Actually I am a current member of the church. In fact I'm a High Priest. I just happen to be a church member who isn't afraid to be honest. I will defend the church when they are honest. And I'll be honest about situations where its obvious that they aren't.
>> you know that often the way Joseph Smith received
>> revelation was AFTER learning about something, and
>> then specifically seeking answers about it from God.
When was Joseph Smith ever given a revelation that he should be justified in committing plagiarism? When has the church ever officially and properly attributed the elements of the Endowment that came from Masonic origins? If they haven't done this then they've committed plagiarism and they're still doing it to this day. Go read the definition on plagiarism from a dictionary and you'll have to agree that this is what it is.
BTW the shields-research.org and fairlds.org are not and have never been official church websites. And considering all the times that some Mormon apologists are so quick to dismiss or ignore a sermon from Brigham Young or some passage in the LDS scriptures or Journal of Discourses or even the Milennial Star or 7-volume History of the Church set that doesn't fit well with their 21st century worldview it's pretty important that when it comes to Mormonism that we get officially sanctioned information on important questions.
When was Joseph Smith ever given a revelation that he should be justified in committing plagiarism?
As a High Priest, you should ask yourself when was Jesus ever justified in committing plagiarism? Did he not speak the same words as those old men in the OT. Oh wait, they were prophets. Does the Book of Mormon also commit plagiarism because if has prophesy, revelations and the very words of Christ as spoken in the old world? Is God a changeable God, or does he speak the same to all his children? Why would the temple ordinances and practices handed down through different dispensations have to be different? I would think that you would expect them to be the same given what you understand about dispensations and God's dealing with men on earth?