The prerogative of the Grand Master to grant Dispensations for conferring degrees at irregular times, is another and a very important Landmark. The statutory law of Masonry requires a month, or other determinate period, to elapse between the presentation of a petition and the election of a candidate. But the Grand Master has the power to set aside or dispense with this probation, and allow a candidate to be initiated at once. This prerogative he possessed in common with all Masters, before the enactment of the law requiring a probation, and as no statute can impair his prerogative, he still retains the power, although the Masters of Lodges no longer possess it.''
::<small>—(''The Landmarks of Freemasonry''{{link|url=http://www.jabron.net/lmarks.htm}})</small>

This was the process followed in Joseph Smith's case. While rare, it is not an unheard of or unprecedented procedure, and Grand Master Johnas (the grand lodge grand master who raised Joseph) was well with in his rights in making Joseph Smith a Mason "upon sight" without any sinister undertones.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "Joseph's Masonic membership affected the development of the Mormon church in many ways but the most significant area appears to be in the development of the Mormon temple ceremonies."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

That Masonry and the methods of teaching it employs have had an infulence in the development of the temple endowment is without question. However, the video does the subject a grave disservice, because there is much discussion and debate among scholars as to the actual amount of influence. The endowment took many years to develop, and there are many points where there are no similarities between the endowment and the rites of Freemasonry.

The video shows re-enactments of some LDS temple rituals (borrowed directly from a classic anti-Mormon film, ''The God Makers II'') and implies that these originated in Masonry. This is simply not the case. The ordinances shown in the video (washing and annointing) actually first appeared in Kirtland, Ohio, years before Joseph's involvement with Masonry.

Latter-day Saints consider the temple ceremony to be the most sacred expression of their worship of Jesus Christ. To have it held up for public discussion and display in this matter is in extremely poor taste. It is difficult to feel "loved" by those presenting the video when they do something which they know will be offensive and hurtful to most members.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Temple_endowment_and_Freemasonry|The Temple Endowment and Freemasonry]]

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Statement: "I suggest that enough evidence presently exists to declare the entire institution of the political kingdom of God, including the Council of Fifty, the living constitution, the proposed flag of the kingdom and the anointing and coronation of a king had its genesis in connection with Masonic thoughts and ceremonies." - Dr. Reed Durham</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

It seems that the producers of the ''Search for Truth'' video believe that this statement somehow taints Mormonism. Even if it is true—a supposition open to debate among scholars—that does not mean much within the context of the times.

Many elements of our society that we take for granted today have their roots in early American practices, and most have Masonic overtones. A quick examination of United States currency, for instance, will find many Masonic elements, such as the all-seeing eye, pyramids, and mottos. These same elements (and more) are found on many governmental buildings. There is evidence that these symbols have their roots in Masonry or were heavily influenced by Masonry. Does such reality of the nineteenth century mean that, somehow, the roots of American society are based in the occult?

Joseph Smith also spoke English, because it was the language of his time and place, but this does not mean he had no revelation. Prophets—Biblical and otherwise—express themselves in the idiom of their own culture.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Statement: "...included in the actual vocabulary of Joseph Smith's counsel and instructions to the sisters were such words...indicating that the society's orientation possessed Masonic overtones." - Dr. Reed Durham</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

Dr. Durham's assertions regarding the formation of the Relief Society are certainly interesting, but they are far from representing a scholarly consensus.

Dr. Durham, in other places, has suggested a connection between the Relief Society and the Masonic "lodges of Adoption" found in revolutionary France. The problem is that there is no indication that Joseph Smith or anyone else in Nauvoo at the time (in the early 1840s) intended this. Lodges of Adoption never found their way to the United States and disappeared from France within a few years of their formation, well before the establishment of the LDS Church in 1830.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: The Jupiter Talisman was evidence of Joseph's belief and participation in occultic rituals.</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

The final issue of purported "occult" evidence against Joseph Smith used by the video is perhaps the least significant of all. Strangely, it is the one upon which the most time is spent. Joseph Smith's Jupiter Talisman is an item which at one time was on public display in the old Church Museum on Temple Square. The carrying of tokens supposed to bring a person luck (like a rabbit's foot or a four-leaf clover) has been common practice throughout much of American history, and particularly in the nineteenth century.

Commentators in the video draw all sorts of conclusions about the Jupiter Talisman which are not supported by the available facts. (Many scholars even question whether Joseph Smith owned the Jupiter Talisman, as it was not on the Carthage Jail inventory of his possessions before he was murdered.) Even if Joseph did own and carry the Jupiter Talisman, there is no record of what Joseph might have believed or not believed about it.

One video commentator, Sandra Tanner, states that "The fact that [Joseph] died with the Jupiter Talisman on his body shows that throughout his life he continued to hang on to that hope and that trust in that magic object." Realistically, the only thing that it may show (if Joseph did, indeed, have it on his person when he died, which has not been established) is that he had it in his possession when the mob attacked. We do not know where the talisman came from, who gave it to Joseph, or what significance, if any, he applied to it. The ''Search for Truth'' engages in idle speculation where there are no facts to support that speculation.

Most damaging for this theory, is the list of items found on Joseph's body after his murder (and signed for by his widow, Emma, who claimed his personal effects). This list ''does not include a Jupiter talisman.''

It is significant that the only person who claimed that the Jupiter Talisman (a) belonged to Joseph, and (b) was on Joseph's person when he died was Emma's second husband's son. He made this claim over ninety years after the martyrdom when he was trying to sell the item.

Such circumstances call for more balance and skepticism than the video commentators are willing to muster.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Joseph_Smith_and_Jupiter_talisman|Joseph Smith and the Jupiter Talisman]]
* The Jupiter Talisman Myth {{link|url=http://www.angelfire.com/sk2/ldsdefense/talis.html}}

|-

! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Is Sandra Tanner, quoted above, a reliable witness regarding Mormonism?</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

Sandra Tanner and her late husband are certainly among the most prolific anti-Mormon authors. However, non-Mormon scholars of LDS issues have noted that the Tanners display a consistent bias in their work:

:''[The Tanners] always assume the worst possible motives in assessing the actions of Mormon leaders, even when those leaders faced extremely complex problems with no simple solutions.... Every bit of evidence, even if it could be most plausibly presented in a positive way, is represented as yet another nail in the coffin being prepared for the Mormon Church. There is no spectrum of colors, only blacks and whites, good guys and villains in the Tanners' published writings.... The Tanners have repeatedly assumed a holier-than-thou stance, refusing to be fair in applying the same debate standards of absolute rectitude which they demand of Mormonism to their own actions, writings, and beliefs.''
::<small>—{{Dialogue1|author=Lawrence Foster|article=Career Apostates:Reflections on the Works of Jerald and Sandra Tanner|vol=17|num=2|date=Summer 1984|start=45|end=46}}</small>

Viewers who want to hear about how evil and wrong the Mormons are will be well served by Sandra Tanner. Those who wish to understand and ''Seek for the Truth'' will have to look elsewhere.

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Criticism of Mormonism/Video/Search for the Truth DVD/The "Occult"

2007-03-19T17:23:07Z

GregKearney: removed unrelated materieals at the end.

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<div style="font-size:300%;border:none;margin: 0;padding:.1em;color:#000">Joseph Smith's Character: The Occult</div>
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! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Symbols and practices with an "occult" connection?</h2>
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This section of the video is a good example of a common error: in their hurry to condemn, critics use modern standards to pass judgement on historical figures. The segment opens with the portrayal of an inverted pentagram, with sinister flames behind the symbol. The DVD obviously hopes that the viewer will conclude this is an "evil" symbol.

The inverted pentagram has a long history, and only took on negative connotations in the last one hundred years, well after Joseph Smith's death. Joseph Smith and others of his day would have known the symbol from its use in many aspects of American life. Many Americans were Masons, and used this symbol to represent light from the heavens to man.

The inverted pentogram is found in many contexts, including the Congressional Medal of Honor, on
the Great Star Flag of the United States (used from 1837 to 1845), as well as in the cathedrals of Chartes and Amiens in France. Do the producers of this DVD expect us to believe that all these groups are, in fact, part of the "occult"?

Some occult groups have even used the symbol of the cross as part of their symbolism. Does this make all Christians "occult" by association? Such an idea is laughable.

'''To read more:'''
* Matthew B. Brown, [http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/Stars.pdf Inverted Stars on LDS Temples]

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: Money digging was an example of Joseph Smith being involved in the occult.</h2>
|-
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The video's first attempt to tie Joseph Smith to the "occult" uses the Smith family's involvement in "money digging." The video takes a practice common to the nineteenth-century, and turns it into something sinister.

During the nineteenth century, belief in folk magic of this kind was common in the United States. Indeed, in parts of New England it is still a common practice with so called "water witches" still listed in the phonebook. (See, for example, the 2007 phone book published by Verizon, Inc., for Augusta, Maine.)

Dowsing or water witching was—and to some degree still is—used to locate wells, buried objects such as pipes or utility lines, and lost valuables. It was not then, and is not now (where it is still practiced), considered sinister or "occult." For these people, they simply consider it to be "how the world works." By analogy, such people might not understand the principles of magnetism behind a mariner's compass, but still use it because "that's how the world is."

The fact that Joseph Smith and his family were involved in seeking for buried valuables is not unusual. When Josehp was 16 years old, his local newspaper printed such remarks as the following:
* "digging for money hid in the earth is a very common thing and in this state it is even considered as honorable and profitable employment"
* "One gentleman...digging...ten to twelve years, found a sufficient quantity of money to build him a commodious house."
* "another...dug up...fifty thousand dollars!"
::<small>—''Palmyra Herald'' (24 July 1822); cited in Russell Anderson, "The 1826 Trial of Joseph Smith," (2002 FAIR Conference presentation.){{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2002_1826_Trial_of_Joseph_Smith.html}}</small>

Given how common and respectable such an activity was, it would have been strange for the poverty-stricken Smith family not to take any legitimate opportunity to improve their station in life: despite all their toil, they lost their farm because they could not make the final mortgage payment.

The historical record is clear on this point, but the DVD producers wish to hide that aspect of the truth.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Joseph_Smith_and_money_digging|Joseph Smith and Money Digging]]
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "On March 15th, 1842, Joseph joined the Masons which is an organization that believes Jesus is not divine and is on the same level as Buddha, Muhammad or any other religious teacher."</h2>
|-
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This is a severe misrepresentation of Masonry. Masonry is not a religion and has never claimed to be a religion. Masonry only requires that its members profess belief in a supreme being: Christians, Buddhists, Jews, or Muslims are all eligible. In this respect, Masonry is like many other such fraternal organization, or even the Boy Scouts. The policy of open membership does not make Masonry "an organization that believes Jesus is not divine." The thousands of Christian Freemasons down through the centuries would find such a statement an insult to themselves and Freemasonry. It would appear the DVD producers know as little of Masonry as they do "Mormonism"!

They ignore, for example, the many prominent Baptists who were also Masons over the last two hundred years. For instance, Robert E. Baylor, founder of Baylor University, was both a Baptist and a Mason. One of the university's presidents, William R. White (served from 1948 to 1961) was a 33rd-degree Mason and served as pastor of First Baptist Church of Austin, First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, First Baptist Church of Lubbock, and Broadway Baptist Church of Fort Worth. He also served as executive secretary, and later as president, of The Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Geroge W. Truett, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, was also a Mason and remained such as he served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1927 to 1929, president of the Baptist World Alliance from 1934 to 1939, and trustee of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Are these men no longer Christians, or somehow involved in the "occult"?

These are just a few of the many prominent individuals who saw no conflict between their Baptist brand of Christianity and Freemasonry. Since their participation in Masonry would presumably not taint the roots of the Baptist faith, why would the several Baptist ministers associated with ''Search for the Truth'' find it necessary to insist that Masonry cast a sinister shadow over the roots of the Church?

'''To read more:'''
* <i>Famous Baptists Who Were Freemasons</i> (Adherents.com) {{link|url=http://www.adherents.com/largecom/fam_bap_freemasons.html}}
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "Within one day Smith rose to the highest degree which is the sublime degree."</h2>
|-
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Church critics commonly make this error. The visual accompanying this claim shows an old Masonic chart showing the ''supplemental degrees'' of Scottish and York Rite Freemasonry, thereby implyingthat Joseph was a member of these bodies.

This would have been impossible, since Masonry in Illinois at the time (1842) did not have these supplemental bodies. The video also errs in the name of the degree. Joseph was a Master Mason, which is also refered to in the Masonic rites as "the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason," but never as "the sublime degree." There is no such degree. The critics' lack of research is again apparent.

The video makes much of the fact that Joseph was raised in a single day, as if this was unusual and a sign of someone of great "occult" status, but fails to point out that Joseph's raising was done in complete accord with the Masonic practice of making a person Mason "upon sight." The ''Sixth Landmark of Freemasonry'' states:

:''The prerogative of the Grand Master to grant Dispensations for conferring degrees at irregular times, is another and a very important Landmark. The statutory law of Masonry requires a month, or other determinate period, to elapse between the presentation of a petition and the election of a candidate. But the Grand Master has the power to set aside or dispense with this probation, and allow a candidate to be initiated at once. This prerogative he possessed in common with all Masters, before the enactment of the law requiring a probation, and as no statute can impair his prerogative, he still retains the power, although the Masters of Lodges no longer possess it.''
::<small>—(''The Landmarks of Freemasonry''{{link|url=http://www.jabron.net/lmarks.htm}})</small>

This was the process followed in Joseph Smith's case. While rare, it is not an unheard of or unprecedented procedure, and Grand Master Johnas (the grand lodge grand master who raised Joseph) was well with in his rights in making Joseph Smith a Mason "upon sight" without any sinister undertones.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "Joseph's Masonic membership affected the development of the Mormon church in many ways but the most significant area appears to be in the development of the Mormon temple ceremonies."</h2>
|-
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That Masonry and the methods of teaching it employs have had an infulence in the development of the temple endowment is without question. However, the video does the subject a grave disservice, because there is much discussion and debate among scholars as to the actual amount of influence. The endowment took many years to develop, and there are many points where there are no similarities between the endowment and the rites of Freemasonry.

