Joseph Smith and the Masons Author(S): Kenneth W

Joseph Smith and the Masons Author(s): Kenneth W. Godfrey Source: Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (1908-1984), Vol. 64, No. 1 (Spring, 1971), pp. 79-90 Published by: University of Illinois Press on behalf of the Illinois State Historical Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40190839 . Accessed: 20/12/2013 13:31

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This content downloaded from 129.170.195.144 on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 13:31:34 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Joseph Smith and the Masons

KENNETH W. GODFREY

members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, before their arrival in Illinois, had lived through a bitter experience in Missouri. They had seen government officials join what they con- sidered to be an effort to thrust them from that state. Upon their arrival in Illinois, they petitioned for Masonic charters as a deliberate attempt, perhaps, to prevent a recurrence of the Missouri experience. Many high government officials in Illinois, including members of the judiciary, were Masons, and it would have been logical, therefore, for the Mormons to be drawn to the Masonic order as a fraternal organization bound by oath to defend its members. The enthusiastic acceptance of Masonry on the part of Latter-day Saints and the introduction of a new religious ceremony into their church by founder Joseph Smith led, however, to some of the difficultiesthat arose between the Mormons and the non-Mormons in Illinois. Shortly after becoming a Mason, the Prophet1introduced the "secret- sacred" church ceremony referred to as "the endowment,"2which had striking similarities to Masonic rites. This ceremony caused Masons

i. Hereafter the term "the Prophet" will refer to Joseph Smith, unless otherwise designated. 2. Endowment is the word used to describe the temple ceremony of the Mormons. For a discussion of the endowment, see James E. Talmadge, The House of the Lord . . . (19 12; Salt Lake City: Bookcraft Publishers, 1962).

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Kenneth W. Godfrey is division coordinator of Latter-day Saints Seminaries and Institutes for Arizona and New Mexico with headquarters in Tempe, Arizona. He received the Bachelor of Science degree in political science and history from Utah State University in 1958 and the Master of Science degree in the same field from Utah State in 7959. Brigham Young University awarded him the Ph.D. degree in history of religion in ig6g. He has been published in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, the Improvement Era, Instructor, BYU Studies, and the Utah Historical Quarterly. Dr. Godfrey is a member of several academic and professional fraternities and serves on the board of directors of the Mormon History Association to accuse the Mormon leader of breaking the covenants he had made when initiated into the Masonic order. Joseph Smith, in reply, said that the endowment was older than Masonry and had been revealed anew through him and that Masonry was merely a corruption of the original endowment. Thus each group accused the other of misrepre- senting the true origin and meaning of the ritual. A clear understanding of what transpired between Mormons and Masons in Illinois during those troublesome years 1839- 1846 will il- luminate at least in part one reason the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints settled in the Rocky Mountain West. Joseph Smith spent most of his early life in New York, which had been fraught with Masonic tumult.3 There he undoubtedly heard much talk about this secret society and by 1830 was probably familiar with its organization and rites. Such a probability led S. H. Goodwin in his study of Mormonism and Masonry to conclude: The first contact of Mormonism with Masonry antedated the Nauvoo period by somewhat more than fifteen years. In fact the present writer is convinced that the years which saw the preparation and publication of the Golden Bible of this new faith also witnessed the very material prenatal influence of Masonry upon Mormonism, proof of which lies thickly sprinkled over the pages of the Book of Mormon.4 3. For more information on the reasons for the difficulties between New York citizens and the Masons, see Mark W. Cannon, "The Crusades against the Masons, Catholics, and Mormons: Separate Waves of a Common Current," Brigham Young University Studies, 3 (Winter, 1961), 23-40. 4. S. H. Goodwin, Mormonism and Masonry: A Utah Point of View (Salt Lake City:

