My Response to Sandra Tanner at UTLM
Sandra begins the article by referring to the symbolism found on the Nauvoo Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She states that, to understand these symbols, one must understand Joseph Smith's involvement with Freemasonry; she then makes the irrelevant mention of the fact that his brother Hyrum had been a Freemason since the 1820s.
She then incorrectly claims that Brigham Young had been a Mason prior to joining the Church. The facts are as follows: Brigham Young was baptized in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 15 April, 1832. Almost a decade later, he was initiated an Entered Apprentice on 7 April, 1842; passed to the degree of Fellowcraft on 8 April, 1842; and raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason on 9 April, 1842.
Ms. Tanner goes on to provide some quotes from Historian Reed C Durham's opinion-piece Joseph Smith and Masonry: No Help for the Widow's Son. She then provides excerpts from History of the Church showing Joseph Smith, Jr's own journal entries about having officiated as Grand Chaplain (pro-tem) during the establishment of Nauvoo Lodge, U.D.,* on 15 March, 1842 before he was initiated† later that same day; he was passed and raised on 16 March, 1842 the next day.
Ms. Tanner finally gets to the symbolism that she had referred to earlier. She goes on to mention the square and compasses that accompanied the original Angel Moroni, the inverted 5-point star, the Nauvoo Sunstone, the Masonic apron, the beehive, the All-Seeing Eye,‡ the sun, the moon, the stars, and the hands of fellowship.
This stated, the symbols listed above that are used in Freemasonry (which only includes a small portion of them) are used in completely different contexts in the Church. The purpose of Freemasonry is for self-improvement, service to the community, and overall being a good neighbor; it is a secular institution. On the other hand, the purpose of the Church is to help us understand our spiritual nature, to explain and to further our respective relationships with God.
Of the above symbols, the following are the only ones used in Utah Masonry:
The Beehive
The beehive as a symbol predates both the Restoration of the Church and Freemasonry. Industry is a value common to both organizations as a logical requirement for self-sufficiency and service to the community.
The Sun
In the Church, the sun is representative of the Celestial Kingdom, where God the Father presides. In Masonry, the sun's rule of the day symbolizes the regularity by which a worshipful master should rule his lodge (Utah Monitor).
The Moon
In the Church, the moon is representative of the Terrestrial Kingdom, where the God the Son (Jesus Christ) will preside. In Masonry, the moon's governance of the night symbolizes the regularity by which a worshipful master should govern his lodge (Utah Monitor).
The Apron
Any reference to aprons in Church doctrine is Biblical (see Genesis 3:7). In Masonry, aprons are worn in commemoration of ancient stonemasons, who wore aprons to protect their clothing from being soiled or torn during their labors (see this article from the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite).
Various symbols are mentioned by Ms Tanner that are used in the Church, but that are not official emblems of Masonry (at least, not in Utah Masonry):
The Inverted, 5-Point Star
This is not an emblem used in Masonry. It has, however, been a symbol of traditional Christianity for centuries, symbolizing Christ as the Bright and Morning Star (a title by which He identifies Himself in Revelation 22:16). The Five Points symbolize the Five Wounds He endured on the Cross.** In addition, stars in the Church are used to represent the Telestial Kingdom, where God the Holy Spirit will preside. These are the contexts in which stars are used as symbols in the Church.
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The Church of St Mary the Virgin Church of England Adderbury, Oxsfordshire |
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Marktkirche St. Georgii et Jacobi Lutheran Church Hanover, Germany |
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Kaarma Church of Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church (?) Kaarma-Kirikuküla, Estonia |
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The North Rose of Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens Roman Catholic Church Amiens, France |
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Collégiale Notre-Dame Roman Catholic Church Vitry-le-François, France |
The Nauvoo Sunstone
The quoted passage provided by Ms Tanner regarding the Nauvoo Sunstone only mentions similarities between it and some Masonic depictions. Correlation does not equate to causation, making its mention in the article wholly irrelevant.
1911 Quote from the First Presidency
The following quote is provided on Tanner's article stating that the temple endowment ceremony has a Masonic character. The full quote reads thus:
TEMPLES AND TABERNACLES
As already shown, the Latter-day Saints are a temple-building people. They have erected, up to the present time, six of these edifices, at an aggregate cost of between seven and eight million dollars. The first temple was built at Kirtland, Ohio; the second at Nauvoo, Ill., the third at St. George, Utah; the fourth at Logan, Utah; the fifth at Manti, Utah; and the sixth at Salt Lake City. A temple was projected at Far West and another at Independence, Mo., but they were not erected owing to the mobbings and drivings of the Saints.
