(Chris Detrick/The Salt Lake Tribune)
Posted on 01/20/2006 10:28:11 AM PST by TFFKAMM
Dan Brown clearly enjoys playing with legends, history, symbols and secrets. And readers' minds. In his best-selling novel, The Da Vinci Code, Brown wove all these - real and imagined - into a breathless mystery about Christianity, Mary Magdalene and the Divine Feminine that has spawned an industry of de-coders eager to separate fact from fiction.
Now that he has turned his attention to the mysteries of Freemasonry, the centuries-old fraternal order, the new book also might deal with Mormonism.
But rather than announce the Da Vinci sequel in a news release, Brown embedded tantalizing clues to its subject on the book's jacket. Written in typeface that is slightly larger and bolder than the rest (it requires a magnifying glass to find them all) are the words: is there no help for the widows son.
"O Lord, my God, is there no help for the widow's son?" was used historically as a Masonic distress call, but when journalist David Shugarts plugged it into Google, the first hit was a 1974 speech given by an LDS Institute of Religion teacher, Reed C. Durham, at the University of Utah.
Joseph Smith, the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, reportedly began to utter the call as he fell from a second story window after being fatally shot by a mob in a Carthage, Ill., jail in 1844, Durham said.
In an electrifying presidential address to the Mormon History Association meeting in Nauvoo, Ill., he traced close parallels between Smith's account of digging gold plates out of a New York hillside and Masonic tales of Enoch and buried treasure. Smith wore a "Jupiter talisman," or what his wife called "his Masonic jewel," and LDS temple ceremonies bear a striking resemblance to Masonic rituals, he said.
The
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The Winding Staircase, like all Masonic symbols, is illustrative of discipline and doctrine, and opens to us a wide field of moral and speculative inquiry. (Chris Detrick/The Salt Lake Tribune)
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speech was so controversial that Durham's superiors in the LDS Educational System forced him to issue a public apology.
The speech was never published but was surreptitiously taped and has floated around on the Internet for years.
It may have also caught Brown's attention, Shugarts speculates, and may provide one plot twist in Brown's next book, tentatively titled The Solomon Key. Brown confirmed in a speech last year that the book's mystery will be set in Washington, D.C., where many architectural features were drawn from Masonry, and will feature the same lead character, Harvard-professor-turned-detective Robert Langdom.
Getting a jump on the novel's historical context, Shugarts has written Secrets of the Widow's Son: The Mysteries Surrounding the Sequel to The Da Vinci Code.
He provides a broad history of Mormonism, including its brush with Masonry in the 19th century. It also offers nuggets about Masonic history such as these: At least eight signers of the Declaration of Independence were Masons, as were 13 U.S. presidents including George Washington. A Freemason released Paul Revere from British custody on the night of his famous ride, after he determined that Revere was a Mason. Mozart's "Magic Flute" and Rudyard Kipling's The Man Who Would Be King were written as Masonic allegories.
The Washington Monument and a similar monument on Bunker Hill in Boston, were not just coincidentally shaped like an Egyptian obelisks, but intentionally designed to honor Masonic allusions to ancient Egyptian mystical wisdom.
Much of the symbolism is mathematical, even geometrical, which could explain why the fraternity has attracted rationalists such as Voltaire, Goethe, Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain.
"We've heard from Masons
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One of the rooms in the Temple. The Salt Lake Masonic Temple was completed in 1927 and was built in 1 year, 3 months, and 22 days. The architect of the temple was Carl W. Scott and George W Welch. (Chris Detrick/The Salt Lake Tribune)
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that they feel that [Brown is] going to do them justice," says Dan Burstein, who wrote the introduction to Shugarts' book. "He seems to be favorably disposed to thinking of Masons as an important historical underground movement, pushing the world towards democracy and enlightenment."
Today there are nearly 2 million Masons in the United States, with 2,250 members in 29 Utah lodges.
"We have a lot of Mormons who are Masons in this state, but we don't know exactly how many," says Ridgley Gilmour, Grand Master of Utah Masonic Lodge. "Anyone with a belief in God can petition to join but we don't ask what religion they are."
Gilmour was adamant the Masonry is not a "secret society," but a fraternal order with large-scale charitable giving built on deeply held American values of family, God and country.
"The only secrets we have are little signs and passwords which we use because it's an ancient custom, and, frankly, it's fun,'' Gilmour says.