This content downloaded from 129.170.195.144 on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 13:31:34 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions KENNETH W. GODFREY 8l Other writers have argued that reference to secret societies in Mormon scripture is a result of Masonic disclosures in New York during the late 1820's. They cite as an example the reference to Master Mahan as being a thinly veiled disguise of Master Mason.5 Joseph Smith's own brother, Hyrum, became a Mason at Victor, New York, in 1827, and Heber C. Kimball, an early Mormon apostle, joined and received the first three degrees of Freemasonry at Milnor as early as 1823. Kimball claimed that even before he was a Mormon he had been driven from his home by mobs on five occasions because of his Masonic associations.6 Helen, his daughter, reports, "I remember once, when but a young girl, of getting a glimpse of the outside of the Morgan book7 exposing Masonry but which my father always kept locked up."8 William W. Phelps, an early Mormon writer and publisher, had, before joining the Mormon church, served a term in prison because of his opposition to the Masons. Author of at least two anti-Masonic newspapers, one in Trumansburg, New York, called the Lake Light, and another in Canandaigua, New York, named the Ontario Phoenix, Grand Lodge F. & A.M., 1925), p. 38. Another student of Mormonism and Masonry, Jack Adamson, concluded that the beginnings of Mormonism, including the story of Joseph Smith's visiting a hill and being given Golden Plates by an angel and then being attacked on the way home with the plates, is filled with what he calls "clangs" or parallelisms. See Jack Adamson, "The Treasure of the Widow's Son," TS, Harvard University Library, p. 10. 5. Master Mahon is a term used in the book of Moses in Mormon scripture; it refers to Cain the brother of Abel. See Moses 5:31. See also George B. Arbaugh, Revelation in Mormonism (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1932); Oliver B. Huntington, "Diary of Oliver B. Huntington," TS, L.D.S. Church Historian's Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, p. 12. 6. Orson F. Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball (Salt Lake City: Stevens & Wallis, Inc., 1945), pp. 11-12. 7. After publishing a book in which he revealed the Masonic ritual, William Morgan is said to have been abducted and murdered in Batavia, N.Y. The story first broke in the Wayne (N.Y.) Sentinel, Oct. 13, 1826. For several months thereafter almost every issue devoted some space to the subject of Masonry. James C. Bilderback, "Masonry and Mormonism in Nauvoo, 1841-1847," Thesis State University of Iowa 1957, states that there is still some question as to whether or not Morgan was actually murdered by the Masons. Morgan's widow married G. W. Harris while he lived in the Prophet's home. She later became a plural wife of Joseph Smith's. See Benjamin F. Johnson, My Life's Review (Kansas City, Mo.: Zion's Printing and Publishing Company, 1947), p. 61; Lee County Democrat (Dixon, 111.), Oct. 1, 1842. 8. Helen Mar Whitney, "Scenes and Incidents in Nauvoo," Woman's Exponent, 10 (n.d.), 26.

This content downloaded from 129.170.195.144 on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 13:31:34 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 82 JOSEPH SMITH AND THE MASONS Phelps had a broad background and solid acquaintance with Masonic history and practice.9 Thus he was in a position to influence the Mor- mon prophet, Joseph Smith. Some of the other members of the church who belonged to Masonfc lodges were Newel K. Whitney, second presiding bishop of the church; John C. Bennett, first mayor of Nauvoo; George Miller, bishop of & Nauvoo ward;10 Lucius N. Scovil, leader of the Nauvoo Masonic lodge; John Smith, Joseph Smith's uncle; Austin Cowles; Noah Rogers; and James Adams.11 The number of Masons in the church, together with Joseph Smith's close association with Phelps, leads to the conclusion that the Prophet and other Mormons were undoubtedly acquainted with some aspects of the Masonic ceremony before they settled in Illinois.12 At Nauvoo, however, their Masonic activities caused them difficulty for the first time. Other aspects of Mormonism had caused friction in other places, but in Hancock County, Masonry was a unique source of contention. The first Masonic lodge in Illinois was founded at Kaskaskia in 1805, held its first meeting in December of that same year, and was finally granted a charter on June 2, 1806. Delegates from the Masonic lodges throughout the state met in December, 1822, and elected Governor Shadrach Bond as their grand master. Because of anti-Masonic feeling18 this lodge became dormant in 1828. With the disintegrationof the anti- Masonic party after 1832, Masonry gradually made a comeback. By 1835 feeling had subsided to some extent and a second grand lodge 9. The National Observer (Washington, D.C.), March 28, 1828; Walter Dean Bowen, "The Versatile W. W. Phelps-Mormon Writer, Educator and Pioneer," Thesis Brigham Young University 1958, p. 7; Geauga Gazette (Chardon, Ohio), May 1, 1832. 10. Ward is the term used by Mormons to designate their congregations. Wards are presided over by a bishop and usually have between five hundred and one thousand members. 11. Handwritten copy of proceedings of Masonic meeting, 1844, by Henry Sherwood, found in the Unclassified Letter File, L.D.S. Church Historian's Library. 12. Brigham Henry Roberts, a noted L.D.S. historian, argues that since the contents of the books of Abraham and Moses were revealed before Joseph Smith became a Mason, there cannot be any connection between the endowment and Masonic ritual. But of these Joseph Smith could have been familiar with Masonic rites before the contents two books were revealed to him. Bnon 13. The reasons for such anti-Masonic feeling are discussed in depth in David Davis, "Some Themes of Counter-Subversion: An Analysis of Anti-Masonic, Anti-Catholic, and Anti-Mormon Literature," Mississippi Valley Historical Review, 47 (i960), 205-24.

