MASONRY & THE MORMON TEMPLE CEREMONY

Few Mormons realize that the LDS temple ceremony is not of ancient origin, nor of modern revelation. Instead, the ceremony originated around 1790 when the Masons first conceived it for use in their secret society. Until 1990 the Mormon Temple Ceremony closely resembled the Masonic Initiators Ceremony, signs, tokens and penalties included. I never made the connection between Masonry and Mormonism until I began a serious study of the Mormon temple ceremony.

In 1827 Capt. W. M. Morgan, a disillusioned Mason, published a book entitled Freemasonry Exposed, which reveals a detailed description of their ceremonies in word and illustration. Because of this exposé, Morgan was murdered three months later by members of his lodge. After Morgan's death, his widow, Lucinda Pendleton Morgan, a very pretty and intelligent woman married George W. Harris on January 12, 1831. While married to Harris, Lucinda became one of the first plural wives of the prophet Joseph Smith in 1838. It seems likely that Smith married her while living at the Harris home. This circumstance would seem to corroborate the story of Mrs. Sarah Pratt, who related in an interview with W. Wyl, "Mrs. Harris was a married lady, a very great friend of mine. When Joseph made his dastardly attempt on me [in 1842], I went to Mrs. Harris to unbosom my grief to her. To my utter astonishment, she said, laughing heartily: "How foolish you are! Why, I am his mistress since four years.'" (No Man Knows My History by Fawn Brodie, p. 460.)

Mormon leaders proclaim that the temple endowment was given to Joseph Smith by revelation, but after reading the book Freemasonry Exposed, I seriously questioned the validity of the Church's claim. After reading only a few pages of the book I could see the unmistakable similarities between the Masonic Initiation Ceremony and the Mormon Temple Ceremony.

Joseph Smith became a Mason on March 15, 1842 and rose to the sublime degree the following day. This initiation took place in his upper business office or Masonic lodge room (History of the Church, vol. 4, p. 550-551). Only a few weeks after Joseph's initiation into Masonry, he taught the other LDS Church leaders in the same Masonic lodge room. Joseph's interest in Masonry became so infectious that many Mormon elders hastened to follow his lead, and within six months the lodge had 286 candidates. He gave instructions on the principles and order of the Priesthood, attending to washings, anointing, endowments, and the communication of keys. (Ibid. vol. 5, p. 2) There is no doubt that Joseph's primary interest in Masonry was because of its ritual. Like Solomon, he became a temple builder. Joseph Smith's own temple records indicate his temple endowment took place on May 4, 1842, just seven weeks after his Masonic initiation. In Smith's own words he said: "In the evening I received the first degree in Freemasonry in the Nauvoo Lodge." The next day he stated: "I was with the Masonic Lodge and rose to the sublime degree." This qualified Joseph to be a Master Mason. (Ibid. 1842 vol. 4, p. 552)

Joseph Smith Sr., Joseph Smith Jr., Hyrum Smith, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Newel K. Whitney, John C. Bennett, John Taylor, Sidney Rigdon, and other Mormons were Masons. Shortly after their temple endowment ceremonies, Joseph Smith Jr. and other Mormons were expelled from the Masonic order for violating their oaths. It was May 4, 1842 that Joseph Smith introduced the Masonic Ceremony as the Mormon Temple Ceremony and declared that it was "received as a revelation from God." (History of the Church, vol. 5, pp. 1-2)

When Dr. Reed Durham, director of the LDS Institute of Religion, made this discovery in 1974 and gave a speech on the subject of the Mormon-Mason connection before the Utah History Association on April 20, 1974, he was highly criticized for making this matter public. He also showed the Jupiter talisman during that speech, and explained that Joseph had carried it on his person since 1826 (the same year he was convicted of money-digging charges and being a believer in magic), and that he had the Jupiter talisman on him at the time of his death. The talisman contains symbols relating to astrology and magic, and there were other magical items discovered at the same time that belonged to Hyrum Smith.

Although most Mormon historians do not mention these facts in their church-authorized writings (including Mormon deception, intimidation, repression, theft, and violence as well as other matters that might call into question the sacred nature and integrity of the Mormon experience), they have to admit that the endowment ceremony contains many details that are similar to the Masonic initiation rites of the 1800's, especially since Joseph became a Mason such a short time prior to the "revelation."

