phantasmagoria

First off, please excuse my horrid spelling. I am sleepy and can't seem to work my spell check but I really wanted to reply. It is my understanding, and please correct me if I am wrong, but Freemasonry explicitly and openly states that it is neither a religion nor a substitute for one. I know a requirement to become a freemason is to have a belief in a Supreme Being who is the Great Architect of the Universe but the interpretation of the term is subject to the religious prefrence of the person. So Freemasonry accepts men from a wide range of faiths. And the discussion of politics and religion is forbidden within a lodge. Instead they focus on things like brotherly love, charitable work, and truth. These are the basic cornorstones of any orginzed religion. These are some of the teaching of Christ. So to say that Latter Day Saints “copied” anything of this nature would be a ludachris statement. That would be the equvilent to saying that we stole religion from the Roman Catholics. The difference the gospel brings is a “fullness” of these common truths we all share. It is not here to take away, but to add too. So in light of all this, if some mormons had “connections” with free masons, if Joseph Smith himself was a free mason, what in the world does that have to do with the doctrins of the church being true? Accusitory remarks and the backlash that your friend displayed usually do not stem from a place of openness and willingness. It sounds to me like they did not ask if it was true with genuninly open heart and had probably manifested their answers before even asking. Truth can not be achieved this way. In situations like this, I find for me it is best that I reconfirm my relationship with God as I understand him and ground myself in my own testimony and pray for the resistant party. You know the truth and that is what is important.