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was petitioned for in Quincy. The charter for that lodge was granted on April 6, 1840. Abraham Jonas, a prominent Illinois Jewish politician, was elected grand master of the second lodge. In 1840 Masonic mem- bership in Illinois and the United States was 157 and 2,072 respectively. In the early summer of 1841, after considerable urging by Judge James Adams, a number of Mormon Masons petitioned Bodley Lodge at Quincy for permission to establish a lodge at Nauvoo.14 This petition was apparently signed by all the known Masons in the church. It was refused on the ground that these persons were unknown to the Quincy lodge as Masons, but on October 15, 1841, a recess dispensation was granted by Jonas, the newly elected grand master, to George Miller, John D. Parker, and L. N. Scovil. The Masons in Nauvoo began to hold meetings almost immediately. These meetings were conducted early in the morning one day a week. According to the minutes, kept by secretaryJohn C. Bennett, the dues were fifty cents a week. Another twenty-five cents was added to the regular dues if a member was late.15 Jonas was running for political office when he granted the dispensa- 14. Dr. James J. Tyler, John Cook Bennett (n.p., n.d.). A copy of this pamphlet, a reprinting from the proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Ohio, is found in the Utah Historical Society Library, Salt Lake City. 15. Bennett's last minutes were dated May 6, 1842. For an account of Bennett's conflict with the Prophet, see Joseph Smith, History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . . . , Introduction and notes by B. H. Roberts (1902-19 12; 2nd ed., rev. 7 vols., Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1948-1951), V, 3-5.

This content downloaded from 129.170.195.144 on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 13:31:34 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 84 JOSEPH SMITH AND THE MASONS tion and perhaps thought his act would give him the Mormon vote. There was nothing irregular in his granting the dispensation, however. In his paper, the Columbia Advocate, Jonas published an account of the installation of the Nauvoo lodge, which took place the winter of 1842. While at Nauvoo I had a fine opportunity of seeing the people in a body. There; was a Masonic celebration, and the Grand Master of the state was present for the purpose of publicly installing the officers of a new lodge. An immense number of persons assembled on the occasion, variously estimated from five to ten thousand persons, and never in my life did I witness a better-dressed or more orderly and well-behaved assemblage; . . . and the display of taste and beauty among the females could not well be surpassed anywhere.16 Joseph Smith became a Master Mason on March 15, 1842. As a part of his initiation he swore that he was entering the Masonic order of his own volition and with pure motives, and also pledged that his motive for joining the order was to be of service to his fellow men. He was told that his entrance into the Masons would affect neither his religion nor his politics.17 He then promised to ever conceal and never reveal any parts, art or arts, point or points, of the secret arts and mysteriesof ancient Freemasonry,which he was going to receive, except to brother Masons or within a body of just and lawfully constituted lodges. He further pledged that he would not take part in initiating, passing, or raising a candidate at one communication without a regular dispensation from the grand master lodge. He swore further that he would never initiate a woman into the lodge. (Probably because a few Mormon women received their endowments, the Masons charged the Prophet with violating this oath.) He also said that he would not violate the chastity of a Master Mason's wife, mother, sister, or daughter, knowing them to be such, nor suffer it to be done by others if in his power to prevent such an action. When Nancy Rigdon, Sarah Pratt, and others accused Smith of trying to "seduce" them, he was charged with disregarding his Masonic covenants. The Mormon leader main- 16. Quoted in Robert Glenn Cole, Masonic Gleanings (n.p.: Kable Printing Company, 1956), PP. 190-92. 17. "Description of the Ceremonies Used in Opening the Nauvoo Lodge of Entered in that Apprentice Masons" (n.p., n.d.). The ceremonies are dated March 15, 1842, document. The owner of the document wishes to remain anonymous. It is probable

