By Jerald and Sandra Tanner

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In past issues of the Messenger we have shown that the anti-Negro doctrine comes from the Book of Abraham, and that the translation of the papyri by Egyptologists has destroyed the basis of this doctrine. The translation of the papyri may have other serious effects upon the doctrines of the Mormon Church. The Mormon writer Hyrum L. Andrus, for instance, claims that Joseph Smith obtained “essential elements” of the LDS Temple Ceremony from the papyri:

Evidence indicates that Joseph Smith obtained the essential covenants, keywords, etc., of the temple ceremony from the writings of Abraham. (See Facsimile No. 2 figures 3 and 8.) . . . Having obtained essential elements of this ceremony from the writings of Abraham, he then organized them into a formal ceremony, . . . (God, Man and the Universe, 1968, page 334)

[Bold in quotations is added for emphasis and does not appear in originals.]

Now that it is plain that the papyri were nothing but pagan documents, Mormons must look elsewhere for the origin of these ceremonies. We feel that at least part of the Temple Ceremony came from Freemasonry.

Although the temple ceremonies are secret, several exposes have been printed. Temple Mormonism, Its Evolution, Ritual and Meaning, published in 1931, is supposed to be one of the most accurate accounts. When we compared the temple ritual with the Masonic ceremony we were astonished by the similarities. For instance, the “five points of fellowship” are almost identical. In the Mormon ceremony we find the following:

The five points of fellowship are given by putting the inside of the right foot to the inside of the Lord’s, the inside of your knee to his, laying your breast close to his, your left hands on each other’s backs, and each one putting his mouth to the other’s ear, in which position the Lord whispers:

Lord— “This is the sign of the token:

“Health to the navel, marrow in the bones, . . .” (Temple Mormonism, page 22)

In his book, Freemasonry Exposed, Capt. William Morgan gave this information concerning the “five points of fellowship” in the Masonic Lodge:

He (the candidate) is raised on what is called the five points of fellowship, which are foot to foot, knee to knee, breast to breast, hand to back and mouth to ear. This is done by putting the inside of your right foot to the inside of the right foot of the person to whom you are going to give the word, the inside of your knee to his, laying your right breast against his, your left hands on the back of each other, and your mouths to each other’s right ear (in which position alone you are permitted to give the word), and whisper the word Mahha-bone . . . He is also told that Mahhah-bone signifies marrow in the bone. (Freemasonry Exposed, page 84)

William Morgan’s book was first published in Batavia, N.Y., in 1827. We know that it was a very popular book, and that the Mormon Apostle Heber C. Kimball had a copy. Although Joseph Smith was probably familiar with this book, the connection between Mormonism and Masonry is even closer than this, for Joseph himself joined the Masonic Lodge in Nauvoo in 1842. We find the following in Joseph Smith’s History under the date of March 15, 1842:

In the evening I received the first degree in Freemasonry in the Nauvoo Lodge, assembled in my general business office. (History of the Church, vol. 4, page 551)

The next day Joseph Smith stated:

I was with the Masonic Lodge and rose to the sublime degree. (History of the Church, vol. 4, page 552)

Less than two months later, May 4, 1842, Joseph Smith introduced the temple ceremonies, and according to his own statement, it was in the same room “where the Masonic fraternity meet occasionally”:

I spent the day in . . . my general business office, or lodge room (that is where the Masonic fraternity meet occasionally, for want of a better place) in council with . . . Patriarch Hyrum Smith, . . . and President Brigham Young and Elders Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards, instructing them in the principles and order of the Priesthood, attending to washings, anointings, endowments and the communication of keys pertaining to the Aaronic Priesthood, and so on to the highest order of the Melchisedek Priesthood, . . . (History of the Church, vol. 5, pages 1-2)

Some Mormon writers have admitted that there are similarities between the temple ceremony and the Masonic ritual. E. Cecil McGavin stated:

It is evident that the Masonic ritual embraces a few features that resemble the rudimental ceremonies of the Temple Endowment, yet these few points of similarity are largely restricted to the rituals pertaining to the Aaronic priesthood. (Mormonism and Masonry, page 197)

We feel that there are more than just a “few points of similarity,” and we hope to document these parallels in the next chapter of our work, The Mormon Kingdom. Also, we plan to print the Mormon temple ceremony and show some of the important changes that have been made in it through the years. We want to bring the ceremony right up to date. One couple who has been through the temple about fifty times has helped us and another man who has been through over a hundred times has agreed to help.

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