[Jukeman]

Not that I have anything against Masons but Mormonism sounds a lot like the Masons when one considers the secret rituals. But of course, the Masonic organization is not considered a religion and maybe neither should Mormonism.

[katana]

It is my understanding that Joseph Smith dabbled in Masonry, found it not to his liking, and then took their secret and arcane rituals into his new religion almost wholesale. So the parallels are real and not at all accidental. For Smith the rituals and their bonding effect on the participants were just to good to not copy and use.

And one has to point out that being encouraged much less permitted to have and bed a serial string of younger and younger wives also lent a certain attraction to most male acolytes. It is still a practice in Islam, although the "legal limit" is four (a limit overcome by having "temporary" wives and concubines of any number).