Denver Decorative Concrete & Custom Masonryhow much of the occult symbolism of masonic rituals did joseph put into the endowment cermony?
. according to mormon history of j/s life, he was into occult practices at an early age. his family searched for buried treasure with peep and seer stones, devining rods and other forms of witchcraft. when they located a treasure spot they drove stakes arround it to ward off evil spirits he was a student of gnostics and free masonry. he eventually gave up his association with the masons when he started the lds church, but he carried over the occult trappings and wove them into the endowment cermony. such as the underwear with occult symbols sowed into them, the secret hand shakes, secret vows,new names,punishments,holy aprons, etc. etc. the mormon church is loathe to admit this so it whitewashes the info and tries to clean up smiths image. the church is afraid to come clean on this for fear of losing members, so it lives a lie. j/s neighbors considered him a liar , a con man and a fruad…
sounds like somebody has seen the truth video (which is a lot of things, but ‘truth’ is not 1 of them)
many of JS’s neighbors, friends, acquaintancesconsidered him to be an upstanding and fine man…kind and generous and helpful. guess you can find people who have all kinds of different opinions in this world, eh? it’s pretty easy to iimpugnthe character of a man lifeless over a hundred years…..
a common error: using modern standards to pass judgment on historical figures……the meaning of a symbol can only be defined by the person or group using it.
if others find different meanings in that particular symbol it doesn’t negate the meaning to the first group.
example: for thousands of years the swastika was used as a symbol of good fortune and well being by many societies…..so did the nazis (by their use of the swastika) want only good fortune and well being for the countries they overran during WWII, or the millions of people they murdered in the holocaust? that is nonsense.
and in the same way the cross (before it was used by christians all over the world) was known as the staff of apollo and was used in the worship of that deity……and in pre-columbian america (and other parts of the world) to signify the sun. does that imply that all christians are sun worshipers? of course not, that would be ridiculous.
and it is just as nonsensical to apply a later interpretation to symbols used by the LDS, and then attack them for something which they don’t believe.
Mormons give more to charity than any other group of people in the World. Is this also an occult thing to do, according to you???
Jesus Christ said to judge people by their works, whether they be of God or of the Devil. Jesus Christ Himself was accused of having a Devil, in the New Testament.
Jesus Christ also said not to bear false witness. Which is exactly what you are doing.
Let me get this straight. You want the least number of people possible in the World to give time and money to Charity, the way Mormons typically do, is this what you are attempting to do???
Shame on you, and on all others like you. There is a place waiting for such false witness bearers in the next life after this life as you are, and it is not to be with Jesus Christ for all eternal time. Simple as that.
I hope you repent, for your own soul’s sake. I really do.
God bless.
You forgot to mention that angel Moroni, that would tell him things and where to find the golden plates.
The Mormons are good people who try to live life the right way, they just have different beliefs. I think it’s the fundamentalists that gives their church a bad name, as that’s what we tend to think about when we think of Mormons, but, the fundamentalists are just a small fraction.Sadly, I think those who were born into the church are taught to believe and not question. Those who join the church later, see it as a wonderful, wholesome, family place and do not do their research. There was a man shown on a documentary who had joined the church after leaving a Satanist church, where he’d been a high priest, said that it felt so natural to him in the LDS church. He realized that the comfort came from the rituals that went on there, they were the same as in his old Satanic church (this went on in the SLC Temple!). I live in an area with a high Mormon population. I’m no hater. I’ve got many LDS friends who I highly love and respect.
As much as he wanted to. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall during those freemason meetings, eh?
I seriously wonder why there was no hue and cry from the masons when Smith hijacked their ceremonies, rituals, symbols, and concepts for his church, then twisted them for his profit. Were they so secret then, that masons did not dare admit to the similarities? Masonic orders are now pretty much thought of as old men’s good old days clubs, so there’s really no need. In addition, mormons have been so successfully indoctrinated from their carefully sanitized history regarding Freemasonry that they do not even care its ceremonies were styled on their temple ceremonies, even if they did admit it. They just do not care. Happy Mormon Syndrome does not dare look too deeply, for fear of what will be found.
Not according to any Mormon history written by the Mormons was he into occult practices. And quite a few of his neighbors had a great deal of respect for him. You have to read all the history books not just the ones you like.
First of all, there is almost no similarity between the Masonic rituals and the LDS Temple rituals; Masons don’t have priesthood, they don’t baptize for the dead, they don’t marry for time and eternity, and they don’t endow their members with power from on high. They’re not even a religious organization, just a fraternal brotherhood.
Yes, there are a few ancient symbols that can be found in both places; they date back to Egypt and King Solomon’s Temple.
Ancient prophets used seer stones. The Apostle Simon was actually nicknamed Seerstone. Cephas comes from Kefas, Aramaic for a small green crystaline seer stone. Witchcraft is just a poor imitation of the priesthood.