This content downloaded from 129.170.195.144 on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 13:31:34 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions KENNETH W. GODFREY 85 tained that he had faithfully kept his promise because he had not at- tempted to entice Mrs. Pratt, and had proposed marriage, not seduction, to Miss Rigdon.18 James Cummings, one of the Prophet's intimate friends and a Master Mason, officiated in the Mormon leader's initiation ceremony, and later stated that to his surprise and pleasure Joseph Smith seemed "to understandsome of the features of the ceremony better than any Mason and that he made explanations that rendered the rites much more beautiful and full of meaning."19 Only a few Mormons were opposed to Masonry. One opponent was William W. Phelps, and another was editor-publisher Ebenezer Robin- son, who wrote, "Heretofore the church had strenuouslyopposed secret societies . . . but after Dr. [John CJ Bennett came into th^/Church a great change of sentiment seemed to take place."20 In spite of some opposition the new Nauvoo lodge was very active because of the influence of the Mormon leaders. Within five months the Nauvoo lodge initiated 256 candidates and raised 243 more, six times the number of initiations and elevations from all the other lodges in the state com- bined. The strengthof the Nauvoo lodge seems to have arousedjealousy, and rumors circulated that Mormons were becoming Masons so as to completely dominate the Masonic organization of the state. On May 4, 1842, in the upstairs portion of his store, Joseph Smith initiated a ritual which was to become the ceremony for the Mormon temple then under construction. The Masons charged him with violating his sacred Masonic oath and incorporating many of the signs, tokens, penalties, and wording of the Masonic rites into the Mormon sacred covenant. that the document is not authentic, but the vows are not atypical. 18. Affidavit of John W. Rigdon is given in full in Joseph F. Smith and Richard C. Evans, Blood Atonement and the Origin of Plural Marriage (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1905), p. 81. Evidence for Smith's belief that Masons took an oath that they would not violate the chastity of women is his charge that G. M, Nye broke his Masonic oath when he committed adultery with a woman in Nauvoo. Joseph Smith, V, 370- 19. Horace Cummings, "History of Horace Cummings, Mb, bngham Young Uni- versity Library, Provo, Utah. 20. Ebenezer Robinson, "Items of Personal History of the Editor," Return, 1-3 (itttHJ- 1890), 90. This statement is also quoted in Robert B. Flanders, Nauvoo: Kingdom on the Mississippi (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1965), p. 249. Robinson may

This content downloaded from 129.170.195.144 on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 13:31:34 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 86 JOSEPH SMITH AND THE MASONS In an attempt to counteract such charges, the Prophet said that the essential parts of the endowment had been revealed to him by God. Acknowledging some similarity to the Masonic rites, Smith explained that the Masonic ritual was an apostate temple rite. He told Benjamin F. Johnson, for example, "Freemasonry, as at present, is the apostate endowment, as sectarian religion is the apostate religion."21 The rumorsthat Mormon women were being admitted to the Masonic organization grew out of the general misunderstanding of the endowment ceremony. This misconception is understandable in light of what had transpired in the Smith store on May 4. Altogether, before the Saints left Nauvoo, about 5,669 of them, both men and women, received their endowments.22There seems to be no evidence, however, that women were initiated into the Masonic order. The officers of the new Nauvoo lodge were George Miller, Hyrum Smith, Lucius Scovil, William Clayton, Newel K. Whitney, Charles Al- len, Heber C. Kimball, William Felshaw, Hyrum Clark, Samuel Rolfe, Asahel Perry, Daniel S. Miles, and Hezekiah Peck. Under the leader- ship of these men the Mormons recruited, in the space of five months, about five Masons a day. According to Joseph E. Morcombe, the Saints were "finding in the plan of the lodge something which could be bent to their own uses . . . and at once overstepped the bounds of prudence."28 On August 6, 1842, a Mormon Masonic lodge was initiated in Montrose, Iowa, and soon Masonic temples were under construction both in Illi- nois and Iowa Territory. At a grand lodge meeting held in 1842 at Jacksonville, Jonas reported the granting of dispensations to brethren at Nauvoo, Illinois, and at Montrose in Iowa Territory. The committee on returns reported that the work of the Rising Sun Lodge (Montrose) was correct, and recom- C. be at least partially incorrect: a number of Mormons were Masons before John Bennett came into the church; Bennett, however, may have initiated the great surge in Masonic activity that engulfed the Mormon capital. 21. Johnson, p. 96. _ thousand Mor- 22. Joseph Smith, VII, xxv. George B, Arbaugh states that twelve mons received their endowments before the Saints left Nauvoo. He is obviously incorrect. Illinois There were only fourteen thousand Mormons, including children, in the entire region. Brigham H. Roberts's figures seem more in accordance with the population. A Record and a ot 23- Joseph E. Morcombe, "Masonry and Mormonism: btudy Kvents in Illinois and Iowa Transpiring between the Years 1840 and 1846," New Age, a (1905), 45i-

