Did the Temple Ordinances Come From The Masons?

[Mullenite]

LDS Temple Study Blog - Sustaining and Defending the LDS (Mormon) Temple

Did the Temple Ordinances Come From The Masons?

Dr. Hugh Nibley lecturingToday a commenter on the site mentioned how I should include more parallels with the practices of the Masons, since that is plainly where the temple ordinances came from. And I would respond, did they? Did they really, so easily, come from the Masons? Can we dismiss Joseph as a prophet, seer, and revelator as simply as that?

I am reminded of a quote by our eloquent Dr. Nibley:

Off-hand, one may say that Joseph Smith could have gotten his ideas from any or many of a great number of sources, ancient and modern. Here is an illustration. On Easter Day in 1954 at about noon, the writer was standing with of the temBrother Virgil Bushman, that doughty missionary to the Hopis, before the house of the celebrated Tewaquetewa in Old Oraibi, when a small delegation of leading men from the village came up and informed us that they had just learned from the local Protestant missionaries how the Mormons got a lot of their stuff. It seems that when the famous chief Tuba became a Mormon, Jacob Hamblin took him to Salt Lake City to marry his wives in the temple there. While the chief was in town, Joseph Smith, none other, got him aside and interrogated him very closely, prying the tribal secrets out of him; from what Chief Tuba told Smith, he proceeded to write the Book of Mormon, establish the temple ordinances, and found the Church. And that, sir, is why the Hopi traditions are so much like the Mormon.

The point is, that would be quite a plausible explanation had the two men been contemporary, or had either ever been in Salt Lake; Joseph Smith just might have gotten his knowledge that way. There are in fact countless tribes, sects, societies, and orders from which he might have picked up this and that, had he known of their existence. The Near East in particular is littered with the archaeological and living survivals of practices and teachings which an observant Mormon may find suggestively familiar. The Druzes would have been a goldmine for Smith. He has actually been charged with plundering some of the baggage brought to the West by certain fraternal orders during the Middle Ages-as if the Prophet must rummage in a magpie’s nest to stock a king’s treasury! There are countless parallels, many of them very instructive, among the customs and religious of mankind, to what the Mormons do. But there is a world of difference between Ginzberg’s Legends of the Jews and the book of Isaiah, or between the Infancy Gospels and the real Gospels, no matter how many points of contact one may detect between them. The LDS endowment was not built up of elements brought together by chance, custom, or long research; it is a single, perfectly consistent organic whole, conveying its message without the aid of rationalizing, spiritualizing, allegorizing, or moralizing interpretations.1

Instead of making Joseph out as someone he clearly was not (a one-of-a-kind religious scholar of the most keen intellect and a knowledge a good two hundred years ahead of his time), it makes much more sense to me that he was actually a prophet of God who received the ordinances ple in the same way the ancients did, by revelation from God.

[darrel]

I also think that the masons are the interlopers. Their traditions come from the Egyptian tradition handed down by the Egyption stone workmen.

The other thing I find interesting is where did the Egyptions get their traditions.

I seem to remember that Egypt was established by the concubine who Abraham sent away and is the linage of muslim nations. Hmmm, Did Abraham have any knowledge of the heavens and covenants of God. I Also understand that the Egyptian rights and observations paralelled the Priesthood Principles taught by Abraham but did not have divine authority. :)

[rameumptom]

Joseph Smith did use the Masonic rite as a catalyst or spring board to develop the LDS endowment, there's no doubt about it. However, Joseph's endowment made some serious changes to it: such as allowing women to experience the ordinance, and tying it more closely to Christ and returning to God's presence (the Masonic rite is not tied to any religious belief).

Second, although he used it as a springboard, the key components of the LDS endowment precede the Masonic period of the Church: and can even be found throughout the Book of Mormon (1 Ne 1, 1 Ne 11-15, 2 Ne 2, Mosiah 2-5, Alma 9-13, 3 Ne 7-27, Ether 3, etc.). So it is inaccurate to state that Joseph copied the Masonic rite.

[WillowTheWhisp]

If we believe as I do that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and received instruction regarding the temple from Heavenly Father it is logical to believe that the symbolism and ritual is older than anything else. How much of it was revealed to past prophets? If ancient peoples had knowledge from Heavenly Father some of this can have been distorted as passed down through different traditions in the same way is Chinese whispers and yet the basic core remains - so there would be many supposed 'sources' for the revelations which Joseph Smith received. However, he received the full knowledge where these other sources only have glimpses of it.

Where do the Masonic rituals originate? How far back can they be traced and to where?

I've just been watching a TV program about the Templars and Rosslyn chapel - subjects which have fascinated me for years and which have become very popular lately.

[Finrock]

A much more interesting question to entertain would be: Do the Masons (the actual people) come from the temple ordinances?

Regards,

Finrock

[Moksha]

I also think that the masons are the interlopers. Their traditions come from the Egyptian tradition handed down by the Egyption stone workmen.

The other thing I find interesting is where did the Egyptions get their traditions.

The Wikipedia will tell you that the Freemason do not date back prior to the 1600s and that they were formed in emulation of the the medieval stone masons guild. Hiram Abif working on King Solomon's Temple and learning its secrets are only parts of their subsequent legend building.

[WillowTheWhisp]

But where did the masons get all their bumph from?

[kona0197]

Funny - I got nailed the other day for talking about things like this...

[rameumptom]

The key to the temple ceremony and the priesthood is literally the keys of the mystery of the knowledge of God (D&C 84). The Melchizedek Priesthood's main purpose is to prepare us to enter into God's presence and be like Him. That is literally what we practice in the temple endowment, preparatory for the real thing.

I do not suppose that the endowment that Adam or Enoch had, would have had representations of individuals like Peter in it. Such are later adaptations made by Joseph to allow the endowment to be understandable and symbolic for Latter-day Saints. The key is a rite that prepares the people to return to God's presence.

[john doe]

Funny - I got nailed the other day for talking about things like this...

Goes to show you-- it's not what you talk about here, it's how you talk about them. Controversial subjects are sometimes allowed if the posters use good judgement and respect in their posts.

[kona0197]

My post was in good judgment and worded wisely. It sounds like there may be a double standard going on.