Similarities Between the Masonic Temple Ceremony and the Mormon Temple Ceremony, Nauvoo, Ill.

1) Masonic Preparation Room The candidate is ushered into the preparation room where he meets the Junior Deacon and Stewards who divest him of all his clothing except his shirt. He is then handed an old pair of drawers, which he puts on.

Mormon Dressing Room The initiate is divested of all his clothing, and then directed to the washing and anointing dressing rooms where he eventually puts on a special pair of under garments.

2) Masonic Compass The candidate then enters, the Senior Deacon at the same time pressing his naked left breast with the point of the compass.

Mormon Compass The point of the compass is sewn into the left [breast] of the garment.

3) Masonic Square As the candidate enters, the angle of the square is pressed hard against his naked right breast.

4) Masons Washing Ceremony Master orders the basin of the perfumed water and a clean napkin to be brought to him, and directs candidate to wash his hands, which he does...Master takes a box of perfumed ointment and anoints candidate on his head, eyes, mouth, heart, the tip of his right ear, hand, foot, and says - "You are now, my dear brother, received a member of our society."

Mormon Washing Ceremony The initiate is washed, and various organs of his body (head, lips, breast, ears, hand and feet, etc.) are anointed with holy consecrated oil.

5) Masons Presenting New Name To Candidate "I also present you with a new name; it is CAUTION"

Mormon Temple Worker Presents New Name To Candidate " I give you a new name which you should always remember, and which you must keep sacred, and never reveal ... The name is ____."

6) Man Representing Adam In Masonic Ceremony Thrice Puissant Grand Master, representing Father Adam, is stationed in the east. (This occurs in the Knight of the Sun Degree.)

Man Representing Adam In Mormon Ceremony Elohim -- (Turning to the audience) - "This man who is now being operated upon is Michael who helped form the world. When he awakes ... he will be known as Adam"

7) Man Representing Deity In Masonic Ceremony One of the members now personates the Deity, behind the bush, and calls out "Moses! Moses!" (This occurs in the Royal Arch Degree.)

Man Representing God In Mormon Ceremony A temple worker dressed in white clothing, representing Elohim, comes from behind the curtain.

Mormons Use A Mallet One of the temple workers, ... gives three raps with a mallet.

9) Masonic Penalty Sign Made from the due-guard by dropping the left hand carelessly; at the same time raise the right arm and draw the hand, still open, across the throat, thumb next [to] the throat, and drop the hand perpendicular by the side.

Mormon Penalty Sign "The Execution of the Penalty is represented by placing the thumb under the left ear, the palm of the hand down, and by drawing the thumb quickly across the throat to the right ear, and dropping the hand to the side."

10) Masonic Grip The right hands are joined together as in shaking hands and each sticks his thumb nail into the third joint or upper end of the fore finger.

Mormon Grip The token is giving by clasping the right hands and placing the joint of the thumb directly over the first knuckle of the hand.

11) Masonic Wording Concerning The Grip The Master and candidate holding each other by the grip, as before described, the Master says. "What is this?" Ans. "A grip." "A grip of what?" Ans. "The grip of an Entered Apprentice Mason." "Has it a name?" Ans. "It has." "Will you give it to me?" Ans. "I did not so receive it, neither can I so impart it."

Mormon Wording Concerning The Grip Peter - "What is that?" Adam - "The second token of the Melchizedek Priesthood." Peter - "Has it a name?" Adam - "It has." Peter - "Will you give it to me?" Adam - "I can not, I have not yet received it.

12) Masonic Oath "... binding myself under no less penalty than to have my throat cut across, my tongue torn out by the roots ..."

Mormon Oath "We and each of us, covenant and promise that we will not reveal any secrets of this... Should we do so, we agree that our throats be cut from ear to ear and our tongues torn out by their roots."

13) Masonic Oath "...binding myself under no less penalty than to have my left breast torn open and my heart and vitals taken from thence and thrown over my left shoulder."

Mormon Oath "We and each of us do covenant and promise that we will not reveal the secrets of this ... Should we do so, we agree to have our breasts cut open and our hearts and vitals torn from our bodies "

14) Masonic Penalty Sign "The sign is given by drawing your right hand flat, with the palm of it next to your breast from the left to the right side with some quickness, and dropping it down by your side"

Mormon Penalty Sign "This is the sign. The Execution of the Penalty is represented by drawing the thumb quickly across the body and dropping the hands to the side."