It remains to be seen how much Mormon history will feature in the novel, (Brown's wife reportedly was raised in the LDS Church) but if the reaction to Durham's 1974 speech is any indication, any link between the two could be controversial in Utah.
For his part, Nicholas S. Literski, an active Mormon and Mason living in Nauvoo, thinks Latter-day Saints misunderstand the similarities. But they are significant.
"Everybody wants to obsess over supposed similarities in ritual," he says. "But that's just one aspect. Everything about Joseph and his family was tied into Masonic legends."
The Mormon connection: Smith's father, Joseph Smith Sr. joined a Masonic lodge when the family moved to Palmyra,
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N.Y., in 1816. Later, Smith's brother Hyrum also joined. From them, Smith heard the story of a lost sacred word that was engraved upon a triangular plate of pure gold. The word was the name of God.
It makes sense that he would go searching for such treasure in the large American Indian burial mounds near his home, says Literski, author of the forthcoming book, Method Infinite: Freemasonry and the Mormon Restoration.
And when Smith reported finding an ancient record written on plates of gold, he used "distinctively Masonic language to describe the experience," Literski says.
The church, which claimed to restore ancient truths of Christianity lost through the ages, attracted many members of the Masonic fraternity who traced their own roots back centuries and had similar esoteric teachings.
By the 1840s, many Mormon leaders in Nauvoo, including Smith and apostles Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball, became Masons and organized a lodge there under the auspices of the Grand Lodge of Illinois. It wasn't long before nearly every male member of the church in the area had joined. At the same time, Smith introduced LDS temple rituals that included secret handshakes, signs and symbols like the all-seeing eye, the compass and square (tools of the mason's trade) and the sun, moon and stars that echoed Masonry.
Soon, though, other Masons felt that the Mormons were dominating the fraternity. In 1842, the Nauvoo Lodge was suspended. Many Mormons believed that Masons contributed to the murder of their prophet.
Antagonisms built up between the two groups. In Utah in 1860, Masonic lodges were established but they prohibited Mormons from joining. At the same time, Young forbade Mormons from joining and refused to allow any Mason to hold
priesthood leadership positions in the church, Literski says.
It wasn't until 1984 that LDS President Spencer W. Kimball removed the prohibition against Latter-day Saints becoming Freemasons. Later that year, the Grand Lodge of Utah removed its own ban on Mormon membership so that, in the ensuing years, many Latter-day Saint men have returned to this part of their heritage.
In the novelist's mind: Shugarts says it was not his intention to be a plot spoiler for Brown's sequel. He couldn't do that if he wanted. But he did offer a primer on Masonry and Mormonism for those who will want to explore, as they did with Da Vinci, just how much of what Brown writes is really history.
"I had to push out in every direction possible," Shugarts said in a phone interview from his Connecticut home. "I read five books about Mormon history and thousands of Internet Web sites. I tried to be thorough and fair."
Though he only dedicated four or five pages to Mormons in a 200-page book, he's already heard from unhappy Latter-day Saints who accuse him of misreading or a biased approach to LDS history, a charge he rejects.
"Prior to embarking on my research, I had no particular opinion of Joseph Smith or the details of the founding of the [LDS ]Church," he wrote to one critic. "But I had met a few Mormons and they always impressed me as fine people. After delving into the story of Joseph Smith, I understood a lot more about LDS. I remain impressed that Mormons are fine people."
It will be interesting to see if Brown sees them that way as well. Literski isn't worried.
"He'll weave a good conspiracy," Literski says, "but no matter how inventive Dan Brown gets in terms of the connection, he will fall short of just how deep
that story does go."
Even in Smith's day, there were Masons who believed the legends were historical truth and saw Freemasonry as a deeply spiritual, mystical quest. Other, more sophisticated members, discounted the old stories, wanting to refocus it along the lines of a charitable and benevolent institution.
The Smiths were about as far into mysticism as you can get, Literski says. "Joseph was rebuilding Solomon's temple with all the legendary baggage that came along with that."
Seeing the relationship between the two groups forces Mormons like Literski to revise his ideas about how God interacts with a prophet.
"You cannot understand what is going on in Joseph's mind unless you can know what he is seeing, hearing, feeling and touching," he says. "That gives me a stronger position of faith than would this idea that revelation is ex nihilo. Joseph was not a puppet."