The video shows re-enactments of some LDS temple rituals (borrowed directly from a classic anti-Mormon film, ''The God Makers II'') and implies that these originated in Masonry. This is simply not the case. The ordinances shown in the video (washing and annointing) actually first appeared in Kirtland, Ohio, years before Joseph's involvement with Masonry.

Latter-day Saints consider the temple ceremony to be the most sacred expression of their worship of Jesus Christ. To have it held up for public discussion and display in this matter is in extremely poor taste. It is difficult to feel "loved" by those presenting the video when they do something which they know will be offensive and hurtful to most members.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Temple_endowment_and_Freemasonry|The Temple Endowment and Freemasonry]]

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Statement: "I suggest that enough evidence presently exists to declare the entire institution of the political kingdom of God, including the Council of Fifty, the living constitution, the proposed flag of the kingdom and the anointing and coronation of a king had its genesis in connection with Masonic thoughts and ceremonies." - Dr. Reed Durham</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

It seems that the producers of the ''Search for Truth'' video believe that this statement somehow taints Mormonism. Even if it is true—a supposition open to debate among scholars—that does not mean much within the context of the times.

Many elements of our society that we take for granted today have their roots in early American practices, and most have Masonic overtones. A quick examination of United States currency, for instance, will find many Masonic elements, such as the all-seeing eye, pyramids, and mottos. These same elements (and more) are found on many governmental buildings. There is evidence that these symbols have their roots in Masonry or were heavily influenced by Masonry. Does such reality of the nineteenth century mean that, somehow, the roots of American society are based in the occult?

Joseph Smith also spoke English, because it was the language of his time and place, but this does not mean he had no revelation. Prophets—Biblical and otherwise—express themselves in the idiom of their own culture.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Statement: "...included in the actual vocabulary of Joseph Smith's counsel and instructions to the sisters were such words...indicating that the society's orientation possessed Masonic overtones." - Dr. Reed Durham</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

Dr. Durham's assertions regarding the formation of the Relief Society are certainly interesting, but they are far from representing a scholarly consensus.

Dr. Durham, in other places, has suggested a connection between the Relief Society and the Masonic Lodges of Adoption found in revolutionary France. The problem is that there is no indication that Joseph Smith or anyone else in Nauvoo at the time (in the early 1840s) intended this. Lodges of Adoption never found their way to the United States and disappeared from France within a few years of their formation, well before the establishment of the LDS Church in 1830.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: The Jupiter Talisman was evidence of Joseph's belief and participation in occultic rituals.</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

The final issue of purported "occult" evidence against Joseph Smith used by the video is perhaps the least significant of all. Strangely, it is the one upon which the most time is spent. Joseph Smith's Jupiter Talisman is an item which at one time was on public display in the old Church Museum on Temple Square. The carrying of tokens supposed to bring a person luck (like a rabbit's foot or a four-leaf clover) has been common practice throughout much of American history, and particularly in the nineteenth century.

Commentators in the video draw all sorts of conclusions about the Jupiter Talisman which are not supported by the available facts. (Many scholars even question whether Joseph Smith owned the Jupiter Talisman, as it was not on the Carthage Jail inventory of his possessions before he was murdered.) Even if Joseph did own and carry the Jupiter Talisman, there is no record of what Joseph might have believed or not believed about it.

One video commentator, Sandra Tanner, states that "The fact that [Joseph] died with the Jupiter Talisman on his body shows that throughout his life he continued to hang on to that hope and that trust in that magic object." Realistically, the only thing that it may show (if Joseph did, indeed, have it on his person when he died, which has not been established) is that he had it in his possession when the mob attacked. We do not know where the talisman came from, who gave it to Joseph, or what significance, if any, he applied to it. The ''Search for Truth'' engages in idle speculation where there are no facts to support that speculation.

Most damaging for this theory, is the list of items found on Joseph's body after his murder (and signed for by his widow, Emma, who claimed his personal effects). This list ''does not include a Jupiter talisman.''

It is significant that the only person who claimed that the Jupiter Talisman (a) belonged to Joseph, and (b) was on Joseph's person when he died was Emma's second husband's son. He made this claim over ninety years after the martyrdom when he was trying to sell the item.

Such circumstances call for more balance and skepticism than the video commentators are willing to muster.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Joseph_Smith_and_Jupiter_talisman|Joseph Smith and the Jupiter Talisman]]
* The Jupiter Talisman Myth {{link|url=http://www.angelfire.com/sk2/ldsdefense/talis.html}}

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Criticism of Mormonism/Video/Search for the Truth DVD/The "Occult"

2007-03-17T23:16:07Z

GregKearney:

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<div style="font-size:300%;border:none;margin: 0;padding:.1em;color:#000">Joseph Smith's Character: The Occult</div>
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This section of the video exemplifies the common flaw of using modern standards to pass judgement on historical figures. The segment opens with the portrayal of an inverted pentagram, with sinister flames behind the symbol. The inverted pentagram has a long history, and only took on negative connotations in the last one hundred years. Joseph Smith and others of his day would have known the symbol from, among other places, its Masonic use, where it symbolized light from the heavens to man.

The inverted pentogram is found in many contexts, including the Congressional Medal of Honor, on
the Great Star Flag of the United States (used from 1837 to 1845), as well as in the cathedrals of Chartes and Amiens in France.

'''To read more:'''
* Matthew B. Brown, [http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/Stars.pdf Inverted Stars on LDS Temples]

{| width="100%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5" style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f5faff"
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: Money digging was an example of Joseph Smith being involved in the occult.</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

First and foremost in mentioning Joseph's supposed connections with the occult is mentioning the Smith family's involvement in "money digging." The attempt, in the video, is to take a common nineteenth-century practice and turn it into something sinister.

During the nineteenth century, belief in folk magic of this kind was common in the United States. Indeed, in parts of New England it is still a common practice with so called "water witches" still listed in the phonebook. (See, for example, the phone book published by Verizon, Inc., for Augusta, Maine.)

Dowsing or water witching was, and to some degree still is, used to find locations for wells, buried objects such as pipes or utility lines, and, form time to time, to find lost valuable objects. It was
not then, and is not now (where it is still practiced), considered in any way sinister.

The fact that Joseph Smith and his family were involved in such activities is not unusual. Quite the contrary, had he not done this kind of activity that would be unexpected, given the beliefs of the day.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Joseph_Smith_and_money_digging|Joseph Smith and Money Digging]]

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "On March 15th, 1842, Joseph joined the Masons which is an organization that believes Jesus is not divine and is on the same level as Buddha, Muhammad or any other religious teacher."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|
This is a deliberate misrepresentation of Masonry. Masonry is not a
religion and has never claimed to be a religion. It permits any man
who professes a belief in a supreme being to join, be they Christian, Buddhist, or Muslim. In this way Masonry is like many other such fraternal organization, or even the Boy Scouts. Masons permit believers
all all types to join. This open membership does not make Masonry "an organization that believes Jesus is not divine." The thousands of Christian Freemasons down through the centuries would find such a statement an insult to themselves and Freemasonry.

It is interesting to note that over the past two hundred years there have been many prominent Baptists who were also Masons. For instance, Robert E. Baylor, founder of Baylor University, was both a Baptist and a Mason. One of the university's presidents, William R. White (served from 1948 to 1961) was a 33rd-degree Mason and served as pastor of First Baptist Church of Austin, First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, First Baptist Church of Lubbock, and Broadway Baptist Church of Fort Worth. He also served as executive secretary, and later as president, of The Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Geroge W. Truett, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, was also a Mason and remained such as he served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1927 to 1929, president of the Baptist World Alliance from 1934 to 1939, and trustee of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

These are just a few of the many prominent individuals who saw no problem between their Baptist brand of Christianity and Freemasonry. Since their participation in Masonry would not presumably taint the roots of the Baptist faith, why would the several Baptist ministers associated with ''Search for the Truth'' find it necessary to have Masonry cast a sinister shadow over the roots of the Mormon faith?

'''To read more:'''
* <i>Famous Baptists Who Were Freemasons</i> (Adherents.com) {{link|url=http://www.adherents.com/largecom/fam_bap_freemasons.html}}
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "Within one day Smith rose to the highest degree which is the sublime degree."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|
This error is one which critics of the Church commonly make. The visual accompanying this claim shows an old Masonic chart showing the supplemental degrees of Scottish and York Rite Freemasonry and implies that Joseph was a member of these bodies.

Such was not the case as Masonry in Illinois at the time (1842) did not have these supplemental bodies. The video also gets wrong the name of the degree. Joseph was a Master Mason, which is also refered to in the Masonic rites as "the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason," but never as "the sublime degree." There is no such degree.

The video tends to make much of the fact that Joseph was raised in a single day, but fails to point out that Joseph's raising was done in complete accord with the Masonic practice of making a person Mason "upon sight." The ''Sixth Landmark of Freemasonry'' states as follows:

:"The prerogative of the Grand Master to grant Dispensations for conferring degrees at irregular times, is another and a very important Landmark. The statutory law of Masonry requires a month, or other determinate period, to elapse between the presentation of a petition and the election of a candidate. But the Grand Master has the power to set aside or dispense with this probation, and allow a candidate to be initiated at once. This prerogative he possessed in common with all Masters, before the enactment of the law requiring a probation, and as no statute can impair his prerogative, he still retains the power, although the Masters of Lodges no longer possess it." (''The Landmarks of Freemasonry''{{link|url=http://www.jabron.net/lmarks.htm}})

This was the process followed in Joseph Smith's case. While rare, it is not an unheard of or unprecedented procedure, and Grand Master Johnas (the grand lodge grand master who raised Joseph) was well with in his rights in making Joseph Smith a Mason "upon sight."
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: "Joseph's Masonic membership affected the development of the Mormon church in many ways but the most significant area appears to be in the development of the Mormon temple ceremonies."</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

That Masonry and the methods of teaching it employs have had an infulence in the development of the temple endowment is without question. However, the video does the subject a grave disservice because there is much discussion and debate among scholars as to the actual amount of influence. The endowment took many years to develop, and there are many points where there are no similarities between the endowment and the rites of Freemasonry.

The video shows re-enactments of some LDS temple rituals (borrowed directly from a classic anti-Mormon film, ''The God Makers II'') and implies that these originated in Masonry. This is simply not the case. The ordinances shown in the video (washing and annointing) actually first appeared in Kirtland, Ohio, years before Joseph's involvement with Masonry.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Temple_endowment_and_Freemasonry|The Temple Endowment and Freemasonry]]
|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Statement: "I suggest that enough evidence presently exists to declare the entire institution of the political kingdom of God, including the Council of Fifty, the living constitution, the proposed flag of the kingdom and the anointing and coronation of a king had its genesis in connection with Masonic thoughts and ceremonies." - Dr. Reed Durham</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

It seems that the producers of the ''Search for Truth'' video believe that this statement somehow taints Mormonism. Even if it is true—a supposition open to debate among scholars—that does not mean much within the context of the times.

Many elements of our society that we take for granted today have their roots in early American practices, and most have Masonic overtones. A quick examination of United States currency, for instance, will find many Masonic elements, such as the all-seeing eye, pyramids, and mottos. These same elements (and more) are found on many governmental buildings. There is evidence that these symbols have their roots in Masonry or were heavily influenced by Masonry. Does such reality of the nineteenth century mean that, somehow, the roots of American society are based in the occult?

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Statement: "...included in the actual vocabulary of Joseph Smith’s counsel and instructions to the sisters were such words...indicating that the society’s orientation possessed Masonic overtones." - Dr. Reed Durham</h2>
|-
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Dr. Durham's assertions regarding the formation of the Relief Society are certainly interesting, but they are far from representing a concensus of LDS scholars.

Dr. Durham, in other places, has suggested a connection between the Relief Society and the Masonic "lodges of Adoption" found in revolutionary France. The problem is that there is no indication that Joseph Smith or anyone else in Nauvoo at the time (in the early 1840s) intended this. Lodges of Adoption
never found their way to the United States and disappeared from France within a few years of their formation, well before the establishment of the LDS Church in 1830.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Claim: The Jupiter Talisman was evidence of Joseph's belief and participation in occultic rituals.</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

The final purportedly occultic issue which the video approaches is perhaps the least significant, yet is the one on which the most time is spent. Joseph Smith's Jupiter Talisman is an item which at one time was on public display in the old Church Museum on Temple Square. The carrying of tokens supposed to bring a person luck (like a rabbit's foot or a four-leaf clover) has been common practice throughout much of American history, and particularly in the nineteenth century.

Commentators in the video draw all sorts of conclusions about the Jupiter Talisman which are not supported by the available facts. (Some scholars even question whether Joseph Smith owned the Jupiter Talisman, as it was not on the Carthage Jail inventory of his possessions before he was murdered.) Even if Joseph did own and carry the Jupiter Talisman, there is no record of what Joseph might have believed or not believed about.

