The relationship between Mormonism and Freemasonry began early in the life of Mormon founder Joseph Smith, Jr., as his older brother and possibly his father were Freemasons while the family lived near Palmyra, New York. Nevertheless, in the late 1820s, the western New York region was swept with anti-Masonic fervor, and the Book of Mormon, a foundational religious book published by Smith in 1830, is generally considered to reflect that anti-Masonic sentiment by condemning what it portrays as oath-bound conspiratorial organizations.
Freemasonry, sometimes just called Masonry, is the word's oldest and largest Fraternity. It aims to promote Friendship, Morality, and Brotherly Love among its members -- men from every race, religion, opinion, and background -- who are brought together as Brothers to develop and strengthen the bonds of friendship. There are more than 3 million members meeting in nearly every free country in the world. Freemasonry proposes to "make good men better" by teaching -- with metaphors taken from geometry and architecture -- about building values based on great universal truths. And of course, charity and community service is fundamental to Freemasonry and something we actively take part in.
Freemasons roots are from Prue biblical times, but since the bible has been forced upon them the true magic of it all is lost to the followers. Peace Always.
Freemasonry is a society of mutual backstretches. If you are ambitious but have absolutely no talent or intelligence and are incapable of performing even the most rudimentary practical task, you really need to look into the possibility of becoming a Freemason.
Mormonism seems to be a very similar setup, with the exception that women are allowed as members (as long as they keep to their place, of course).
A Freemason is one who is part of a system of Freemasonry.
Freemasonry is a moral science, a Masonic Lodge is a fraternity of good men, supporting each other, and contributing to charity. This science is taught through a system of degrees. The highest degree is 3, which is a Master Mason. There are append ant bodies of Freemasonry that offer "higher degrees", such as the Scottish Rite. These systems expand on the first 3, and do not confer any additional ranking. It's continuing Masonic education.
There are historical notes that have linked the founders of Mormonism to certain Masons. There are no official ties, and there never will be. Freemasonry is open to men of virtually all religions.
Many groups and sects have spoken against Freemasons. Freemasonry has had its share of ne'er-do wells, and other ilk. There is nothing bad about Freemasonry. In fact the opposite, we encourage the good, reprobate the bad. Bad members are expelled, simple as that.
I have known Freemasons who have demoted [officially parted] from the Order on religious grounds. This is fine. Masons are free to leave, we do not control the destiny of any man.
The Mormon connection is interesting because it is just one more example of the many ways Joseph Smith combined religious and fraternal ideas into his new religion.
Devout Mormons wear sacred undergarments with 3 masonic symbols sewn in. The same symbols and more appear on their temples. Their temple ceremonies were lifted directly from Masonic rites. Smith joined a Masonic lodge in Nauvoo just a few weeks before he came up with Mormon temple ceremonies.
The Book of Mormon was written earlier. There was a lot of concern over Masonry and it contains passages about how bad 'secret combinations' are. Ironically, he then fill Mormonism with secret ceremonies, underwear, temple names and temple handshakes. The handshakes are direct copies of Masonic ones.
The US Masonic leader was killed when Smith was younger. He later married the guy's widow as one of his 30+ wives.
And everything here is very well documented historically.
Smith also plagiarized from other sources. Mormonism is quite a hodgepodge, and it can be fascinating to deconstruct.
What is a Freemason and why do some people say that Mormonism has its roots from Free
