Latter-day Saint historian Richard L. Bushman summarizes continued attention given to Freemasonry, even after the Nauvoo temple endowment was given to the Saints.
- Type
- Book
- Source
- Richard Lyman Bushman LDS
- Hearsay
- DirectSecondary
- Reference
Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, A Cultural Biography of Mormonism's Founder (New York City, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005), 450
- Scribe/Publisher
- Alfred A. Knopf
- People
- Richard Lyman Bushman, John the Baptist, Joseph Smith, Jr., Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Nauvoo Freemasons
- Audience
- General Public
PDF- Transcription
If Joseph thought of Freemasonry as degenerate priesthood, he did nothing to suppress his rival. Once the Nauvoo lodge was organized, Mormons joined in large numbers. Eleven of the Twelve Apostles became Freemasons. By October 1842, the 253 members of the Nauvoo lodge outnumbered the 227 Masons in all the other Illinois lodges combined. The Mormons organized four additional lodges over the next year. In June, less than seven weeks after bestowing the endowment on the first group of brethren, Joseph celebrated "St. Johns day," in honor of John the Baptist, a Masonic favorite, by riding in procession to a public celebration attended by thousands. In April 1844, the Saints dedicated the Nauvoo Masonic Hall, the finest completed building in the city.
- Citations in Mormonr Qnas
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