First Presidency, “First Presidency Statement on Temples,” 2 January 2019, Official Statement, Newsroom, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“Whenever the Lord has had a people on the earth who will obey His word, they have been commanded to build temples. Scriptures document patterns of temple worship from the times of Adam and Eve, Moses, Solomon, Nephi, and others.”

Old Testament, Exodus 25:8

“And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.”

Old Testament, Exodus 29:43

“And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.”

Old Testament, Leviticus 1:1-4 

“And the Lord called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the Lord, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.

If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord.

And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.”

Old Testament, Leviticus 23:34-37

“Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord.

On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.

Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.

These are the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day:”

Old Testament, Deuteronomy 31:15

“And the Lord appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud: and the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle.”

Old Testament, 1 Kings 9:3

“And the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.”

Old Testament, Psalm 134:2

“Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord.”

Old Testament, Isaiah 56:7

“Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.”

Old Testament, Ezekiel 43:4-6

“And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.

So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house.

And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me.”

Old Testament, Habakkuk 2:20

“But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.”

Bible Dictionary, “Tabernacle,” Study Helps, Gospel Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 

“Tablernacle. The center place of Israel’s worship activities during the wanderings and until the building of the temple in Solomon’s day. The tabernacle was in fact a portable temple. It was an inner tent, the area available for sacred purposes.”

“In the court outside the tent and in front of its door stood the altar of burnt offering.”

“Between the altar of burnt offering and the door of the tent stood a laver of brass on a base of brass. In it the priests washed their hands and feet when they went into the tent for any priestly purpose.”

“The tabernacle was divided into two parts by a veil of the same materials as the screen of the court, the inner roof covering of the tabernacle, and the screen of the tent. In the outer compartment (20 cubits by 10), called the Holy Place, were three things: 

(1) In the middle, before the veil and before the mercy seat, stood the altar of incense, similar in construction to the altar of burnt offering but smaller and overlaid with gold. On it incense was burned morning and evening (no animal sacrifices); and on its horns was put once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the blood of the sin offering. 

(2) On the south side of the altar of incense stood the candlestick, of pure gold of beaten work, with six branches and seven lamps. Pure olive oil beaten was burned in the lamps. Aaron lit the lamps at evening and dressed them in the morning). 

(3) On the north side of the altar stood the table of shewbread made of acacia wood. On it was placed the shewbread, consisting of 12 unleavened cakes made of fine flour. They were placed in two rows (or piles), and frankincense was put on each row. The shewbread was changed every Sabbath day, and the old loaves were eaten by the priests in a holy place.”

The Holy of Holies contained only one piece of furniture: the Ark of the Covenant, or the Ark of the Testimony.”

“Upon the ark and forming the lid was the mercy seat. It served, with the ark beneath, as an altar on which the highest atonement known to the Jewish law was effected. On it was sprinkled the blood of the sin offering of the Day of Atonement.”

“When the whole building was set in order, the cloud covered the tent and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. The cloud, the token of Jehovah’s presence, had the appearance of a fire by night, and by its rising from or abiding on the tent, determined the journeyings and encampments of the children of Israel. The tabernacle accompanied the children of Israel during their wanderings in the desert and in the different stages of the conquest of the land of Canaan. The conquest complete, it was fixed in Shiloh as the place that the Lord had chosen.”

“After the building of the temple it entirely disappears from the history.”

Bible Dictionary, “Temple of Solomon,” Study Helps, Gospel Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 

“The temple was built after the model of the tabernacle, the dimensions of each part being exactly double.”

“The small size of the temple proper in comparison with modern churches is to be noticed. It is sufficiently accounted for by the fact that the worshippers remained outside; only the priests went within.”

“The furniture of the temple was similar to but not identical with that of the tabernacle. In the Holy of Holies stood the old Mosaic ark with the mercy seat; but the cherubim overshadowing the mercy seat were new. They were larger in size; their wings touched in the middle and reached each wall of the Holy of Holies. They were also different in posture. In the Holy Place all was new. The altar of incense was made of cedarwood overlaid with gold. Instead of one golden candlestick and one table of shewbread there were ten, five on each side. In the outer court stood the brazen altar of the same pattern as that of the tabernacle, but enormously larger.”

“Between the altar and the porch was the brazen sea for the washing of the priests. It had a brim like the flower of a lily, and it stood upon 12 oxen, three looking north, south, east, and west.”

“On each side of the altar were five figured brazen stands for five brazen lavers for washing the sacrifices.”

“The wealth gathered by David and lavished by Solomon on the temple was enormous. The skill necessary for the elaborate work in gold and brass was supplied from Tyre.”

“Finally it was burned to the ground and utterly destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, all that was valuable in it being carried to Babylon.”

Bible Dictionary, “Temple of Zerubbabel,” Study Helps, Gospel Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 

“There are few definite statements concerning the dimensions and arrangements of the temple of Zerubbabel. But we may reasonably infer that it was, so far as circumstances permitted, in its principal parts a reproduction of Solomon’s temple, and on the ancient site.”

“The Jews reckoned the temple of Zerubbabel to be in five points inferior to the temple of Solomon: in the absence of (1) the Ark of the Covenant (lost or burned at the destruction of Jerusalem and never renewed); (2) the Shechinah or manifestation of the glory of the Lord; (3) the Urim and the Thummim; (4) the holy fire upon the altar; (5) the spirit of prophecy.”

“Alexander the Great (332 B.C.) is said by Josephus to have offered sacrifices here. Simon the Just (about 300 B.C.), the high priest, repaired and fortified the temple.”

“Antiochus Epiphanes (168 B.C.) entered the temple “proudly,” stripped it of its golden altar, candlesticks, table of shewbread, etc., polluted it by setting up the abomination of desolation and offering swine upon the altar, burned its gates, and pulled down the priests’ chambers. It was left desolate for three years. Judas Maccabaeus (165 B.C.) cleansed it and restored it to use. He and his brothers, Jonathan and Simon, fortified the sanctuary with high walls and towers.”

“Pompey, when he took Jerusalem (63 B.C.), slew the priests at the altar, entered the Holy of Holies, but left the rich temple treasures intact, and commanded it to be cleansed the next day. When Herod took the city (37 B.C.) some of the temple cloisters were burned, but he used entreaties, threatenings, and even force to restrain his foreign soldiery from entering the Sanctuary.”

Bible Dictionary, “Temple of Herod,” Study Helps, Gospel Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 

“To win popularity with the Jews, Herod, in the 18th year (17 B.C.) of his reign, proposed to rebuild the temple of Zerubbabel. The Jews feared lest, having pulled down, he should be unable to rebuild, and to reassure them, Herod promised to gather materials before he began the work.”

“The temple proper was built by the priests themselves in a year and six months. The cloisters (the specialty of Herod’s temple) and outer enclosures were built in eight years. Other buildings were added from time to time. The work was proceeding all through our Lord’s earthly life, and the design was not complete till the year A.D. 64, only six years before the temple’s final destruction.”

“The Holy Place and Holy of Holies were the same size as in Solomon’s or Zerubbabel’s temple.”

“The temple, like that of Zerubbabel, had no ark. A stone was set in its place, on which the high priest placed the censer on the Day of Atonement. It followed the tabernacle (not Solomon’s temple) in having only one candlestick and one table of shewbread.”

“Along the walls of the inner temple were placed chambers for various purposes connected with the temple services. At the north end of the court of the women stood the treasury; at its south end the Gazith, or chamber of hewn stone, in which the Sanhedrin sat. At the northwest corner of the temple, Herod erected the fortress of Antonia. From its southeast tower, 70 cubits high, the whole temple could be viewed. A Roman legion formed its garrison. Subterranean passages connected it with the temple cloisters, and through these the Roman soldiers poured down to repress the constantly occurring disturbances in the temple courts.”

“Of the places above mentioned, the court of the women was the scene of the Lord’s temple teachings.”

“The veil that was rent at Christ’s Crucifixion hung between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.”

“In A.D. 70, on the evening of the anniversary of the destruction of the first temple, Herod’s temple was taken and destroyed by the army of Titus. A temple to Jupiter Capitolinus was erected on the site by Hadrian.”

Bible Dictionary, “Temple on Mount Gerizim,” Study Helps, Gospel Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 

“Josephus gives the following account of the erection of this temple: Manasseh, brother of Jaddua the high priest, was threatened by the Jews with deprivation of his priestly office because of a marriage he had contracted with a foreign woman. His father-in-law, Sanballat, obtained permission from Alexander the Great, then besieging Tyre, to build a temple on Mount Gerizim. Manasseh was its first high priest. It became the refuge of all Jews who had violated the precepts of the Mosaic law.”

New Testament, Matthew 5:17-18

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”

New Testament, Matthew 27:50-51

“Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.”

New Testament, John 2:19-22

“Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?

But he spake of the temple of his body.

When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.”

New Testament, Acts 2:46

“And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.”

New Testament, Acts 3:1

“Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.”

New Testament, Acts 21:21-28

“And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.

What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.

Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;

Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.

As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.

Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.

And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,

Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place.”

New Testament, Romans 10:4

“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”

New Testament, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”

New Testament, 2 Corinthians 5:1

“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”

New Testament, Galatians 3:23-26

“But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”

New Testament, Ephesians 2:13-22

“But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.

For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:

In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”

New Testament, Colossians 2:10-17

“And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:

Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”

New Testament, Colossians 2:20-22

“Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,

(Touch not; taste not; handle not;

Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?”

New Testament, Hebrews 8:1-7

“Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;

A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.

For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:

Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.”

New Testament, Hebrews 8:13

“A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.”

New Testament, Hebrews 9:6-15

“Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.

But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:

The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:

Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;

Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;

Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.”

New Testament, Hebrews 9:24-25

“For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others.”

New Testament, Hebrews 10:1-4

“For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.

But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.

For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.”

New Testament, Hebrews 10:9-12

“Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.

By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:

But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;”

New Testament, Hebrews 10:16-20

“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,

By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh.”

New Testament, 1 Peter 2:5

“Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.”

Church History Topics, “Masonry,” Church History, Gospel Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“Freemasonry is a fraternal organization that grew out of centuries-old European trade guilds. Freemasons (or Masons) meet in lodges, where they ritually reenact a story based on the brief biblical account of a man named Hiram, whom Solomon commissioned to work on the temple in Jerusalem. During the reenactment, Masons advance by degrees, using handgrips, key words, and special clothing. In Masonic rituals, Masons commit to be worthy of trust and to be loyal to their Masonic brothers. In addition to participating in these rituals, Masons meet socially, participate in community-building activities, and make charitable contributions to various causes.”

“There are no known Masonic documents before about 1400. The earliest records tell a story of Masonry originating during Old Testament times. The oldest surviving minutes of Masonic lodges date to about 1600 and indicate that the organization was primarily concerned with regulating the trade of stonemasonry. Later minutes show that the lodges were gradually overtaken by men who were not stonemasons. These members transformed the organization from a trade guild into a fraternity.”

Kenneth W. Godfrey, “Freemasonry and the Temple,” 1992, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, p. 351-352, Macmillan Publishing Company, Digital Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University

“Masonic ceremonies are also allegorical, depicting life's states-youth, manhood, and old age-each with its associated burdens and challenges, followed by death and hoped-for immortality. There is no universal agreement concerning when Freemasonry began. Some historians trace the order's origin to Solomon, Enoch, or even Adam. Others argue that while some Masonic symbolism may be ancient, as an institution it began in the Middle Ages or later.”

Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon, “The Halliwell Manuscript,”

“The MS is a very small quarto on vellum, and is No. 17, A1. in the Bibl. Reg., British Museum. It is described in David Casley’s Catalogue of the MSS. of the Old Royal Library.”

“The age of the MS. has been variously estimated. Mr. Halliwell and the late Rev. A.F.A. Woodford supposed it to have been written about 1390, or earlier.

The MS. is admitted to be the oldest genuine record of the Craft of Masonry known.”

Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon, “The Matthew Cooke Manuscript with translation”

“Next to the Regius the oldest manuscript is that known as the Cooke. It was published by R. Spencer, London, 1861 and was edited by Mr. Matthew Cooke, hence the name. In the British Museum’s catalogue it is listed as "Additional M.S. 23,198", and has been dated by Hughan at 1450 or thereabouts, an estimate in which most of the specialists have concurred.”

“Many of our present usages may be traced in their original form to this manuscript.”

Paul Royster, “The Constitutions of the Free-Masons (1734). An Online Electronic Edition,” Faculty Publications, Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln

“This is an online electronic edition of the the first Masonic book printed in America, which was produced in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin in 1734, and was a reprint of a work by James Anderson (who is identified as the author in an appendix) printed in London in 1723. 

This is the seminal work of American Masonry, edited and published by one of the founding fathers, and of great importance to the development of colonial society and the formation of the Republic. 

The work contains a 40-page history of Masonry: from Adam to the reign of King George I, including, among others, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Solomon, Hiram Abif, Nebuchadnezzar, Augustus Caesar, Vitruvius, King Athelstan the Saxon, Inigo Jones, and James I of England. There are extended descriptions of the Seven Wonders of the World, viz. 1) the Great Pyramid, 2) Solomon’s Temple, 3) the City and Hanging-Gardens of Babylon, 4) the Mausoleum or Tomb of Mausolus, King of Caria, 5) the Lighthouse of Pharos at Alexandria, 6) Phidias’s statue of Jupiter Olympius in Achaia, and 7) the Colossus at Rhodes (although some maintain the 5th is the Obelisk of Semiramis). 