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Contact Peggy Fletcher Stack at pstack@sltrib.com or 801-257-8725. Send comments on this article to religioneditor@sltrib.com.
I surmised the truth would be established through two witnesses, and I would trust there would be congregational confirmation on such important changes, moreso if the new 'truth' was contrary to previous teachings.
Maybe I'm just not all that familiar with all the nuances and interpretations, if there are supposed to be any private interpretations.
Not knocking anyone personally for their beliefs -- just questioning the wisdom and the process of altering the course and placing obstacles in a well-trodden path.
Your post sums up perfectly what I always try to say in my own inept way.
When Christ came, he referred back to the writings of the Old Testament in support of His divinity and His message. If the Mormons could show evidence Biblically of their prophesied coming, I'd be more inclined to believe them. There is not one thing, not one shred of evidence that the Church would be taken from Earth, then re-established in one young 14 year-old farmboy. There is nothing in the Bible to support their claim.
Good post, Eastbound.
Thanks, bonfire.
>> It does seem strange to me … a new 'teaching' would come forth
>>through the witness of one person un-announced and un-related to
>>the main body of Christians who have carried the weight of
>>Christianity during those centuries -- a body whose devotion to
>>their task cost them dearly.
>> I surmised the truth would be established through two witnesses,
Eastbound, Moses established “New Truth, and he started alone, and then was given Aaron, to be his mouthpiece.
Joseph Smith was only the first there were more witnesses.
The three witnesses: http://scriptures.lds.org/bm/thrwtnss.
The Eight witnesses http://scriptures.lds.org/bm/eghtwtns.
Joseph smith also gave his own testimony: http://scriptures.lds.org/bm/jsphsmth.
Moses a prophet who made massive changes to the Jewish faith, indeed Jesus was a Jew and for most of his life was considered to be in obedience to the Law of Moses (He did some things during his ministry that some would argue about) Moses first encounter with the burning bush was only witnessed by him. He was the only one testifying of it until others believing on his word received a witness (Aaron, for example) I could show more examples, but I believe it is not uncommon for prophets in the Old testament to be “Called” in private, and confirmed in public. Can you show me where it says a Prophet’s calling should come in public?
If you are a true seeker after understanding, I will be glad to have a conversation with you. And will answer any question that I know the answer to. (I do not claim to know everything :-)
“Churches are hospitals for sinners, not sanctuaries for saints” – Unknown.
You asked,
"Can you show me where it says a Prophet’s calling should come in public?"
"Luke 16:16:
"16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it." (Italics mine.)
I think the scripture speaks for itself. THE kingdom is not of this world, but can be pressed into here and now for Christ is the presense of God, continually.
And He is continually in His temple, which we are. That is Good News!
Wise men still seek Him, for they believe He can be found. Then belief can turn to knowledge, for the knowledge of Jesus Christ and He who sent Him is eternal life.
Greater is He that is within you than that which is in the world.
But first, belief. Acting on that belief with the inward search is the activity of faith -- works. And faith/works is rewarded. It is a personal experience, forsaking all others.
Difficult to do these days, when so much and so many are vieing for our time and attention, as in . . . 'Lo, Christ is here . . . Lo, Christ is there . . .' ;)
Best wishes to you, DelphiUser.
Actuall, Dale Brown dodges the question of the empty tomb, but for the most part casts Christ as the pretender to throne of Israel. That is a bit of a rewrite if you ask me.
Not that I really care.
>>Luke 16:16 ...
>>I think the scripture speaks for itself. THE kingdom is
>>not of this world, but can be pressed into here and now
>>for Christ is the presense of God, continually.
Did you read the rest of the chapter? The scriptures when firs written by the Apostles were not divided into verse, but in paragraph form in letters, the Catholic Church centuries later divided them into scriptures, and numbered them. If you read from 1 to 16 you see that Christ was teaching that the law of Moses was fulfilled in him (which is why we Christians do not keep it today).
This reference does not address the calling of a prophet, unless you meant there were to be no other prophets called? Is that your point?
Even John the Baptist had a last-minute doubt as to the function of his office, wondering if they should look to one other than Jesus as the Messiah, as apparently Jesus was not performing to their expectations. Yes, the Baptist was the last prophet who spoke in the third person, by the Spirit.
Since then, God spoke/speaks to man face to face in the first person. Jesus never said, 'thus saith the Lord,' or 'thus sayeth the Spirit. He said, 'I say unto you . . .,' as the one with the authority of the Father.
