Joseph Smith and Freemasonry in Nauvoo

Enemies and opponents of the LDS church have long pointed to the years old connection between the early Mormon leaders and Freemasonry, with special emphasis given to the fact that Joseph Smith was himself a Master Mason.

This favoured form of criticism which is almost always levelled exclusively at the Prophet, takes its potency from commonly held misconceptions and lack of understanding as to what Freemasonry is and what the Fraternity stands for. 

Indeed, even those inside the LDS church often feel a certain discomfiture at the thought of their most revered mortal figurehead being associated with an organisation that many deem dark and suspect.

The reality of what Freemasons believe in however, should cause us to neither shy away from the church's early Masonic associations nor feel ashamed of them. In fact, an understanding of Masonry will almost certainly have the dual effect of both dispelling the doubt of the believer and rendering the slur of the critic null and void.

Freemasonry: A Brief Overview

For many centuries, stonemasons viewed their craft as something close to sacred, with the ability to construct great buildings such as Cathedrals and other monumental structures deemed a feat of craftsmanship and skill that they sought to preserve amongst themselves.

The art of using geometry to measure and cut stone was considered a secret that should be held within the fraternity of stonemasons, lest other unskilled workers should seek to encroach on their specialist and lucrative trade. A freelance stonemason who wished to travel further afield to practice his craft, often had to rely on the universally recognised 'secret handshakes' as a means of identifying himself as a genuine stonemason, following which he would be welcomed by the local fraternity and free to engage in local construction projects or merely mingle with his fellow Brothers.

Within this society of stonemasons (often referred to as operative freemasons), was a strong belief that their Biblical counterparts were the workers honoured with the task of building Solomon's Temple.

The Masons believe, amongst other things, that the building of so great an edifice as the temple of Solomon, represented not only a great feat of construction, but was also symbolic of the building up of themselves as people and how they in turn should reverence themselves toward God.

The account of how chosen stonemasons working on their own individual parts of the temple; following the instructions from the architect, using geometrical terms in which only they could understand, and their mutual reliance on each other, came to symbolise mans reliance on God - 'The Great Architect', who gives knowledge and instruction to those worthy and prepared to receive it, and that by honouring and sustaining our Brothers, a man can build a strong and moral life that will stand the test of time, much like a grand building that is raised by worthy men who are prepared to follow the instructions given to them from one who has the overall vision of how that building will finally look.  

Overtime, the story of Solomon's Temple has been symbolised by a series of rituals that the Masons use to not only symbolically re-enact the construction but to further promote the tenets of Brotherly love, morality and respect for God.

Masonry in Joseph Smiths time

The expansion and popularity of Freemasonry evolved to a point where men who were not stonemasons by profession were gradually admitted to the fraternity; such men being known as Speculative Freemasons. As time went by, speculative Freemasonry spread from its traditional heartlands of England and Scotland and found its way to cities and communities throughout 19th century North America.

Putting all symbolism and ritual story-telling to one side, being a Mason was and is akin to being part of a gentleman's club, where men from a variety of professional and social backgrounds would meet in the Lodge as equal Brothers to converse and build acquaintances with one another.

Although still viewed by some as a secret society not to be trusted; masonry was accepted as a relative norm during the early period of the formation of the church; indeed, in some communities it would have been seen as unusual for men in good standing were they not part of the local Lodge given the favourable appeal among most men of the time.

Because Freemasonry is not a religion but a fraternity, membership didn't (and doesn't) intrude upon a person's outside religious beliefs provided that the individuals beliefs were consistent with the notion of a supreme being.

Joseph's Entry into Freemasonry

In the LDS church's official history manuals it is often suggested that the Prophet joined the recently formed Nauvoo Lodge in order to benefit from associations that would potentially enable him to be looked upon more favourably by previously hostile persons throughout the state and the union.

While this would have been an obvious secondary benefit, it's also probable to assume that the Prophets initiation would have at some point been a foregone conclusion given the strong pull that Masonry had with men at the time. Perhaps it was only Joseph's divine call to other more sacred matters that postponed what would have almost certainly have been a natural gravitation toward the fraternity upon his ascension to manhood.

During the Nauvoo period, a portion of men in the church were already initiated Masons and in 1841 obtained permission to setup a Lodge in the city. Given that the Masonic officers were church members, Joseph's initiation saw him rise quickly to the rank of Master Mason.

Just as with 21st Century Masonry, the Nauvoo Lodge would have been a central meeting point for men of the city to discuss business and address important matters in a relaxed, social setting.

Prior to the martyrdom, Dan Jones petitioned the Governor, Thomas Ford for protection for the Smith Brothers, pointing out amongst other things that both were Masons and as such should be treated as friends rather than enemies.

Masonic Symbolism in the Church Today

The Beehive. LDS symbol of industry. Also a Masonic symbol.

 

There are many clues as to the church's early link to Freemasonry. One of the most common rituals; that of laying the cornerstone prior to the construction of a new temple is every inch a Masonic ceremony, derived from the sacred regard that early stonemasons placed on erecting buildings together with the accompanying symbolism relative to life.

It should be remembered that the Latter Day church in its infancy was being formulated from scratch. Despite having a divine mandate to restore the gospel in its fullness, church leaders relied in part on their past associations with other Christian denominations to determine for example, how a Sunday church meeting would be run.

Aside from the blessing and passing of the Sacrament, a modern day Sunday service will bear little resemblance to the early days of the church when meetings were fashioned around the traditional Christian model of having a minister stand and deliver a sermon.

Gradual inspiration and insight led to the institutional running of the church being what it is today. Given the relative lack of experience that the early leaders had, experiences within Freemasonry provided much needed ideas in respect of the use of symbolism and ceremonies that overtime would be polished and refined based on further light and understanding.

And thus we see that neither Joseph nor the other leading members of the church were part of a sinister organisation that seeks to hide in darkness. Rather, they were part of a benign, fraternity of men whose foundations were based on the bedrock of Brotherhood and morality and whose only enemy is common ignorance and misunderstanding.