Temples & Freemasonry

A Closer Look

7 Weeks After

CES Letter Core Question

Did Joseph Smith reveal the temple ceremony seven weeks after his Masonic initiation?

Click to Read the Original CES Letter Claim

Joseph did reveal the ceremony just after becoming a Mason. Though the introduction of Freemasonry in Nauvoo helped prepare the Saints for the temple, many of the most significant elements of temple doctrines and ordinances were revealed to the Prophet a decade or more earlier.

True Masonry

CES Letter Core Question

Did Heber C. Kimball believe Freemasony was corrupted ceremony that originated in Solomon's Temple?

Click to Read the Original CES Letter Claim

President Heber C. Kimball, a Mason himself and a member of the First Presidency for 21 years, made the following statement:

We have the true Masonry. The Masonry of today is received from the apostasy which took place in the days of Solomon, and David. They have now and then a thing that is correct, but we have the real thing.

— HEBER C. KIMBALL AND FAMILY: THE NAUVOO YEARS, STANLEY B. KIMBALL, P.458

Same Masonic Version

CES Letter Core Question

If Masonry had the original Temple ceremony but became distorted over time, why doesn't the LDS ceremony more closely resemble an earlier form of Masonry?

Click to Read the Original CES Letter Claim

FairMormon addresses this here:

If one assumes that any part of the ritual is based upon Freemasonry, then Joseph Smith used ritual elements known to him and his followers to teach a uniquely restorationist view.

Zero Links to Solomon's Temple

CES Letter Core Question

If there’s no connection to Solomon’s Temple, what’s so divine about a man-made medieval European secret fraternity and its rituals?

Click to Read the Original CES Letter Claim

Freemasonry has zero links to Solomon’s Temple. Although more a Church folklore, with origins from comments made by early Mormon Masons such as Heber C. Kimball, than being Church doctrine, it’s a myth that the endowment ceremony has its origins from Solomon’s Temple or that Freemasonry passed down parts of the endowment over the centuries from Solomon’s Temple. Solomon’s Temple was all about animal sacrifice. Freemasonry has its origins to stone tradesmen in medieval Europe – not in 950 BC Jerusalem.

FairMormon admits these facts:

Unfortunately, there is no historical evidence to support a continuous functioning line from Solomon’s Temple to the present. We know what went on in Solomon’s Temple; it’s the ritualistic slaughter of animals.

Masonry, while claiming a root in antiquity, can only be reliably traced to medieval stone tradesmen.

It is clear that Freemasonry and its traditions played a role in the development of the endowment ritual...

If there’s no connection to Solomon’s Temple, what’s so divine about a man-made medieval European secret fraternity and its rituals?

CES Letter, p. 107

Answer coming

Temple Changes

CES Letter Core Question

Why did the Church remove the blood oath penalties and the 5 Points of Fellowship at the veil from the endowment ceremony in 1990? Both of these were 100% Masonic rituals.

Click to Read the Original CES Letter Claim

Why did the Church remove the blood oath penalties and the 5 Points of Fellowship at the veil from the endowment ceremony in 1990? Both of these were 100% Masonic rituals. What does this say about the Temple and the endowment ceremony if 100% pagan Masonic rituals were in it from its inception? What does it say about the Church if it removed something that Joseph Smith said he restored and which would never again be taken away from the earth?

CES Letter, p. 108

Secret Tokens and Signs

CES Letter Core Question

Is God really going to require individuals to know secret tokens, handshakes, and signs to get into heaven? What is the purpose of them?

Click to Read the Original CES Letter Claim

Is God really going to require individuals to know secret tokens, handshakes, and signs to get into heaven? What is the purpose of them? Doesn’t Heavenly Father know our names and know us personally? Indeed, aren’t the very hairs on our heads numbered? And couldn’t those who have left the Church and still know of the secret tokens, handshakes, and signs (or those who have watched the endowment ceremony on YouTube) benefit from that knowledge?

The effectiveness of the saving ordinances depends as much on what we become as on what we know. Because earthly ordinances are themselves only models or reflections of heavenly ordinances, hyper-literalism about correspondences between them and Masonry is not as relevant as it appears.

The same reasoning can be applied to any number of spiritual rituals with a physical aspect. "Why would the Lord ask a bunch of people to throw themselves in a bunch of water to get into heaven?" Or "why would God ask a bunch of starving Israelites in a wilderness to sacrifice their best animals?" 1 Corinthians 2:14 describes this way of thinking, "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him."

Separate Families?

CES Letter Core Question

Is God going to separate families who aren't sealed in the Temple?

Click to Read the Original CES Letter Claim

Does the eternal salvation, eternal happiness, and eternal families really depend on Masonic rituals in multi-million dollar castles? (Lots of trigger words here) Is God really going to separate good couples and their children who love one another and who want to be together in the next life because they object to uncomfortable and strange Masonic Temple rituals and a polygamous heaven?

PETER: ‘The five points of fellowship are: inside of right foot by the side of right foot, knee to knee, breast to breast, hand to back, and mouth to ear.’

WORSHIPFUL MASTER: ‘The five points of fellowship are: foot to foot, knee to knee, breast to breast, hand to back, and cheek to cheek, or mouth to ear.’

Keeping the covenants is what leads to salvation, not the actual rituals themselves. The endowment is for us.