One video commentator, Sandra Tanner, states that "The fact that [Joseph] died with the Jupiter Talisman on his body shows that throughout his life he continued to hang on to that hope and that trust in that magic object." Realistically, the only thing that it may show (if Joseph did, indeed, have it on his person when he died) is that he had it in his possession when the mob attacked. We do not know where the talisman came from, who gave it to Joseph, or what significance, if any, he applied to it. The ''Search for Truth'' engages in idle speculation where there are no facts to support that speculation.

It is significant to note that the only person who claimed that the Jupiter Talisman (a) belonged to Joseph and (b) that it was on Joseph's person when he died was Emma's second husband's son. He made this claim nearly ninety years after the martyrdom when he was trying to sell the item. Such circumstances should cast more of a skeptical eye on the meaning of the talisman than the commentators in the video seem willing to do.

'''To read more:'''
* [[Joseph_Smith_and_Jupiter_talisman|Joseph Smith and the Jupiter Talisman]]
* The Jupiter Talisman Myth {{link|url=http://www.angelfire.com/sk2/ldsdefense/talis.html}}

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! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#003366;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #258;text-align:left;color:#fff;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Jump to...</h2>
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Changes to the temple endowment

2006-08-24T17:06:27Z

GregKearney: /* Response */

{{draft}}<br>
{{templedisclaimer}}
==Criticism==
Latter-day Saints believe that the Temple endowment is an eternal ordinance that Joseph Smith received by revelation from God. Why, then, have changes been made to it several times since it was first revealed?

===Source(s) of the Criticism===
*

==Response==
The critics are confusing the temple ritual, or presentation of the endowment with the temple endowment itself.

The ritual or presentation has changed to meet the needs of a ever growing and changing membership. The endowment itself the commitments made and the teaching has not changed much over time.

==Conclusion==

A summary of the argument against the criticism.

==Further reading==

===FAIR wiki articles===
*Links to related articles in the wiki

===FAIR web site===
*[http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai132.html Changes in temple ceremony] - FAIR Topical Guide
*[http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai127.html Temples and temple work]- FAIR Topical Guide

===External links===
*[http://www.mormonmonastery.org/?cat=31 Historical Changes Relating to Temples] - Mormon Monastery

===Printed material===
*Printed resources whose text is not available online

Temples facing east

2006-03-30T03:05:42Z

GregKearney: LDS Temples do not always face east.

==Issue==
Do LDS temples always face east?


==Response==
The front of the temple is the elevation where the phase "House of the
Lord" is found. So, for example, the "front" of the Provo temple is on
the east-northeast elevation as the temple itself is 20 degrees off of a
true east/west axis. The front of the Oakland Temple is the north
elevation, the front of the Los Angeles Temple is the southeast
elevation. The Stockholm Temple faces due south, which, at such a
northern latitude, would be the direction of the most light; its front
is, therefor, the south elevation.

Nauvoo is an interesting case as it has the phrase on both the east and
west elevations of the building. We know that the original Nauvoo temple
had the phase on the west elevation but no photographic record or
architectural drawings exist of the east elevation so the design of the
east elevation of the modern Nauvoo Temple is guesswork. So in the case
of Nauvoo you can take your pick if the west or the east elevation is
the "front". Most people however would say that the west elevation is
the front of that building as there are no doors on the east elevation.

In summery to find the "front" of an LDS temple you find the phase
"House of the Lord" on the building itself, not on a sign. The elevation
that the phase is on is the front of the building. It is not always the
east elevation. The angel Moroni statue has nothing to do with what is
the front of the building. Temples are placed on the site in the manner
which is most practical and artistically pleasing for that particular
site. They can face in any direction.

==Conclusion==
Temples face whatever direction is most practical and artistically pleasing for the
site they are on.


===External links===
Google Maps of the [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&ll=37.80875,-122.199157&spn=0.002551,0.003701&t=k Oakland] and [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&ll=34.052837,-118.433915&spn=0.002676,0.003701&t=k Los Angeles] and [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&ll=34.052837,-118.433915&spn=0.002676,0.003701&t=k Stockholm Sweden] Temples.

So what's the deal with DanBrown's next book and the Mormons?

2006-03-04T20:46:59Z

GregKearney: /* FAIR web site */

{{draft}}

==Criticism==
There has been much speculation with in and outside of the church that the LDS Church will be featured in Dan Brown's , author of The Da Vinci Code, next book.

===Source(s) of the criticism===

==Response==
There has been a great deal of speculation concerning DanBrown's
upcoming book, the sequel to "The Da Vinci Code" working title, "The
Solomon Key", and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons).

The source of this speculation is due to the words of the Masonic Grand
Hailing Sign of Distress which were hidden inside the fly leafs of "The
Da Vinci Code". By reading the words in bold print you will get the
phase "Is there no hope for the widow's son". A phase every Freemason
learns as part of the ritual of the Master Mason degree.

When entered into Google the phase returns with a reference to a 1974
speech by Reed C. Durham given at the yearly meeting of the Mormon
History Association. This speech, and the accompanying paper, outlined
the connection between Joseph Smith, Jr. and the institution of Freemasonry.

From this connection some, in particular members of the Church, have
concluded that Brown's forthcoming book with feature Mormonism in some
sort of major role. This would seem to be a rather thin line of reasoning.

Just how the phase "Is there no hope for the widow's son" became so
connected with Joseph Smith, Jr. is an interesting topic. Joseph Smith
was a Mason, as were most of the Latter-day Saint men of his time. When
Joseph Smith was murdered by a mob at the jail in Carthage, Ill. in June
of 1844 he was heard to utter the Masonic Grand Hailing Sign of Distress
as he fell from the jail house window. It was from this event that Dr.
Durham took the title of his now famous talk in 1974.

Brown has given no indication that his upcoming book with have anything
to do with the Latter-day Saints or the faith's complex history with the
Freemasons. Any Mason will tell you that Joseph Smith is far from the
first or last Mason ever to have used the phase in time of need. Many
accounts of its use in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars can be found in
Masonic histories. Given that Brown himself has indicated that his next
book takes place in Washington D.C., a city filled with Masonic
symbolism in its building and even its city planning, it would seem
unlikely that the LDS Church would play any role in such a title.

==Conclusion==
Dan Brown has given no indication of any connection between his forth coming book and the LDS Church. Such a connection is the result of speculation and nothing more.

==Endnotes==

==Further reading==

===FAIR wiki articles===

===FAIR web site===

===External links===

===Printed material===

So what's the deal with DanBrown's next book and the Mormons?

2006-03-04T20:46:38Z

GregKearney:

Freemasonry and the Book of Mormon

2006-01-07T18:04:39Z

GregKearney: /* Response */

{{draft}}
==Criticism==
Critics claim that the Gadianton robbers are thinly disguised references to the anti-Masonic panic of Joseph Smith's era.

===Source(s) of the Criticism===
*Fawn Brodie, ''No Man Knows My History'' (New York, A. A. Knopf, 1945), 63–66.
*John L. Brooke, ''The Refiner's Fire: The Making of Mormon Cosmology, 1644–1844'' (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 168–171, 174–177, 226, 230, 233.
*Ed Decker, ''Decker's Complete Handbook on Mormonism'' (Eugene: Harvest House, 1995), 210–211, 280.
*Robert N. Hullinger, ''Mormon Answer to Skepticism: Why Joseph Smith Wrote the Book of Mormon'' (St. Louis, Mo.: Clayton, 1980), 100–119; republished as ''Joseph Smith's Response to Skepticism'' (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1992), 99–120.
*Thomas F. O'Dea, ''The Mormons'' (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957), 23, 35, 57.
*David Persuitte, ''Joseph Smith and the Origins of the Book of Mormon'' (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1985), 173–180.
*Walter F. Prince, "Psychological Tests for the Authorship of the Book of Mormon," ''American Journal of Psychology'' 28 (July 1917): 373–389.
*Latayne Colvett Scott, ''The Mormon mirage : a former Mormon tells why she left the church'' (Grand Rapids : Zondervan Pub. House, 1979), 75.
*Dan Vogel, "Mormonism's 'Anti-Masonick Bible,'" ''John Whitmer Historical Association Journal'' 9 (1989): 17–30.
*Dan Vogel, "Echoes of Anti-Masonry: A Rejoinder to the Critics of the Anti-Masonic Thesis," in American Apocrypha, ed. Dan Vogel and Brent Lee Metcalfe (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2002), 275–320.

==Response==
Many have speculated that the use of anti-masonic language in the Book of Mormon is 'proof' of 19th century authorship. The authors of these speculations fail to take into account four critical issues which discredit the association between the Gadiantion robbers of the Book of Mormon and the anti-Masonry of the opening decades of the 19th century [1826 through 1845].

1. Joseph Smith grew up with and was surrouned by Freemasons in his home. Both his father, Joseph Smith, Sr., and his elder brother Hyrum Smith were Masons in New York. It would seem unlikely that Joseph would be using anti-masonic language and terms, given his family's close connection and association with the institution of Freemasonry.

2. In 1842, Joseph Smith, Jr., became a Mason. Had Joseph intended to tie the Gadianton robbers to the Freemasons, it seems most unlikely that only 12 years later he would then join the very group which the critics' theories require that he oppose so vehemently in the Book of Mormon.

To credit the critics' theories, wrote anti-Mormon Theodore Schroeder, we must accept that

:when the Book of Mormon was finished, Smith's 'obsession' [with anti-Masonry] suddenly and permanently disappears without any other explanation, and Joseph Smith himself became a Mason, in spite of this anti-Masonic obsession.{{ref|schroeder1}}

3. The Book of Mormon is a translation. As such its phrasing may sometimes reflect the time and place in which it was translated. Any similarity between the language of the anti-masonic movement and Joseph's translation can better be expained by Joseph using the language of his time and place rather than by a deliberate connection to anti-masonry.{{ref|mourtisen1}}

Some have claimed that the phrase "secret combination" was used exclusively in a Masonic context in Joseph Smith's day. This is simply not the case, however. In 1788, during the debates at New York's state convention to ratify the federal constitution, Alexander Hamilton stated:

:In this, the few must yield to the many; or, in other words, the particular must be sacrificed to the general interest. If the members of Congress are too dependent on the state legislatures, they will be eternally forming '''secret combinations''' from local views.{{ref|hamilton1}}

And, in 1826, Andrew Jackson complained about Henry Clay's "secrete [sic] combinations of base slander."{{note|Jackson1}} Jackson was a prominent and well-known Mason, and his presidency was rich fodder for those who feared a Masonic conspiracy. Yet, despite the critics' claims that "secret combination" must refer only to Masons, a prominent Mason here complains about an attack on ''him'' in exactly those terms.

4. Furthermore, the Saints of the 19th century saw the Book of Mormon's prophecies of latter-day "secret combinations" fulfilled by the persecution which they received at the hands of American citizens and the U.S. government. They did not invoke the Masons, which suggests that those who knew Joseph Smith did not recognize anti-Masonic themes in the Book of Mormon.{{ref|peterson1}}

==Conclusion==
Given Joseph Smith's long family involvement with the institution of Freemasonry and the fact that he would, in 1842, become a Mason himself, it seems unlikely that anti-Masonry was the "environmental source" of the Gadianton robbers found in the Book of Mormon. The members of his day likewise had little enthusiasm for anti-Masonic sentiments.

Any similarities in language between some anti-Masonic agitators and the Book of Mormon are more plausibly explained by the fact that similar words can be—and were—used to describe a variety of different tactics and organizations.

The claim that "secret combinations" was always used to refer to Masons is clearly false.

==Endnotes==
#{{note|schroeder1}} Theodore Schroeder, "Authorship of the Book of Mormon: Psychologic Tests of W. F. Prince Critically Reviewed," ''American Journal of Psychology'' 30 (January 1919): 70.
#{{note|Mourtisen1}}{{JBMS|author=Paul Mouritsen|article=Secret Combinations and Flaxen Cords: Anti-Masonic Rhetoric and the Book of Mormon|vol=12|num=1|date=2003|start=64|end=77}}
#{{note|hamilton1}} Jonathan Elliot, ed., ''The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution, as Recommended by the General Convention at Philadelphia in 1787, Together with the Journal of the Federal Convention, Luther Martin's Letter, Yates's Minutes, Congressional Opinions, Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions of '98-99 and other Illustrations of the Constitution'', 2nd ed., vol. 2 (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1861), 318, emphasis added.
#{{note|Jackson1}} Robert V. Remini, ''Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union'' (New York and London: Norton, 1991), 340; cited in {{JBMS|author=Daniel C. Peterson|article='Secret Combinations' Revisited|vol=1|num=1|date=1992|start=184|end=188}} [http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=jbms&id=11 *]
#{{note|peterson1}}Daniel C. Peterson, " Notes on 'Gadianton Masonry'" in ''Warfare in the Book of Mormon'', edited by Stephen D. Ricks and William J. Hamblin (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1990), 184 ISBN 0875793002.{{GL|url=http://gospelink.com/library/toc?book_id=868}}

==Further reading==

===FAIR wiki articles===
{{Book of Mormon Anachronisms}}

===FAIR web site===
*FAIR Topical Guide:

===External links===
*{{JBMS|author=Matthew B. Brown|article=Girded about with a Lambskin|date=1997|vol=2|num=2|start=124|end=151}}[http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=jbms&id=149 *]
*{{FARMSReview|author=William J. Hamblin|article=An Apologist for the Critics: Brent Lee Metcalfe's Assumptions and Methodologies|vol=6|num=1|date=1994|start=499|end=500}}[http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&id=146 *]
*{{FARMSReview|author=Nathan Oman|article=Secret Combinations: A Legal Analysis|vol=16|num=1|start=49|end=73|date=2004}}[http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&id=525 *]
*{{JBMS|author=Paul Mouritsen|article=Secret Combinations and Flaxen Cords: Anti-Masonic Rhetoric and the Book of Mormon|date=2003|vol=12|num=1|start=64|end=77}}[http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=jbms&id=310 *]
*{{JBMS|author=Daniel C. Peterson|article='Secret Combinations' Revisited|vol=1|num=1|date=1992|start=184|end=188}} [http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=jbms&id=11 *]

===Printed material===
*Daniel C. Peterson, " Notes on 'Gadianton Masonry'" in ''Warfare in the Book of Mormon'', edited by Stephen D. Ricks and William J. Hamblin (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1990), 174-224 ISBN 0875793002.{{GL|url=http://gospelink.com/library/toc?book_id=868}}

Freemasonry and the Book of Mormon

2006-01-06T23:05:06Z

GregKearney: /* Conclusion */

{{draft}}
==Criticism==
Critics claim that the Gadianton robbers are thinly disguised references to the anti-Masonic panic of Joseph Smith's era.