It is a celebration of the science of Geometry and the Royal Art of Architecture, as practiced from ancient times until the then-current revival of the Roman or Augustan Style. “The Charges of a Free- Mason” and the “General Regulations” concern rules of conduct for individuals and of governance for Lodges and their officers. 

The work also includes five songs to be sung at meetings, one of which—“A New Song”—appears in print for the first time and may have been composed by Franklin. 

The document suggests that Masonry, in its modern Anglo-American form, was rooted in Old Testament exegesis (“So that the Israelites, at their leaving Egypt, were a whole Kingdom of Masons, … under the Conduct of their GRAND MASTER MOSES”) and in contemporary Protestant ideals of morality, merit, and political equality.”

James Anderson A.M., Benjamin Franklin, “The Constitutions of the Free-Masons,” 1734, London, Reprinted in Philadelphia, Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln

“To His Grace the DUKE of MONTAGU. 

My Lord, 

By Order of his Grace the DUKE of WHARTON, the Right Worshipful GRAND-MASTER of the Free-Masons; and, as his Deputy, I humbly dedicate this Book of the Constitutions of our ancient Fraternity to your Grace, in Testimony of your honourable, prudent, and vigilant Discharge of the Office of our GRAND-MASTER last Year.

I need not tell your Grace what Pains our learned Author has taken in compiling and digesting this Book from the old Records, and how accurately he has compar’d and made every thing agreeable to History and Chronology, so as to render these NEW CONSTITUTIONS a just and exact Account of Masonry from the Beginning of the World to your Grace’s Mastership. Still preserving all that was truly ancient and authentic in the old ones: For every Brother will be pleas’d with the Performance, that knows it had your Grace’s Perusal and Approbation, and that it is now printed for the Use of the Lodges, after it was approv’d by the Grand Lodge, when your Grace was GRAND-MASTER. All the Brother-hood will ever remember the Honour your Grace has done them, and your Care for their Peace, Harmony, and lasting Friendship: Which none is more duly sensible of than, 

My LORD, Your Grace’s most oblig’d, and most obedient Servant, and Faithful Brother, 

J.T. Desaguliers, Deputy Grand-Master.”

“The CONSTITUTION, History, Laws, Charges, Orders, Regulations, and Usages, of the Right Worshipful FRATERNITY OF ACCEPTED Free-Masons; Collected from their general RECORDS, and their faithful TRADITIONS of many Ages.

TO BE READ At the Admission of a NEW BROTHER, when the Master or Warden shall begin, or order some other Brother to read as follows:

ADAM, our first Parent, created after the Image of God, the great Architect of the Universe, must have had the Liberal Sciences, particularly Geometry, written on his Heart; for even since the Fall, we find the Principles of it in the Hearts of his Offspring, and which, in process of time, have been drawn forth into a convenient Method of Propositions, by observing the Laws of Proportion taken from Mechanism: So that as the Mechanical Arts have Occasion to the Learned to reduce the Elements of Geometry into Method, this noble Science thus reduc’d, is the Foundation of all those Arts, (particularly of Masonry and Architecture) and the Rule by which they are conducted and perform’d.

No doubt Adam taught his sons Geometry, and the use of it, in the several Arts and Crafts convenient, at least for those early Times; for CAIN, we find, built a City, which he call’d CONSECRATED, or DEDICATED, after the Name of his eldest Son ENOCH; and becoming the Prince of the one Half of Mankind, his Posterity would imitate his royal Example in improving both the noble Science and the useful Art. ”

Brigham Young, “Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City,” 10 February 10 1867. Journal of Discourses, Volume 11, p. 328

“Who was the founder of Freemasonry? They can go back as far as Solomon, and there they stop. There is the king who established this high and holy order. Now was he a polygamist, or was he not? If he did believe in monogamy he did not practise it a great deal, for he had seven hundred wives, and that is more than I have.”

Church History Topics, “Masonry,” Church History, Gospel Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“Masons told a story about how their ancient forebears had learned stonemasonry, used it to build Solomon’s temple, protected the temple site, and held knowledge about their craft as a closely guarded secret. By Joseph Smith’s day, the boundaries between Masonry’s early European history and its founding myths and traditions had long since been blurred. The rituals of Freemasonry appear to have originated in early modern Europe.”

“Joseph and his associates understood Masonry as an institution that preserved vestiges of ancient truth.”

Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, “Freemasonry and the Origins of Modern Temple Ordinances,” 2015, Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, Volume 15, p. 159-237

“Later, Christians with antiquarian interests incorporated and further developed selected aspects of ancient rituals as early Freemasonry took shape.”

Heber C. Kimball, “Heber C. Kimball and Family, The Nauvoo Years,” BYU Studies Quarterly, Brigham Young University

“We have the true Masonry. The Masonry of today is received from the apostasy which took place in the days of Solomon, and David. They have now and then a thing that is correct, but we have the real thing.”

Melvin J. Ballard, Salt Lake Herald, 29 December 1919, also in S.H. Goodwin, “Mormonism and Masonry,” p. 49-50

“Modern Masonry is a fragmentary presentation of the ancient order established by King Solomon. From whom it is said to have been handed down through the centuries.”

“The ordinances and rites revealed to Joseph Smith constituted a reintroduction upon the earth of the divine plan inaugurated in the Temple of Solomon in ancient days.”

“Masonry is an apostasy from the ancient early order, just as so-called Christianity is an apostasy from the true Church of Christ.”

David John Buerger, “The Development of the Mormon Temple Endowment Ceremony,” 1987, Dialogue, Volume 20, No. 4

“Freemasonry, which claims to have been created at the time of the construction of Solomon’s temple by its master mason, Hiram Abiff, actually seems to have been a development of the craft guilds during the construction of the great European cathedrals during the tenth to seventeenth centuries.”

“Some Latter-day Saints may feel that Masonry constitutes a biblical-times source of uncorrupted knowledge from which the temple ceremony could be drawn. Historians of Freemasonry, however, generally agree that the trigradal system of entered apprentice, fellow craft, and master Mason, as practiced in Nauvoo, cannot reliably be traced further back than the eighteenth century.”

“Some scholars (Brodie 1973, 65-66; Goodwin 1925, 9 and 1927, 3-29; O’Dea 1957, 23, 35; Ostler 1987, 73-76; Prince 1917) feel that such anti­Masonry may be seen in the Book of Mormon and interpret some passages (e.g. Alma 37: 21-32; Hel. 6: 21-22; Eth. 8: 18-26) as apparently anti­Masonic. These passages condemn secret combinations, secret signs, and secret words in a manner which may be interpreted as reminiscent of anti-Masonic rhetoric prevalent during this period.”

Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, Volume 1, The Standard of Truth, 1815–1846, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah

“The Lord also promised two additional blessings to those who gathered to Ohio. “There I will give unto you my law,” He said, “and there you shall be endowed with power from on high.” The revelation calmed the minds of most of the Saints in the room, although a few people refused to believe it came from God.” Ch. 10.

Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

“The quarterly conference met as scheduled at Peter Whitmer Sr.’s in Fayette on January 2, 1831. The usual business was conducted, but a further revelation about the move to Ohio preempted everyone’s attention… The revelation contained hints of a new society to be founded: “There I will give unto you my law, and there you shall be endowed with power from on high.” Ch. 5

Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, Volume 1, The Standard of Truth, 1815–1846, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah

“By the end of January 1836, the inside of the temple was nearly completed, and Joseph was preparing church leaders for the endowment of divine power the Lord had promised to give them. No one knew for sure what the endowment would be like, but Joseph had explained that it would come after he had administered symbolic washing and anointing ordinances to men ordained to the priesthood, as Moses had washed and anointed the priests of Aaron in the Old Testament. 

The Saints had also read New Testament passages that offered insight into the endowment. After His Resurrection, Jesus had counseled His apostles not to leave Jerusalem to preach the gospel until they were “endowed with power from on high.” Later, on the day of Pentecost, Jesus’s apostles received this power when the Spirit descended upon them like a rushing wind, and they spoke in tongues. 

As the Saints prepared for their endowment, they anticipated a similar spiritual outpouring.

On the afternoon of January 21, Joseph, his counselors, and his father climbed the stairs to a loft in the printing office behind the temple. There the men symbolically washed themselves with clean water and blessed each other in the name of the Lord. Once they were cleansed, they went next door to the temple, where they joined with the bishoprics of Kirtland and Zion, anointed each other’s heads with consecrated oil, and blessed one another.” Ch. 21

“On March 30, Joseph and his counselors met in the temple to wash the feet of about three hundred church leaders, including the Twelve, the Seventy, and other men called to missionary labor, much like the Savior had done with His disciples before His Crucifixion. “This is a year of Jubilee to us and a time of rejoicing,” Joseph declared. The men had come to the temple fasting, and he asked a few of them to purchase bread and wine for later. He had others bring in tubs of water.

Joseph and his counselors first washed the feet of the Quorum of the Twelve, then proceeded to wash the feet of the members of other quorums, blessing them in the name of the Lord. As the hours passed, the men blessed each other, prophesied, and shouted hosannas until the bread and wine arrived in the early evening.

Joseph spoke as the Twelve broke the bread and poured the wine. He told them their short stay in Kirtland would soon be over. The Lord was endowing them with power and would then send them on missions.” Ch. 21

Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

“The revelation about the Ohio move had said, “I will give unto you my law, and there you shall be endowed with power from on high.” The law came in February 1831; that left endowment of power yet to come. Through the spring, the revelations continued to portend an outpouring. “Sanctify yourselves and ye shall be endowed with power.” The promise became more specific in the command to convene the elders, and “I will pour out my Spirit upon them in the day that they assemble themselves together.” The words seemed to promise a day of Pentecost, when some gift from heaven, a spiritual endowment, would descend on the Saints. 

In early June, forty-four elders, four priests, and fifteen teachers met in a log schoolhouse near Isaac Morley’s farm, hoping for a spiritual endowment. Levi Hancock, who had earlier been startled by visionaries, was baffled by what happened that day. In an expansive spirit, Joseph said that Christ’s kingdom, like a grain of mustard seed, “was now before him and some should see it put forth its branches and the angels of heaven would some day come like birds to its branches.” According to Hancock, Joseph promised Lyman Wight he would see Christ that day. Wight soon turned stiff and white, exclaiming that he had indeed viewed the Savior. According to Hancock, Joseph himself said, “I now see God, and Jesus Christ at his right hand.” 

Then the meeting unraveled. Joseph ordained Harvey Whitlock to the high priesthood, the most important business of the meeting, and Whitlock reacted badly. “He turned as black as Lyman was white,” Hancock reported. “His fingers were set like claws. He went around the room and showed his hands and tried to speak, his eyes were in the shape of oval O’s.” Astonished at the turn of events, Hyrum exclaimed, “Joseph, that is not of God.” Joseph, unwilling to cut the phenomenon short, told Hyrum to wait, but Hyrum insisted: “I will not believe . . . unless you inquire of God and he ownes it.” Hancock said, “Joseph bowed his head, and in a short time got up and commanded satan to leave Harvey, laying his hands upon his head at the same time.” Then, Hancock said, Leman Copley, who weighed over two hundred pounds, somersaulted in the air and fell on his back over a bench. Wight cast Satan out of Copley, and Copley was calmed. The evil spirit, according to Hancock, was in and out of people all day and the greater part of the night. Joseph, who was ordaining men to the high priesthood, came eventually to Hancock and assured him he had a calling “as high as any man in the house.” The words brought Hancock relief: “I was glad for that for I was so scared I would not stir without his liberty for all the world.” 

