The Masons had some very bloody oaths in their ritual. Capt. William Morgan, who had been a Mason for thirty years, exposed these oaths in a book printed in 1827. After publishing his book, Free-Masonry Exposed, Morgan disappeared and this set off the great controversy over Masonry which was still raging when Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon. In any case, on pages 21-22 of his book, Morgan revealed the oath that Masons took in the “First Degree” of their ritual: “. . . I will . . . never reveal any part or parts, art or arts, point or points of the secret arts and mysteries of ancient Free-masonry . . . binding myself under no less penalty than to have my throat cut across, my tongue torn out by the roots . . .” On page 23, Morgan went on to show that the Masons who went through the first degree were also taught to draw “your right hand across your throat, the thumb next to your throat, your arm as high as the elbow in a horizontal position.”

In the past, Mormon leaders argued against the charge by critics that changes have been made in the temple ceremony. Our examination of the evidence, however, reveals that their statements were not correct. Serious changes have been made in the ritual, and these changes have tended to obscure the fact that the penalties were derived from Masonry. For example, it is clear from many early sources that the promise given when one received “The First Token of the Aaronic Priesthood” was derived from the oath given in the “First Degree” of the Masonic ritual. In Temple Mormonism, published in 1931, page 18, we find this information concerning the Mormon ritual:

The left arm is here placed at the square, palm to the front the right hand and arm raised to the neck, holding the palm downwards and thumb under the right ear.

Adam—“We, and each of us, covenant and promise that we will not reveal any of the secrets of this, the first token of the Aaronic priesthood, with its accompanying name, sign or penalty. Should we do so, we agree that our throats be cut from ear to ear and our tongues torn out by their roots.”. . .

Sign—In executing the sign of the penalty, the right hand palm down, is drawn sharply across the throat, then dropped from the square to the side.

The bloody nature of this oath in the temple endowment was verified by an abundance of testimony given in the Reed Smoot Case. For example, in vol. 2, page 78, J. H. Wallis, Sr., testified: “I agree that my throat be cut from ear to ear and my tongue torn out by its roots from my mouth.”

A very important letter has come to light which also confirms the gory wording of this oath in earlier times. It was written by the First Presidency of the Mormon Church (President Wilford Woodruff and his counselors George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith) to Lorenzo Snow, President of the Salt Lake Temple. Some months prior to the time the letter was written, President Woodruff recorded in his journal that he had met with George Q. Cannon, Joseph F. Smith, Lorenzo Snow and other church officials—including representatives who presided over four temples—and “spent three hours in harmanizing the Different M[ode?]s of Ceremonies in giving Endowments” (Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, October 17, 1893, vol. 9, p. 267). The letter was written about ten months after the entry in Woodruff’s journal and contains this revealing information:

As a result of the conference of the brethren engaged as ordinance workers in the several Temples, held at Salt Lake Temple, some time ago, the following slight corrections have been adopted by us . . .

In the creation of the fifth day a grammatical error occurs. The word “their” is used instead of “its,” the word their, therefore is changes [sic] to its. . . .

The words “that my tongue be torn from its roots in my mouth,” were substituted for “from the roof of my mouth.” (Letter from the First Presidency, August 31, 1894, LDS Historical Department, CR100, 14, #2, vol. 8:16-17, typed copy)

Some time in the first half of the 20th century, a major change was made concerning the penalties in the endowment ceremony. The bloody wording of the oath mentioned above was entirely removed. Nevertheless, Mormons were still instructed to draw their thumbs across their throats to show the penalty. In the 1984 account of the ritual, which appears in Appendix A of this book, pages 77-79, the reader can see how the wording was modified to remove the harsh language regarding the cutting of the throat and the tearing out of the tongue.