15) Masonic Grip "Take each other's hands as in ordinary hand-shaking and press the top of your thumb hard against the space between the first and second knuckles of the right hand."

Mormon Grip "This token is given by clasping the right hand and placing the joint of the thumb between the first and second knuckles of the hand."

16) Masonic Name Given "Brother, I now present you with my right hand, in token of brotherly love and confidence, and with it the pass-grip and word of a Fellow Craft Mason .... the name of it is Shibboleth."

17) Masonic Sign "The sign is given by raising both hands and arms to the elbows, perpendicular, one each side of the head, the elbows forming a square."

18) Masonic Penalty Sign "The Penal Sign is given by putting the right hand to the left side of the bowels, the hand open, with the thumb next to the belly, and drawing it across the belly, and letting it fall; this is done tolerably quick."

Mormon Penalty Sign "The Execution of the Penalty is represented by placing the right hand on the left breast, drawing the hand quickly across the body, and dropping the hands to the sides."

19) Masonic Oath "binding myself under no less penalty than to have my body severed in two in the midst..."

Mormon Oath "We and each one of us do covenant and promise that we will not reveal any of the secrets of this... Should we do so, we agree that our bodies be cut asunder in the midst and all our bowels gush out."

20) Masonic Grip Grasp each other's right hands very firmly, the spaces between the thumb and first finger being in interlocked and the tops of the fingers being pressed hard against each other's wrist where it joins the hand, the fingers of each being somewhat spread.

Mormon Grip (Slightly Different Method of Grip) The Grip is made by grasping the hand, the forefinger on center of the wrist and little fingers locked.

21) Masonic Grand Hailing Sign And Due Guard The sign is given by raising both hands and arms to the elbows, perpendicularly, one on each side of the head, the elbows forming a square. The due guard is made by holding both hands in front, palms down.

Mormon Pay, Lay, Ale The sign is made by elevating both the arms above the head ... the arms dropped to the square,... and then to the sides.

22) Masonic Apron While the Wardens are examining the candidate, the Master returns to the east and gets an apron, and as he returns to the candidate... The Master then says to the candidate, "Brother, I now have the honor to present you with a lamb-skin or white apron..."

Mormon Apron Adam-- (Turning to the audience)--"Brethren and sisters, put on your apron."

23) Masonic Five-Points of Fellowship as Hiram Abiff's Dead Body is Raised He (the candidate) is raised on what is called the five points of fellowship, which are foot to foot, knee to knee, breast to breast, hand to back and mouth to ear.

Mormon Five-Points of Fellowship at The Veil "The five points of fellowship are "inside of right foot by the side of right foot, knee to knee, breast to breast, hand to back, and mouth to ear."

24) Master Mason Raising Candidate The Master, in raising him, is assisted by some of the brethren, who take hold of the candidate by the arms and shoulders; as soon as he is raised to his feet, they step back, and the Master whispers the word "Mah-Hah-Bone," in his ear, and causes the candidate to repeat it, telling him that he must never give it in any manner other than that in which he receives it. He is told that Mah-Hah-Bone signifies marrow in the bone. They then separate.

Mormon Passing Through The Veil At the five points of fellowship ... one putting his mouth to the other's ear, in which position The Lord whispers: "This is the name of the token: Health in the navel, marrow in the bones, strength in the loins and in the sinews, power in the priesthood be upon me and upon my posterity through all generations of time and throughout all eternity." The patron repeats the token and then they separate...

It may seem surprising that Joseph Smith would incorporate so much Masonry into the endowment ceremony in the very weeks when all his leading men were being inducted into the Masonic lodge. They would have been blind indeed not to see the parallelism between the costuming, the grips, passwords, keys, and oaths. However, Smith covered his bases when he told the men that the endowment ceremony had to be restored to the original and pure form of Adam's time. According to Smith the Masons had corrupted the ceremony originated by God in Solomon's time by removing and changing many parts.

Smith also made free use of other Masonic symbols--the beehive, (Utah is known by Mormons as the Beehive State) the all-seeing eye (which is still visible in the St. George, Utah Tabernacle), the clasped hands, and the point within the circle. The Masonic square and compass are cut into the temple garment on the breast and a slash is made across the knee. There is also a slash in the garment across the abdomen, symbolic of the disemboweling that would be the fate of anyone who reveals the sacred oaths.