This was not the spiritual endowment the elders had expected, and the outburst may have contributed to “trouble and unbelief” among the disciples. John Whitmer noted that about this time “some apostatized, and became enemies to the cause of God, and persecuted the saints.” Ch. 7

“The June 1831 conference ordinations hinted at the direction his theology would take. Joseph had hoped for an endowment of power at the conference. He had tolerated exorbitant behavior in hopes of receiving a pentecostal manifestation. Though disappointed, his reaction indicated a line of thinking: that the endowment of power would come to the Saints by way of priesthood. A year later, a revelation would say that in the ordinances of the priesthood, “the power of godliness is manifest; and without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh.” Eventually the quest for the endowment of power would be transferred to the temples, the site of the highest priesthood rituals.” Ch. 7

“For almost two years, Joseph had been looking for an “endowment of power,” expecting it when the Melchizedek Priesthood was bestowed in June 1831. His revision of the Melchizedek passages in Genesis connected priesthood with the power to “stand in the presence of God.” In the fall of 1831, he was told that “inasmuch as you strip yourselves from jealousies and fears, and humble yourselves before me . . . the vail [sic] shall be rent and you shall see me and know that I am.” The endowment of power, it now seemed, meant coming into the presence of God. Going one step further, the 1832 priesthood revelation associated the endowment of power with the temple.” Ch. 10

“In the temple, the long-awaited endowment of power was to take place. Joseph hoped his Saints would face God as Moses’ people never could. At the completion of Solomon’s temple, God came in a cloud of glory. A fall 1832 revelation said that when the Kirtland temple was finished, “a cloud shall rest upon it, which cloud shall be even the glory of the Lord.” In May they were promised “my glory shall be there, and my presence shall be there.” Ch. 11

“The elders must “know more perfectly, concerning their duty, and the things which I require at their hands,” the revelation said. And how were they to learn all they must do? “This cannot be brought to pass until mine elders are endowed with power from on high.” The endowment of power, central to the exaltation of the Saints for the past three years, became the first step in the redemption of Zion. Both depended on construction of the Kirtland temple, where the endowment was to be given. The day after the revelation was received, a council appointed “the first Elders,” as they were called, “to receive [their] endowment in Kirtland with the power from on high and to assist in gathering up the strength of the Lord’s house, and proclaim the everlasting gospel.” Fifteen leading men from Zion were named.” Ch. 12

“Ever since the dissolution of Zion’s Camp, Joseph had believed the Saints would not prevail in Missouri without the endowment of spiritual power they had been anticipating for five years—their own Pentecost. The high council minutes for August 4, 1835, noted that “God has commanded us to build a house in which to receive an endowment, previous to the redemption of Zion, and . . . Zion could not be redeemed until this takes place.” To prepare for that time, Joseph assembled his leadership corps in Kirtland. The high council and the bishopric came from Missouri, and the Twelve Apostles and the Seventy from the mission field. “We look for the grate indowment to take place soon now theare will be a grate gathering of the saints to Zion next season,” George Hinkle wrote a friend in October. William Phelps told his wife, Sally, in Missouri to remain patient. He did not know “when Zion will be redeemed.” “Little is said or known.” But the endowment had to come first. “Don’t reckon too much on my coming home in the spring,” he warned. “Keep up your faith and pray for the endowment; as soon as that takes place the elders will anxiously speed for their families.” Ch. 16

“The elders were meeting in the temple primarily to prepare for the “endowment of power.” Joseph had awaited five years for this long-promised heavenly gift. An 1830 revelation had promised the Saints they would be “endowed with power from on high” when they got to Ohio, and an 1832 revelation said priesthood ordinances would help them to see the face of God. Spiritual blessings, much like an endowment, were received at the first session of the School of the Prophets in 1833. But later the Saints learned that the endowment would come in the temple, a house where God could “endow those whom I have chosen with power from on high.”12 Oliver Cowdery told the Twelve, when they were ordained in February 1835, that they were “not to go to other nations till you receive your endowments.” Because they had not known Jesus in mortality, these modern apostles had to know Him by revelation. “Never cease striving until you have seen God face to face,” Cowdery told them. That time seemed close in October 1835. Joseph told the Twelve they were to attend the School of the Prophets that fall and “prepare the[i]r hearts in all humility for an endowment with power from on high.” Indeed all priesthood holders were to ready themselves by “reigning up our minds to a sense of the great object that lies before us, viz, that glorious endowment that God has in store for the faithful.” The Saints expected to relive the Pentecost in the Book of Acts when the powers of heaven rained down on the first Christians. The gift from heaven would energize all other projects—missionary work, the gathering, and the recovery of Zion.” Ch. 17

“In mid-winter, the elaborate attention to heavenly order bore fruit. At Sunday meeting on January 17, Joseph organized the attendees into the several quorums, and instead of the usual preaching, the First Presidency and the Twelve confessed their faults to one another. “The congregation were soon overwhelmed in tears,” Joseph said, “and some of our hearts were too big for utterance, the gift of toungs, come upon us also like rushing of a mighty wind, and my soul was filled with the glory of God.” William W. Phelps could scarcely talk. “When I was speaking,” he wrote Sally, “which was but few words, the Spirit of the Lord came upon me so that I could not speak, and I cried as little children cry in earnest and the tears from my eyes ran in streams; the audience, which was the largest ever convened in the said room, sobbed and wept aloud.”

The temple rituals began with washings. Earlier, in January 1833, Joseph had washed the feet of thirteen brethren, following the example of Jesus in the Gospel of John. In 1836, a new kind of washing, one for the whole body, was instituted, following Old Testament practices. On Thursday afternoon, January 21, “we attended to the ordinance of washing our bodies in pure water,” Joseph wrote in his journal. “We also perfumed our bodies and our heads, in the name of the Lord.” Oliver Cowdery gave a fuller description of washings performed the previous Saturday.

“Met in the evening with bro. Joseph Smith, jr. at his house, in company with bro. John Corrill, and after pure water was prepared, called upon the Lord and proceeded to wash each other’s bodies, and bathe the same with whiskey, perfumed with cinnamon. This we did that we might be clearn before the Lord for the Sabbath, confessing our sins and covenanting to be faithful to God. While performing this washing unto the Lord with solemnity, our minds were filled with many reflections upon the propriety of the same, and how the priests anciently used to wash always before ministering before the Lord. As we had nearly finished this purification, bro. Martin Harris came in and was also washed.”

When the brethren met the following Thursday, they added an anointing with oil. Dark having fallen, the west room of the temple was lit by candles. While the high councils from Kirtland and Missouri waited in two adjoining rooms, Joseph and six other men attended to “the ordinance of annointing our heads with holy oil.” Recording exactly how he proceeded, Joseph wrote that “I took the oil in my left hand, father Smith being seated before me and the rest of the presidency encircled him round about.—we then stretched our right hands to heaven and blessed the oil and consecrated it in the name of Jesus Christ.” The circle laid their hands on Father Smith and blessed him, after which Joseph anointed his father with the oil, and the others “laid their hands upon his head, beginning at the eldest, untill they had all laid their hands on him, and pronounced such blessings, upon his head as the Lord put into their hearts,” as they did so rubbing their hands over his anointed face and head. Having been anointed and blessed himself, Joseph Sr. rose and anointed the others in order of age. When he came to his son, he “sealed upon me the blessings, of Moses, to lead Israel in the latter days, even as moses led him in days of old,—also the blessings of Abraham Isaac and Jacob.” All of the Presidency followed Father Smith with blessings and prophecies on Joseph.” Ch. 17

“Oliver Cowdery reveals Joseph’s source in commenting that “those named in the first room were annointed with the same kind of oil and in the man[ner] that were Moses and Aaron, and those who stood before the Lord in ancient days.” In Exodus, the Lord commanded Moses to “bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water.” Then “thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.” The washing and anointing of ancient Hebrew priests became the pattern for the modern temple. Even the cinnamon perfume was in the biblical recipe for anointing oil. Exodus called for myrrh and calamus to be mixed with “sweet cinnamon,” but cinnamon was all these poor Latter-day priests could manage. In an era when many Christians were sloughing off the Hebrew Bible and taking their Gospel solely from the New Testament, Joseph drew upon ceremonies in Exodus.28 Later the Saints clothed themselves in holy garments like Aaron.” Ch. 17

“After the Presidency, Joseph anointed the bishops of Kirtland and Clay County with their counselors, the high councils of the two cities, and then the presidents of each quorum. The Bishop of Missouri, Edward Partridge, wrote that “a number saw visions & others were blessed with the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. The vision of heaven was opened to these also, some of them saw the face of the Saviour, and others were ministered unto by holy angels.” Finally, after 1 a.m., the brethren sang, invoked the blessing of heaven with uplifted hands, and went home.30 The next day no one could concentrate on school. They wanted to talk over “the glorious scenes that transpired on the preceding evening.” Joseph had now established a procedure for the priesthood to follow in the temple: washing the body, anointing with oil, and sealing the anointing with prayer. That evening the Twelve Apostles and the Seventy underwent the same procedure. Joseph anointed Thomas Marsh, head of the Twelve, and he in turn anointed his brethren, from oldest to youngest, sealing a blessing on each. The Twelve anointed and blessed the presidency of the Seventy, who did the same to each of their fellow seventies. Following the ordinances, “toungs, fell upon us in mighty pow[e]r, angels mingled their voices with ours, while their presence was in our midst, and unseasing prasis swelled our bosoms for the space of half an hour.” At two in the morning they went home, and, Joseph said, “the spirit & visions of God attended me through the night.” Ch. 17

“Joseph said nothing about a revelation on washings and anointings. The only scriptural authorization came from Exodus. Yet Joseph assured the brethren that the order was “according to the mind of God.” He introduced the washings, anointings, and sealings as rigorously as any commandment. Ritual now assumed as much importance as the gathering or Zion or the organization of councils in the overall program of the Church. The Kirtland rituals amounted to another form of revelation, comparable in importance to the visitations of angels, the voice of the Spirit speaking for God, the translations of historical texts, and the organization of Church councils by precedent and experience.” Ch. 17

“The daylong meeting dedicated Church government as well as the temple. Joseph described the organizational business in detail while skipping over the sermons and the accounts of spiritual gifts. Constructing a kingdom of priests meant as much to him as propounding a set of doctrines. The dedication gave him the opportunity to display the Church’s organization, one of his masterpieces, before the Saints and the world. Only after this extended presentation of officers did Joseph come to the dedicatory prayer. He wrote the prayer by revelation, he later reported, with help from counselors and clerks. The prayer sums up the Church’s concerns in 1836, bringing before God each major project. The temple was presented to God for acceptance. Joseph asked “that thy holy presence may be continually in this house.” He prayed for the promised endowment to come to the Saints. “Let the annointing of thy ministers be sealed upon them with power from on high: let it be fulfilled upon them, as upon those on the day of Pentecost.” Ch. 17

“The dedication was over, but was this the Pentecostal endowment of power Joseph had so long anticipated? Joseph mentioned the appearance of angels. Frederick G. Williams testified “that while Presdt Rigdon was making his first prayer an angel entered the window and took his seat . . . between father Smith, and himself.” Others saw angels, and two apostles sang and spoke in tongues. Although Joseph made no record of the events, others reported “great manifestations of power, such as speaking in tongues, seeing visions, administration of angels.” Oliver Cowdery “saw the glory of God, like a great cloud, come down and rest upon the house, and fill the same like a mighty rushing wind. I also saw cloven tongues, like as of fire rest upon many . . . while they spake with other tongues and prophesied.”

But the congregation did not see the face of God, and the level of spiritual manifestations did not equal the outpourings of January and February. Had the long-sought endowment finally been granted? Apparently satisfied with what had happened, Joseph returned to practical matters.” Ch. 17

“Two days after the dedication, Joseph and four counselors met “in the most holy place in the Lords house” (probably the west room in the attic) and sought “a revelation from Him to teach us concerning our going to Zion.” But then the Spirit whispered to come into the holy place three times with the other presidents and the bishoprics, fasting through the day and night, and, if they were humble, a revelation on Zion would be given. No record of such a revelation survives, but once the brethren were gathered in the temple, the meeting took another direction. Joseph decided to remain in the house until morning. Followers were to cleanse their feet and take the sacrament “that we might be made holy before Him, and thereby be qualified to officiate in our calling upon the morrow in washing the feet of the Elders.” The brethren washed feet and partook of the sacrament. “The Holy S[p]irit rested down upon us,” Joseph reported, “and we continued in the Lords house all night prophesying and giving glory to God.”

The next day, March 30, more priesthood joined them “and all the official members in this stake of Zion amounting to about 300.” To provide for the multitude, Joseph called for towels and tubs of water and took up a collection to purchase bread and wine. The First Presidency washed the feet of the Twelve and then the brethren began prophesying on each other’s heads, often sealing the prophecies with “Hosanna and Amen.” After lowering the veils, “they prophesied, spoke and sang in tongues in each room.” Exhausted after the all-night session, the Presidency retired, but the rest of the brethren remained, “exhorting, prophesying and speaking in tongues” until 5 a.m. A few skeptics wondered if the brethren had become drunk on sacrament wine, but according to Joseph’s journal, the nonstop Tuesday and Wednesday meetings were, finally, the endowment.” Ch. 17

“The Saviour made his appearance to some, while angels minestered unto others, and it was a penticost and enduement indeed, long to be remembered for the sound shall go forth from this place into all the world, and the occurrences of this day shall be hande[d] down upon the pages of sacred history to all generations, as the day of Pentecost. 

Not many saw the face of God or the Savior, but enough had been given to say that the endowment was now theirs. As one brother wrote later, “Some brethren expressed themselves as being disappointed at not receiving more and greater manifestations of the power of God, but for our part, we had found the pearl of great price, and our soul was happy and contented, and we rejoiced greatly in the Lord.” Joseph told the quorums “that I had now completed the organization of the church and we had passed through all the necessary ceremonies, that I had given them all the instruction they needed.” Ch. 17

“David Whitmer said much later, in 1886, that the endowment “was a grand fizzle,” a “trumped-up yarn.” Ch. 17, footnote 53

Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, Volume 1, The Standard of Truth, 1815–1846, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah

“He said the organization of the church was now complete and the men in the room had received all of the ordinances the Lord had prepared for them at that time.” Ch. 21

“In the days that followed the dedication of the temple, missionaries left in every direction to preach the gospel, strengthened by the endowment of power.

“Go forth and build up the kingdom of God,” he said.

Joseph and his counselors went home, leaving the Twelve to take charge of the meeting. The Spirit again descended on the men in the temple, and they began to prophesy, speak in tongues, and exhort one another in the gospel. Ministering angels appeared to some men, and a few others had visions of the Savior.