This content downloaded from 129.170.195.144 on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 13:31:34 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions "CROSSING MISSISSIPPI" Mural by Lynn Fausett, Visitor's Reception Center, Salt Lake City mended the granting of their charter, which was ordered done. But the lodge at Nauvoo was under investigation, and there was heated debate about its activities. As a result, the grand lodge appointed a committee of three to examine the books and papers of the Nauvoo lodge. After several days this committee reported that though the papers were in order, the Nauvoo lodge should be suspended because something might be wrong. At this time Jonas made a "flaming speech on behalf of the Nauvoo lodge in which he said they were the clearest books and papers that had been brought from any lodge."24 He firmly believed, he said, that if the Nauvoo Masons "were not Mormons that lodge would stand the highest of any lodge." H. G. Sherwood, the Mormon delegate, took the floor after Jonas and said that he had "long been of the opinion it was by reason of being Mormons that we are kept at arms length."25 Following a prolonged debate Jonas appointed a committee to study the matter further and examine these irregularities: 1i ) balloting for more than one applicant at one and the same time, (2) eliminating the privilege of balloting for or against an applicant, (3) receiving applicants into the organization on the basis that they reform and make restitution in the future, and (4) making Joseph Smith a Master Mason on sight. After an investigation the committee reported: There is some reason to fear that the intention and ancient landmarks of our institution have been departed from to an inexcusable extent. The facts of the case, however, your committee are of the opinion, can only be satisfactorily ex-

24. Handwritten copy of the proceedings of this meeting made by Henry Sherwood, dated Nauvoo, 1844, Unclassified Letter File, L.D.S. Church Historian's Library. 25. Ibid.

This content downloaded from 129.170.195.144 on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 13:31:34 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 88 JOSEPH SMITH AND THE MASONS plained by careful inspection of the whole proceeding. Such a course, your committee believes, is due as well to the brethren of Nauvoo as to the grand lodge and craft generally. Should our fears prove groundless, as the committee hope they will, none will be more benefited by the investigation than the lodge under consideration.26 Following additional debate, the injunction suspending the activities of the Nauvoo lodge was continued until the next regular communication of the grand lodge. A special committee was appointed to examine the original minutes of the Nauvoo Masonic organization and to inquire further into the alleged irregularitiesand charges of misconduct. When the majority of this special committee reported, its spokesman said that the Nauvoo lodge was not an autonomous group but a recog- nized part of the religious community. Its hall was a public building, and its accounts passed, like several other quasi-public funds, through the hands of the governing authorities of the church. (The Iowa Ma- sonic Library has preserved a daybook used by Joseph Smith in keeping track of various accounts. A thorough perusal of the daybook does not substantiate the Masonic charge. There are, it is true, a number of entries involving the Masonic order, but they are for goods purchased by the order from Joseph Smith's store or for people to whom he owed money requesting that he pay their dues to the fraternity and credit their accounts with the payments.27) The majority of the committee also found that the grand master had been indiscreet in conferring a great Masonic honor on Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon. A minority of the committee reported that they felt no irregularities existed and recommended that the Nauvoo lodge, which had been functioning under a temporary dispensation, be given a charter at once. A special meeting was held on July 16, 1842, to consider the case, and on August 11 the lodge was suspended. The suspension seems to have been based on the irregularities that might have existed and on the fear that the growing Mormon lodge would soon dominate the entire Masonic organization of the state. That this fear was not un- grounded becomes evident when the number of Masons in each lodge is examined. Bodley lodge had 25 members; Harmony, 23; Springfield, 43; Columbus, 16; Macon, 22; Joliet, 25; Rushville, 20; Western Star, 26. Morcombe, pp. 448-49. 27. Ibid., p. 451.