The temples are not open to the public. They are for the performance of sacred ordinances, having in view the salvation of the living and the dead. The principal ceremonies are baptisms, endowments, marriages, sealings and adoptions. Much of this work, that in behalf of the dead, is of a vicarious character. With the Latter-day Saints there is hope of salvation for those who have departed this life without obeying the gospel, if they will yield obedience to its requirements in the other world, the place of departed spirits. The gospel will be preached to them by servants of the Lord who have entered into paradise, and they who manifest faith and repent there can be baptized for here, receiving in like manner other ministrations, to the end that they may be exalted and glorified. All, however, will be rewarded according to their works. The highest glory, according to our view, is attainable only by those who receive the gospel here, and are valiant for it, enduring faithful to the end; or those who would have done these things had they been upon earth when the opportunity was afforded. The Latter-day Saints marry for time and eternity, not merely until death parts husband and wife. Marriages performed under the civic law and by ministers of other denominations are regarded as honorable and effectual so far as relates to this life, but in order to be effectual in the life to come such covenants must be made for eternity, such unions must be formed according to God’s law and under his authority, or they will have no force or effect hereafter. The family is the foundation of eternal glory, the nucleus of a kingdom without end. The husband will have his wife, the wife her husband, parents their children, forever, provided they secure them in the manner prescribed by him whose right it is to regulate all things pertaining to his kingdom.
THEIR SACRED CEREMONIES
Because of their Masonic characters the ceremonies of the temple are sacred and not for the public. But there is nothing disloyal in them, as so often asserted, nor in their performance is there the slightest departure from the principles of decorum and propriety. Within the building are halls, corridors, reception rooms, offices, chapels, priesthood assembly rooms, baptismal fonts, separate dressing rooms and bathrooms for women and men, sealing rooms, altars, paintings, statuary, magnificent mirrors, decorations and hangings, with such other furniture and equipment as may be found in the parlors of any palatial mansion.
Next to the temples in sacredness are the tabernacles, or places of public worship. The largest of these is the Salt Lake tabernacle, where may be seen and heard one of the great pipe organs of the world. This tabernacle, which will hold ten thousand people and is a marvel in its acoustic properties, was completed in October, 1867. The tabernacle choir, at the great choral contest in Chicago during the world’s fair of 1893, bore off the second prize. The choir is now preparing to visit the east, to sing at Madison Square Garden, New York, during the National Irrigation congress.
In conclusion, let us say, as representing the body of religious worshipers over whom we have the honor to preside: We cherish none but sentiments of good will toward mankind. We regard all men as our brothers, children of the universal Father, and for their benefit and for his honor and glory we and our fellow servants are laboring, and expect to labor to the close of our mortal lives; passing hence to continue, in the world of spirits, the work of salvation inaugurated here. Peace be unto all, in the name of our Lord and Savior!
JOSEPH F. SMITH, ANTHON H. LUND, JOHN HENRY SMITH, First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I can only assume that Ms Tanner is using the underlined portion of this statement as if it were an admission that Freemasonry is practiced in our temple ceremonies. This is not the case. The character of a ceremony does not equate to the ceremony itself. In Masonry, there are various reasons why Masons will not divulge its secrets. One combined reason is because we obligate ourselves not to do so and we value our integrity (being honest and being men of our word). In the Church's temple endowment ceremony, we similarly covenant not to divulge what we learn there because we value what we believe to be sacred; to keep them sacred, we do not discuss them in mundane settings.
Another principal reason in Masonry for not divulging its secrets is because we do not want to ruin the impact that our ceremonies will have on candidates going through for the first time; hearing about it secondhand does not do it any justice whatsoever. I personally believe that the same applies to the Church's temple endowment ceremony.
It is therefore possible and realistic for the Church's temple endowment ceremony to be of Masonic character without practicing Masonry, therefore rendering this quote entirely moot.
Ms Tanner follows this with quoted opinions from early Church leaders regarding Masonry coming from temple endowment ceremonies from antiquity. It should be noted that such opinions were just that: opinions. They were never canonized into the Church's doctrine and were therefore never published by the Church as such.
A conclusion is reached at the end of Ms Tanner's article that reads thus:
Since Freemasonry dates to the [1700s] and Joseph Smith was a Mason before he introduced LDS temple rituals and built the Nauvoo temple, one is forced to conclude that the similarities between the two groups are due to Smith borrowing elements from Masonry.
Works Cited
“An Interesting Quote.” FairMormon, The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc., 2 Apr. 2008, www.fairmormon.org/blog/2008/04/02/an-interesting-quote#comment-1814.
“EA.” Utah Monitor, Tenth ed., Grand Lodge F&AM of Utah, 2016, p. 10.
Tanner, Sandra. “Masonic Symbols and the LDS Temple.” Utah Lightouse Ministry, www.utlm.org/onlineresources/masonicsymbolsandtheldstemple.htm. Accessed 25 May 2020.
[†] At that time, the regulations of the Grand Lodge of Illinois allowed for a non-Mason to act as a pro-tem Grand Chaplain in certain situations by authority of the Grand Master. Today, similar practices are done in various grand lodge jurisdictions (such as a grandmaster's class) and in some appendant/concordant bodies.
[‡] Also known as the Eye of Providence.
[§] This makes sense, given that the first speculative Freemasons were Protestants.
[**] Ms Tanner conveniently overlooks (hopefully only by ignorance) this important, historical symbol for Christianity, and instead focuses on the relatively more recent perversion of its use by Satanist adherents in her article.
[††] The part with which I disagree is the statement that Freemasonry only dates back to the 1700s; it has been traced back to 1599 Scotland and is hypothesized to be even a few centuries older.
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