Outpourings of the Spirit continued until the early morning hours. When the men left the temple, their souls were soaring from the wonders and glories they had just experienced. They felt endowed with power and ready to take the gospel to the world.” Ch. 21

 “Behold, I have accepted this house, and my name shall be here; and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy.” He urged the Saints to keep it sacred and confirmed that they had received the endowment of power. “The hearts of thousands and tens of thousands shall greatly rejoice,” He declared, “in consequence of the blessings which shall be poured out, and the endowment with which my servants have been endowed in this house.” Ch. 21

Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

“After the temple dedication, he confidently informed the Saints that he had completed the organization of the Church and given them all the instruction they needed.” Ch. 17

Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, Volume 1, The Standard of Truth, 1815–1846, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah

“Lately, Joseph and other men in town had entered into a centuries-old fraternal society called Freemasonry, after longtime Masons like Hyrum Smith and John Bennett had helped to organize a Masonic lodge in the city.” Ch. 37

Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

“Joseph embraced Freemasonry and introduced a new endowment ceremony for the temple.” Ch. 25

Joseph Smith, “Journal, Mar. 15, 1842,” JSP, J2:3–183. The Joseph Smith Papers

“Tuesday 15 Officiated as grand Chaplin. at the Installation of the Nauvoo Lodge. of Free Masons, on At the Grove. near the Temple. Grand Master [Abraham] Jonas being present. — A Large number of people assembled on the occasion, the day was exceedingly fine, all things were done in order, and universal satisfaction manifested. Admitted a me[m]ber of the Lodge in the evening.”

“In June 1841, they petitioned for sponsorship and received it from Abraham Jonas, a Jewish Mason and Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Illinois. Jonas’s belief in equality and brotherhood disposed him to befriend the Saints, and he was also seeking support in his run for the state legislature. Jonas formed the Mormons into a temporary lodge of Ancient York Masons with George Miller as “Worshipful Master” and Hyrum Smith as “Senior Warden.” The new lodge quickly received membership applications from forty-one Mormons including Joseph, Sidney Rigdon, and five of the Twelve Apostles.” Ch. 25

“In March 1842, Jonas came to Nauvoo to install the new members. Joseph became an “Entered Apprentice” Mason on March 15, 1842. Jonas dubbed Joseph a Mason “on sight” to allow him to officiate as chaplain while being installed. The next day Joseph rose through degrees of “Fellow Craft” and “Master Mason.” Impressed though he must have been, his journal entry for the installation expressed most pleasure in the celebration following the initiation. The Masonic procession began at Joseph’s store near the river and marched to the grove at the base of the temple bluff, where three thousand people gathered. Joseph reported that “a Large number of people assembled on the occasion, the day was exceedingly fine, all things were done in order, and universal satisfaction manifested.” Ch. 25

“If Joseph thought of Freemasonry as degenerate priesthood, he did nothing to suppress his rival. Once the Nauvoo lodge was organized, Mormons joined in large numbers. Eleven of the Twelve Apostles became Freemasons. By October 1842, the 253 members of the Nauvoo lodge outnumbered the 227 Masons in all the other Illinois lodges combined.” Ch. 25

Media Library, “Joseph Smith and Masonry,” 2019, Topics, Video Collections, Gospel Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“Yes, Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was a freemason. Joseph Smith’s brother Hyrum was also a mason and a member of a lodge in Palmyra, New York. And their father, Joseph Smith Sr., was also known to be a master mason in Canandaigua, New York, as early as 1818. While prophet and president of the church, Joseph joined the masonic lodge in Nauvoo, Illinois, on March 15, 1842, rising to the level of master mason, just a day later, under the recognized authority of the grand master of Illinois. 

Masonry wasn’t new to the thousands of Latter-day Saint converts already living in and around Nauvoo at the time. Although new to the faith, some members of the church, even those within the ranks of church leadership, were already masons. Eventually, over 1500 members of the church were listed as freemasons in Nauvoo alone, more than in all the rest of Illinois.”  

Church History Topics, “Masonry,” Church History, Gospel Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“In December 1841, 18 Latter-day Saint Masons organized a lodge in Nauvoo. Joseph Smith and 40 others applied for membership the following day. On March 15, 1842, Illinois Grand Master Mason Abraham Jonas granted a dispensation for the organization of the Nauvoo Lodge, installed its officers, and initiated Joseph and Sidney Rigdon to the degree of “Entered Apprentice” in the upper-floor space above Joseph’s Red Brick Store. The next day, Jonas passed Joseph and Sidney as “Fellow Craft” and raised them as “Master Masons.” 

Historical sources do not explain Joseph Smith’s motives for joining the Freemasons. In many localities in early America, the most important elected officials were also Masons. In joining, Joseph may have assumed he would gain a network of allies who could give him access to political influence and protection against persecution. After being betrayed by some of his closest associates in Missouri, Joseph may have found Masonry’s emphasis on confidentiality and loyalty appealing. Latter-day Saint Masons also likely encouraged Joseph to apply for membership. In any event, Joseph, like all Masons, would have avowed that his purpose for joining was strictly to gain knowledge and be of service to others.”

Kenneth W. Godfrey, “Freemasonry in Nauvoo,” 1992, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, p. 350-351, Macmillan Publishing Company, Digital Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University

“Grand Master Jonas apparently waived the rule and granted Nauvoo a "special dispensation" to organize. He also made Joseph Smith and his counselor, Sidney Rigdon, "Masons at sight." Some believe that Jonas was willing to follow this course because he envisioned the growing Mormon vote supporting his own political ambitions (see Nauvoo Politics). Although the action may have endeared him to some Latter-day Saints, it antagonized other Masons. Joseph Smith had reason to expect that the Saints might benefit from the network of friendship and support normally associated with the fraternal organization, but instead, the Nauvoo Lodge only produced friction.”

“In August 1842, Bodley Lodge No. 1 protested the granting of a dispensation to the Nauvoo Lodge, resulting in a temporary suspension of activities. An investigation found that approximately three hundred Latter-day Saints had become Masons during the brief existence of the lodge.”

“As long-time rivals of Nauvoo for political and economic ascendancy, neighboring Masons feared and resisted Mormon domination of Freemasonry. Charging the Nauvoo Lodge with balloting for more than one applicant at a time, receiving applicants into the fraternity on the basis that they reform in the future, and making Joseph Smith a Master Mason on sight, enemies forced an investigation in October 1843.”

“Though the examining committee reported that everything appeared to be in order, it expressed fear that there might be something wrong, and recommended a year's suspension.”

“A committee was appointed to make a thorough investigation in Nauvoo. Though the committee reported no wrongdoing, the Nauvoo Lodge was again suspended.”

Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, Volume 1, The Standard of Truth, 1815–1846, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah

“Other temple ordinances and inspiring new truths would come later. “I deign to reveal unto my church things which have been kept hid from before the foundation of the world, things that pertain to the dispensation of the fulness of times,” the Lord promised. “And I will show unto my servant Joseph all things pertaining to this house, and the priesthood thereof.” Ch. 35

“In Kirtland, the endowment of power had fortified many men for the rigors of the mission field. But God had promised to bestow a greater spiritual endowment in the Nauvoo temple. By revealing additional ordinances and knowledge to faithful men and women of the church, the Lord would make them kings and queens, priests and priestesses, as John the Revelator had prophesied in the New Testament.” Ch. 37

“For the rest of the afternoon, the prophet introduced an ordinance to the men. Part of it involved washings and anointings, similar to the ordinances given in the Kirtland temple and the ancient Hebrew tabernacle. The men were given a sacred undergarment that covered their bodies and reminded them of their covenants. 

The new ordinance God revealed to Joseph taught exalting truths. It drew upon scriptural accounts of the Creation and the Garden of Eden, including the new account found in the Abraham translation, to guide the men step-by-step through the plan of salvation. Like Abraham and other ancient prophets, they received knowledge that would enable them to return to the presence of God. Along the way, the men made covenants to live righteous, chaste lives and dedicate themselves to serving the Lord. 

Joseph called the ordinance the endowment and trusted the men not to reveal the special knowledge they learned that day. Like the endowment of power in Kirtland, the ordinance was sacred and meant for the spiritually minded. Yet it was more than an outpouring of spiritual gifts and divine power on the elders of the church. As soon as the temple was finished, both men and women would be able to receive the ordinance, strengthen their covenant relationship to God, and find greater power and protection in consecrating their lives to the kingdom of God.“ Ch. 37

Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

“The concept of the temple had steadily expanded since it was first mentioned in a revelation in late 1830.” Ch. 25

“The Nauvoo endowment added instruction based on the biblical story of the Creation, a recurring narrative in Joseph’s revelations. Both the Book of Moses and the Book of Abraham contained a creation story; a third version framed the endowment ceremony. The endowment presented a reenactment of the Creation, the Fall, and the establishment of priesthood order among humans after the earth was formed.” Ch. 25

“Joseph first bestowed the endowment on nine men on May 4, 1842, in the second-floor rooms of his brick store. Having arranged the room with scenery and props the day before, he spent the day, his journal said, giving “certain instructions concerning the priesthood.” Ch. 25

Church History Topics, “Temple Endowment,” Church History, Gospel Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“In contrast to written scripture, the endowment taught participants by inviting them to symbolically reenact key aspects of the plan of salvation, including “the most prominent events of the creative period, the condition of our first parents in the Garden of Eden, their disobedience and consequent expulsion from that blissful abode, their condition in the lone and dreary world when doomed to live by labor and sweat, the plan of redemption by which the great transgression may be atoned.” During the course of this reenactment, they covenant to obey God’s commandments, commit to devote themselves fully to His work, and acquire knowledge needed to “walk back to the presence of the Father.”

“After Joseph Smith introduced the endowment, he directed Brigham Young to “organize and systematize all these ceremonies” so they could be administered within the temple.”

Brigham Young, "Necessity of Building Temples-The Endowment," 6 April 6 1853, Journal of Discourses, Volume 2, p. 31

“But be assured, brethren, there are but few, very few of the Elders of Israel, now on earth, who know the meaning of the word endowment. To know, they must experience; and to experience, a Temple must be built.

Let me give you the definition in brief. Your endowment is, to receive all those ordinances in the House of the Lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, being enabled to give them the key words, the signs and tokens, pertaining to the Holy Priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation in spite of earth and hell.”

“About the Temple Endowment,” Temples, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“When you joined the Church, you received two ordinances—baptism and confirmation. Likewise, the temple endowment is also received in two parts.

In the first part, you will privately and individually receive what are called the initiatory ordinances. These ordinances include special blessings regarding your divine heritage and potential. As part of these ordinances, you will also be authorized to wear the sacred temple garment and covenant to wear it throughout your life.

In the second part, you will receive the rest of your endowment in a group setting. This takes place in an instruction room with others who are attending the temple. Some of the endowment is presented through video and some by temple workers. During the ordinance, events that are part of the plan of salvation are presented. They include the Creation of the world, the Fall of Adam and Eve, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the Apostasy, and the Restoration. You will also learn more about the way all people can return to the presence of the Lord. The endowment helps us understand how we can receive all the blessings of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

During the endowment ordinance, you will be invited to make certain covenants with God. These covenants are:

Law of Obedience, which includes striving to keep Heavenly Father's commandments.

Law of Sacrifice, which means sacrificing to support the Lord’s work and repenting with a broken heart and contrite spirit.

Law of the Gospel, which includes exercising faith in Jesus Christ, making and honoring essential covenants with God, enduring to the end, and striving to love God and our neighbor.

Law of Chastity, which means abstaining from sexual relations outside of a legal marriage between a man and a woman, which is according to God’s law.

Law of Consecration, which means dedicating our time, talents, and everything with which the Lord has blessed us to building up Jesus Christ’s Church on the earth.”

“At the end of the endowment, participants symbolically return to the Lord’s presence as they enter the celestial room. There you can take time to ponder, pray, read the scriptures, or quietly share your thoughts with family and friends. It is a place of peace, where you can also find comfort and divine guidance.”

First Presidency, “First Presidency Letter,” 10 October 1988

“Church members who have been clothed with the garment in the temple have made a covenant to wear it throughout their lives. This has been interpreted to mean that it is worn as underclothing both day and night. This sacred covenant is between the member and the Lord. Members should seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit to answer for themselves any personal questions about the wearing of the garment. … The promise of protection and blessings is conditioned upon worthiness and faithfulness in keeping the covenant.

The fundamental principle ought to be to wear the garment and not to find occasions to remove it. Thus, members should not remove either all or part of the garment to work in the yard or to lounge around the home in swimwear or immodest clothing. Nor should they remove it to participate in recreational activities that can reasonably be done with the garment worn properly beneath regular clothing. When the garment must be removed, such as for swimming, it should be restored as soon as possible.

The principles of modesty and keeping the body appropriately covered are implicit in the covenant and should govern the nature of all clothing worn. Endowed members of the Church wear the garment as a reminder of the sacred covenants they have made with the Lord and also as a protection against temptation and evil. How it is worn is an outward expression of an inward commitment to follow the Savior.”

Carlos E. Asay, “The Temple Garment: ‘An Outward Expression of an Inward Commitment,’” Liahona, Sept. 1999, 35; Ensign, Aug. 1997, 20.