This content downloaded from 129.170.195.144 on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 13:31:34 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions KENNETH W. GODFREY 89 23; Case, 12; Saint Johns, 10; and Warren, 8. All of the non-Mormon Masons in Illinois totaled about 227, whereas Mormon Masons by Janu- ary, 1843, totaled 330. If all Mormon Masons both in Illinois and Iowa are counted, then there were 506 Mormons involved in Masonry. If elections had been held on a one-to-one basis, Mormons would have held the balance of power. James C. Bilderback, himself a Mason, has concluded that the charges against the Mormons were minor of- fenses, of which many other lodges were guilty. Therefore, he argues, fear of Mormon domination of the Masonic order was probably the primary factor in the decision to suspend the Nauvoo lodge.28 The suspension of their dispensation was accepted by the Nauvoo Mormons without hesitation, and all activities ceased immediately. Following an extended inspection, the grand lodge removed the injunction and again authorized the Nauvoo lodge to operate under dispensation. The grand master, furthermore, granted additional dispensations in Nauvoo and another for a lodge at Keokuk. It seems that these dispensationswere granted as a result of the 1842 Illinois election in which the Mormons displayed great political power. The dispensation, it was believed, would placate Mormon political am- bitions. Many of the state's leading politicians were Masons, and it was evident by this time that the Mormon vote could aid a candidate in obtaining a political office. A number of Masons in Illinois were still not in agreement with the grand master, however, and continued to work against the Mormons. By April, 1844, these anti-Mormon Masons had enough power to fore- stall dispensations for two new lodges, requested by George Watt and Horace Eldridge.29In October, 1844, only four months after the death of Joseph Smith, the grand lodge resolved that all fellowship with predominantly Mormon lodges be withdrawn. Masonic associations in these lodges were declared clandestine, and all members were suspended. Even the Rising Sun Lodge at Montrose, whose practices had never been questioned- indeed its activities were usually commended- had its charter revoked. The reason for the suspensionswas the anti-Mormon feeling that swept the state of Illinois.

28. Bilderback, p. 65. 29. Diary of Horace Eldridge, April 6, 1844, MS, L.D.S. Church Historian's Library.

This content downloaded from 129.170.195.144 on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 13:31:34 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions BRIGHAM YOUNG (Photographs used with this article, courtesy, Nauvoo Restoration, Inc.) On April 10, 1845, Brigham Young advised Scovil to suspend the work of the Masons in Nauvoo, but meetings were still being held in June. Activities were probably not suspended completely until after the general exodus of the Saints to the West.30 It is evident that what seemed to be an overenthusiasmfor Masonry on the part of many Mormons contributed to conflict in Hancock County. Alleged Mormon imitation of parts of the Masonic ritual also aroused antagonism, as did the charges that the Mormon leader had violated his Masonic oaths. Nevertheless, it is likely that the Masons did help the Mormon cause. It is also likely that Joseph Smith and others desired the brotherhood and fellowship that this fraternity offered and that there was nothing more to Mormon Masonic involvement than this. If a conspiratorial approach is taken, however, it may be true that the Mormons really did want to control the politics of Illinois and were using the Masons in an attempt to do so. Additional evidence would have to be found, however, to substantiate such a view. Regardless of the reason or reasons for Masonic activity, it was finally a detriment to the Saints and contributed to the increasing hostility they faced in Illinois.

30. Juanita Brooks, ed., On the Mormon Frontier: The Diary of Hosea Stout (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1964), I, 18, n. 41.

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