===Source(s) of the Criticism===
*Fawn Brodie, ''No Man Knows My History'' (New York, A. A. Knopf, 1945), 63–66.
*John L. Brooke, ''The Refiner's Fire: The Making of Mormon Cosmology, 1644–1844'' (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 168–171, 174–177, 226, 230, 233.
*Ed Decker, ''Decker's Complete Handbook on Mormonism'' (Eugene: Harvest House, 1995), 210–211, 280.
*Robert N. Hullinger, ''Mormon Answer to Skepticism: Why Joseph Smith Wrote the Book of Mormon'' (St. Louis, Mo.: Clayton, 1980), 100–119; republished as ''Joseph Smith's Response to Skepticism'' (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1992), 99–120.
*Thomas F. O'Dea, ''The Mormons'' (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957), 23, 35, 57.
*David Persuitte, ''Joseph Smith and the Origins of the Book of Mormon'' (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1985), 173–180.
*Walter F. Prince, "Psychological Tests for the Authorship of the Book of Mormon," ''American Journal of Psychology'' 28 (July 1917): 373–389.
*Latayne Colvett Scott, ''The Mormon mirage : a former Mormon tells why she left the church'' (Grand Rapids : Zondervan Pub. House, 1979), 75.
*Dan Vogel, "Mormonism's 'Anti-Masonick Bible,'" ''John Whitmer Historical Association Journal'' 9 (1989): 17–30.
*Dan Vogel, "Echoes of Anti-Masonry: A Rejoinder to the Critics of the Anti-Masonic Thesis," in American Apocrypha, ed. Dan Vogel and Brent Lee Metcalfe (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2002), 275–320.

==Response==
Many have speculated that the use of anti-masonic language in the Book of Mormon is 'proof' of 19th century authorship. The authors of these speculations fail to take into account four critical issues which discredit the association between the Gadiantion robbers of the Book of Mormon and the anti-Masonry of the opening decades of the 19th century [1826 through 1845].

1. Joseph Smith grew up with and was surrouned by Freemasons in his home. Both his father, Joseph Smith, Sr., and his elder brother Hyrum Smith were Masons in New York. It would seem unlikely that Joseph would be using anti-masonic language and terms, given his family's close connection and association with the institution of Freemasonry.

2. In 1842, Joseph Smith, Jr., became a Mason. Had Joseph intended to tie the Gadianton robbers to the Freemasons, it seems most unlikely that only 12 years later he would then join the very group which the critics' theories require that he oppose so vehemently in the Book of Mormon.

To credit the critics' theories, wrote anti-Mormon Theodore Schroeder, we must accept that

:when the Book of Mormon was finished, Smith's 'obsession' [with anti-Masonry] suddenly and permanently disappears without any other explanation, and Joseph Smith himself became a Mason, in spite of this anti-Masonic obsession.{{ref|schroeder1}}

3. The Book of Mormon is a translation. As such its phrasing may sometimes reflect the time and place in which it was translated. Any similarity between the language of the anti-masonic movement and Joseph's translation can better be expained by Joseph using the language of his time and place rather than by a deliberate connection to anti-masonry. See: {{JBMS|author=Paul Mouritsen|article=Secret Combinations and Flaxen Cords: Anti-Masonic Rhetoric and the Book of Mormon|vol=12|num=1|date=2003|start=64|end=77}}

Some have claimed that the phrase "secret combination" was used exclusively in a Masonic context in Joseph Smith's day. This is simply not the case however. In 1788, during the debates of New York's state convention to ratify the federal constitution, Alexander Hamilton stated:

"In this, the few must yield to the many; or, in other words, the particular must be sacrificed to the general interest. If the members of Congress are too dependent on the state legislatures, they will be eternally forming '''secret combinations''' from local views."

Jonathan Elliot, ed., The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution, as Recommended by the General Convention at Philadelphia in 1787, Together with the Journal of the Federal Convention, Luther Martin's Letter, Yates's Minutes, Congressional Opinions, Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions of '98-99 and other Illustrations of the Constitution, 2nd ed., vol. 2 (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1861), 318.

4. Furthermore, the Saints of the 19th century saw the prophecies of latter-day "secret combinations" as being fulfilled through the persecution which they underwent at the hands of American government and citizens. They did not invoke the Masons.{{ref|peterson1}}

==Conclusion==
Given Joseph Smith long family ties to the institution of Freemasonry and the fact that he would, in 1842, become a Mason himself makes it seem unlikely that anti-masonry was the source of the Gadianton robbers found in the Book of Mormon.

Any similarities likely reflect the fact that similar words can be—and were—used to describe a variety of different tactics and organizations.

==Endnotes==
#{{note|schroeder1}} Theodore Schroeder, "Authorship of the Book of Mormon: Psychologic Tests of W. F. Prince Critically Reviewed," ''American Journal of Psychology'' 30 (January 1919): 70.
#{{note|peterson1}}Daniel C. Peterson, " Notes on 'Gadianton Masonry'" in ''Warfare in the Book of Mormon'', edited by Stephen D. Ricks and William J. Hamblin (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1990), 184 ISBN 0875793002.{{GL|url=http://gospelink.com/library/toc?book_id=868}}
==Further reading==

===FAIR wiki articles===
{{Book of Mormon Anachronisms}}

===FAIR web site===
*FAIR Topical Guide:

===External links===
*{{JBMS|author=Matthew B. Brown|article=Girded about with a Lambskin|date=1997|vol=2|num=2|start=124|end=151}}[http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=jbms&id=149 *]
*{{FARMSReview|author=William J. Hamblin|article=An Apologist for the Critics: Brent Lee Metcalfe's Assumptions and Methodologies|vol=6|num=1|date=1994|start=499|end=500}}[http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&id=146 *]
*{{FARMSReview|author=Nathan Oman|article=Secret Combinations: A Legal Analysis|vol=16|num=1|start=49|end=73|date=2004}}[http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&id=525 *]
*{{JBMS|author=Paul Mouritsen|article=Secret Combinations and Flaxen Cords: Anti-Masonic Rhetoric and the Book of Mormon|date=2003|vol=12|num=1|start=64|end=77}}[http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=jbms&id=310 *]
*{{JBMS|author=Daniel C. Peterson|article='Secret Combinations' Revisited|vol=1|num=1|date=1992|start=184|end=188}} [http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=jbms&id=11 *]

===Printed material===
*Daniel C. Peterson, " Notes on 'Gadianton Masonry'" in ''Warfare in the Book of Mormon'', edited by Stephen D. Ricks and William J. Hamblin (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1990), 174-224 ISBN 0875793002.{{GL|url=http://gospelink.com/library/toc?book_id=868}}

Freemasonry and the Book of Mormon

2006-01-06T22:57:50Z

GregKearney: /* Response */

{{draft}}
==Criticism==
Critics claim that the Gadianton robbers are thinly disguised references to the anti-Masonic panic of Joseph Smith's era.

===Source(s) of the Criticism===
*Fawn Brodie, ''No Man Knows My History'' (New York, A. A. Knopf, 1945), 63–66.
*John L. Brooke, ''The Refiner's Fire: The Making of Mormon Cosmology, 1644–1844'' (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 168–171, 174–177, 226, 230, 233.
*Ed Decker, ''Decker's Complete Handbook on Mormonism'' (Eugene: Harvest House, 1995), 210–211, 280.
*Robert N. Hullinger, ''Mormon Answer to Skepticism: Why Joseph Smith Wrote the Book of Mormon'' (St. Louis, Mo.: Clayton, 1980), 100–119; republished as ''Joseph Smith's Response to Skepticism'' (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1992), 99–120.
*Thomas F. O'Dea, ''The Mormons'' (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957), 23, 35, 57.
*David Persuitte, ''Joseph Smith and the Origins of the Book of Mormon'' (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1985), 173–180.
*Walter F. Prince, "Psychological Tests for the Authorship of the Book of Mormon," ''American Journal of Psychology'' 28 (July 1917): 373–389.
*Latayne Colvett Scott, ''The Mormon mirage : a former Mormon tells why she left the church'' (Grand Rapids : Zondervan Pub. House, 1979), 75.
*Dan Vogel, "Mormonism's 'Anti-Masonick Bible,'" ''John Whitmer Historical Association Journal'' 9 (1989): 17–30.
*Dan Vogel, "Echoes of Anti-Masonry: A Rejoinder to the Critics of the Anti-Masonic Thesis," in American Apocrypha, ed. Dan Vogel and Brent Lee Metcalfe (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2002), 275–320.

==Response==
Many have speculated that the use of anti-masonic language in the Book of Mormon is 'proof' of 19th century authorship. The authors of these speculations fail to take into account four critical issues which discredit the association between the Gadiantion robbers of the Book of Mormon and the anti-Masonry of the opening decades of the 19th century [1826 through 1845].

1. Joseph Smith grew up with and was surrouned by Freemasons in his home. Both his father, Joseph Smith, Sr., and his elder brother Hyrum Smith were Masons in New York. It would seem unlikely that Joseph would be using anti-masonic language and terms, given his family's close connection and association with the institution of Freemasonry.

2. In 1842, Joseph Smith, Jr., became a Mason. Had Joseph intended to tie the Gadianton robbers to the Freemasons, it seems most unlikely that only 12 years later he would then join the very group which the critics' theories require that he oppose so vehemently in the Book of Mormon.

To credit the critics' theories, wrote anti-Mormon Theodore Schroeder, we must accept that

:when the Book of Mormon was finished, Smith's 'obsession' [with anti-Masonry] suddenly and permanently disappears without any other explanation, and Joseph Smith himself became a Mason, in spite of this anti-Masonic obsession.{{ref|schroeder1}}

3. The Book of Mormon is a translation. As such its phrasing may sometimes reflect the time and place in which it was translated. Any similarity between the language of the anti-masonic movement and Joseph's translation can better be expained by Joseph using the language of his time and place rather than by a deliberate connection to anti-masonry. See: {{JBMS|author=Paul Mouritsen|article=Secret Combinations and Flaxen Cords: Anti-Masonic Rhetoric and the Book of Mormon|vol=12|num=1|date=2003|start=64|end=77}}

Some have claimed that the phrase "secret combination" was used exclusively in a Masonic context in Joseph Smith's day. This is simply not the case however. In 1788, during the debates of New York's state convention to ratify the federal constitution, Alexander Hamilton stated:

"In this, the few must yield to the many; or, in other words, the particular must be sacrificed to the general interest. If the members of Congress are too dependent on the state legislatures, they will be eternally forming '''secret combinations''' from local views."

Jonathan Elliot, ed., The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution, as Recommended by the General Convention at Philadelphia in 1787, Together with the Journal of the Federal Convention, Luther Martin's Letter, Yates's Minutes, Congressional Opinions, Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions of '98-99 and other Illustrations of the Constitution, 2nd ed., vol. 2 (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1861), 318.

4. Furthermore, the Saints of the 19th century saw the prophecies of latter-day "secret combinations" as being fulfilled through the persecution which they underwent at the hands of American government and citizens. They did not invoke the Masons.{{ref|peterson1}}

==Conclusion==
Given Joseph Smith long family ties to the institution of Freemasonry and the fact that he would, in 1842 become a Mason himself it seems unlikely that anti-masonry was the source of the Gadianton robbers found in the Book of Mormon.

Any similarities likely reflect the fact that similar words can be—and were—used to describe a variety of different tactics and organizations.

