Without Disclosing My True Identity
Masonry, Religion, and the American Male Ego
Freedom of religion offered the American people many options to pursue in their
quest for self-acknowledgement and social acceptance. Although not considered a religion,
freemasonry fulfilled the void that many men felt as a result of the local churches they
attended. It provided a dimension of personal pride that was lacking in the simplicity of
American Protestantism. In other words, the religions of that time weren’t fulfilling every
man’s ego^7 and many men needed something more.^8
Freemasonry gave them something their egos couldn’t resist. The masses were
attending church and sitting next to their local and national politicians and successful
merchants, listening to a minister who represented God and “His word.” What the masses
didn’t know was how bored these “kings and merchants”^9 were with the whole idea of
religion.^10 But, if these prominent men of society didn’t attend church with the masses, how
would they then get their vote and business?^11 As is still the case today in the political arena,
religion has always played an important role as an endearing link of the masses to those
leaders whom the people have given power over their lives.
Before Mormonism (as influenced by Freemasonry),^12 religion had always done well
enough at putting one group of people above another, but had done little to put one man above
another man. Freemasonry (and, subsequently, Mormonism) provided men with gradations
of prestige and honor.^13 In Freemasonry, these gradations were called degrees, orders, and
bodies, which were further graduated into specific offices such as Master, Wardens,
secretaries, and treasurers.^14 Their bodies were organized into Grand Lodges and sub-Lodges,
each with its own set of designations of authority and distinction. Therefore, there was a
position of honor and glory for any man who belonged to the “brotherhood”; and the goal
and envy of each “brother” was to advance higher and higher in freemasonry’s order.^15
All one needs to do to recognize the obvious connection between freemasonry and
Mormonism is to compare the leadership structure of the two organizations. Substitute the
word “freemasonry” with “priesthood” and “Master” with “President, Prophet, Seer, and
Revelator”; replace “Wardens” with “Stake Presidents” (Lodge) and “Ward Bishops” (sub-
Lodge); keep the counselors, secretaries, and treasurers; and have the men call each other
“brother.” By doing this, one can barely tell the difference between the modern LDS Church
leadership and that of freemasonry.^16
However, as mentioned, the most defining attribute of both of these groups was that
they offered a sense of inflated purpose to the man and helped him fulfill his male ego.^17
The LDS priesthood holder trumps the Masonic brother, however, in that the former
believes that he has the “actual power to act in the place of God upon the earth,” while the
latter is subjugated, so they claim, to charitable work and moral uprightness before a
supreme being.
Joseph Sr.’s vs. Lucy’s Ego
Because his father wasn’t very good at business or farming and had a hard time
providing for his large family, the young Joseph entered puberty experiencing the effects of his
beloved father’s lack of self-esteem. The bottle often became the only source of relief for Joseph
Sr., as he confronted himself believing he was a lousy father and husband. Joseph Sr. received
no comfort from religion or family, as his own father and a couple of his brothers were leaning
towards atheism. In the meantime, his wife Lucy, who held the family together with her