Comments on Life On Gold Plates: Review: Matthew B. Brown's "Exploring the Connecti...

Thanks for visiting Anthony.

2009-11-11T11:16:29.786-07:00

Thanks for visiting Anthony.

It's all quite simple, from my perspective. Masonr...

2009-11-11T04:33:47.486-07:00

It's all quite simple, from my perspective. Masonry shares some common ritual themes from antiquity. The lineage is thus: During their excavation of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the Knights Templar discovered texts containing the temple rituals used in the Herodian era. They modified them to fit Christian values (the Herodian version probably struck them as too pagan with elements such as planetary references and the Hieros Gamos, which was replaced with our ritual at the veil) and used them in their 'secret' rituals. When they were arrested en mass or forced underground, they reinvented themselves as Free Masons, co-opting the fraternal organization of the masonry guilds, complete with its symbolic tools and rules for proper construction.

Charged by God to prepare a temple endowment, Joseph Smith began a search for correct elements in ancient tradition. He drew on any source available to him. We see in our endowment elements of the Masonic tradition as well as those of the Egyptian endowment, which he obtained from the papyri that came into his possession (see Nibley). He could have used the temple tradition of any ancient culture, since they all share common, cosmological elements--the same elements that still form the basis of our present temple endowment (again, see Nibley). But since Masonry was common on the American frontier and therefore more acceptable to the conservative Christian types converting to Mormonism, Joseph chose to incorporate a few of its elements in order to make the endowment seem less foreign. It was, after all, descended from an authentic source through the Templars.

It is true that Joseph Smith saw the endowment as more fluid than the inflexible structure it became under Brigham Young. And rightfully so. Ancient temple ritual rehearsed several thematic dramas, such as those we find in Greek tradition, born in ancient cosmological events common to all mankind. In fact, our endowment more accurately reflects the prophetic 'ascension' tradition, which is found in ascension texts, based in what Nibley called cultural "cosmism" than it does the Masonic tradition. So had Joseph not been assassinated, we might have several versions of the endowment rather than the single version we now employ because there are several, traditional and prophetically correct versions seen in ancient texts.

See my blog (www.mormonprophecy.blogspot.com) for more details.

While Joseph's colleagues may not have accused him...

2009-11-02T11:02:45.023-07:00

While Joseph's colleagues may not have accused him of "stealing" from Masonry, several of them, especially Heber C Kimball, claimed that Joseph restored the true rights of Masonry which (like their view of Christianity) had become corrupted over time. They clearly saw and explicitly claimed a relationship between Masonry, Joseph, and the Mormon endowment.

Yeah, Brown points this out but a fuller investigation is in Homer's Dialogue article.

I'm also interested in the Egyptian connection and the BoA, Loyd.

While Joseph's colleagues may not have accused him...

2009-11-02T09:10:31.661-07:00

While Joseph's colleagues may not have accused him of "stealing" from Masonry, several of them, especially Heber C Kimball, claimed that Joseph restored the true rights of Masonry which (like their view of Christianity) had become corrupted over time. They clearly saw and explicitly claimed a relationship between Masonry, Joseph, and the Mormon endowment.

While I have yet to look at the dating for the composition of the specific parts of the Book of Abraham, it would seem that the BofA parallels Joseph's going to the Freemasons to restore the rites of the priesthood by having Abraham do the very thing by going to the Egyptians to get the rites (not rights) of the priesthood.

Joe: I agree Brown should have spent time looking ...

2009-11-01T14:49:18.553-07:00

Joe: I agree Brown should have spent time looking at the Adam stuff. This by itself could have filled quite a few pages.

You said: "Actually, this is untrue. The legenda of the Craft fundamentally serves an allegorical purpose in Freemasonry; that is not changed simply because it differs from the actual historical origins of Masonry."

Allegorical purpose does not indicate "direct descent," though, and current scholarship doesn't argue otherwise, which is my point in that sentence.

Also, to be more precise: Brown isn't dispelling something there that hasn't already been dispelled, rather he is following already-traced conclusions of scholars, many of which were known by earlier LDS writers on the subject as Homer describes in his Dialogue article. I believe an actual descent from Solomon's Temple to then-current Masonry can't be definitively shown, despite the understanding of many earlier LDS leader/Masons who followed the understanding of Masonic origins common to their time, though I think those ideas were already beginning to fade even then (correct me if I'm wrong, I got that impression from Homer).

Also, Joe, thanks for the important distinctions you make regarding being made Masons "at sight." The phrase has a more precise parlance than most casual readers will know; "at sight" has been taken to mean Joseph basically was pronounced a Master Mason without actually participating fully in the rituals; the time period considerations etc. are important to be precise. I was referring to a lay or common understanding of what being made a Mason "at sight" would entail. My review failed to make the distinction properly, Brown actually makes the distinctions you refer to on p. 74: "It is often said by commentators on the subject of Mormonism and Masonry that Joseph Smith became a Mason 'at sight.' If it is meant by this phrase that he was allowed to go through all three of the initiation degrees--in physical sight of the Grand Master--without submitting to the typical waiting period between them, then such is a correct characterization. However, it would not be correct to say that the Prophet became a Freemason without experiencing the full initiation rites, but simply had the status bestowed upon him by verbal decree of the Grand Master."

Oh yes, and John C. Bennett! my bias shows through. I was not thinking of him in terms of being one of the "brethren." Homer's Dialogue article talks a little about Bennett's problematic claims.

Thanks for your insights Joe.

Also, thanks for stopping by Norbert and Imperial.

You say: "Brown rightly notes none of the brethren...

2009-11-01T13:41:01.758-07:00

You say: "Brown rightly notes none of the brethren accused Joseph of stealing from the endowment despite their being Masons."

That is not entirely true. In his book, "History of the Saints," John C. Bennett unambiguously accused Joseph of plagiarizing from Masonry.

You say, "The authentic school has practically ove...

2009-11-01T12:12:59.399-07:00

You say, "The authentic school has practically overturned the romantic idea that Masonry directly descended from workers on Solomon’s Temple."

Actually, this is untrue. The legenda of the Craft fundamentally serves an allegorical purpose in Freemasonry; that is not changed simply because it differs from the actual historical origins of Masonry.

It is important to not lose sight of the fact that it was the legenda of the Craft --i.e., it's "romantic" history-- which so significantly influenced Joseph Smith and his contemporaries, precisely because Masons in that day (including Joseph Smith and Brigham Young) were much more likely to confuse that which was allegorical with that which was strictly historical.

Also, the legenda of Freemasonry doesn't begin with King Solomon's Temple. Rather, it begins in the Garden of Eden, where God revealed the sacred science of Geometry to Adam, who wrote it in a book to be passed down to his posterity:

"ADAM, the first of humane Kind
Created with GEOMETRY
Imprinted on his Royal Mind,
Instructed soon his Progeny
CAIN and SETH, who then improv'd
The lib'ral Science in the Art
Of ARCHITECTURE, which they lov'd
And to their Offspring did impart" (Anderson, "The Master's Song," Constitutions of the Freemasons, London: Hunter, 1723, pg 75)

Brown's intellectual sleight-of-hand allows him to redirect the reader's attention away from the legendary history of the Craft, perhaps because to engage this in an honest way would be extremely uncomfortable, and raise questions that Brown might find difficult to address.

You state: "[Brown] dispels the myth that Joseph w...

2009-11-01T11:41:25.814-07:00

You state: "[Brown] dispels the myth that Joseph was made a “Mason at sight” in that Joseph actually participated in the Masonic initiation rituals (p. 74)." But in fact, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon WERE "made Masons at sight." This is no myth.

Making a Mason at sight doesn't mean the person being made a Mason doesn't participate in Masonic initiation rituals. Rather, as explained by Louis L. Williams, to make a Mason at sight "the Grand Master would convene an Occasional Lodge, with the requisite number present, and then, by issuing a dispensation for the purpose, proceed to conver all three degrees on the candidate. The Grand Master could waive the petition, balloting, Catechism, and the like, but the degrees themselves were usually conferred in full including lectures and charges, but usually on the same day, and in proper succession. This is the usual and proper way it is done, although using his unique and unquestionable power, the Grand Master could pretty well proceed as he might see fit" (Williams, _Making a Mason at Sight_, Bloomington:Illinois Lodge of Research, 1983, p 10).

In the case of Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, the customary waiting period between the degrees was waived, but the degrees were delivered in full, and in the presence of the Grand Master, over a period of two days. This precisely fits the idea that they were "made Masons at sight."

Also see Mr Litersky's review which is online. Wh...

2009-11-01T04:17:09.344-07:00

Also see Mr Litersky's review which is online. While it is less of an issue, the author M. Brown makes a number of errors regarding Masonic ritual. A better explanation of Masonic ritual and history, though again with some errors, can be seen in Kinney's Masonic Myth, published in 2009.

Wow. You've raised many important questions here, ...

2009-11-01T03:08:38.861-07:00

Wow. You've raised many important questions here, and your footnotes are a start for some reading in an area that has intrigued me.