“There is, however, another piece of armor worthy of our consideration. It is the special underclothing known as the temple garment, or garment of the holy priesthood, worn by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who have received their temple endowment. This garment, worn day and night, serves three important purposes: it is a reminder of the sacred covenants made with the Lord in His holy house, a protective covering for the body, and a symbol of the modesty of dress and living that should characterize the lives of all the humble followers of Christ.”

“Garments bear several simple marks of orientation toward the gospel principles of obedience, truth, life, and discipleship in Christ.”

“I like to think of the garment as the Lord’s way of letting us take part of the temple with us when we leave. It is true that we carry from the Lord’s house inspired teachings and sacred covenants written in our minds and hearts. However, the one tangible remembrance we carry with us back into the world is the garment. And though we cannot always be in the temple, a part of it can always be with us to bless our lives.

Don’t forget that the word garment is used symbolically in the scriptures and gives expanded meaning to other words such as white, clean, pure, righteous, modesty, covering, ceremonial, holy, priesthood, beautiful, perfection, salvation, undefiled, worthy, white raiment, shield, protection, spotless, blameless, armor, covenants, promises, blessings, respect, eternal life, and so forth. All of these words occupy special places in the vocabularies of people sincerely essaying to become Saints.”

“Remember always that our very salvation depends, symbolically, upon the condition of our garments.”

Doctrine and Covenants 124:37-42

“And again, verily I say unto you, how shall your washings be acceptable unto me, except ye perform them in a house which you have built to my name?

For, for this cause I commanded Moses that he should build a tabernacle, that they should bear it with them in the wilderness, and to build a house in the land of promise, that those ordinances might be revealed which had been hid from before the world was.

Therefore, verily I say unto you, that your anointings, and your washings, and your baptisms for the dead, and your solemn assemblies, and your memorials for your sacrifices by the sons of Levi, and for your oracles in your most holy places wherein you receive conversations, and your statutes and judgments, for the beginning of the revelations and foundation of Zion, and for the glory, honor, and endowment of all her municipals, are ordained by the ordinance of my holy house, which my people are always commanded to build unto my holy name.

And verily I say unto you, let this house be built unto my name, that I may reveal mine ordinances therein unto my people;

For I deign to reveal unto my church things which have been kept hid from before the foundation of the world, things that pertain to the dispensation of the fulness of times.

And I will show unto my servant Joseph all things pertaining to this house, and the priesthood thereof, and the place whereon it shall be built.”

Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, “Freemasonry and the Origins of Modern Temple Ordinances,” 2015, Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, Volume 15, p. 159-237

“The revelations and translations of Joseph Smith are clear in their witness that earlier forms of such loss also occurred in Moses’ day. At first, the Lord expressed His intent to make the higher ordinances of the holy priesthood available to all of Israel. However, because of their rebellion, the higher priesthood, and its associated laws and ordinances, were instead generally withheld from the people.”

“There is little indication in the Old Testament that Israelite kingship rituals were given to anyone besides the monarch.”

“In Israelite temples, the high priest changed his clothing as he moved to areas of the temple that reflected differing degrees of sacredness.”

“Sacred handclasps were also used in early Christian prayer circles. For example, according to the pseudepigraphal Acts of John, Jesus concluded His final instructions to the apostles with a choral prayer in which “he told [them] to form a circle, holding one another’s hands, and himself stood in the middle.”

Church History Topics, “Masonry,” Church History, Gospel Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“There are different ways of understanding the relationship between Masonry and the temple. Some Latter-day Saints point to similarities between the format and symbols of both the endowment and Masonic rituals and those of many ancient religious ceremonies as evidence that the endowment was a restoration of an ancient ordinance.”

“For example, Latter-day Saint researchers noted similarities between ritual clothing used in parts of ancient Egypt and the sacred clothing Latter-day Saints use in conjunction with the endowment.” Footnote 27

C. Wilfred Griggs, et. al., “Evidences of a Christian Population in the Egyptian Fayum and Genetic and Textile Studies of the Akhmim Noble Mummies,” 1993, BYU Studies, Volume 33, No. 2, p. 214–43, Scholars Archive, Brigham Young University

“Since 1981, a team from Brigham Young University has been excavating in the Fayum in Egypt at both an Old Kingdom Pyramid (the Seila Pyramid) and a Greco-Roman cemetery. The team has uncovered hundreds of unplundered burials in the cemetery, including two extremely significant pre-Christian burials and the team’s work has yielded new information about the lives of early Christians and ancient pharaohs in Egypt.”

“The cemetery, which was used for burials from about 200 B.C. to about A.D. 800, covers approximately 125 hectares, or 309 acres.”

“We have not found evidence of a temple or cult center in the area.”

“At the bottom of the shaft the burials are oriented with the head to the east so that when the dead rise up they will be facing the west. From the second half of the first century, burials have a reverse orientation so that those dead will face east when they rise to meet the resurrected Christ. This shift in direction indicates a cultural change from Egyptian religious beliefs to Christianity.”

“This early Christian garment was made of wool and was placed next to the body. The garment has a woven rosette over each breast, a hemmed cut on the abdomen, and a rosette above the right knee.”

“Small wooden fish. This model of a fish was found near one of the burials in the cemetery. It may be a symbol of the Christian faith, or it may be a child’s toy, since there was an active fishing industry in the Fayum.”

Kenneth W. Godfrey, “Freemasonry and the Temple,” 1992, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, p. 351-352, Macmillan Publishing Company, Digital Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University

“Many sacred ceremonies existed in the ancient world. Modified over centuries, these rituals existed in some form among ancient Egyptians, Coptic Christians, Israelites, and Masons, and in the Catholic and Protestant liturgies. Common elements include the wearing of special clothing, ritualistic speech, the dramatization of archetypal themes, instruction, and the use of symbolic gestures. One theme common to many-found in the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the Egyptian pyramid texts, and Coptic prayer circles, for example-is man's journey through life and his quest, following death, to successfully pass the sentinels guarding the entrance to eternal bliss with the gods. Though these ceremonies vary greatly, significant common points raise the possibility of a common remote source.”

“The Egyptian pyramid texts, for example, feature six main themes: (1) emphasis on a primordial written document behind the rites; (2) purification (including anointing, lustration, and clothing); (3) the Creation (resurrection and awakening texts); (4) the garden (including tree and ritual meal motifs); (5) travel (protection, a ferryman, and Osirian texts); and (6) ascension (including victory, coronation, admission to heavenly company, and Horus texts). Like such ancient ceremonies, the LDS temple Endowment presents aspects of these themes in figurative terms. It, too, presents, not a picture of immediate reality, but a model setting forth the pattern of human life on earth and the divine plan of which it is part.”

“Some find that the LDS Endowment has more similarities with the Pyramid texts and the Coptic documents than with Freemasonry.”

Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, Volume 1, The Standard of Truth, 1815–1846, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah

“As they left the store that day, the men were in awe of the truths they had learned from the endowment. Some aspects of the ordinance reminded Heber Kimball of Masonic ceremonies. In Freemasonry meetings, men acted out an allegorical story about the architect of Solomon’s temple. Masons learned gestures and words they pledged to keep secret, all of which symbolized that they were building a solid foundation and adding light and knowledge to it by degrees.” Ch. 37

Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

“Portions of the temple ritual resembled Masonic rites that Joseph had observed when a Nauvoo lodge was organized in March 1842 and that he may have heard about from Hyrum, a Mason from New York days. The Nauvoo endowment was first bestowed just six weeks after Joseph’s induction. The similarities were marked enough for Heber Kimball to quote Joseph saying that Freemasonry “was taken from preasthood but has become degen[e]rated. but menny things are perfect.” Ch. 25

“Masonic instruction would have attracted Joseph. Masonic candidates sought light, a powerful word in Joseph’s revelations. Biblical imagery was mixed generously with a conglomeration of symbols—grips, signs, tools, architecture, objects, scriptures, stories, actions, many of them references to the craft of masonry. After the ceremony initiating members into a higher degree, a lecture summarized the symbols and their importance for instilling virtue and brotherhood. The outcome was a circle of committed brethren, loyal to each other to the death, forming a bulwark against a wicked world. After the Masonic installation and the first endowment ceremony, Heber Kimball wrote Parley Pratt that “Brother Joseph feels as well as I Ever see him. one reason is he has got a Small Company. that he feels safe in thare ha[n]ds.” Kimball probably referred to the men who had been endowed, but the Masonic lodge was one more line of defense against a hostile world.” Ch. 25

“Intrigued by the Masonic rites, Joseph turned the materials to his own use. The Masonic elements that appeared in the temple endowment were embedded in a distinctive context—the Creation instead of the Temple of Solomon, exaltation rather than fraternity, God and Christ, not the Worshipful Master.” Ch. 25

“The resemblances of the temple rites to Masonic ritual have led some to imagine the endowment as an offshoot of the fraternal lodge movement.” Ch. 25

Hugh Nibley, “What Is a Temple,” in The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley: Volume 4—Mormonism and Early Christianity, ed. Todd M. Compton and Stephen D. Ricks (1987), 366–67, 383.

“Did Joseph Smith reinvent the temple by putting all the fragments—Jewish, Orthodox, Masonic, Gnostic, Hindu, Egyptian, and so forth—together again? No, that is not how it is done. Very few of the fragments were available in his day, and the job of putting them together was begun, as we have seen, only in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Even when they are available, those poor fragments do not come together of themselves to make a whole; to this day the scholars who collect them do not know what to make of them. The temple is not to be derived from them, but the other way around. … That anything of such fulness, consistency, ingenuity, and perfection could have been brought forth at a single time and place—overnight, as it were—is quite adequate proof of a special dispensation.”

Church History Topics, “Masonry,” Church History, Gospel Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“Joseph Smith joined the fraternity in March 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois.2 Soon after he became a Mason, Joseph introduced the temple endowment. There are some similarities between Masonic ceremonies and the endowment.”

“The next day, Joseph introduced the temple endowment for the first time to nine men, all of whom were also Masons. One of these men, Heber C. Kimball, wrote of this experience to fellow Apostle Parley P. Pratt, who was on a mission in England. “We have received some precious things through the Prophet on the priesthood,” Kimball wrote of the endowment, noting that “there is a similarity of priesthood in masonry.”

“Masonic rituals deliver stage-by-stage instruction using dramatization and symbolic gestures and clothing, with content based on Masonic legends. The endowment employs similar teaching devices.”

“Others note that the ideas and institutions in the culture that surrounded Joseph Smith frequently contributed to the process by which he obtained revelation.”

“Joseph’s encounter with Masonry evidently served as a catalyst for revelation.”

Media Library, “Joseph Smith and Masonry,” 2019, Topics, Video Collections, Gospel Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“So, does the temple endowment ceremony borrow from Masonic ritual? At the time, Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo who experienced both masonic rites and the temple endowment did notice some common characteristics between the two ceremonies, specifically the common methods of presentation and clothing of the participants. They acknowledge parallels between masonry and the temple ceremony, as given to Joseph. Based on their experience with both, they concluded the temple ceremony was of divine origin. And consider that the ideas within the culture that surrounded Joseph Smith frequently contributed to the process by which he obtained revelations from God regarding the temple endowment as well as other subjects. Not surprising, since God uses many means to inspire his prophets and help them receive revelation.

The temple ceremony was not an imitation or copy of masonry; it was revelation from God. Yes, the presentation methods may have parallels to Masonic ritual.” 

Andrew F. Ehat, ed., “‘They Might Have Known That He Was Not a Fallen Prophet’ - The Nauvoo Journal of Joseph Fielding,” BYU Studies, Volume 19, No. 2 (Winter 1979), p. 145., Scholars Archive, Brigham Young University

“Many have joined the Masonic Institution this seems to have been a Stepping Stone or Preparation for something else, the true Origin of this I have also seen and rejoice in it.”

Kenneth W. Godfrey, “Freemasonry and the Temple,” 1992, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, p. 351-352, Macmillan Publishing Company, Digital Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University

“Students of both Mormonism and Freemasonry have pondered possible relationships between Masonic rites and the LDS temple ceremony.”

“Latter-day Saints view the ordinances as a revealed restoration of ancient temple ceremony and only incidentally related to Freemasonry.”

“The Prophet Joseph Smith suggested that the Endowment and Freemasonry in part emanated from the same ancient spring. Thus, some Nauvoo Masons thought of the Endowment as a restoration of a ritual only imperfectly preserved in Freemasonry and viewed Joseph Smith as a master of the underlying principles and allegorical symbolism.”

“One similarity is that both call for the participants to make covenants.”

“Latter-day Saints see their temple ordinances as fundamentally different from Masonic and other rituals and think of similarities as remnants from an ancient original.”

Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, “Freemasonry and the Origins of Modern Temple Ordinances,” 2015, Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, Volume 15, p. 159-237

“Freemasonry in Nauvoo was both a stepping-stone to the endowment and a blessing to the Saints in its own right. Its philosophies were preached from the pulpit and helped to promote ideals based on the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man that were dear to Joseph Smith. Its influence could be felt in diverse areas ranging from art and architecture to social and institutional practices. Importantly, Joseph Smith’s exposure to Masonic ritual was no doubt a spur to further revelation as the Nauvoo temple ordinances took shape under his prophetic authority.”

James Anderson A.M., Benjamin Franklin, “The Constitutions of the Free-Masons,” 1734, London, Reprinted in Philadelphia, Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln

“‘Tis This, and ‘tis That, They cannot tell What, Why so many Great Men of the Nation Should Aprons put on, To make themselves one With a Free and an Accepted Mason.”

