Joseph Smith was a Mason?

[rameumptom]

Greg Kearney is a modern LDS Mason. He's written extensively on the Nauvoo period and Masonry. Here are a couple of his articles and a few others:

FAIR Topical Guide: Masonic Influence

[bytebear]

Are Masons really a secret society? I see them at local street fairs recruiting for new members and being involved in the community. I don't think that's the kind of secret society the Book of Mormon condemns.

[havejoy]

My dad was a Mason and he always said they were not a "secret society" but they were a "society of secrets".

[Moksha]

My dad was a Mason and he always said they were not a "secret society" but they were a "society of secrets".

Did he then add that the secrets were sacred rather than secrets? :)

Speaking of secrets, can anybody remember the motto or password for the Flintstone's Loyal Order of the Water Buffaloes?

PS, I think the first five Presidents of the LDS Church were also Masons.

[havejoy]

He never said they were sacred but from his behavior I knew they were to him.

Is the ROOTWB password the yabba dabba do thingy?

[rampion]

Sacred and secret are not quite the same thing. Think of the temple - it's not secret, it's sacred.

The secret combinations in the Book of Mormon were conspiracies to commit murder and to overthrow the church and the government and to cover up who was involved. Neither the Masons nor temple attenders have anything to do with that.

[MarginOfError]

Sacred and secret are not quite the same thing. Think of the temple - it's not secret, it's sacred.

The secret combinations in the Book of Mormon were conspiracies to commit murder and to overthrow the church and the government and to cover up who was involved. Neither the Masons nor temple attenders have anything to do with that.

Mormons tend to get themselves in trouble here. They adopt the attitude that "The temple is sacred, so we don't talk about it at all." Mormons that refuse to discuss anything that goes on in the temple actually convey the feel of a secret society to others. Which is why it is so important that we learn to talk about what we do in the temple without revealing the things that we covenant to keep sacred. I find that, usually, the people who won't say anything choose to do so because they don't know what they may and may not talk about.

No, the temple and its ordinances are not secret. But that doesn't stop some mormons from acting like they are.

[Just_A_Guy]

Sacred and secret are not quite the same thing. Think of the temple - it's not secret, it's sacred.

Why must the terms "secret" and "sacred" be mutually exclusive? I agree with what a lot of MOE says, but the fact is that in the temple we are specifically barred from revealing certain elements of the ceremony. By the standard dictionary definition of the word, there is a significant component of secrecy in the temple.

[deseretgov]

I agree Just_A_Guy. And the reason we keep those secrets is because they are sacred. So maybe the phrase should go, "Its not secret, its sacred secret." :)

[qedd]

As I see it, there are several possible reasons for secrecy as it relates to LDS Temple ceremonies:

1. The secrecy of specific portions of ceremony plays a part in the overall object lesson that the individual is to meditate upon later. Questions that one would ask him/her self might include, "Why was I required to make an oath to keep this part of the ceremony secret? What is its significance?"

2. Secrecy is for the benefit of those that are not yet ready to process the lessons that such ceremonies convey.

3. We do not willingly cast pearls before swine. We do not willingly put that which we consider valuable in the middle of the road to be trampled upon by those passing by that do not understand the value of what they are coming upon.

I believe the above would likely apply to Free Mason temple ceremonies as well since they likely (he's not here to ask, so I have to assume) had an impact on the prophet Joseph. (Bringing this thread back to the original topic of Free Masonry and Joseph Smith, Jr.)

I find it interesting that so many in the Church believe that it is wrong to discuss anything that transpires within the walls of the temple while outside of the temple.

I think "Secret Combinations" could be roughly defined as "those that secretly conspire to do evil". Secrecy itself is neither good nor evil -- it depends on how it is used. For example, would it be wrong for an individual to refuse to give up the PIN for his debit card simply because someone asked him for it? The PIN in this case is a secret. Let's throw the spouse into the mix now -- a "combination" in that there are multiple parties that are knowledgeable of the secret. Would it be wrong for one spouse, the other, or both to refuse to give up the PIN? Bottom line, I don't believe Latter-day Saints, Free Masons, or any other group can be compared to a "Secret Combination" unless malicious intent were proven.

[dnc76v22]

My experience is that LDS are far more accepting of Free Masonry than we evangelicals. Secret Societies

Why not? After all, they used to have meetings upstairs in the First Baptist Church in my home town in North Georgia.

[dnc76v22]

My dad was a Mason and he always said they were not a "secret society" but they were a "society of secrets".

Several of my teachers in North Georgia were masons, or even members of the Masons sister organization, the Eastern Star.