Since the church has grown by the hundreds of thousands and millions since then, what is the need for prophets of God when we have God Himself? (Whosever will)
I thought the message of the Gospel was clear. Why emulate or imitate the practices of those who were under the law if you have been set free? Why substitute one form for another when the function does not require that form?
Of course, there is a distinction between a prophet and a teacher, as a teacher is also referred to as a prophet, but not in the same sense as the prophets of old who were the spokespersons of God on Earth in their day.
Again, my point is that God speaks for himself in, to, and through mankind. That was the reason for installing the mind of Christ in mankind. The mediator, the step-down transformer, if you will, between man and the Father within you. Immanuel -- God with us and in us!
A statement that will raise a few eyebrows, I'm sure, . . . and cause some to throw rocks at me. :)
Muhammud didn't understand it either, desiring to be the last prophet of God.
I also belong to the Masons. Unless someone belongs, how can they understand what they are talking about? When someone does not understand often assumptions are made.
No man who ever put up his petition to The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jackob did so in vain.
God has always answered prayers.
Peter received some of the most beautiful, and useful revelations for the church after Christ had ascended to heaven.
The church is not only in you (as faith) but a sociopolitical structure upon the face of the earth to preach his word. (As was his command http://scriptures.lds.org/matt/16/18#18 and http://scriptures.lds.org/mark/16/15#15) To say that we need no leaders is to call Christianity anarchy, God Forbid.
There are commandments, there are doctrines, these must be established in a way that those who no not of Christ can learn of them. This is one of the purposes of “The Church”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints nicknamed Mormons has a three-fold mission:
1. Perfect the saints.
2. Preach the gospel.
3. Redeem the dead.
God has always organized his church with a prophet at the lead, God has never said he no longer would organize a church. God does not change. Peter’s leadership, the writing of the inspired work called the Bible, the calling of additional Apostles, proves Luke 16:16 was not meant to be there will be no more prophets, no more church structure.
Again I ask, Can you show me where it says a Prophet’s calling should come in public?
The joke is that the literal rituals and signs themselves aren't "secret," inasmuch as they have been virtually in the public domain almost since the beginning of public Masonry in 1717. I always say that it's one thing to merely read our degree work; it's quite another to go through it as an initiate or participant, and learn the ineffable secrets which belong to the Brother in Lodge alone.
Does the LDS consider Muhammad as a prophet?
>>Do the LDS consider Muhammad as a prophet?
A: No. He never showed the fruits. (By their fruits ye shall know them http://scriptures.lds.org/matt/7/20#20)
Exactly. The experience of Freemasonry has changed my life for the better. The degree work is more profound than ever expected now almost 25 years ago. Each year I appreciate the significance more; growing older and hopefully wiser.
Strange and unBiblical. Even the Scripture used to justify it does not apply to the current practice. You are practicing proxy baptism, not baptising the dead.
>>Redeem the dead.
>>Strange and unBiblical. Even the Scripture used to justify it does not
>>apply to the current practice. You are practicing proxy baptism, not
>>baptising the dead.
Proxy Work is Biblical, or don't you believe in the atonement. When the Early Christians, and Jews practiced Baptism for the dead, Christ mentioned that practice himself, (http://scriptures.lds.org/1_cor/15/29#29) If you look at Mathew 8, 9 and 13 (http://scriptures.lds.org/matt/8/8#8) Christ and the centurion understand authority and Proxy work indeed the “Proxy” which is used in stock voting, and “Power of Attorney” are descendants of the Christian understanding of Proxy.
Corinthians exactly, refers to this type of work, as can be proven by the beliefs of the sects at the time Christ made his statement. Do you believe the phrases were digging up dead bodies and baptizing them? God forbid any such unholy and impure practice.
1Co 15:29 Otherwise, what will they do, those being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not at all raised, why indeed are they baptized on behalf of the dead?
It's difficult to determine whether this is simply a logical vehicle based on a Corinthian practice rather than a Christian practice. Oddly, it only appears once in the entire Bible. Anyway, Mormons practice proxy membership, not baptism in the sense of the text. The practice does not symbolically cleanse sin in the same way as Baptism. Mormons use it to seal to the church, much like a Methodist litany for church membership.
Mat 8:8
(8) The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my boy will be healed.
The boy is sick, not dead. I don't get that one. Jesus says he is healed and he is healed.
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