==Endnotes==
#{{note|schroeder1}} Theodore Schroeder, "Authorship of the Book of Mormon: Psychologic Tests of W. F. Prince Critically Reviewed," ''American Journal of Psychology'' 30 (January 1919): 70.
#{{note|peterson1}}Daniel C. Peterson, " Notes on 'Gadianton Masonry'" in ''Warfare in the Book of Mormon'', edited by Stephen D. Ricks and William J. Hamblin (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1990), 184 ISBN 0875793002.{{GL|url=http://gospelink.com/library/toc?book_id=868}}
==Further reading==

===FAIR wiki articles===
{{Book of Mormon Anachronisms}}

===FAIR web site===
*FAIR Topical Guide:

===External links===
*{{JBMS|author=Matthew B. Brown|article=Girded about with a Lambskin|date=1997|vol=2|num=2|start=124|end=151}}[http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=jbms&id=149 *]
*{{FARMSReview|author=William J. Hamblin|article=An Apologist for the Critics: Brent Lee Metcalfe's Assumptions and Methodologies|vol=6|num=1|date=1994|start=499|end=500}}[http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&id=146 *]
*{{FARMSReview|author=Nathan Oman|article=Secret Combinations: A Legal Analysis|vol=16|num=1|start=49|end=73|date=2004}}[http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&id=525 *]
*{{JBMS|author=Paul Mouritsen|article=Secret Combinations and Flaxen Cords: Anti-Masonic Rhetoric and the Book of Mormon|date=2003|vol=12|num=1|start=64|end=77}}[http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=jbms&id=310 *]
*{{JBMS|author=Daniel C. Peterson|article='Secret Combinations' Revisited|vol=1|num=1|date=1992|start=184|end=188}} [http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=jbms&id=11 *]

===Printed material===
*Daniel C. Peterson, " Notes on 'Gadianton Masonry'" in ''Warfare in the Book of Mormon'', edited by Stephen D. Ricks and William J. Hamblin (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1990), 174-224 ISBN 0875793002.{{GL|url=http://gospelink.com/library/toc?book_id=868}}

Freemasonry and the Book of Mormon

2006-01-06T19:27:28Z

GregKearney: /* Response */

Freemasonry and the Book of Mormon

2006-01-06T19:19:19Z

GregKearney: /* Conclusion */

Freemasonry and the Book of Mormon

2006-01-06T19:17:23Z

GregKearney: /* Conclusion */

Freemasonry and the Book of Mormon

2006-01-06T19:13:40Z

GregKearney: /* Response */

Relationship between the temple endowment and Freemasonry

2005-12-02T03:25:33Z

GregKearney: /* Response{{ref|gk}} */

{{draft}}

{{templedisclaimer}}

==Criticism==
Critics of the LDS Church often cite similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and the LDS temple endowment. It is pointed out that the development of the endowment parallels Joseph Smith Jr.'s introduction to Masonry in Nauvoo. Critics often imply or state that the temple endowment was taken from Freemasonry.

It is worthwhile to note that these critics are also often critical of Freemasonry, and thus attempt [[Logical_fallacies#Guilt_by_association | guilt by association]].

===Source(s) of the Criticism===
Website: ''josephlied.com''

==Response{{ref|gk}}==
In order to understand this issue, a few facts are needed:

#Joseph Smith, Jr. was a Mason, as were his brother Hyrum and his father.
#Many of the early leaders of the church were also Masons. These included Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, John Taylor, Wilfred Woodruff and other leading members.
#Masonry was a common social institution in mid-19th century America.
#There are similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and those of the LDS Temple endowment. These similarities center around
::*the use of a ritual drama—the story of Hiram Abiff is used by the Masons, while the LDS endowment uses the story of Adam and Eve
::*some similar hand actions in the course of the rituals.

===Two aspects of temple worship===

In order to understand the relationship between the temple and Freemasonry it is useful to consider the temple experience. In the temple, participants are confronted with ritual in a form which is unknown in LDS worship outside of that venue. The temple is, in fact, made up of two parts:
#The endowment proper, which consists of the doctrine taught and the covenants made with God
#The method of presentating the endowment, or the "ritual" mechanics themselves.

It is in the ritual ''presentation'' of the endowment teachings and covenants that the similarities between the LDS temple worship and Freemasonry are the most apparent. The question is, why would this be the case?

===Joseph's challenge===
In developing the endowment, Joseph faced a problem. He wished to communicate, in a clear and effective manner, some new (and, in some cases, complex) religious ideas. These included such abstract concepts as
* the nature of creation
* matter being organized and not created out of nothing
* humanity's relationship to God and each other
* eternal marriage

Joseph needed to communicate these ideas to a population with limited educational attainments, many of whom were immigrants with only modest skills in English. And, ideally, people of different levels of intellectual and spiritual maturity needed to be taught by the same ceremony.

Joseph's experience with Freemasonry—including serving as the Chaplain of Rising Sun Lodge in Nauvoo—taught him the power of instruction through ritual and repetition. Many believe that Joseph seized on this insight as a tool for teaching the endowment's doctrines and covenants. By using ritual forms akin to Freemasonry—forms with which many Saints were already acquainted—he insured that their focus would be on the endowment proper, and not on the means chosen to present it.

===Differences===
It is also worth noting that many of the similarities highlighted by church critics are only superficial. For example, critics focus on the common use of architectural elements on the Salt Lake Temple and in Masonry, even though the endowment makes no references to such elements. In almost every case, shared symbolic forms have different ''meanings''.

The goals of Masonry and the endowment are not the same. Both teach important truths, but the truths they teach are different. Masonry teaches of man's relationship to his fellow men and offers no means of salvation; it is not a religion. The temple endowment teaches of man's relationship to God, and Latter-day Saints consider it essential for exaltation.

===Modifications===
With time, modern Saints have lost their connection to the institution of Freemasonry. Therefore, the understanding of these ritual forms has been lost by most members. As members no longer require or respond to such rituals elements, some have been modified or removed from the temple's ritual. The ritual of the temple has undergone (and will likely continue to undergo) modification and improvement to meet the needs of the Saints in the coming years.

==Conclusion==

The temple endowment is made up of two elements: 1) the "endowment proper," or doctrines taught and covenants made; and 2) the ritual presentation of the endowment.

While the ritual has elements that are shared with Freemasonry, the presentation is not the endowment. Joseph used these ritual elements because of the Saints' familiarity with them. Ritual drama provided a teaching tool which permitted the prophet to communicate the endowment to a population of limited education.

The presentation of the endowment has been (and likely will continue to be) changed under priesthood direction to meet the changing needs of Latter-day Saints around the world. Many of the Masonic elements once found in the presentation of the endowment are no longer in use. Symbolic elements in the endowment, whatever their source, are present only to aid members in a ''religious'' purpose: understanding doctrine and keeping covenants.

:We live in a world of symbols. No man or woman can come out of the temple endowed as he should be, unless he has seen, ''beyond the symbol'', the mighty realities for which the symbols stand.{{ref|widtsoe1}}

==Endnotes==
#{{note|gk}}This article was created by Greg Kearney, Franklin Lodge #123 A.F. & A.M. of Maine, and includes edits by other FAIRwiki editors.
#{{note|widtsoe1}} John A. Widtsoe, "Temple Worship," ''Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine'' (April 1921): 62 (italics added).

==Further reading==

===FAIR wiki articles===
*Links to related articles in the wiki

===FAIR web site===
*FAIR Topical Guide: [http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai181.html Masonic influence]

===External links===
*[http://farms.byu.edu/publications/bookofmormonview.php?subcat=163&cat=7 FARMS Freemasonry Resources]

*[http://www.freemason.org/cfo/may_june_2001/mormon.htm The Mormon Church and Freemasonry]

*[http://mormonstories.org/?p=14 Mormon Stories Podcast # 005: Masonry and Mormonism, an Interview with Greg Kearney]

*[http://www.sacred-texts.com/mas/dun/ Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor]

===Printed material===
*Printed resources whose text is not available online

Relationship between the temple endowment and Freemasonry

2005-12-02T00:53:08Z

GregKearney: /* Conclusion */

{{draft}}
==Criticism==
Critics of the LDC Church often cite similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and that of the temple endowment ritual found in LDS Temple worship. It is pointed out that the development of the endowment parallels Joseph Smith Jr.'s introduction to Masonry in Nauvoo. Critics often imply, or state outright, that the temple endowment was taken from Freemasonry.

It is worthwhile to note that these critics are very often also critical of the institution of Freemasonry as well.

===Source(s) of the Criticism===
http://www.josephlied.com/masonry.html

==Response==
In order to answer this issue we need to establish a few facts:

1. Joseph Smith Jr. was a Mason as was his father and brother Hyrum.

2. Many of the early leaders of the church were also Masons. These include Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, John Taylor, Wilfred Woodruff and other leading members.

3. Masonry was a common social institution in mid-19th century America.

4. There are similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and those of the LDS Temple endowment. These similarities center around the use of a ritual drama, the story of Hiram Abiff for the Masons and the story of Adam and Eve for the endowment as well as some similar hand actions.

In order to understand the relationship between the temple and Freemasonry it is useful to consider the temple experience. In the temple we are confronted with ritual in a form which is unknown in LDS worship outside of that venue. The temple is in fact made up of two parts. The endowment proper which is what we are taught and the covernence we make make before the Lord. And the presentation of the endowment, or the ritual.

It is in this presentation of the endowment that the similarities between the LDS temple worship and Freemasonry are the most apparent. The question is why would this be the case?

In developing the endowment Joseph was faced with a problem. He wished to communicate in a clear and effective manner some new and in some cases complex religious ideas. These included such things as the nature of creation, matter being organized and not created out of nothing, our relationship to God as well as to each other, eternal marriage and so on. He needed to communicate these ideas to a population of limited education any of whom had only modest background in the English language.

In Freemasonry Joseph, who served as the Chaplain of Rising Sun Lodge in Nauvoo, had seen the rituals unique ability to instruct through means of ritual and repetition. I believe that Joseph sized on this as the means to present the endowment. By using ritual forms from Freemasonry, forms the Saints already were acquainted with he insured that the focus would be on the endowment proper and not on the presentation.

It is also worth noting that many of the similarities that church critics have focused on are superficial in nature. For example, the common use of architectural elements on the Salt Lake Temple and in Masonry even when no reference to those element is made in the endowment. In almost every case where symbols are shared the meaning of the symbols differs.

The goals of Masonry and the endowment are not the same. Both teach important truths but the truths they teach are different. Masonry teaches of our relationship to our fellow men and offers no means of salvation; it not being a religion. The temple endowment teaches of man's relationship to God and is believed by Latter-day Saints to be essential for exaltation.

As time has gone on and the Saints lost their connection to the institution of Freemasonry the understanding of these ritual forms have been lost to the Saints. As we no longer need or even in some cases want such rituals elements, such as the penalties (hand actions showing different ways in which life may be taken.) have been removed from the temple ritual. The ritual of the temple has undergone and will continue to undergo modification and improvement to meet the needs of the Saints in the coming years.

==Conclusion==

The temple endowment is made up of two elements. The endowment proper being what we are taught and the ordinances of the temple, and the presentation of the endowment through ritual.

While the ritual has elements that originated in Freemasonry, the use of the allegorical ritual drama, aprons and other ritual elements, the presentation is not the endowment. Joseph used these ritual elements due to the familiarity of the Saints of his day with them. Masonic ritual provided a teaching tool for the prophet to communicate the endowment to a population of limited education.

Further the presentation of the endowment has, and will continue to, change under priesthood direction to meet the changing needs of Latter-day Saints around the world. Many of the masonic elements once found in the presentation of the endowment are no longer in use.

Greg Kearney<br />
Franklin Lodge #123 A.F. & A.M. of Maine

==Further reading==

===FAIR wiki articles===
*Links to related articles in the wiki

===FAIR web site===
*FAIR Topical Guide: [http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai181.html Masonic influence]

===External links===
*[http://farms.byu.edu/publications/bookofmormonview.php?subcat=163&cat=7 FARMS Freemasonry Resources]

*[http://www.freemason.org/cfo/may_june_2001/mormon.htm The Mormon Church and Freemasonry]

*[http://mormonstories.org/?p=14 Mormon Stories Podcast # 005: Masonry and Mormonism, an Interview with Greg Kearney]

*[http://www.sacred-texts.com/mas/dun/ Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor]

===Printed material===
*Printed resources whose text is not available online

Relationship between the temple endowment and Freemasonry

2005-12-02T00:51:14Z

GregKearney: /* External links */

{{draft}}
==Criticism==
Critics of the LDC Church often cite similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and that of the temple endowment ritual found in LDS Temple worship. It is pointed out that the development of the endowment parallels Joseph Smith Jr.'s introduction to Masonry in Nauvoo. Critics often imply, or state outright, that the temple endowment was taken from Freemasonry.

It is worthwhile to note that these critics are very often also critical of the institution of Freemasonry as well.

===Source(s) of the Criticism===
http://www.josephlied.com/masonry.html

==Response==
In order to answer this issue we need to establish a few facts:

1. Joseph Smith Jr. was a Mason as was his father and brother Hyrum.

2. Many of the early leaders of the church were also Masons. These include Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, John Taylor, Wilfred Woodruff and other leading members.

3. Masonry was a common social institution in mid-19th century America.

4. There are similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and those of the LDS Temple endowment. These similarities center around the use of a ritual drama, the story of Hiram Abiff for the Masons and the story of Adam and Eve for the endowment as well as some similar hand actions.

In order to understand the relationship between the temple and Freemasonry it is useful to consider the temple experience. In the temple we are confronted with ritual in a form which is unknown in LDS worship outside of that venue. The temple is in fact made up of two parts. The endowment proper which is what we are taught and the covernence we make make before the Lord. And the presentation of the endowment, or the ritual.

It is in this presentation of the endowment that the similarities between the LDS temple worship and Freemasonry are the most apparent. The question is why would this be the case?