Former BYU historian Michael Quinn has done extensive research on rites and ancient mysteries related to occultism. Quinn states, "The following are ten essential characteristics common to both occult rituals and the Mormon Temple ceremony."

1) They are revealed by God from the beginning, but distorted through apostasy. 2) They place an emphasis on the worthiness of initiates. 3) They include washings and anointing, a new name and garments. 4) They emphasize vows of non-disclosure. 5) There are both lesser and greater rituals. 6) They feature presentation of the ritual through drama. 7) They contain an oath of chastity requiring strict purity and virtue of the participants. 8) They feature prominent use of the sun, moon and stars as key symbols. 9) The purpose of the ritual is to assist the mortals to godhood. 10) They employ titles and offices of prophets, priests and kings to those in leadership.

Michael Quinn commented that the ancient occult mysteries and the Mormon endowment manifest both philosophical and structural kinship.

While Mormon apologists have a hard time explaining the fact that the Bible does not support the doctrine of baptism for the dead or temple marriage, they are faced with an even greater problem when they turn to The Book of Mormon. Since The Book of Mormon is supposed to contain the fullness of the gospel, why doesn't it contain even one passage to support either of these two doctrines? It's interesting to note that the same revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants that contains the information concerning Temple Marriage is also the revelation that contains the teaching of polygamy. Therefore, 'polygamy' and 'temple marriage' must stand or fall together.

The Blacks... Until 1978, persons with any known trace of black African ancestry were not permitted to enter a Mormon temple, even if they were otherwise worthy members of the Church. Joseph Smith taught that Negroes (blacks) are the descendants of Cain. (J. S. History, vol. 4, p. 501) Brigham Young was equally adamant about the status of the blacks. Young said; "Blacks are cursed with a flat nose and black skin". (Journal of Discourses, vol. 7, pp. 290-291) "Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African Race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so." Brigham Young also said "…that if the priesthood was ever given to the Blacks, on that very day and hour, if we should do so, the priesthood will be taken from this church." (Brigham Young Addresses, p. 61) Pres. Joseph Fielding Smith said: "They are an inferior race, and their intelligence is stunted." Apostle Bruce McConkie said: "The Negroes were less valiant in the preexistence, and therefore spiritually restricted."

In spite of earlier revelations concerning the blacks, in 1978 the leaders of the Mormon Church announced that they had received a revelation allowing all worthy male members to receive the Priesthood. (D&C, p. 293). On June 13, 1978 the Salt Lake Tribune reported that President Kimball refused to discuss the revelation that changed the Church's 148-year-old policy against ordination of blacks, saying it was a personal thing. Kimball said: "The revelation came at this time because conditions and people have changed. It's a different world than it was 20 or 25 years ago. The world is ready for it."

Seekers of truth,

If you peruse the Free Republic religion forums you will notice a pattern. There's an anti-Mormon group of people here that spends a great deal of their time attacking the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They post regurgitated propaganda on an almost daily basis.

They have a misguided obsession. You can witness many different tactics employed that you might find quite interesting. The straw man argument is a big favorite and is frequently preceded by cherry-picking quotes or other material. After the "quotation" the attacker will misrepresent what has been said or what was meant and then attack their own interpretation.Later they will have the audacity to claim they were "only" quoting our own material.

They will of course insist ad nauseum that they are merely using our sources and are therefore innocent of any deceptive practice. LDS persons have no issue whatsoever having our scriptures or leaders quoted as long as it is presented fairly and accurately. This is rarely (if ever) done.

Another favorite is posting scripture or statements which on their own really present no dilemma. They make something out of nothing while never bringing up a single objection that hasn't been addressed a hundred times before.

You might note a couple of other tactics used to try to antagonize is the use of disrespectful or insulting terms or language and/or pictures. That's a Christlike thing to do right? Yeah I don't think so either. It does speak volumes about them though.

Some of them claim being some sort of special witness to you as being supposedly former Mormons. So someone who is an ex-member of any organization would never have an axe to grind or have reason to try to justify their actions by any means? Perhaps not but perhaps so. The LDS Church gains members from other denominations as well as others faiths all the time. This doesn't make them an expert on anything and you certainly won't hear them attacking their forner Church.

Frequently they cruise the headlines of the day seeking any story that might be twisted into making the Church look bad. Anything will do, just watch the progression of posts following it and see what I mean.

