Review
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Title: Joseph’s Temples: The Dynamic Relationship between Freemasonry and Mormonism
Author: Michael W. Homer
Publisher: The University of Utah Press
Genre: History
Year Published: 2014
Number of Pages: 448
Binding: Hardcover
ISBN10: 1607813446
ISBN13: 978-1-60781-344-6
Price: $34.95 (List)
Reviewed by Greg Seppi for the Association for Mormon Letters
Michael W. Homer is the author of one of the best pieces on Mormonism and Freemasonry (his 1994 Dialogue article, “’Similarity of Priesthood in Masonry’: The Relationship between Freemasonry and Mormonism”), so it is little wonder that this book, which represents decades of research, is simply the definitive work on the subject. Homer generally avoids a discussion of specific similarities in the ceremonies of Mormons and Freemasons, instead providing a deep analysis of the influence of Freemasonry on the culture of the LDS Church in the 19th and 20th centuries. In this review, the term “Mormon” will refer only to the religious organization associated with Joseph Smith until his death and the LDS Church—an unfortunate exclusion of other churches, given the excellent work being done on other Mormon-related faith traditions by scholars such as David J. Howlett, but also a necessary narrowing of the book’s scope to a manageable size.
The term “Freemason” refers to a member of one of any number of organizations which claim the authority to administer various rites and initiation ceremonies to those who wish to be part of a local lodge—a unit somewhat like an LDS ward. The purposes of these lodges have varied greatly since they became popular in early 18th century France and England. Historians today generally argue that Masonry arose from associations of actual “operative” Masons at least as early as 1390 (that is, men who actually built buildings), who used tokens and signs to recognize other professional Masons from frauds, and safeguarded those signs and tokens with keywords. These medieval Masons drew on the Bible and perhaps other traditions to assemble a mythic history of their order that went back to the opening pages of Genesis, including figures such as Tubal Cain and Enoch (Homer, p. 6). Homer is rather brief on the history of early Masonry, appropriately providing a general outline of the traditional history of Masonry and the current historical understanding of Masonic practice. The story really begins with the introduction of Masonic lodges to the British colonies prior to the American Revolution, and Homer writes at length on the history of American Freemasonry.
I suspect Homer is either a Freemason or highly respectful of both Masonic and Mormon rituals—he very rarely mentions specific ritual practices, tokens, or other oath-related matters, which had the unfortunate effect of frustrating this reader from time to time. Any points lost through lack of ceremonial detail are made up for by the wonderful, glorious footnotes scattered freely throughout the text. God bless the University of Utah Press and Michael W. Homer—whoever made the decision to use footnotes instead of endnotes deserves praise. Nothing is more frustrating than wanting to know the source of a particular quote or citation, and having to decide between breaking the flow of my reading or checking the citation later. Having the notes immediately available on the same page raises my level of respect for the text and the author. A Masonic chronology, extensive select bibliography, and index are also included, giving this book one of the strongest sets of scholarly apparatuses available.
The text includes many supporting illustrations that demonstrate critical elements of the text, such as the anti-Mormon exposés written by disaffected Church members. Homer demonstrates some of the ways that Freemasonry and Mormonism have been greatly influenced through published revelations of unfaithful participants. Masonry in the U.S. came under heavy suspicion following the death of William Morgan, likely at the hands of Masons who were unhappy with Morgan’s exposé of Masonic rites and practices in the 1820s; the Nauvoo Expositor’s central role in the drama surrounding the death of Joseph Smith in 1844, to name only one example, changed the course of LDS history in a similar way—revelations of polygamy startled the public in much the same way that the murder of a disaffected Mason horrified 1820s America.
Interestingly, given their acceptance of Joseph Smith’s close association with Freemasonry in Nauvoo, many early Mormons were also anti-Masons or Masons, including W. W. Phelps, who had published an anti-Masonic newspaper before joining the Church in 1831. Homer details Phelps’ history with Mormonism and Masonry, and describes the Masonic history of other early members (including Hyrum Smith), though I might have wished for more along these lines.
The book’s analysis of the influence of American Freemasonry on Joseph Smith includes descriptions of the founding myths of Masonry in comparison with Joseph Smith’s story, and the similarities are indeed quite striking. However, instead of getting bogged down in an effort to trace every detail of the Book of Mormon back to a Masonic belief or contemporary event, as it sometimes seems Rick Grunder does in his Mormon Parallels (which Homer cites often). Instead, Homer quite wisely recognizes that parallels do not necessarily prove or disprove influence. He focuses on more easily proven examples of the influence of Freemasonry on Joseph Smith in the mid-1830s and 1840s, especially in what we now call the Pearl of Great Price. Perhaps the most significant belief along these lines taken from Freemasonry was the belief that the “mark of Cain” referred to black skin—a strongly established belief in 19th century American Freemasonry, which led to the exclusion of black Americans—“freeborn” or formerly slaves—from the main American lodges. The book explores the difficulties the LDS Church faced as a result of inculcating Masonic beliefs about race, which led the Church to deny the priesthood to those of African descent until 1978.