In developing the endowment Joseph was faced with a problem. He wished to communicate in a clear and effective manner some new and in some cases complex religious ideas. These included such things as the nature of creation, matter being organized and not created out of nothing, our relationship to God as well as to each other, eternal marriage and so on. He needed to communicate these ideas to a population of limited education any of whom had only modest background in the English language.

In Freemasonry Joseph, who served as the Chaplain of Rising Sun Lodge in Nauvoo, had seen the rituals unique ability to instruct through means of ritual and repetition. I believe that Joseph sized on this as the means to present the endowment. By using ritual forms from Freemasonry, forms the Saints already were acquainted with he insured that the focus would be on the endowment proper and not on the presentation.

It is also worth noting that many of the similarities that church critics have focused on are superficial in nature. For example, the common use of architectural elements on the Salt Lake Temple and in Masonry even when no reference to those element is made in the endowment. In almost every case where symbols are shared the meaning of the symbols differs.

The goals of Masonry and the endowment are not the same. Both teach important truths but the truths they teach are different. Masonry teaches of our relationship to our fellow men and offers no means of salvation; it not being a religion. The temple endowment teaches of man's relationship to God and is believed by Latter-day Saints to be essential for exaltation.

As time has gone on and the Saints lost their connection to the institution of Freemasonry the understanding of these ritual forms have been lost to the Saints. As we no longer need or even in some cases want such rituals elements, such as the penalties (hand actions showing different ways in which life may be taken.) have been removed from the temple ritual. The ritual of the temple has undergone and will continue to undergo modification and improvement to meet the needs of the Saints in the coming years.

==Conclusion==

The temple endowment is made up of two elements. the endowment proper being what we are taught and the ordinances of the temple. And the presentation of the endowment through ritual.

While the ritual has elements that originated in Freemasonry, the use of the allegorical ritual drama, aprons and other ritual elements the presentation is not the endowment. Joseph used these elements due to the familiarity of the Saints of his day with them. Masonic ritual provided a teaching tool for the prophet to communicate the endowment to a population of limited education.

Further the presentation of the endowment has, and will continue to, change under priesthood direction to meet the changing needs of the Latter-day Saints. Many of the masonic element once found in the presentation of the endowment are no longer in use.

Greg Kearney<br />
Franklin Lodge #123 A.F. & A.M. of Maine

==Further reading==

===FAIR wiki articles===
*Links to related articles in the wiki

===FAIR web site===
*FAIR Topical Guide: [http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai181.html Masonic influence]

===External links===
*[http://farms.byu.edu/publications/bookofmormonview.php?subcat=163&cat=7 FARMS Freemasonry Resources]

*[http://www.freemason.org/cfo/may_june_2001/mormon.htm The Mormon Church and Freemasonry]

*[http://mormonstories.org/?p=14 Mormon Stories Podcast # 005: Masonry and Mormonism, an Interview with Greg Kearney]

*[http://www.sacred-texts.com/mas/dun/ Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor]

===Printed material===
*Printed resources whose text is not available online

Relationship between the temple endowment and Freemasonry

2005-12-02T00:50:06Z

GregKearney: /* External links */

{{draft}}
==Criticism==
Critics of the LDC Church often cite similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and that of the temple endowment ritual found in LDS Temple worship. It is pointed out that the development of the endowment parallels Joseph Smith Jr.'s introduction to Masonry in Nauvoo. Critics often imply, or state outright, that the temple endowment was taken from Freemasonry.

It is worthwhile to note that these critics are very often also critical of the institution of Freemasonry as well.

===Source(s) of the Criticism===
http://www.josephlied.com/masonry.html

==Response==
In order to answer this issue we need to establish a few facts:

1. Joseph Smith Jr. was a Mason as was his father and brother Hyrum.

2. Many of the early leaders of the church were also Masons. These include Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, John Taylor, Wilfred Woodruff and other leading members.

3. Masonry was a common social institution in mid-19th century America.

4. There are similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and those of the LDS Temple endowment. These similarities center around the use of a ritual drama, the story of Hiram Abiff for the Masons and the story of Adam and Eve for the endowment as well as some similar hand actions.

In order to understand the relationship between the temple and Freemasonry it is useful to consider the temple experience. In the temple we are confronted with ritual in a form which is unknown in LDS worship outside of that venue. The temple is in fact made up of two parts. The endowment proper which is what we are taught and the covernence we make make before the Lord. And the presentation of the endowment, or the ritual.

It is in this presentation of the endowment that the similarities between the LDS temple worship and Freemasonry are the most apparent. The question is why would this be the case?

In developing the endowment Joseph was faced with a problem. He wished to communicate in a clear and effective manner some new and in some cases complex religious ideas. These included such things as the nature of creation, matter being organized and not created out of nothing, our relationship to God as well as to each other, eternal marriage and so on. He needed to communicate these ideas to a population of limited education any of whom had only modest background in the English language.

In Freemasonry Joseph, who served as the Chaplain of Rising Sun Lodge in Nauvoo, had seen the rituals unique ability to instruct through means of ritual and repetition. I believe that Joseph sized on this as the means to present the endowment. By using ritual forms from Freemasonry, forms the Saints already were acquainted with he insured that the focus would be on the endowment proper and not on the presentation.

It is also worth noting that many of the similarities that church critics have focused on are superficial in nature. For example, the common use of architectural elements on the Salt Lake Temple and in Masonry even when no reference to those element is made in the endowment. In almost every case where symbols are shared the meaning of the symbols differs.

The goals of Masonry and the endowment are not the same. Both teach important truths but the truths they teach are different. Masonry teaches of our relationship to our fellow men and offers no means of salvation; it not being a religion. The temple endowment teaches of man's relationship to God and is believed by Latter-day Saints to be essential for exaltation.

As time has gone on and the Saints lost their connection to the institution of Freemasonry the understanding of these ritual forms have been lost to the Saints. As we no longer need or even in some cases want such rituals elements, such as the penalties (hand actions showing different ways in which life may be taken.) have been removed from the temple ritual. The ritual of the temple has undergone and will continue to undergo modification and improvement to meet the needs of the Saints in the coming years.

==Conclusion==

The temple endowment is made up of two elements. the endowment proper being what we are taught and the ordinances of the temple. And the presentation of the endowment through ritual.

While the ritual has elements that originated in Freemasonry, the use of the allegorical ritual drama, aprons and other ritual elements the presentation is not the endowment. Joseph used these elements due to the familiarity of the Saints of his day with them. Masonic ritual provided a teaching tool for the prophet to communicate the endowment to a population of limited education.

Further the presentation of the endowment has, and will continue to, change under priesthood direction to meet the changing needs of the Latter-day Saints. Many of the masonic element once found in the presentation of the endowment are no longer in use.

Greg Kearney<br />
Franklin Lodge #123 A.F. & A.M. of Maine

==Further reading==

===FAIR wiki articles===
*Links to related articles in the wiki

===FAIR web site===
*FAIR Topical Guide: [http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai181.html Masonic influence]

===External links===
*[http://farms.byu.edu/publications/bookofmormonview.php?subcat=163&cat=7 FARMS Freemasonry Resources]

[http://www.freemason.org/cfo/may_june_2001/mormon.htm The Mormon Church and Freemasonry]

[http://mormonstories.org/?p=14 Mormon Stories Podcast # 005: Masonry and Mormonism, an Interview with Greg Kearney]

===Printed material===
*Printed resources whose text is not available online

Relationship between the temple endowment and Freemasonry

2005-12-02T00:49:50Z

GregKearney: /* External links */

{{draft}}
==Criticism==
Critics of the LDC Church often cite similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and that of the temple endowment ritual found in LDS Temple worship. It is pointed out that the development of the endowment parallels Joseph Smith Jr.'s introduction to Masonry in Nauvoo. Critics often imply, or state outright, that the temple endowment was taken from Freemasonry.

It is worthwhile to note that these critics are very often also critical of the institution of Freemasonry as well.

===Source(s) of the Criticism===
http://www.josephlied.com/masonry.html

==Response==
In order to answer this issue we need to establish a few facts:

1. Joseph Smith Jr. was a Mason as was his father and brother Hyrum.

2. Many of the early leaders of the church were also Masons. These include Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, John Taylor, Wilfred Woodruff and other leading members.

3. Masonry was a common social institution in mid-19th century America.

4. There are similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and those of the LDS Temple endowment. These similarities center around the use of a ritual drama, the story of Hiram Abiff for the Masons and the story of Adam and Eve for the endowment as well as some similar hand actions.

In order to understand the relationship between the temple and Freemasonry it is useful to consider the temple experience. In the temple we are confronted with ritual in a form which is unknown in LDS worship outside of that venue. The temple is in fact made up of two parts. The endowment proper which is what we are taught and the covernence we make make before the Lord. And the presentation of the endowment, or the ritual.

It is in this presentation of the endowment that the similarities between the LDS temple worship and Freemasonry are the most apparent. The question is why would this be the case?

In developing the endowment Joseph was faced with a problem. He wished to communicate in a clear and effective manner some new and in some cases complex religious ideas. These included such things as the nature of creation, matter being organized and not created out of nothing, our relationship to God as well as to each other, eternal marriage and so on. He needed to communicate these ideas to a population of limited education any of whom had only modest background in the English language.

In Freemasonry Joseph, who served as the Chaplain of Rising Sun Lodge in Nauvoo, had seen the rituals unique ability to instruct through means of ritual and repetition. I believe that Joseph sized on this as the means to present the endowment. By using ritual forms from Freemasonry, forms the Saints already were acquainted with he insured that the focus would be on the endowment proper and not on the presentation.

It is also worth noting that many of the similarities that church critics have focused on are superficial in nature. For example, the common use of architectural elements on the Salt Lake Temple and in Masonry even when no reference to those element is made in the endowment. In almost every case where symbols are shared the meaning of the symbols differs.

The goals of Masonry and the endowment are not the same. Both teach important truths but the truths they teach are different. Masonry teaches of our relationship to our fellow men and offers no means of salvation; it not being a religion. The temple endowment teaches of man's relationship to God and is believed by Latter-day Saints to be essential for exaltation.

As time has gone on and the Saints lost their connection to the institution of Freemasonry the understanding of these ritual forms have been lost to the Saints. As we no longer need or even in some cases want such rituals elements, such as the penalties (hand actions showing different ways in which life may be taken.) have been removed from the temple ritual. The ritual of the temple has undergone and will continue to undergo modification and improvement to meet the needs of the Saints in the coming years.

==Conclusion==

The temple endowment is made up of two elements. the endowment proper being what we are taught and the ordinances of the temple. And the presentation of the endowment through ritual.

While the ritual has elements that originated in Freemasonry, the use of the allegorical ritual drama, aprons and other ritual elements the presentation is not the endowment. Joseph used these elements due to the familiarity of the Saints of his day with them. Masonic ritual provided a teaching tool for the prophet to communicate the endowment to a population of limited education.

Further the presentation of the endowment has, and will continue to, change under priesthood direction to meet the changing needs of the Latter-day Saints. Many of the masonic element once found in the presentation of the endowment are no longer in use.

Greg Kearney<br />
Franklin Lodge #123 A.F. & A.M. of Maine

==Further reading==

===FAIR wiki articles===
*Links to related articles in the wiki

===FAIR web site===
*FAIR Topical Guide: [http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai181.html Masonic influence]

===External links===
*[http://farms.byu.edu/publications/bookofmormonview.php?subcat=163&cat=7 FARMS Freemasonry Resources]
[http://www.freemason.org/cfo/may_june_2001/mormon.htm The Mormon Church and Freemasonry]
[http://mormonstories.org/?p=14 Mormon Stories Podcast # 005: Masonry and Mormonism, an Interview with Greg Kearney]

===Printed material===
*Printed resources whose text is not available online

Relationship between the temple endowment and Freemasonry

2005-12-02T00:45:18Z

GregKearney: /* Conclusion */

{{draft}}
==Criticism==
Critics of the LDC Church often cite similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and that of the temple endowment ritual found in LDS Temple worship. It is pointed out that the development of the endowment parallels Joseph Smith Jr.'s introduction to Masonry in Nauvoo. Critics often imply, or state outright, that the temple endowment was taken from Freemasonry.

It is worthwhile to note that these critics are very often also critical of the institution of Freemasonry as well.

===Source(s) of the Criticism===
http://www.josephlied.com/masonry.html

==Response==
In order to answer this issue we need to establish a few facts:

1. Joseph Smith Jr. was a Mason as was his father and brother Hyrum.

2. Many of the early leaders of the church were also Masons. These include Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, John Taylor, Wilfred Woodruff and other leading members.

3. Masonry was a common social institution in mid-19th century America.

4. There are similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and those of the LDS Temple endowment. These similarities center around the use of a ritual drama, the story of Hiram Abiff for the Masons and the story of Adam and Eve for the endowment as well as some similar hand actions.

In order to understand the relationship between the temple and Freemasonry it is useful to consider the temple experience. In the temple we are confronted with ritual in a form which is unknown in LDS worship outside of that venue. The temple is in fact made up of two parts. The endowment proper which is what we are taught and the covernence we make make before the Lord. And the presentation of the endowment, or the ritual.

It is in this presentation of the endowment that the similarities between the LDS temple worship and Freemasonry are the most apparent. The question is why would this be the case?

In developing the endowment Joseph was faced with a problem. He wished to communicate in a clear and effective manner some new and in some cases complex religious ideas. These included such things as the nature of creation, matter being organized and not created out of nothing, our relationship to God as well as to each other, eternal marriage and so on. He needed to communicate these ideas to a population of limited education any of whom had only modest background in the English language.