After reading their posts, I invite you to seek the truth about whatever "issue" they seem to be "revealing" or "exposing". I promise that if you do so with honest intent, the "ahah" moments you will have will be many and frequent. You will start to recognize the tactics employed to cleverly twist and attack and will likely chuckle the more you see. In actuality, there's nothing new here. It's all been addressed many times before.

The latest twist in the anti-Mormon propaganda machine is to actually go to the links provided, but then they cherry pick what they want, then quote and straw man attack that. Clever. It almost appears that they are helping you, the seeker of truth out by doing some footwork for you. Not so much. Don't be insulted, look for yourself. It's not the haystack they want you to think.

Here's a few links to get your started from a different viewpoint. I have found that the vast majority of the "issues" brought up can be found and addressed at http://www.fairlds.org/ but here's more:

http://scriptures.lds.org/
http://www.lds.org
http://www.fairlds.org/
http://www.mormonapologetics.org/
http://www.mormonwiki.com/Main_Page
http://www.lightplanet.com/response/index.html
http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDS_Intro.shtml
http://www.answeringantimormons.com/index.htm
http://promormon.blogspot.com/

Now you will likely notice the "you never address or answer our points" posts pop up as usual. All after providing the answers just as you have here.

Sometimes it is claimed that these sites present a needle in a haystack. Far from it. But if you give up before you try you won't know will you? They often state that these sites provide no answer. They just don't want you looking. It is as simple as that.

Will you wear blinders too? Seek truth. Find out for yourself. Want to chat with someone on any topic? A few of these sites provide just that. So do your homework sincere seeker of truth. Listen and read from both "sides". Make up your own mind.

I witness to you of these truths and wish you the best, in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Thanks, PD, for pointing out this OBVIOUS shortcoming among many ANTIs!

Matthew 15:16
   "Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them.

Matthew 23

1. Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:
2. "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.
3. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
4. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
5. "Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long;
6. they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues;
7. they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them `Rabbi.'
8. "But you are not to be called `Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers.
9. And do not call anyone on earth `father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.
10. Nor are you to be called `teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ.
11. The greatest among you will be your servant.
12. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
13. "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.
14. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
15.   "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.
16. "Woe to you, blind guides! You say, `If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.'
17. You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?
18. You also say, `If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.'
19. You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
20. Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
21. And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it.
22. And he who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it.
23. "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
24. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
25. "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
26. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
27. "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.
28. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
29. "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.
30. And you say, `If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'
31. So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.
32. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!
33. "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
34. Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.
35. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
36. I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.
37. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.
38. Look, your house is left to you desolate.
39. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, `Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.' "

Mark 7:26-27
26. The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
27. "First let the children eat all they want," he told her, "for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."

And St. Paul chimes in...

Galatians 5:12
   As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">You might note a couple of other
tactics used to try to antagonize is the use of
disrespectful or insulting terms or language and/or pictures. That's a
Christlike thing to do right? Yeah I don't think so either. It does speak
volumes about them though. </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV class=b2>

