TEN
(1815)
Freemasonry and the male ego flourished in America, influencing not only Joseph’s family,
but also the future development of the LDS religion. Joseph’s abhorrence of Masonry.As has been previously discussed, advanced humans intervene ONLY for the
sake of all of us equally. They have placed us in situations during our mortal
incarnations to help us get the most out of our time upon earth. In addition, we now
know that a few of our eternal siblings needed their egos checked. Because of all of this,
we are beginning to understand why America developed the way that it did and why
Joseph was raised in the location he was, with the family he had.
The Influence of Freemasonry
By 1815, Freemasonry^1 had risen to great prominence in America. This
institution not only influenced the direction that the Mormon religion eventually took
in its evolution,^2 but also played a direct role in the murder of Joseph and Hyrum. The
details supporting these important facts will be presented throughout this biography
in the chapters related to the years in which Freemasonry played its part in the history
of Mormonism. Here, however, it is important to introduce this organization and to
note the attitude that many Americans had concerning their own sense of importance
in the world during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Most of the American Founding Fathers were Masons, including, among other
prominent patriots, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.^3 Masonry was an
international institution that called itself a “brotherhood.” Becoming a Mason gave one an
inflated sense of one’s own worth.^4 It satisfied the need for social status and trust, and offered
a form of sophistication that people yearned for in a burgeoning new United States society.^5
One of the great attractions of Masonry was its secret nature, such that those who
subscribed to it gained a sense of exclusivity by virtue of the tight-lipped covenant of the
organization. A colloquial expression some commentators on Masonry might say is:
“The secret of being a Mason is in knowing how to keep a secret.” Therefore, one of the
key components of exclusivity was that the general populace had no idea what
Freemasons did or what they were about, further intensifying the mistrust and intrigue
of non-members about their motives and objectives.
The secrecy of the Masonic rituals was one of the primary effects that stuck with
those who perpetuated the LDS endowment. It is one of the most enduring reasons,
unbeknownst to the LDS/Mormons, that discussion of the endowment outside of the
temple is strictly prohibited. A side-by-side comparison of the Masonic ritual and the LDS
endowment is astonishingly close. The secrecy associated with being a Mason was
accompanied by an oath allowing their “life to be taken,” as was also written in the pre-1990
LDS temple endowment. Both the endowment and the Masonic “penalty of death” had
much to do with the lingering doctrine of “blood atonement.”^6