In Freemasonry Joseph, who served as the Chaplain of Rising Sun Lodge in Nauvoo, had seen the rituals unique ability to instruct through means of ritual and repetition. I believe that Joseph sized on this as the means to present the endowment. By using ritual forms from Freemasonry, forms the Saints already were acquainted with he insured that the focus would be on the endowment proper and not on the presentation.

It is also worth noting that many of the similarities that church critics have focused on are superficial in nature. For example, the common use of architectural elements on the Salt Lake Temple and in Masonry even when no reference to those element is made in the endowment. In almost every case where symbols are shared the meaning of the symbols differs.

The goals of Masonry and the endowment are not the same. Both teach important truths but the truths they teach are different. Masonry teaches of our relationship to our fellow men and offers no means of salvation; it not being a religion. The temple endowment teaches of man's relationship to God and is believed by Latter-day Saints to be essential for exaltation.

As time has gone on and the Saints lost their connection to the institution of Freemasonry the understanding of these ritual forms have been lost to the Saints. As we no longer need or even in some cases want such rituals elements, such as the penalties (hand actions showing different ways in which life may be taken.) have been removed from the temple ritual. The ritual of the temple has undergone and will continue to undergo modification and improvement to meet the needs of the Saints in the coming years.

==Conclusion==

The temple endowment is made up of two elements. the endowment proper being what we are taught and the ordinances of the temple. And the presentation of the endowment through ritual.

While the ritual has elements that originated in Freemasonry, the use of the allegorical ritual drama, aprons and other ritual elements the presentation is not the endowment. Joseph used these elements due to the familiarity of the Saints of his day with them. Masonic ritual provided a teaching tool for the prophet to communicate the endowment to a population of limited education.

Further the presentation of the endowment has, and will continue to, change under priesthood direction to meet the changing needs of the Latter-day Saints. Many of the masonic element once found in the presentation of the endowment are no longer in use.

Greg Kearney<br />
Franklin Lodge #123 A.F. & A.M. of Maine

==Further reading==

===FAIR wiki articles===
*Links to related articles in the wiki

===FAIR web site===
*FAIR Topical Guide: [http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai181.html Masonic influence]

===External links===
*[http://farms.byu.edu/publications/bookofmormonview.php?subcat=163&cat=7 FARMS Freemasonry Resources]

===Printed material===
*Printed resources whose text is not available online

Relationship between the temple endowment and Freemasonry

2005-12-02T00:44:55Z

GregKearney: /* Criticism */

{{draft}}
==Criticism==
Critics of the LDC Church often cite similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and that of the temple endowment ritual found in LDS Temple worship. It is pointed out that the development of the endowment parallels Joseph Smith Jr.'s introduction to Masonry in Nauvoo. Critics often imply, or state outright, that the temple endowment was taken from Freemasonry.

It is worthwhile to note that these critics are very often also critical of the institution of Freemasonry as well.

===Source(s) of the Criticism===
http://www.josephlied.com/masonry.html

==Response==
In order to answer this issue we need to establish a few facts:

1. Joseph Smith Jr. was a Mason as was his father and brother Hyrum.

2. Many of the early leaders of the church were also Masons. These include Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, John Taylor, Wilfred Woodruff and other leading members.

3. Masonry was a common social institution in mid-19th century America.

4. There are similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and those of the LDS Temple endowment. These similarities center around the use of a ritual drama, the story of Hiram Abiff for the Masons and the story of Adam and Eve for the endowment as well as some similar hand actions.

In order to understand the relationship between the temple and Freemasonry it is useful to consider the temple experience. In the temple we are confronted with ritual in a form which is unknown in LDS worship outside of that venue. The temple is in fact made up of two parts. The endowment proper which is what we are taught and the covernence we make make before the Lord. And the presentation of the endowment, or the ritual.

It is in this presentation of the endowment that the similarities between the LDS temple worship and Freemasonry are the most apparent. The question is why would this be the case?

In developing the endowment Joseph was faced with a problem. He wished to communicate in a clear and effective manner some new and in some cases complex religious ideas. These included such things as the nature of creation, matter being organized and not created out of nothing, our relationship to God as well as to each other, eternal marriage and so on. He needed to communicate these ideas to a population of limited education any of whom had only modest background in the English language.

In Freemasonry Joseph, who served as the Chaplain of Rising Sun Lodge in Nauvoo, had seen the rituals unique ability to instruct through means of ritual and repetition. I believe that Joseph sized on this as the means to present the endowment. By using ritual forms from Freemasonry, forms the Saints already were acquainted with he insured that the focus would be on the endowment proper and not on the presentation.

It is also worth noting that many of the similarities that church critics have focused on are superficial in nature. For example, the common use of architectural elements on the Salt Lake Temple and in Masonry even when no reference to those element is made in the endowment. In almost every case where symbols are shared the meaning of the symbols differs.

The goals of Masonry and the endowment are not the same. Both teach important truths but the truths they teach are different. Masonry teaches of our relationship to our fellow men and offers no means of salvation; it not being a religion. The temple endowment teaches of man's relationship to God and is believed by Latter-day Saints to be essential for exaltation.

As time has gone on and the Saints lost their connection to the institution of Freemasonry the understanding of these ritual forms have been lost to the Saints. As we no longer need or even in some cases want such rituals elements, such as the penalties (hand actions showing different ways in which life may be taken.) have been removed from the temple ritual. The ritual of the temple has undergone and will continue to undergo modification and improvement to meet the needs of the Saints in the coming years.

==Conclusion==

The temple endowment is made up of two elements. the endowment proper being what we are taught and the ordinances of the temple. And the presentation of the endowment through ritual.

While the ritual has elements that originated in Freemasonry, the use of the allegorical ritual drama, aprons and other ritual elements the presentation is not the endowment. Joseph used these elements due to the familiarity of the Saints of his day with them. Masonic ritual provided a teaching tool for the prophet to communicate the endowment to a population of limited education.

Further the presentation of the endowment has, and will continue to, change under priesthood direction to meet the changing needs of the Latter-day Saints. Many of the masonic element once found in the presentation of the endowment are no longer in use.

Greg Kearney

Franklin Lodge #123 A.F. & A.M. of Maine

==Further reading==

===FAIR wiki articles===
*Links to related articles in the wiki

===FAIR web site===
*FAIR Topical Guide: [http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai181.html Masonic influence]

===External links===
*[http://farms.byu.edu/publications/bookofmormonview.php?subcat=163&cat=7 FARMS Freemasonry Resources]

===Printed material===
*Printed resources whose text is not available online

Relationship between the temple endowment and Freemasonry

2005-12-02T00:44:43Z

GregKearney: /* Criticism */

{{draft}}
==Criticism==
Critics of the LDC Church often cite similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and that of the temple endowment ritual found in LDS Temple worship. It is pointed out that the development of the endowment parallels Joseph Smith Jr.'s introduction to Masonry in Nauvoo. Critics often imply, or state outright, that the temple endowment was taken from Freemasonry.

It is worthwhile to not that these critics are very often also critical of the institution of Freemasonry as well.

===Source(s) of the Criticism===
http://www.josephlied.com/masonry.html

==Response==
In order to answer this issue we need to establish a few facts:

1. Joseph Smith Jr. was a Mason as was his father and brother Hyrum.

2. Many of the early leaders of the church were also Masons. These include Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, John Taylor, Wilfred Woodruff and other leading members.

3. Masonry was a common social institution in mid-19th century America.

4. There are similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and those of the LDS Temple endowment. These similarities center around the use of a ritual drama, the story of Hiram Abiff for the Masons and the story of Adam and Eve for the endowment as well as some similar hand actions.

In order to understand the relationship between the temple and Freemasonry it is useful to consider the temple experience. In the temple we are confronted with ritual in a form which is unknown in LDS worship outside of that venue. The temple is in fact made up of two parts. The endowment proper which is what we are taught and the covernence we make make before the Lord. And the presentation of the endowment, or the ritual.

It is in this presentation of the endowment that the similarities between the LDS temple worship and Freemasonry are the most apparent. The question is why would this be the case?

In developing the endowment Joseph was faced with a problem. He wished to communicate in a clear and effective manner some new and in some cases complex religious ideas. These included such things as the nature of creation, matter being organized and not created out of nothing, our relationship to God as well as to each other, eternal marriage and so on. He needed to communicate these ideas to a population of limited education any of whom had only modest background in the English language.

In Freemasonry Joseph, who served as the Chaplain of Rising Sun Lodge in Nauvoo, had seen the rituals unique ability to instruct through means of ritual and repetition. I believe that Joseph sized on this as the means to present the endowment. By using ritual forms from Freemasonry, forms the Saints already were acquainted with he insured that the focus would be on the endowment proper and not on the presentation.

It is also worth noting that many of the similarities that church critics have focused on are superficial in nature. For example, the common use of architectural elements on the Salt Lake Temple and in Masonry even when no reference to those element is made in the endowment. In almost every case where symbols are shared the meaning of the symbols differs.

The goals of Masonry and the endowment are not the same. Both teach important truths but the truths they teach are different. Masonry teaches of our relationship to our fellow men and offers no means of salvation; it not being a religion. The temple endowment teaches of man's relationship to God and is believed by Latter-day Saints to be essential for exaltation.

As time has gone on and the Saints lost their connection to the institution of Freemasonry the understanding of these ritual forms have been lost to the Saints. As we no longer need or even in some cases want such rituals elements, such as the penalties (hand actions showing different ways in which life may be taken.) have been removed from the temple ritual. The ritual of the temple has undergone and will continue to undergo modification and improvement to meet the needs of the Saints in the coming years.

==Conclusion==

The temple endowment is made up of two elements. the endowment proper being what we are taught and the ordinances of the temple. And the presentation of the endowment through ritual.

While the ritual has elements that originated in Freemasonry, the use of the allegorical ritual drama, aprons and other ritual elements the presentation is not the endowment. Joseph used these elements due to the familiarity of the Saints of his day with them. Masonic ritual provided a teaching tool for the prophet to communicate the endowment to a population of limited education.

Further the presentation of the endowment has, and will continue to, change under priesthood direction to meet the changing needs of the Latter-day Saints. Many of the masonic element once found in the presentation of the endowment are no longer in use.

Greg Kearney

Franklin Lodge #123 A.F. & A.M. of Maine

==Further reading==

===FAIR wiki articles===
*Links to related articles in the wiki

===FAIR web site===
*FAIR Topical Guide: [http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai181.html Masonic influence]

===External links===
*[http://farms.byu.edu/publications/bookofmormonview.php?subcat=163&cat=7 FARMS Freemasonry Resources]

===Printed material===
*Printed resources whose text is not available online

Relationship between the temple endowment and Freemasonry

2005-12-02T00:43:22Z

GregKearney: /* Conclusion */

{{draft}}
==Criticism==
Critics of the LDC Church often cite similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and that of the temple endowment ritual found in LDS Temple worship. It is pointed out that the development of the endowment parallels Joseph Smith Jr.'s introduction to Masonry in Nauvoo. Critics often imply, or state outright, that the temple endowment was taken from Freemasonry.

===Source(s) of the Criticism===
http://www.josephlied.com/masonry.html

==Response==
In order to answer this issue we need to establish a few facts:

1. Joseph Smith Jr. was a Mason as was his father and brother Hyrum.

2. Many of the early leaders of the church were also Masons. These include Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, John Taylor, Wilfred Woodruff and other leading members.

3. Masonry was a common social institution in mid-19th century America.

4. There are similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and those of the LDS Temple endowment. These similarities center around the use of a ritual drama, the story of Hiram Abiff for the Masons and the story of Adam and Eve for the endowment as well as some similar hand actions.

In order to understand the relationship between the temple and Freemasonry it is useful to consider the temple experience. In the temple we are confronted with ritual in a form which is unknown in LDS worship outside of that venue. The temple is in fact made up of two parts. The endowment proper which is what we are taught and the covernence we make make before the Lord. And the presentation of the endowment, or the ritual.

It is in this presentation of the endowment that the similarities between the LDS temple worship and Freemasonry are the most apparent. The question is why would this be the case?

In developing the endowment Joseph was faced with a problem. He wished to communicate in a clear and effective manner some new and in some cases complex religious ideas. These included such things as the nature of creation, matter being organized and not created out of nothing, our relationship to God as well as to each other, eternal marriage and so on. He needed to communicate these ideas to a population of limited education any of whom had only modest background in the English language.

In Freemasonry Joseph, who served as the Chaplain of Rising Sun Lodge in Nauvoo, had seen the rituals unique ability to instruct through means of ritual and repetition. I believe that Joseph sized on this as the means to present the endowment. By using ritual forms from Freemasonry, forms the Saints already were acquainted with he insured that the focus would be on the endowment proper and not on the presentation.

It is also worth noting that many of the similarities that church critics have focused on are superficial in nature. For example, the common use of architectural elements on the Salt Lake Temple and in Masonry even when no reference to those element is made in the endowment. In almost every case where symbols are shared the meaning of the symbols differs.

The goals of Masonry and the endowment are not the same. Both teach important truths but the truths they teach are different. Masonry teaches of our relationship to our fellow men and offers no means of salvation; it not being a religion. The temple endowment teaches of man's relationship to God and is believed by Latter-day Saints to be essential for exaltation.