The influence of Freemasonry on the symbols that decorated both the Kirtland and Nauvoo temples and on the Endowment have been well-documented in any number of texts, but Homer’s discussion of them is the focus of this book. Unfortunately, the reader will likely need to create his or her own reference table to track each ritual or practice, such as washing and anointing, and the Masonic organization (in this case “Royal Arch” masonry, p. 101) that practiced it in a way recognizably similar to the early Mormons.
What makes this book particularly excellent is the care Homer takes in drawing together the intellectual and cultural traditions of Mormonism and Freemasonry to explain past and current trends in both organizations. In his introduction, Homer notes that “Masonic scholars have complained that historians ignore the impact of Freemasonry even though they should ‘cover the complete scope of all the fields which influenced or were influenced by freemasonry, and where freemasonry or freemasons played a role,’” which seems like a rather ridiculously high standard to place on historians. Nevertheless, given the central relationship between Mormon temple practices and freemasonry as demonstrated in this book, it does indeed seem somewhat ridiculous that any discussion of early Church history can take place without at least some reference to the role that freemasonry played in the development of LDS doctrines—whether one holds that LDS beliefs are approved by God or not.
While over half the text is taken up by a discussion of the history of freemasonry and post-Smith Mormonism, the influence of freemasonry on Mormons other than Joseph Smith is not fully fleshed out. A future work might examine the works of Parley P. Pratt, whose writings were by far the most important Mormon publications not written by Joseph Smith in the 19th century, for traces of freemason ideas or authors. A technical study comparing the text of freemason newspapers and pamphlets with early Mormon publications, such as newspapers, could be another potentially useful extension of the research in this book.
Notably, the title of the text is somewhat misleading. The influence of freemasonry on the Kirtland and Nauvoo temples is actually less central to the text than Homer’s discussion of its influence on the development of Mormon culture. However, the architecture of the Nauvoo, Kirtland, and Salt Lake temples all receive discussion. More interesting with regard to the temples is Homer’s discussion of the Masonic rites that influenced the purpose of the temples. The development of the temple ceremonies is extensively discussed, and an LDS reader familiar with the temple endowment will likely see vestiges of it throughout the text; not for nothing have Masons looked askance at Joseph Smith’s borrowings of Masonic costuming and rites.
The text is a full history of Mormonism and freemasonry; while it is not the only story that might be told, nor complete in every detail, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in 19th century Mormonism and its transition into the 20th century. The relationship between Mormons and freemasons in Utah is not an oft-told one; indeed, Homer quotes extensively from Brigham Young’s temple dedication lectures and other sermons to demonstrate the continuing influence of Masonic philosophies on Mormonism even after Joseph Smith’s death. I wasn’t familiar with the influence of Masonry on late 19th century Mormon religious culture, and thus found the post-Nauvoo chapters to be fascinating.
The book rarely descends into trivia; while the first chapter will be somewhat dull to those uninterested in the broader history of freemasonry, this work is one of the best examples of an author constructing a history of the broader sociocultural world of Mormonism to date. Homer avoids any sort of polemics, and in fact is quite willing to suggest various theories on the relationship between Joseph Smith, the Endowment, and freemasonry. While this book may damage the faith of someone who was unaware that the LDS Church’s doctrine and temple practices were heavily influenced by Masonry, I would hope that readers will not fall into the mental trap of assuming that causation, correlation, and association are the same thing. Certainly Smith drew on Masonry for ideas about how to express the Endowment, but does that mean it lacks a divine spark to give it life? Perhaps just as each of our bodies was once lacking in a living spirit to differentiate our flesh from the dirt, the Lord may use the forms of Freemasonry to teach significant truths. Regardless, this is undoubtedly a valuable, well-written and extensively researched book. Homer will undoubtedly receive a good deal of recognition for this book, which he justly deserves. While this book is not perfect, it tells us much more about why Mormons have believed in some things or behaved in some ways than probably any other book on the market today.
I would strongly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Mormon Studies. You are missing an important contribution to the field of Mormon history if this book is not on your bookshelf.