 
<HR>


<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr>
<DIV>Matthew 15:16    "Are you still so
dull?" Jesus asked them. </DIV>
<DIV> Matthew 23</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>  1.  Then Jesus said to the crowds and
to his disciples:   2.  "The teachers of the law and the
Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.   3.  So you must obey them and do
everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice
what they preach.   4.  They tie up heavy loads and put them on
men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move
them.   5.  "Everything they do is done for men to see: They
make their phylacteries  wide and the tassels on their garments long;
   6.  they love the place of honor at banquets and the most
important seats in the synagogues;   7.  they love to be greeted
in the marketplaces and to have men call them `Rabbi.'   8. 
"But you are not to be called `Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you
are all brothers.   9.  And do not call anyone on earth
`father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.  10. 
Nor are you to be called `teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ.
  11.  The greatest among you will be your servant.
  12.  For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever
humbles himself will be exalted.  13.  "Woe to you, teachers of
the law and Pharisees, you
hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You
yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying
to.   14.  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and
for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater
damnation.   15.   "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees,
you hypocrites! You travel over
land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you
are.   16.  "Woe to you,
blind guides! You say, `If anyone
swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of
the temple, he is bound by his oath.'  17.  You blind fools! Which is
greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?
  18.  You also say, `If anyone swears by the altar, it means
nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.'
  19.  You blind men!
Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
  20.  Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by
everything on it.  21.  And he who swears by the temple swears
by it and by the one who dwells in it.  22.  And he who swears
by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it.
  23.  "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees,
you hypocrites! You give a tenth
of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more
important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have
practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.  24. 
You blind guides! You strain out a
gnat but swallow a camel.  25.  "Woe to you, teachers of the law
and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You
clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and
self-indulgence.  26.  Blind
Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then
the outside also will be clean.  27.  "Woe to you, teachers of
the law and Pharisees, you
hypocrites!  You are like whitewashed tombs, which look
beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and
everything unclean.  28.  In the same way, on the outside you
appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and
wickedness.  29.  "Woe to you, teachers of the law and
Pharisees, you hypocrites! You
build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.
  30.  And you say, `If we had lived in the days of our
forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of
the prophets.'  31.  So you testify against yourselves that you
are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.  32. 
Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!  33. 
"You snakes! You brood of vipers!
How will you escape being condemned to hell?  34.  Therefore I
am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill
and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to
town.  35.  And so upon you will come all the righteous blood
that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of
Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
  36.  I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this
generation.  37.  "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the
prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your
children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were
not willing.  38.  Look, your house is left to you desolate.
  39.  For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say,
`Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.' " </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> Mark 7:26-27  26.  The woman was a Greek, born in
Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
  27.  "First let the children eat all they
want," he told her, "for it is not right to take
the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<HR>
And St. Paul chimes in...
<HR>
</DIV>
<DIV> Galatians 5:12    As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
 </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV>

THE MAN WHO BOUGHT A HOUSE

A PARABLE

In this town there lived a man who had been able to save enough money from his hard work that he decided that he was now able to afford a very nice house for his family. In one of the nicer parts of town was a beautiful old house that appeared to be vacant, and he often went by and looked at it from the street. The more he looked at it, the more he fell in love with this old house.

One day as he was standing admiring this house, he was approached by a very nice-looking gentleman who said to him: "I have noticed you frequently admiring this fine old house. I happen to be the agent for the owner, and I am authorized to sell it, if I can find a buyer." This was, of course, good news to the man, since the more he had looked at the house, the more he wanted it for himself and his family.

The agent took the man into the house and showed him through it, and everything the man saw made him want the house even more. The house was beautifully designed and built, with skill and imagination, in a style which was no longer very popular among most people, but which he and his family had always found attractive. He could picture in his mind how happy and comfortable his family would be there. It seemed that his fondest dream was about to come true. The man bought the house.

Before the man moved his family into the house, he asked the agent about the usual inspections, for termites, dry rot and other possible structural problems. The agent told him that everything had been inspected thoroughly by his staff. "You can take my word for it: this house is sound and solid. It is the finest house in the city!" The man thought for a moment that he should ask to see the inspection reports, but the agent was the kind of person that inspired trust and confidence, and the man had a strong feeling deep in his heart that the agent would not try to deceive him about something so important.

The man and his family moved into their home, and it was even more lovely and comfortable than he had imagined. They invited their friends and relatives to visit them, and they were able to entertain them graciously and hear their guests' praises of their beautiful home.

One evening his brother was visiting. The brother was a meddlesome and sometimes unpleasant person, but the man tried to be gracious to him because he was his brother.

"This is a very lovely old house you have," said the brother.

"Thank you for the compliment," replied the man.

"How is the foundation? Sometimes these old houses have structural problems."

"Don't worry about that," responded the man. "Everything has been inspected and is in good order."

"Who inspected it?"

The man began to get irritated with his brother. "It's really none of your business, but I'll be happy to tell you. The seller's agent had it inspected."

"Did you examine the report yourself?"

This was really going too far, the man felt. But he answered anyway, "I didn't have to. The agent read the reports and told me that they were in order."

"How can you trust the agent that much?" the brother asked, shaking his head.

"I pity you if you have to go through life without trust, without belief, without relying on the goodness of others! Sometimes you just know in your heart that you can trust someone."

The brother said nothing, but got up to leave. "I'll maybe poke around a little outside and look over your foundation. I'm not an expert, but I do have some experience with these things."

"I do not give you permission to go nosing about my house or grounds. You are just looking for something that will give you an excuse to find fault with my home and to spoil my enjoyment of it!"

"I assure you that I am only motivated by my concern for you as my brother. I will not cause any damage." And with that, he left the house.