As time has gone on and the Saints lost their connection to the institution of Freemasonry the understanding of these ritual forms have been lost to the Saints. As we no longer need or even in some cases want such rituals elements, such as the penalties (hand actions showing different ways in which life may be taken.) have been removed from the temple ritual. The ritual of the temple has undergone and will continue to undergo modification and improvement to meet the needs of the Saints in the coming years.

==Conclusion==

The temple endowment is made up of two elements. the endowment proper being what we are taught and the ordinances of the temple. And the presentation of the endowment through ritual.

While the ritual has elements that originated in Freemasonry, the use of the allegorical ritual drama, aprons and other ritual elements the presentation is not the endowment. Joseph used these elements due to the familiarity of the Saints of his day with them. Masonic ritual provided a teaching tool for the prophet to communicate the endowment to a population of limited education.

Further the presentation of the endowment has, and will continue to, change under priesthood direction to meet the changing needs of the Latter-day Saints. Many of the masonic element once found in the presentation of the endowment are no longer in use.

Greg Kearney

Franklin Lodge #123 A.F. & A.M. of Maine

==Further reading==

===FAIR wiki articles===
*Links to related articles in the wiki

===FAIR web site===
*FAIR Topical Guide: [http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai181.html Masonic influence]

===External links===
*[http://farms.byu.edu/publications/bookofmormonview.php?subcat=163&cat=7 FARMS Freemasonry Resources]

===Printed material===
*Printed resources whose text is not available online

Relationship between the temple endowment and Freemasonry

2005-12-02T00:43:02Z

GregKearney: /* Conclusion */

{{draft}}
==Criticism==
Critics of the LDC Church often cite similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and that of the temple endowment ritual found in LDS Temple worship. It is pointed out that the development of the endowment parallels Joseph Smith Jr.'s introduction to Masonry in Nauvoo. Critics often imply, or state outright, that the temple endowment was taken from Freemasonry.

===Source(s) of the Criticism===
http://www.josephlied.com/masonry.html

==Response==
In order to answer this issue we need to establish a few facts:

1. Joseph Smith Jr. was a Mason as was his father and brother Hyrum.

2. Many of the early leaders of the church were also Masons. These include Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, John Taylor, Wilfred Woodruff and other leading members.

3. Masonry was a common social institution in mid-19th century America.

4. There are similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and those of the LDS Temple endowment. These similarities center around the use of a ritual drama, the story of Hiram Abiff for the Masons and the story of Adam and Eve for the endowment as well as some similar hand actions.

In order to understand the relationship between the temple and Freemasonry it is useful to consider the temple experience. In the temple we are confronted with ritual in a form which is unknown in LDS worship outside of that venue. The temple is in fact made up of two parts. The endowment proper which is what we are taught and the covernence we make make before the Lord. And the presentation of the endowment, or the ritual.

It is in this presentation of the endowment that the similarities between the LDS temple worship and Freemasonry are the most apparent. The question is why would this be the case?

In developing the endowment Joseph was faced with a problem. He wished to communicate in a clear and effective manner some new and in some cases complex religious ideas. These included such things as the nature of creation, matter being organized and not created out of nothing, our relationship to God as well as to each other, eternal marriage and so on. He needed to communicate these ideas to a population of limited education any of whom had only modest background in the English language.

In Freemasonry Joseph, who served as the Chaplain of Rising Sun Lodge in Nauvoo, had seen the rituals unique ability to instruct through means of ritual and repetition. I believe that Joseph sized on this as the means to present the endowment. By using ritual forms from Freemasonry, forms the Saints already were acquainted with he insured that the focus would be on the endowment proper and not on the presentation.

It is also worth noting that many of the similarities that church critics have focused on are superficial in nature. For example, the common use of architectural elements on the Salt Lake Temple and in Masonry even when no reference to those element is made in the endowment. In almost every case where symbols are shared the meaning of the symbols differs.

The goals of Masonry and the endowment are not the same. Both teach important truths but the truths they teach are different. Masonry teaches of our relationship to our fellow men and offers no means of salvation; it not being a religion. The temple endowment teaches of man's relationship to God and is believed by Latter-day Saints to be essential for exaltation.

As time has gone on and the Saints lost their connection to the institution of Freemasonry the understanding of these ritual forms have been lost to the Saints. As we no longer need or even in some cases want such rituals elements, such as the penalties (hand actions showing different ways in which life may be taken.) have been removed from the temple ritual. The ritual of the temple has undergone and will continue to undergo modification and improvement to meet the needs of the Saints in the coming years.

==Conclusion==

The temple endowment is made up of two elements. the endowment proper being what we are taught and the ordinances of the temple. And the presentation of the endowment through ritual.

While the ritual has elements that originated in Freemasonry, the use of the allegorical ritual drama, aprons and other ritual elements the presentation is not the endowment. Joseph used these elements due to the familiarity of the Saints of his day with them. Masonic ritual provided a teaching tool for the prophet to communicate the endowment to a population of limited education.

Further the presentation of the endowment has, and will continue to, change under priesthood direction to meet the changing needs of the Latter-day Saints. Many of the masonic element once found in the presentation of the endowment are no longer in use.

Greg Kearney
Franklin Lodge #123 A.F. & A.M. of Maine

==Further reading==

===FAIR wiki articles===
*Links to related articles in the wiki

===FAIR web site===
*FAIR Topical Guide: [http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai181.html Masonic influence]

===External links===
*[http://farms.byu.edu/publications/bookofmormonview.php?subcat=163&cat=7 FARMS Freemasonry Resources]

===Printed material===
*Printed resources whose text is not available online

Relationship between the temple endowment and Freemasonry

2005-12-02T00:41:14Z

GregKearney: /* Conclusion */

{{draft}}
==Criticism==
Critics of the LDC Church often cite similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and that of the temple endowment ritual found in LDS Temple worship. It is pointed out that the development of the endowment parallels Joseph Smith Jr.'s introduction to Masonry in Nauvoo. Critics often imply, or state outright, that the temple endowment was taken from Freemasonry.

===Source(s) of the Criticism===
http://www.josephlied.com/masonry.html

==Response==
In order to answer this issue we need to establish a few facts:

1. Joseph Smith Jr. was a Mason as was his father and brother Hyrum.

2. Many of the early leaders of the church were also Masons. These include Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, John Taylor, Wilfred Woodruff and other leading members.

3. Masonry was a common social institution in mid-19th century America.

4. There are similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and those of the LDS Temple endowment. These similarities center around the use of a ritual drama, the story of Hiram Abiff for the Masons and the story of Adam and Eve for the endowment as well as some similar hand actions.

In order to understand the relationship between the temple and Freemasonry it is useful to consider the temple experience. In the temple we are confronted with ritual in a form which is unknown in LDS worship outside of that venue. The temple is in fact made up of two parts. The endowment proper which is what we are taught and the covernence we make make before the Lord. And the presentation of the endowment, or the ritual.

It is in this presentation of the endowment that the similarities between the LDS temple worship and Freemasonry are the most apparent. The question is why would this be the case?

In developing the endowment Joseph was faced with a problem. He wished to communicate in a clear and effective manner some new and in some cases complex religious ideas. These included such things as the nature of creation, matter being organized and not created out of nothing, our relationship to God as well as to each other, eternal marriage and so on. He needed to communicate these ideas to a population of limited education any of whom had only modest background in the English language.

In Freemasonry Joseph, who served as the Chaplain of Rising Sun Lodge in Nauvoo, had seen the rituals unique ability to instruct through means of ritual and repetition. I believe that Joseph sized on this as the means to present the endowment. By using ritual forms from Freemasonry, forms the Saints already were acquainted with he insured that the focus would be on the endowment proper and not on the presentation.

It is also worth noting that many of the similarities that church critics have focused on are superficial in nature. For example, the common use of architectural elements on the Salt Lake Temple and in Masonry even when no reference to those element is made in the endowment. In almost every case where symbols are shared the meaning of the symbols differs.

The goals of Masonry and the endowment are not the same. Both teach important truths but the truths they teach are different. Masonry teaches of our relationship to our fellow men and offers no means of salvation; it not being a religion. The temple endowment teaches of man's relationship to God and is believed by Latter-day Saints to be essential for exaltation.

As time has gone on and the Saints lost their connection to the institution of Freemasonry the understanding of these ritual forms have been lost to the Saints. As we no longer need or even in some cases want such rituals elements, such as the penalties (hand actions showing different ways in which life may be taken.) have been removed from the temple ritual. The ritual of the temple has undergone and will continue to undergo modification and improvement to meet the needs of the Saints in the coming years.

==Conclusion==

The temple endowment is made up of two elements. the endowment proper being what we are taught and the ordinances of the temple. And the presentation of the endowment through ritual.

While the ritual has elements that originated in Freemasonry, the use of the allegorical ritual drama, aprons and other ritual elements the presentation is not the endowment. Joseph used these elements due to the familiarity of the Saints of his day with them. Masonic ritual provided a teaching tool for the prophet to communicate the endowment to a population of limited education.

Further the presentation of the endowment has, and will continue to, change under priesthood direction to meet the changing needs of the Latter-day Saints. Many of the masonic element once found in the presentation of the endowment are no longer in use.

==Further reading==

===FAIR wiki articles===
*Links to related articles in the wiki

===FAIR web site===
*FAIR Topical Guide: [http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai181.html Masonic influence]

===External links===
*[http://farms.byu.edu/publications/bookofmormonview.php?subcat=163&cat=7 FARMS Freemasonry Resources]

===Printed material===
*Printed resources whose text is not available online

Relationship between the temple endowment and Freemasonry

2005-12-02T00:33:50Z

GregKearney: /* Response */

{{draft}}
==Criticism==
Critics of the LDC Church often cite similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and that of the temple endowment ritual found in LDS Temple worship. It is pointed out that the development of the endowment parallels Joseph Smith Jr.'s introduction to Masonry in Nauvoo. Critics often imply, or state outright, that the temple endowment was taken from Freemasonry.

===Source(s) of the Criticism===
http://www.josephlied.com/masonry.html

==Response==
In order to answer this issue we need to establish a few facts:

1. Joseph Smith Jr. was a Mason as was his father and brother Hyrum.

2. Many of the early leaders of the church were also Masons. These include Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, John Taylor, Wilfred Woodruff and other leading members.

3. Masonry was a common social institution in mid-19th century America.

4. There are similarities between the rituals of Freemasonry and those of the LDS Temple endowment. These similarities center around the use of a ritual drama, the story of Hiram Abiff for the Masons and the story of Adam and Eve for the endowment as well as some similar hand actions.

In order to understand the relationship between the temple and Freemasonry it is useful to consider the temple experience. In the temple we are confronted with ritual in a form which is unknown in LDS worship outside of that venue. The temple is in fact made up of two parts. The endowment proper which is what we are taught and the covernence we make make before the Lord. And the presentation of the endowment, or the ritual.

It is in this presentation of the endowment that the similarities between the LDS temple worship and Freemasonry are the most apparent. The question is why would this be the case?

In developing the endowment Joseph was faced with a problem. He wished to communicate in a clear and effective manner some new and in some cases complex religious ideas. These included such things as the nature of creation, matter being organized and not created out of nothing, our relationship to God as well as to each other, eternal marriage and so on. He needed to communicate these ideas to a population of limited education any of whom had only modest background in the English language.

In Freemasonry Joseph, who served as the Chaplain of Rising Sun Lodge in Nauvoo, had seen the rituals unique ability to instruct through means of ritual and repetition. I believe that Joseph sized on this as the means to present the endowment. By using ritual forms from Freemasonry, forms the Saints already were acquainted with he insured that the focus would be on the endowment proper and not on the presentation.

It is also worth noting that many of the similarities that church critics have focused on are superficial in nature. For example, the common use of architectural elements on the Salt Lake Temple and in Masonry even when no reference to those element is made in the endowment. In almost every case where symbols are shared the meaning of the symbols differs.

The goals of Masonry and the endowment are not the same. Both teach important truths but the truths they teach are different. Masonry teaches of our relationship to our fellow men and offers no means of salvation; it not being a religion. The temple endowment teaches of man's relationship to God and is believed by Latter-day Saints to be essential for exaltation.

As time has gone on and the Saints lost their connection to the institution of Freemasonry the understanding of these ritual forms have been lost to the Saints. As we no longer need or even in some cases want such rituals elements, such as the penalties (hand actions showing different ways in which life may be taken.) have been removed from the temple ritual. The ritual of the temple has undergone and will continue to undergo modification and improvement to meet the needs of the Saints in the coming years.

==Conclusion==

A summary of the argument against the criticism.

==Further reading==

===FAIR wiki articles===
*Links to related articles in the wiki

===FAIR web site===
*FAIR Topical Guide: [http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai181.html Masonic influence]

===External links===
*[http://farms.byu.edu/publications/bookofmormonview.php?subcat=163&cat=7 FARMS Freemasonry Resources]

===Printed material===
*Printed resources whose text is not available online

Relationship between the temple endowment and Freemasonry

2005-12-01T23:07:16Z

GregKearney: /* Response */

Relationship between the temple endowment and Freemasonry

2005-12-01T23:06:59Z

GregKearney: /* Response */

Relationship between the temple endowment and Freemasonry

2005-12-01T22:39:38Z

GregKearney: /* Source(s) of the Criticism */

Relationship between the temple endowment and Freemasonry

2005-12-01T22:37:58Z

GregKearney: /* Criticism */