>> What you seem to be doing is striving after meat ....
>> .... Trying to understand the things of God without the
>> Holy Ghost to help discern truth can be dangerous.
OK ... you are using the “milk before meat” argument to try to get me to shut up about the endowment/sealing steps that are required for someone to get full exaltation according to LDS doctrine. Maybe this will sound condescending but it’ll make sense to anyone who is trying to seek the truth honestly.
The whole reason why the temple endowment is full of secrecy was because it was a preliminary step that Joseph Smith used on fellow Nauvoo followers to make sure they would keep their mouths shut about plural marriage. At the time that Joseph Smith introduced plural marriage it was ILLEGAL to practice bigamy or any other form of polygny in the state of Illinois. It was also against the church’s own Doctrine & Covenants. It wasn’t until 1852 that the church started to be honest (for a few decades) about their practice of plural marriage.
The temple endowment is heavily plagiarized from Masonic ceremonies that Joseph Smith went through himself just 6 weeks before he introduced the Endowment. And you won’t find a reputable scholar on this subject who thinks that the Masonic ceremonies originated before the medieval era. Ever heard of the handgrip of the Entered Apprentice? Ever heard of the handgrip of the Fellow Craft? Ever heard of the handgrip of the Master Mason? These handgrips have been plagiarized.
Some may call it sacred plagiarism to coverup the secret violations of Constitutionally sound laws in favor of God’s laws, but nevertheless its undeniably plagiarism and it was used to conspire in breaking the law. I’m sure most of the freepers here can understand these simple facts.
(1) In 1833, Illinois passes a law making it a crime to practice bigamy/polygamy.
(2) In 1835, the Mormon church puts Section 101 in their Doctrine & Covenants forbidding polygamy.
(3) In March 1843, Joseph Smith participates in Masonic rites and becomes a Master Mason.
(4) In May 1843, Joseph Smith introduces the Endowment, which contains word for word and symbolically so much of the key handgrips of the Masonic ceremonies.
(5) Those receiving their Endowments are put under covenant to keep this and the plural marriage sealings all secret from everyone; including the law enforcement officials of Illinois.
(6) Before someone can receive their marriage sealing they must first receive their Endowment and make the covenants of secrecy.
One more thing to add: according to the journals of my ancestors and other Mormon pioneers - they were taught that the Celestial Kingdom has 3 levels - the lowest level for those who choose to never marry; the middle level for the monogamists; and the highest level for those who enter into plural marriage. And its only because of this requirement for reaching the highest level that my great-great-great grandmothers ever agreed to let their husbands take plural wives.
A personal note to add: I made a promise to God that I would not plagiarize/cheat before I ever made any promises in the temple. And that’s why I feel totally free to talk about any ceremony that involves Masonic plagiarisms. I learned AFTER I got the Endowment about the plagiarisms; when frankly I should’ve learned about them beforehand.
The temple endowment is heavily plagiarized from Masonic ceremonies that Joseph Smith went through himself just 6 weeks before he introduced the Endowment. And you won’t find a reputable scholar on this subject who thinks that the Masonic ceremonies originated before the medieval era. Ever heard of the handgrip of the Entered Apprentice? Ever heard of the handgrip of the Fellow Craft? Ever heard of the handgrip of the Master Mason? These handgrips have been plagiarized.Um, yeah, but have you ever heard of the Hermetic Tradition? You know, the Order of the Golden Dawn, The Corpus Hermeticum, G. Bruno, C. Agrippa? Also: The Masons. This is where I took the moniker Asclepius, by the way: from the Corpus Hermeticum. Hermeticism is Westernized Kabballah (Jewish mysticism) after the Sephardic tradition mingled with neo-Platonism, grrr-nostic, and esoteric Christian influences. (Did you ever wonder about the hexagrams [Star of David] on Masonic temples?) My point: Joseph Smith did not have to plagiarize anyone if it is the case that his rites and rituals resemble Masonic practice, because the Masonic order itself is but a branch that grows from the same ancient tree. And a fallen branch at that. Have you ever seen those elderly masons zipping around in tiny cars at civic parades etc.? They used to be an initiatic order; now they are yet another civic association that raises funds to buy fire engines or MRI machines etc.
Yet we actually have Apologists on this forum trying to persuade that Smith did not commit adultery with the married women Smith ‘took in marriage’ while they were still married to another husband. The astonishing truths about the adulterous fraud who founded Mormonism make it almost unbelievable that so many intelligent, God-fearing, serious about a relationship with God fellow human beings are taken in by this cult! But then, we see it with Islam also, so I guess I shouldn’t be so astonished; Satan relies on human pride and our built-in desire for God’s love to lead us astray. At least Islam doesn’t claim to be THE restored Christianity ...
Quit posting these historical facts!! (1-6)
You’ll get people starting to doubt our great and glorious forefathers who have handed us such wonderful, sacred rites!
—MormonDude
Degaston, since you were a former member, you know that often the way Joseph Smith received revelation was AFTER learning about something, and then specifically seeking answers about it from God. This holds true with Baptism, the priesthood, Word of Wisdom, etc, etc, etc.
ASK ye shall receive, SEEK and ye shall find, KNOCK it shall be opened unto you.
As far as Masons and "reputable" scholars tracing their heritage back to the medieval, era, there's likely some truth to that, most Masons don't know what they had, although there are many that claim a Solomononetic link, but as far as the specifics of rituals and ordinances of the temple, they can be traced back as far as God has spoken to Man on earth.
Here are a couple excellent treatises on the subject of ancient Temple worship and Masonry. They are among several that I have found that explores the ancient rites of the Temple. I have more if you are truly interested. I hope you will take the time to read this, it's pretty thorough, and gets right to the heart of apparently why you decided the Temple was a Masonic fraud. If you are an earnest seeker of truth, please read these: