A history fraught with misunderstanding by members of my faith and the Masonic Fraternity in Utah often leads those of my faith to ask me why I would want to be a Mason.
With that in mind, I'd like to discuss the Masonic membership of the first five Presidents and indeed, so many of the 19th Century male members of my church.
It is not my intent to share anything that would be offensive to either those of my cherished faith or those of my beloved Fraternity, nor will I divulge anything I have vowed to hold sacred. I will, however, speak honestly, openly and directly about my own studied opinions. I write my own thoughts in my own words, borrowing a phrase here or there from Masonic or LDS tradition.
There is among some members of my church a myth that Masonry was descended from the building of King Solomon’s temple, and that the 19th Century Fraternity possessed a fragment of truth, and perhaps even an “apostate” form of priesthood and temple worship.
This tradition posits that Joseph Smith needed only to enter The Fraternity in order to learn those forms of this so-called apostate education in order to repair them by revelation and produce a true form of "eternal" Masonry.
As we reason together, let us ignore the 16th and early 17th Century origins of the Symbolic Craft. Even scholarly Masons have a difficult time separating myth from truth when exploring the origins of Symbolic Masonry. I can easily see why the uninitiated would be confused.
The myths and moral lessons of Masonry may well use symbols from the building of Solomon’s Temple, but in my opinion the key to refuting the argument that Joseph needed to enter to see, repair - even "steal" the ritual form is that there are few true similarities between the two rites. What is most similar is the interactive form of learning shared by the two ritual forms.
Further, if the Prophet Joseph only needed to learn the lessons of some “apostate priesthood” from his Masonic experience, then the initiation of more than 2,500 LDS men into Masonic lodges in and around Nauvoo was surely a waste of time. Indeed, if this form of society was truly apostate, then it was also quite dangerous to their very souls.
If this form of education is dangerous to the souls of men, I am sure there were other forms of interactive learning available that Joseph Smith could have used to understand and produce such a learning experience.
This contention that Joseph entered simply to develop is a flawed argument. Now I realize that in matters of faith, logic is not always welcomed by some, but I tend to believe that the two are not mutually exclusive.
After years of research, especially my focus on the writings of those who knew Joseph, I have come to believe that after the Kirtland period of the early LDS church, Joseph Smith was drawn by Masonic brotherhood. He had been betrayed by some of those closest to him.
Joseph recognized, I believe, that not all the good men of the earth were or will be found within the confines of the LDS faith, and conversely, not all of the evil men of the world are on the outside of this or any other church.
There is a more logical argument for the initiation of many of the men of the fledgling church in Nauvoo. This is the hypothesis that LDS men joined to learn something of the brotherhood, charity and search for truth inherent in the ritual of the Masonic Society in order to inculcate those virtues – especially brotherhood, into their priesthood quorums (see note below.)
This argument is quite reasonable. It may or may not be the case. What is not rational is the belief that once these early leaders learned those lessons there was nothing more for future generations to learn by direct membership in the Masonic Fraternity.
It is important to know that only the escalation of differences created by simple misunderstandings like those still held by some today that kept my church and Masonry separate in Utah (and only Utah) for far too many decades.
It is my contention that there is still much for worthy men of the various creeds and classes to glean from Masonic ritual and experience. Further, it is my contention that there is nothing in Masonry which conflicts with any of the tenets of my own faith, and that it works hand in hand with my own faith to make me a better man.
I also argue that if the Masonic form was not apostate and therefore dangerous to the souls of most of the 19th Century leaders of my church and so many of the male population of Nauvoo, since it is largely unchanged since then in practice, ritual and symbolism, it is still not dangerous for LDS men.
Masonry may not be for every man, but I am hard pressed to say that any man who enters through it’s doors for however short a period is not improved in some way.
Having been an active member of the various priesthood quorums of the LDS Church for more than forty years, I can say with some authority that there is still much we need to learn of brotherhood and toleration, and I say this not in a spirit of criticism but by way of simple comparison.
Many times, I have said that I was drawn to Masonry by its philosophy, but I was surprised – even Shocked! by the brotherhood I experienced. I now find myself wanting to be a Mason fully-rounded in the three-fold tenets of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. I no longer want to be a one-dimensional Mason. I also want to practice more of the brotherly love I have experienced.
Churches of all denominations may be concerned about the amount of time that a Mason may spend at Masonry. As with anything enjoyable, it can be difficult to maintain a proper balance between family and associations, church and community, work and play. But this is no reason to discourage involvement with an organization that does so much good both for the individual man and the society at large.
What should be stressed is that there is a time and a place for both and balance in life is crucial to true happiness. There may be seasons of life where one is more involved in one more than the other quite naturally.
Still, the opportunity to sit in Lodge with good, like-minded men of the various creeds and classes of our community is more than simply an opportunity most never get outside the forced society of work or neighborhood where we tend to stratify into cliques. It is a privilege and it builds a sense of brotherhood and community that is unlike anything else I have experienced.
In Masonry there is a ritual experience espousing values of the highest moral caliber, with relevant ethical lessons of days long passed, and a brotherhood probably like nothing you have ever experienced, and it will not harm your individual faith, but it will deepen and increase it.
Recently a well-read, and deep-thinking member of my faith, at the end of an abbreviated tour of the Salt Lake Masonic Temple said, “It seems that our church would want to encourage men to be united to Masonry like they encourage boys to be Boy Scouts. Both work to bring about moral and decent men.”
And with that insightful thought from my new friend, Vincent, I'll end since I couldn’t have said it any better.
Note: For those of you who may not be familiar with an LDS Priesthood Quorum: a quorum is usually a geographic grouping of men with the same priesthood office. For example, a local Elder’s Quorum is made up of adult men who have been ordained to the office of Elder and live in a specific locale. It is led by a President who serves with two counselors and a secretary – all generally members of the Quorum.
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