Greg Kearney, “Similarities between Masonic and Mormon Temple Ritual,” Publications, Archive, FAIR Latter-day Saints

“[Editor’s note: Greg Kearney is an active temple attending Latter-day Saint as well as a life member of Franklin Lodge #123 A.F. & A.M. as well as several lodges of research. He gives Masonic education lectures at lodges on the history and relationship of Freemasonry to the development of the Latter-day Saint temples.]”

“It should be noted that the temple “Endowment” was initiated by Joseph Smith shortly after he began his involvement with Free Masonry.”

“I would like to draw your attention to a few of the more obvious similarities. Please keep in mind as you look over the following list, that the Masonic rituals and symbols pre-date the Mormon Church by several hundred years. It is quite an uncanny coincidence that “God’s Holy Endowment” would have so many similarities to Masonry.”

“Anointing with oil. A very old practice found in Christian, Jewish and Islamic traditions. It is not, however,found in the Masonic tradition outside of the setting of a cornerstone with wine, oil and corn.”

“Apron. Both groups use them. The reference comes from the Bible; the symbology is different, however. The LDS use can be traced to Gen. 3:7 “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” The Masonic usage refers to aprons worn by stone masons in quarries. The aprons themselves differ. The Masonic one is white lamb’s skin; the LDS apron in green representing the fig leaves spoken of in the creation story.”

“Square and Compass. Found in both the LDS temple and among the Masons. Their symbolic use differs in each, however. The endowment does not use a physical square and compass as the Masons do.”

“Five points of Fellowship. A Masonic tradition once used in the temple.”

“Special Garments applied to initiates. The temple garments worn by the Latter-day Saints the first time they attend the temple are the same as they use every day. Masons have special clothing, not undergarments, that symbolically show that they come to the lodge without any material possessions including clothing. Masons do not have symbolic clothing worn outside the lodge.”

“Garment Markings. Masonic ritualistic clothing have markings which are intended to provide a means of conducting the ritual.”

“Special handshakes. They are different both in form and meaning.”

“New Name given. Practice is found in scripture (Saul becomes Paul, for example). The Masonic as well as LDS practice comes from the Bible.”

“Blood/death oaths of secrecy with morbid gestures and words describing penalties agreed to if secrets are revealed. Mormons going through the temple post-1990 may not be familiar with these. See the earlier discussion of the penalties.”

David John Buerger, “The Development of the Mormon Temple Endowment Ceremony,” 1987, Dialogue, Volume 20, No. 4

“The complex interplay of Masonic tradition on Mormon temple rites probably had its roots during the mid-1820s, given that Joseph Smith’s brother Hyrum had joined the fraternity between 1825 and 1827.”

“The clearest evidence of Masonic influence on the Mormon temple ceremony would be a passage-by-passage comparison of the texts.”

William Morgan, “Illustrations of Masonry, by One of the Fraternity who has Devoted Thirty Years to the Subject,” 1827, David C. Miller, Batavia, New York

“The Junior Deacon then steps to the door and gives three raps, which are answered by three raps from without; the Junior Deacon then gives one, which is also answered by the Tyler with one; the door is then partly opened and the Junior Deacon delivers his message, and resumes his situation.”

“The Master now gives three raps, when all the brethren rise, and the Master taking off his hat, proceeds as follows: In like manner so do I, strictly forbidding all profane language, private committees, or any other disorderly conduct whereby the peace and harmony of this lodge may be interrupted while engaged in its lawful pursuits, under no less penalty than the by-laws, or such penalty as the majority of the Brethren present may see fit to inflict. Brethren, attend to giving the signs.”

“The Master then draws his right hand across his throat, the band open, with the thumb next to his throat, and drops it down by his side. This is called the penal sign of an Entered Apprentice Mason, (many call it sign) and alludes to the penalty of the obligation.”

“The candidate is conducted to the door where he is caused to give, or the conductor gives three distinct knocks, which are answered by three from within; the conductor gives one more, which is also answered by one from within. The door is then partly opened and the Senior Deacon generally asks, 'Who comes there?’”

“Since the candidate is traveling in search of light, you will please conduct him back to the west, from whence he came, and put him in the care of the Senior Warden, who will teach him how to approach the cast, the place of light, by advancing upon one upright regular step, to the first step, his feet forming the right angle of an oblong square, his body erect at the altar, before the Master, and place him in a proper position to take upon him the solemn oath or obligation of an Entered Apprentice Mason.”

“I, A. B., of my own free will and accord, in presence of Almighty God and this worshipful lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, dedicated to God, and held forth to the holy order of St. John, do hereby and hereon most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear that I will always hail, ever conceal and never reveal any part or parts, art or arts, point or points of the secret arts and mysteries of ancient Freemasonry which I have received, am about to receive, or may hereafter be instructed in, to any person or persons in the known world, except it be to a true and lawful brother Mason, or within the body of a just and lawfully constituted lodge of such; and not unto him, nor unto them whom I shall hear so to be, but unto him and them only whom I shall find so to be after strict trial and due examination, or lawful information.”

“To all of which I do most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear, without the least equivocation, mental reservation, or self evasion of mind in me whatever; binding myself under no less penalty than to have my throat cut across, my tongue torn out by the roots, and my body buried in the rough sands of the sea at low water-mark, where the tide ebbs and flows twice in twenty-hours; so help me God, and keep me steadfast in the due performance of the same.”

“Master to brethren, "Brethren, stretch forth your hands and assist in bringing this new made brother from darkness to light." The members having formed a circle round the candidate, the Master says, "And God said let there be light, and there was light."At the same time all the brethren clap their hands, and stamp on the floor with their right foot as heavy as possible, the bandage dropping from the candidate's eyes at the same instant.”

“ After the candidate is brought to light, the Master addresses him as follows: "Brother, on being brought to light, you first discover three great lights in Masonry, by the assistance of three lesser; they are thus explained: the three great lights in Masonry are the Holy Bible, Square and Compass. The Holy Bible is given to us as a rule and guide for our faith and practice; the Square, to square our actions, and the Compass to keep us in due bounds with all mankind, but more especially with the brethren.”

“The following is the due-guard of an Entered Apprentice Mason. [This is given by drawing your right hand across your throat, the thumb next to your throat, your arm as high as the elbow in a horizontal position.] "Brother, I now present you my right hand in token of brotherly love and esteem, and with it the grip and name of the grip of an Entered Apprentice Mason." The rights hands are joined together as in shaking hands and eachsticks his thumb nail into the third joint or upper end of the forefinger; the name of the grip is Boaz, and is to be given in the following manner and no other; the Master first gives the grip and word, and divides it for the instruction of the candidate; the questions are as follows: The Master and candidate holding each other by the grip, as before described, the Master says, "What is this?"

Ans. "A grip."

"A grip of what?"

Ans. "The grip of an Entered Apprentice Mason."

"Has it a name?"

Ans. "It has."

"Will you give it to me?"

Ans. "I did not so receive it, neither can I so impart it."

"What will you do with it?"

Ans. "Letter it or halve it."

"Halve it and begin."

Ans. "You begin."

"Begin you."

Ans. "B-O."

"A-Z."

Ans. "BOAZ."

Master says, "Right, brother Boaz, I greet you. It is the name of the left hand pillar of the porch of King Solomon's temple. Arise, brother Boaz, and salute the Junior and Senior Wardens, as such, and convince them that you have been regularly initiated as an Entered Apprentice Mason, and have got the sign, grip and word." The Master returns to his seat while the Wardens are examining the candidate, and gets a lambskin or white apron, presents it to the candidate, and observes, "Brother, I now present you with a lambskin or white apron. It is an emblem of innocence, and the badge of a Mason.”

“I also present you with a new name; it is CAUTION; it teaches you that as you are barely instructed in the rudiments of Masonry, that you should be cautious over all your words and actions, particularly when before the enemies of Masonry.”

“Brother, as you are now initiated into the first principles of Masonry, I congratulate you on having been accepted into this ancient and honorable order.”

“The Master now gives three raps, when all the brethren rise, and the Master asks, "Are you all satisfied?" They answer in the affirmative, by giving the due-guard.”

“Master to the brethren, "Attend to giving the signs; as I do so do you; give them downwards" (which is by giving the last in opening, first in closing. In closing, on this degree, you first draw your right hand across your throat, as herein before described, and then hold your two hands over each other as before described. This is the method pursued through all the degrees; and when opening on any of the upper degrees, all their signs, of all the preceding degrees, are given before you give the signs of the degree on which you are opening.)”

“The Master says, "Brethren, form on the square." When all the brethren form a circle, and the Master, followed by every brother (except in using the words) says, "And God said let there be light, and there was light."

“You are a Mason then, I presume?”

Ans. "I am."

"How shall I know you to be a Mason?"

Ans. "By certain signs and a token."

"What are signs?"

Ans. "All right angles, horizontals and perpendiculars."

"What is a token?"

Ans. "A certain friendly and brotherly grip, whereby one Mason may know another, in the dark as well as in the light."

"Why did you kneel on your left knee and not on your right, or both?"

Ans. "The left side has ever been considered the weakest part of the body; it was therefore to remind me that the part I was then taking upon me was the weakest part of Masonry, it being that only of an Entered Apprentice."

“The Senior Deacon then repairs to the Master and gives two knocks, as at the door, which are answered by two by the Master, when the same questions are asked, and answers returned as at the door, after which the Master says, "Since he comes with all these necessary qualifications, let him enter this Worshipful Lodge in the name of the Lord and take heed on what he enters." As he enters, the angle of the square is pressed hard against his naked right breast,” at which time the Senior Deacon says, "Brother, when you entered this lodge the first time, you entered on the point of the compass pressing your naked left breast, which was then explained to you. You now enter it on the angle of the square pressing your naked right breast, which is to teach you to act upon the square with all mankind, but more especially with the brethren."

“The sign is given by drawing your right hand flat, with the palm of it next to your breast, across your breast from the left to the right side with some quickness, and dropping it down by your side; the due-guard is given by raising the left arm until that part of it between the elbow and shoulder is perfectly horizontal, and raising the rest of the arm in a vertical position, so that that part of the arm below the elbow and that part above it form a square. This is called the the due-guard of a Fellow Craft Mason. The two given together, are called the signs and due-guard of a Fellow Craft Mason, and they are never given separately; they would not be recognized by a Mason if given separately. The Master, by the time he gives his steps, signs, and due-guard, arrives at the candidate and says, "Brother, I now present you with my right hand, in token of brotherly love and confidence, and with it the pass-grip and word of a Fellow Craft Mason." The pass, or more properly the pass-grip, is given by taking each other by the right hand, as though going to shake hands, and each putting his thumb between the fore and second fingers where they join the hand, and pressing the thumb between the joints. This is the pass-grip of a Fellow Craft Mason, the name of it is Shibboleth.”

“The real grip of a Fellow Craft Mason is given by putting the thumb on the joint of the second finger where it joins the hand, and crooking your thumb so that each can stick the nail of his thumb into the joint of the other; this is the real grip of a Fellow Craft Mason; the name of it is Jachin, it is given in the following manner: If you wish to examine a person after haying taken each other by the grip, ask him, "What is this?" Ans. "A grip."

"A grip of what?"

Ans. "The grip of a Fellow Craft Mason."

"Has it a name?"

Ans. "It has.

"Will you give it to me?"

Ans. "I did not so receive it, neither can I so impart it."

"What will you do with it?"

Ans. "I'll letter it or halve it."

"Halve it and you begin."

Ans. "No, begin you."

"You begin."

Ans. "J A."

CHIN."

“After he is clothed and the necessary arrangements made for his reception, such as placing the columns and floor carpet, if they have any, and the candidate is reconducted back to the lodge; as he enters the door the Senior Deacon observes, "We are now about to return to the middle chamber of King Solomon's temple." When within the door the Senior Deacon proceeds, "Brother, we have worked in speculative Masonry, but our forefathers wrought both in speculative and operative Masonry; they worked at the building of King Solomon's temple, and many other Masonic edifices; they wrought six days; they did not work on the seventh, because in six days God created the heavens and earth and rested on the seventh day; the seventh, therefore, our ancient brethren consecrated as a day of rest, thereby enjoying more frequent opportunities to contemplate the glorious works of creation and to adore their great Creator."

“They also have two large globes or balls, one on each; these globes or balls contain on their convex surface all the maps and charts of the celestial and terrestrial bodies.”

“As they approach the Senior Warden in the west, the Senior Deacon says to the candidate, "Brother, the next thing we come to is the inner door of the middle chamber of King Solomon's temple, which we find partly open, but more closely tyled by the Senior Warden," when the Senior Warden enquires, "Who comes here? Who comes here?"

The Senior Deacon answers, "A Fellow Craft Mason."

Senior Warden to Senior Deacon, "How do you expect to gain admission?"

Ans. "By the grip and word."

The Senior Warden to the Senior Deacon, "Will you give them to me?"

They are then given as herein before described. The word is Jachin. After they are given the Senior Warden says, "They are right, you can pass on to the Worshipful Master in the east." As they approach the Master, he enquires, "Who comes here? Who comes here?"

Senior Deacon answers, "A Fellow Craft Mason."