There is nothing sinister about believing in signs and wonders; as the Bible states, signs shall follow those that believe. The belief that God can lead someone through nature is not contrary in any way to the gospel taught by Christ.
To say Joseph Smith associated with Masons before starting the LDS church is twisting the truth. His brother was a Mason, and he associated with his brother, but he wasn’t a Mason.
Most all of these so called occult practices can be found in the Bible and other ancient religious literature. They’re part of the true priesthood of God. It does not say much for any church that does not recognize them. Modern Christianity is a pale reflection of the Christianity of the first century. The Mormons have got it right in every way.
Buffalo chips!
See here for a decent summary of events relating to Joseph Smith, Mormons and Freemasonry.
http://www.masonicinfo.com/mormons.htm
Joseph Smth’s early life is like many others in history, embellished by biographers with an agenda. Also things that most would frown on today were in fact common practice in society during Smith’s early years. One cannot compare beliefs from 100+ years ago with today’s beliefs.
As to the musings of some like c., Freemasonry appeared to the public of London in 1717 and even before that as early as 1696 there were exposes of this supposedly ‘secret’ organization. So by the 1830’s when Smith was forming what would become the LDS Church there was literally hundreds of books about Freemasonry, it’s history, rituals and philosophy available to anyone who cared to read them. I am sure Smith was familiar with this fact as he took as 1 of his wives, the widow of 1 William Morgan.
First I would say you have exaggerated much of what really happened.
Secondly, the church has volumes of books that talk about these very things. So your claim that the church is afraid to come clean is false. There is nothing to hide. In fact, I’m reading a book about many of these things right now that was written by church historians and members.
Thirdly, without bashing your every detail, did you know that those who hired Joseph were actually leaders/preachers of other denominations. They were Methodists, Presbyterians, and other Christian preachers. Some of these leaders/preacher even took Joseph to court. They confessed that they had knowledge he had a gift, but that the wouldn’t tell them where the treasure was hidden. Joseph decided that his gift was from God and shouldn’t be used for lucre. Joseph wasn’t born perfect. He was like you and I. He was only a teenager and he had to learn/mature in his faith.
Fourth, secret oaths, handshakes, vows, etc….. do you know anything about Judaism? Do you read the Bible? These things aren’t secret…If they’re secret, why would we send missionaries throughout the world to invite all to participate in the temple ordinances? Symbolism has always been a tool used by God to teach his people. The rituals and ordinances of the temple found in the Bible were sacred not secret. Those who were worthy were allowed to enter according to God’s command.
Fifth, masonic similarities. Where do the Masonic traditions come from? Who came up with their handshakes, obligations, oaths, clothing, and symbols? My next question is…do you know what an apostasy is?
I suggest that you look a very little bit more into the history of Christianity. Also pick up the bible to see if I’m making this up. I also suggest that you spend a very little less time stewing through the anti garbage of justification.
Careful what you read, hear and then believe as true. It just may be wrong.
Funny how many accuse Mormons of believing weird things, but when non Mormons hear falsehoods about it, how quick THEY are to believe what they hear…..kind of ironic isn’t it.
There is even stuff about dowsing rods and seer stones in their own histories, but good luck getting any Mormons to admit to it.
Next time, ask an endowed Mormon to compare their rituals to these Masonic ones:
http://www.utlm.org/onlinebooks/captmorgansfreemasonry6.htm
i havent seen this video Phrog seems to think.
remember 1 thing. even the Israelites put occult symbolism in their temple
i have experienced the wedding/sealing ritual by/for proxy! and there was no manifest occultic symbolism that i could tell. even the traditional christian and jewish wedding vows and marriage ceremonies had MORE symbolism
Deu. 17:2-3 says not to worship the sun, moon or stars, so what do Mormons do, on every Utah Temple is a moon stone, Jupiter stone, big dipper and sun stone….this is paganism, but Mormons will tell you that they use APOSTOLIC church symbols, why would the restored church use apostolic symbols???! No mormon has ever answered this before, its like saying the mormons will use an upside down cross just because another religion used it.
Also they’re not the restored church, JS was killed before he could finish purifying the bible with his footnotes, they’re short of restoration!!!
Come on Proggers, ted Bundy was a nice Mormon as well…
@Heartman, you Catholic, quit trying to buy your way into heaven!!!
@SLC your so funny I have never seen a temple with a sign that said All visitors are welcomed! JS never claimed Jesus secretly shoot and the twelve apostles hands or gave then tokens in the temple or wore special garments.
Also SLC, many masons claim to be Christians, this doesn’t make it right just because they claim to be…the Freemasons except any God and since mormons believe in many Gods, it is easy to see how JS got caught up in freemasondry.