As he looked around the grounds and examined the house, he had to admit that it was beautiful. But he also knew that paint could hide many problems. Near a corner, in the back, he found a small, almost invisible door that appeared to lead into the basement. It had been sealed shut with a half-dozen screws. He went back inside and asked the man: "Are you aware of the door into the basement which has been sealed shut?"

"Of course I am aware of it!"

"Why is it sealed shut?"

"Because there is absolutely no need for anyone to go into the basement. There is nothing there."

"Have you ever been there?"

"No, of course not! Why would I want to go down there? I'm sure that it's just dank and musty, and there's nothing there."

"I think it would pay to take a look, to check the foundation."

"Absolutely not!" shouted the man. "This is MY house! It is MY basement! I have no interest in going there, and I forbid you to do so! I told you that the foundation has already been inspected. Now please leave me in peace!"

Rather than argue with the man, the brother left. But the sealed door continue to bother him, and the basement which it concealed. A few weeks later, when the brother knew that the man and his family were going to be away for a day or two, the brother took a screwdriver and a flashlight to the man's house and carefully opened the sealed door.

He had to stoop to enter the dark basement. The man had been right: there was nothing down there, except the posts and beams and braces that held up the house. As he crept among them, lighting his way with the flashlight, he noticed that the beams and posts had thick coats of paint. Everything was covered with paint. He took his pocket knife and scraped away the paint in a few spots, and where he had removed the paint, instead of solid wood he found a lacy, delicate framework of worm holes. He scraped away paint from some of the other structural members, in all parts of the basement, and found that the wood fiber was missing in all of them, either having been eaten by worms or termites, or having crumbled with dry rot. He was horrified. Not a single beam or post or brace could be relied on. He wondered what could be holding up the great weight of the house. It seemed to be only the paint which was covering up the rot. He almost imagined he could feel the house settling, having removed the little bit of paint, and he urgently wanted to escape. He found his way to the door, and closed it carefully after he was again in the sunshine. But his mind was troubled.

As soon as the man and his family returned, the brother came to see him. "I have some terrible news for you," he said. He confessed that he had entered the basement, contrary to the man's order. "But I know you will forgive me when I tell you what I found." He then told the man that his entire house was in danger of falling down because of the worms, termites and rot in the structural members in the basement.

But instead of thanking his brother, the man flew into a rage. "You are telling me this only to rob me of the pleasure I have in living in this beautiful house! How can you attack me like this? How can you say such terrible things about a house that is so beautiful? You obviously are my enemy. You are jealous of me because of my house. You have made up these lies with the sole purpose of trying to destroy my happiness and to cast aspersions upon my house, the agent who sold it to me and the people who inspected it and pronounced it sound. Get out! And because you have become my enemy, I never wish to see you again!"

The brother tried to calm the man. "I assure you that I am not your enemy. I am acting only with your good at heart. Why would I want otherwise?"

The man would not be calmed. "You are trying to destroy my love for this house. Therefore you must have an evil motive."

"Please," said the brother. "Come down with me to your basement, and I will let you see with your own eyes what I have found."

"I am not interested in seeing anything that you have to show me. You are obviously such an evil person that you would stoop to any level to deceive me into believing your lies. You have probably planted phony evidence in my basement. You would twist and misinterpret anything I found so that it would appear to support your filthy lies about my house. No! I will not go into the basement with you! I don't care about your delusions, and I don't have the time to humor you."

The brother was puzzled by the man's obstinacy. He couldn't understand why he wouldn't at least look in the basement himself. Perhaps, by replacing the beams, or by taking other measures in time, the house could be saved. But if nothing was done, the house would surely collapse, sooner or later, perhaps injuring someone.

Seeing that he could not help, the brother left, sad that he had been unjustly labeled an "enemy."

In spite of the man's confidence in the soundness of his house, his brother's words did trouble him for a few days. Finally, he could no longer resist the temptation, and he took a flashlight and crept through the small door into the basement. He looked around and saw where his brother had scraped the paint away to expose the fragile, rotten timbers.

He was furious! Why had his brother done this? He went upstairs to a cabinet and got a bucket of paint and a brush, and carefully repainted all the places that his brother had scraped away. "There!" he said, as he screwed the door back into place.

He decided that he would not tell his wife and family what had happened, because it would only disturb them and spoil the love and pleasure they enjoyed, living in such a beautiful house.

--Richard Packham, 1995

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