The Master then says to the candidate, "Brother, you have been admitted into the middle chamber of King Solomon's temple for the sake of the letter G. It denotes Deity, before whom we all ought to bow in reverence, worship and adore. It also denotes Geometry, the fifth science, it being that on which this degree was principally founded.”

“Brother, being advanced to the second degree of Masonry, we congratulate you on your preferment. The internal and not the external qualifications of a man are what Masonry regards. As you increase in knowledge, you will improve in social intercourse.”

“The Senior Deacon then steps to the door and answers the three knocks that have been given by three more: [these knocks are much louder than those given on any occasion, other than that of the admission of candidates in the several degrees] one knock is then given without and answered by one within, when the door is partly opened and the Junior Deacon asks, "Who comes there? Who comes there? Who comes there?"

The Senior Deacon answers, "A worthy brother who has been regularly initiated as an Entered Apprentice Mason, passed to the degree of a Fellow Craft, and now wishes for further light in Masonry by being raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason."

Junior Deacon to Senior Deacon, "Is it of his own fret will and accord he makes this request?"

Ans. "It is."

Junior Deacon to Senior Deacon, "Is he duly and truly prepared."

Ans. "He is."

Junior Deacon to Senior Deacon, "Is he worthy and well qualified?"

Ans. "He is."

Junior Deacon to Senior Deacon, "Has he made suitable proficiency in the preceding degrees?"

Ans. "He has."

Junior Deacon to Senior Deacon, "By what further rights does he expect to obtain this benefit?"

Ans. "By the benefit of a pass-word."

Junior Deacon to Senior or Deacon, "Has he a pass-word?"

Ans. "He has not, but I have got it for him."

The Junior Deacon to the Senior Deacon, "Will you give it to me?"

The Senior Deacon then whispers in the ear of the Junior Deacon, "Tubal Cain."

Junior Deacon says, "The pass is right. Since this is the case, you will wait till the Worshipful Master be made acquainted with his request and his answer returned."

The Junior Deacon then repairs to the Master and gives three knocks as at the door; after answering of which, the same questions are asked and answers returned as at the door, when the Master says, "Since he comes endued with all these necessary qualifications, let him enter this worshipful lodge, in the name of the Lord, and take heed on what he enters."

The Junior Deacon returns to the door and says, "Let him enter this worshipful lodge, in the name of the Lord, and take heed on what he enters."

“Furthermore do I promise and swear, that I will not give the Master's word which I shall hereafter receive, neither in the lodge nor out of it, except it be on the five points of fellowship, and then not above my breath.”

“Futhermore do I promise and swear that I will not speak evil of a brother Master Mason, neither behind his back nor before his face, but will apprise him of all approaching danger, if in my power. Furthermore do I promise and swear that I will not violate the chastity of a Master Mason's wife, mother, sister, or daughter, I knowing them to be such, nor suffer it to be done by others, if in my power to prevent it.”

“To all which I do most sincerely promise and swear, with a fixed and steady purpose of mind in me to keep and perform the same, binding myself under no less penalty than to have my body severed in two in the midst, and divided to the north and south, my bowels burnt to ashes in the center, and the ashes scattered before the four winds of heaven, that there might not the least track or trace of remembrance remain among men.”

“The Master then asks the candidate, "What do you most desire ?"

The candidate answers after his prompter, "More light."

“The Master steps back from the candidate and says, "Brother, you now discover me, as Master of this lodge, approaching you from the east under the sign and due-guard of a Master Mason. "The sign is given by raising both hands and arms to the elbows, perpendicularly, one on each side of the head, the elbows forming a square. The words accompanying this sign, in case of distress, are, "O Lord, my God! is there no help for the widow's son?"

“The Due Guard is made by holding both hands in front, palms down, as shown in cut and alludes to the manner of holding the hands while taking the obligation of Master Mason.

The Penal Sign is given by putting the right hand to the left side of the bowels, the hand open, with the thumb next to the belly, and drawing it across the belly, and letting it fall; this is done tolerably quick. This alludes to the penalty of the obligation: "Having my body severed in twain," etc.”

After the Master has given the sign and due guard, which does not take more than a minute, he says, "Brother, I now present you with my right hand, in token of brotherly love and affection, and with it the pass-grip and word."

“The pass-grip is given by pressing the thumb between the joints of the second and third fingers where they join the hand; the word or name is Tubal Cain. It is the pass-word to the Master's degree. The Master, after giving the candidate the pass-grip and word, bids him rise and salute the Junior and Senior Wardens, and convince them that he is an obligated Master Mason, and is in possession of the pass-grip and word. While the Wardens are examining the candidate, the Master returns to the cast and gets an apron, and, as he returns to the candidate, one of the Wardens (sometimes both) says to the Master, "Worshipful. we are satisfied that Bro. —— is an obligated Master Mason." The Master then says to the candidate, "Brother, I now have the honor to present you with a lamb-skin or white apron, as before, which I hope you will continue to wear, with credit to yourself and satisfaction and advantage to the brethren; you will please carry it to the Senior Warden in the west, who will teach you how to wear it as a Master Mason.”

“He (the candidate) is raised on what is called the five points of fellowship, which are foot to foot, knee to knee, breast to breast, hand to back and mouth to ear. This is done by putting the inside of your right foot to the inside of the right foot of the person to whom you are going to give the word, the inside of your knee to his, laying your right breast against his, your left hands on the back of each other, and your mouths to each other's right ear (in which position alone you are permitted to give the word), and whisper the word Mahhah-bone. The Master's grip is given by taking hold of each other's hand as though you were going to shake hands, and sticking the nails of each of your fingers into the joint of the other's wrist where it unites with the hand.”

“Master to candidate. "Brother, foot to foot teaches you that you should, whenever asked, go on a brother's errand, if within the length of your cable-tow, even if you should have to go barefoot and bareheaded. Knee to knee, that you should always remember a Master Mason in your devotions to Almighty God. Breast to breast, that you should keep the Master Mason's secrets, when given to you in charge as such, as secure and inviolable in your breast as they were in his own before communicated to you. Hand to back, that you should support a Master Mason behind his back as before his face. Mouth to ear, that you should support his good name as well behind his back as before his face."

“The Holy Bible on the altar is usually opened at the 123d Psalm and the square and compass placed thereon, the latter open and both points placed below the square.”

Jabez Richardson, “Richardson’s Monitor of Free-Masonry, being a Practical Guide to the Ceremonies in All the Degrees,” 1860, David McKay, Philadelphia 

“More than thirty-five years have passed since William Morgan wrote his famous book revealing the mysteries of modern Free Masonry, and giving to the outside world a particular description of the ceremonies observed in the Lodges of the first six or seven degrees.”

“Royal Master’s Degree. This degree can only be conferred on a perfect Royal Arch mason - one who has not only taken all the preceding degrees, but is well posted in them.”

“When a companion is to be advanced to this degree, the members assemble round the altar, taking each other’s wrists in the same manner as at the opening. While in this position, the Grand Master, or presiding officer, enters and goes to the altar, kneels, [meantime the candidate has been led in,] and reads the following prayer:...”

“Heroine of Jericho. This is a side degree, which may be given to Royal Arch Masons, their wives, or their widows; and it can only be administered by a Royal Arch Mason.”

“The candidate (if a female) is conducted into the Lodge of Heroines, and seated in a chair near the centre of the room.”

Malcolm C. Duncan, “Duncan’s Masonic Ritual and Monitor, or Guide to the Three Symbolic Degrees of the Ancient York Rite,” 1866, Dick & Fitzgerald, New York

“The purpose of this work is not so much to gratify the curiosity of the uninitiated as to furnish a guide for the neophytes of the Order, by means of which their progress from grade to grade may be facilitated. Every statement in the book is authentic, as every proficient Mason will admit to himself, if not to be public, as he turns over its pages. The non-Masonic reader, as he peruses them, will perhaps be puzzled to imagine why matters of so little real importance to society at large should have been so industriously concealed for centuries, and still more surprised that society should have been so extremely inquisitive about them.”

“Candidate--From the pass-grip to the true grip of a Mark Master Mason.

R. W. M.--Pass on.

The grip is made by locking the little fingers of the right hands, turning the backs of them together, and placing the ends of the thumbs against each other; its name is SIROC, or MARK WELL, and, when properly made, forms the initials of those two words: Mark well.”

“ESSENTIAL SECRETS.--The essential secrets of Masonry consist of nothing more than the signs, grips, pass-words, and tokens, essential to the preservation of the society from the inroads of impostors; together with certain symbolical emblems, the technical terms appertaining to which served as a sort of universal language, by which the members of the fraternity could distinguish -each other, in all places and countries where Lodges were instituted.”

“PENAL.--The penal sign marks our obligation, and reminds us also of the fall of Adam, and the dreadful penalty entailed thereby on his sinful posterity, being no less than death. It intimates that the stiff neck of the disobedient shall be cut off from the land of the living by the judgment of God, even as the head is severed from the body by the sword of human justice.”

“PHRASES OF ADMISSION.--When a candidate receives the first Degree he is said to be initiated, at the second step he is passed, at the third, raised; when he takes the Mark Degree, he is congratulated (advanced); having passed the chair, he is said to have presided; when he becomes a Most Excellent Master, he is acknowledged and received; and when a Royal Arch Mason, he is exalted.”

Greg Kearney, “The Message and the Messenger: Latter-day Saints and Freemasonry,” FAIR Conference, 2005, FAIR Latter-day Saints

“Joseph Smith was surrounded by a world completely engulfed either directly through his father and his brothers or indirectly in Masonry. We get a lot from Masonry.”

“This is the traditional Masonic Square and Compass. The letter ‘G’ stands for God and sometimes for geometry. Masons like geometry; it’s one of the Liberal Arts that we’re real fond of as you can imagine. The Square and Compass, it’s an old symbol, but it’s primarily a Masonic one and it deals with the tri-square, the square that you would use to check your work to make sure that it is square, and the compasses which you use to lay out your work.

One thing that Masonry does is it takes all these old tools and gives them new meanings. We give them- essentially there’s the idea of operative Masonry and speculative Masonry and speculative Masonry has meanings for the tools. By the way, the meanings for the tools are the same in both Masonry and the Temple.”

“Masons, like Latter-day Saints, have grips. We use grips but grips are, again, very old.”

“Let me get to the crux of my issue here. Everybody wants to know, ‘Okay Greg, did the temple ritual come from Freemasonry?’ And I’m going to answer that with a qualified yes.”

“So we have the endowment and then we have the messenger: the ritual. How the endowment is taught and this is where I believe Masonry played a part. Joseph Smith sat in Lodge, he watched as humble farmers–most of whom he knew probably couldn’t read and write well–learned complicated, difficult ritual and he said in his mind, ‘Ah! This is how I’ll do it. This is how I’ll teach the endowment to the Saints.’ Why? Because they already knew the ritual. They wouldn’t pay attention to the ritual; they’d pay attention to the message because they already knew the ritual. And so, there is that kind of genesis, that ritualistic form, that asking of questions back and forth that we get. All of that comes as Joseph Smith tries to communicate these truths.”

“Q: Wouldn’t it be more correct to say that Masonry came out of the endowment?

Kearney: It would be if you believed that Freemasonry has a continuous historical line from King Solomon’s Temple to the current. Unfortunately, there is no historical evidence to support a continuous functioning line from Solomon’s Temple to the present. We know what went on in Solomon’s Temple; it’s the ritualistic slaughter of animals.”

Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith (1976), p. 308

“Ordinances instituted in the heavens before the foundation of the world, in the priesthood, for the salvation of men, are not to be altered or changed. All must be saved on the same principles.”

Joseph Smith, History of the Church, Volume 4, p. 208

“He set the temple ordinances to be the same forever and ever and set Adam to watch over them, to reveal them from heaven to man, or to send angels to reveal them.”

Joseph Smith, “History, 1838–1856, volume C-1,” 2 November 1838 – 31 July 1842, addenda, p. 17, The Joseph Smith Papers

“The ordinances must be kept in the very way God has appointed, otherwise their Priesthood will prove a cursing instead of a blessing.”

Dennis B. Neuenschwander, “Ordinances and Covenants,” Ensign, August 2001

“Sacred ordinances and the divine authority to administer them did not begin with the Restoration of the gospel and the founding of the modern Church in 1830. The sacred ordinances of the gospel as requirements for salvation and exaltation were “instituted from before the foundation of the world.” They have always been an immutable part of the gospel.”

“If this were not the case, salvation would indeed be an arbitrary matter and would be restricted to those few who may have been fortunate enough to have heard of, and believed in, Jesus Christ. It is this principle of consistent and unalterable requirements that gives true meaning to the performance of vicarious ordinances in the temple. The Prophet wrote that baptism for the dead and the recording of such baptisms conform “to the ordinance and preparation that the Lord ordained and prepared before the foundation of the world, for the salvation of the dead who should die without a knowledge of the gospel.”

John Taylor, “John Taylor revelation,” 1886 September 27, Call Number MS 34928, Church History Catalog

“Nevertheless, I the Lord do not change and my word and my covenants and my law do not.”

David B. Haight, “Joseph Smith the Prophet,” Ensign, November 1979

“There is vast evidence and history of an apostasy from the doctrine taught by Jesus and his Apostles, that the organization of the original Church became corrupted, and sacred ordinances were changed to suit the convenience of men.”

W. Grant Bangerter, “Church Section,” Deseret News, 16 January 1982

“As temple work progresses, some members wonder if the ordinances can be changed or adjusted. These ordinances have been provided by revelation, and are in the hands of the First Presidency. Thus, the temple is protected from tampering.”

Russell M. Nelson, “Constancy amid Change,” General Conference, October 1993

“Through the ages, history attests that contemporary critics have pressed Church leaders to modify a decree of the Lord. But such is eternal law, and it cannot be altered.”

“Divine doctrines cannot be squeezed into compact molds to make them fit fashionable patterns of the day.”

“Unchanging principles are so because they come from our unchanging Heavenly Father. Try as they might, no parliament or congress could ever repeal the law of earth’s gravity or amend the Ten Commandments. Those laws are constant. All laws of nature and of God are part of the everlasting gospel. Thus, there are many unchanging principles.”

L. Tom Perry, “Obedience to Law is Liberty,” General Conference, April 2013

“The world changes constantly and dramatically, but God, His commandments, and promised blessings do not change. They are immutable and unchanging.”

New Testament, Hebrews 6:17

“Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath.”

Book of Mormon, Alma 41:8

“Now, the decrees of God are unalterable; therefore, the way is prepared that whosoever will may walk therein and be saved.”

Doctrine and Covenants 1:15-16

“For they have strayed from mine ordinances, and have broken mine everlasting covenant;

They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world.”

Old Testament, Jeremiah 7:4

“Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these.”

First Presidency, “First Presidency Statement on Temples,” 2 January 2019, Official Statement, Newsroom, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“Over these many centuries, details associated with temple work have been adjusted periodically, including language, methods of construction, communication, and record-keeping. Prophets have taught that there will be no end to such adjustments as directed by the Lord to His servants.”

Topics and Questions, “Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” Gospel Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“Under the Lord’s direction other Latter-day prophets have adjusted the way temple covenants and ordinances are administered. These adjustments have been made in response to revelation as prophets have sought the Lord’s guidance about the best way to explain and take the blessings of the temple to the Lord’s children.”

“In 2021, after some adjustments were made to the temple ceremonies, President Russell M. Nelson taught that these adjustments are made under the Lord’s direction.”

Church History Topics, “Temple Endowment,” Church History, Gospel Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“The way the ordinance is administered has changed over time. Originally, the ceremony lasted the better part of a day. Later generations of Church leaders sought divine guidance to streamline the ceremony, making it easier for members to perform vicarious endowments for the dead.”

Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

Oliver Cowdery gave a fuller description of washings performed the previous Saturday.

“Met in the evening with bro. Joseph Smith, jr. at his house, in company with bro. John Corrill, and after pure water was prepared, called upon the Lord and proceeded to wash each other’s bodies, and bathe the same with whiskey, perfumed with cinnamon. This we did that we might be clearn before the Lord for the Sabbath, confessing our sins and covenanting to be faithful to God. While performing this washing unto the Lord with solemnity, our minds were filled with many reflections upon the propriety of the same, and how the priests anciently used to wash always before ministering before the Lord. As we had nearly finished this purification, bro. Martin Harris came in and was also washed.” Ch. 17

David John Buerger, “The Development of the Mormon Temple Endowment Ceremony,” 1987, Dialogue, Volume 20, No. 4

“The St. George Temple endowment included a revised thirty-minute “lecture at the veil” which summarized important theological concepts taught in the endowment and also contained references to the Adam-God doctrine.”

“This probably was not the first time Adam-God had been mentioned in the endowment ceremony. Although official temple scripts do not exist prior to 1877, several unfriendly published accounts of the Endowment House ceremony contain cast listings and dialogues of different characters during the creation scene for Elohim, Jehovah, Jesus, and Michael (Hyde 1857, 92-93; Remy and Brenchley 1861, 2:67-68; Waite 1866, 246-49, 252; Beadle 1870, 486, 489-91; Young 1876, 35 7). Their recounting of the concomitant presence of Jehovah and Jesus provides further evidence of the use of the Adam-God doctrine in the temple ceremony (Kirkland 1984). Given that the origin of the Adam-God doctrine can most reliably be traced to Brigham Young in Utah, it seems highly unlikely that similar ideas were advanced in the Nauvoo Temple (Buerger 1982, 25-28).”

“Shortly after the Salt Lake Temple’s dedication, on 17 October 1893, President Woodruff met with the Council of the Twelve and the Church’s four temple presidents, spending “three hours in harmanizing the Different M[odes?] of Ceremonies in giving Endowments” (Woodruff 9:267). This effort may have been a precursor of an extensive review which began a decade later.”

“One of the most painful but also most consequential events in modern LDS Church history for the endowment was a series of hearings by a United States Senate subcommittee, 1904-06, to determine whether elected Utah senator and apostle Reed Smoot should be allowed to serve. Among many issues the committee heard testimony on were the “secret oaths” of the temple endowment ceremony. The subcommittee’s concern was whether the Mormon covenant of obedience would conflict with a senator’s oath of loyalty to the Constitution. In the course of the Smoot hearings, the “oath of vengeance” also attracted the subcommittee’s sustained interest.

One witness, disaffected Mormon and recently resigned Brigham Young Academy professor Walter M. Wolfe, testified that this oath was worded:...”

“Since 1893, St. George Temple president David H. Cannon had maintained a certain degree of autonomy as the president of the oldest temple. In 1911, for example, he had stated: “We are not controlled by the Salt Lake Temple . . . . This temple has the original of these endowments which was given by President Brigham Young and we have not nor will we change anything thereof unless dictated by the President of the Church” (St. George Temple Minute Book K9369R, 14 Dec. 1911, p. 93, in CRF).

In 1924, Cannon apparently had refused to accept changes endorsed by the special committee and the First Presidency. In a meeting on 19 June 1924 in the St. George temple, Cannon recounted how George F. Richards had “criticized [him] very severely for not adhering to the unwritten part of the ceremonies as he had been instructed to do.” He told the assembly of local Church leaders that Richards had instructed him to either burn the old rulings and instructions or send them to Salt Lake—”If we want any information, not contained in the ‘President’s Book’ we will refer to the authorities of the Church for that information, but not refer to any of the old rulings.” St. George Stake president Edward H. Snow (who became the temple president in 1926) then mentioned one of the recent changes, “in no longer praying that the blood of the prophets and righteous men, might be atoned for, because this prayer has been answered and [is] no longer necessary.” As if to pass approval on this change, Cannon recalled comments by Anthony W. Ivins given at a conference in Enterprise, stating that Ivins “took exception to the way the Law of Retribution was worded, and said he [Ivins J thought the language was harsh and that the authorities [had] thought of changing that” (St. George Temple Minutes, 19 June 1924, in CRF). Perhaps in response to occasional continued references to this oath, a final letter in 1927 from Apostle Richards to all temple presidents directed that they “omit from the prayer circles all reference to avenging the blood of the Prophets. Omit from the ordinance and lecture all reference to retribution” (Richards to Pres. 1927).”

“A number of the endowment’s graphic penalties, all of which closely followed Masonic penalties’ wording, were moderated. For example, the penalties for revealing endowments included details of how they would be carried out (the tongue to be “torn out by its roots,” etc.).”

“After learning that garments and temple clothing were not originally designed solely by Joseph Smith, the committee dramatically altered the style of the temple garment. According to two accounts, the original temple garment was made of unbleached muslin with markings bound in turkey red, fashioned by Nauvoo seamstress Elizabeth Warren Allred under Joseph Smith’s direction. Joseph’s reported intention was to have a one-piece garment covering the arms, legs and torso, having “as few seams as possible” (Munson n.d.; see also H. Kimball Diary, 21 Dec. 1845; Reid 1973, 169). Ceremonial markings on the garment were originally snipped into the cloth in the temple during an initiate’s first visit. The committee made these changes: sleeves were raised from the wrist to the elbow, legs raised from the ankle to just below the knee, buttons used instead of strings, the collar eliminated, and the crotch closed (Salt Lake Tribune 4 June 1923; Grant, Penrose, and Ivins 1923; Alexander 1986, 301). 

The introduction of this new-style garment caused considerable unrest among some members (Lyon 1975, 249-50).”

“One practice during the Depression years was to pay people to perform endowments for the dead. Usually these temple workers were members of the Church with few funds, frequently elderly. Members who did not have time to perform ordinances for deceased ancestors customarily paid 75 cents for men and 50 cents for women per ordinance. Typically money was left on deposit with clerks at the temple, who would disburse it as each vicarious endowment was performed. It is not clear when this practice ended, but it was probably difficult for temples to administer the collection and distribution of cash (Richards, Jr., 1973, 58; Myers 1976, 21-22; Smith, Lund, and Penrose 1915).”

Brigham Young, in “Journal of L. John Nuttall,” 7 February 1877, secretary to Brigham Young, transcribing Brigham Young’s first “Lecture at the Veil”

“Adam was an immortal being when he came on this earth he had lived on an earth similar to ours.”

“Eve our common Mother who is the mother of all living bore those spirits in the celestial world.”

“Father Adam's oldest son (Jesus the Saviour) who is the heir of the family, is father Adam's first begotten in the spirit world, who according to the flesh is the only begotten as it is written. (In his divinity he having gone back into the spirit world, and came in the spirit to Mary and she conceived, for when Adam and Eve got through with their work in this earth, they did not lay their bodies down in the dust, but returned to the spirit world from whence they came.)”

Brigham Young, “Discourse By President Brigham Young, Delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, June 8, 1873,” in Deseret News, Volume 22, No. 308, 18 June 1873, Digital Collections, Brigham Young University

“How much unbelief exists in the minds of the Latter-day Saints in regard to one particular doctrine which I revealed to them, and which God revealed to me – namely that Adam is our father and God – I do not know, I do not inquire, I care nothing about it. Our Father Adam helped to make this earth, it was created expressly for him, and after it was made he and his companions came here. He brought one of his wives with him, and she was called Eve, because she was the first woman upon the earth. Our Father Adam is the man who stands at the gate and holds the keys of everlasting life and salvation to all his children who have or who ever will come upon the earth. I have been found fault with by the ministers of religion because I have said that they were ignorant. But I could not find any man on the earth who cold tell me this, although it is one of the simplest things in the world, until I met and talked with Joseph Smith.”

Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, “Freemasonry and the Origins of Modern Temple Ordinances,” 2015, Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, Volume 15, p. 159-237

“The most significant adaptation of the presentation of temple ordinances after that time was the cinematic version of the endowment.”

Greg Kearney, “The Message and the Messenger: Latter-day Saints and Freemasonry,” FAIR Conference, 2005, Fair Latter-day Saints

“The ritual has changed twice in my lifetime and I’m not that old and I’ve spoken to older members who can remember all kinds of things in the ritual that aren’t there anymore and for instance, we used to have the Five Points of Fellowship–this is a direct Masonic thing. The Five Points of Fellowship is found in the Masonic ritual and when you’re raised a Mason they refer to it. As time has gone by, we don’t live in a world seeped in ritual the way the 19th century Saints were.”

“And as the Saints have lost that tie to Masonry those things which once meant something and which were important have gradually lost their meaning and so the ritual has changed. I mean I can, you know, I mean I sat in the Temple endowment and watched things and said, yeah that makes sense to me. I know where that came from and why Joseph would have done that and chosen that and did this; but most of the Saints were just totally, you know, ‘Why are we doing these actions that refer to penalties? Why would we even want such a thing?’ So the Temple ritual changes, it changes to meet modern needs of modern Saints. It changes to better teach the endowment.”

Greg Kearney, “Similarities between Masonic and Mormon Temple Ritual,” Publications, Archive, FAIR Latter-day Saints

“Some of the more shocking similarities were removed from the Endowment in 1990.”

“Mr. Norton speaks obliquely here. I, however, will be more direct. What Mr. Norton refers to are the penalties (hand actions representing penalties) that were removed from the endowment ritual in 1990. Mr. Norton seems unaware that the endowment ritual has undergone many changes over the years. The ritual is changed to meet the needs of members and to better communicate the endowment to them.”

“As the saints lost their connection to Masonry the symbolic meaning of the penalties and other Masonic elements was lost as well.”

Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Mormon Candidate,” Interview with John Sweeny, British Broadcasting Corporation 

“Sweeney: Let’s talk about Mitt Romney. (OK). The man who may well become the most powerful man on Earth. As a Mormon, in the Temple, I’ve been told, he would have sworn an oath to say that he would not pass on what happens in the Temple, lest he slit his throat. Is that true?

Holland: That’s not true. That’s not true. We do not have penalties in the Temple.

Sweeney: You used to?

Holland: We used to.

Sweeney: Therefore, he swore an oath saying, ‘I will not tell anyone about the secrets here lest I slit my throat.’

Holland: Well, the, the, the vow that was made, was regarding the ordinance, the ordinance of the Temple.

Sweeney: It sounds masonic, sir. It sounds masonic.

Holland: Well, it’s comparable, it’s similar to a, a masonic, relationship.

Sweeney: The most, potentially, the most powerful man in the world has sworn an oath, which he meant at the time, whatever it is now, that he must not tell anyone about what he has seen lest he slit his throat.

Holland: That he would not tell anyone about his personal pledge to the Lord.”