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Any Mormon Masons?

Brother Maples

Registered User
Went to my nephews baptism last week at a Mormon church. I wore my suite with my S/C on my lapel and felt like George on the Seinfled episode with the Carpet Cleaners? I want to say their were probally 30 to 40 people attending and the elders were talking to everyone as well as the Bishop, I got one handshake and that was it. Maybe I am just to ugly to be approached :w00t: Anywho I thought it was funny and odd at the same time.
 

BEDickey

Premium Member
in a local lodge...

In a local lodge I visit, a past master is very active in the Mormon church. The founder of the Mormon church was a Freemason.
 

Brother Maples

Registered User
No, everyone was very cordial. @ BEDicky yea I know a little of the history regarding Joseph Smith. My wife was raised Mormon and I was raised Baptist.
 

RedTemplar

Johnny Joe Combs
Premium Member
One of the best friends I have in this World is a Mason and Mormon. He represents both institutions exceedingly well.
 

Txmason

Registered User
You know for information on famous Mormon masons you might try contacting the Grand Lodge of Colorado and also the LDS Church.
 

Brother Maples

Registered User
Thanks for the replys brothers, I will check into it a little deeper. I was just wanting to know the perception from non mason mormons about how they feel about our fraternity as well as Mormon masons, probally a mixed bag. I have heard from all types of religions some say we are cult others have no issues with us. Thanks again.
 

AAJ

Registered User
I am both a Mormon and a Mason. I was born and raised in So. California and I was raised (a Mason) in Provo, UT but now live in Texas. Brother Maples, the answer to your question "I was just wanting to know the perception from non mason mormons about how they feel about our fraternity as well as Mormon masons" is complicated and is heavily influenced by the history between Mormons and Masons. I am not an historian, but I have researched the topic a little bit since it interests me, so take what you hear with a grain of salt. Joseph Smith, the founder of our church, was born into a Masonic family (both father and older brother were Masons), but he did not join until after he had started the church and was living in Nauvoo, Illinois with a large group of church members. These church members had gathered together to form communities before but had experienced persecution from their neighbors, perhaps because of suspicion of the withdrawn nature of the community. I believe that one of the reasons he joined the Craft was to help keep an open dialogue between the Latter-Day Saints and the community outside of their churches.Joseph was very enthusiastic about Freemasonry, maybe a little too enthusiastic. Within a couple of years, there were more Mormon Freemasons in Illinois than non-Mormon. The Grand Lodge of Illinois wanted Freemasonry to be more exclusive than the Mormons were making it. This, and some irregularities in the way they ran their lodges, resulted in a suspension of the charter of all Mormon Lodges. About that time, Joseph was assassinated (Mormons say martyred), and everybody seemed to believe that Masons were involved. If there were Masons involved, it was probably just a group working outside of a lodge, but a lodge in Warsaw (where anti-Mormon sentiment was high) voluntarily gave up its charter – supposedly while under investigation by the Grand Lodge of Illinois.By rights, Brigham Young (the next church president) should have felt betrayed by Freemasonry. Men have become anti-Masons under less provocation. Instead, he instituted a policy of silence toward the Fraternity. No official church mandate or declaration was made, but it was as if the entire church forgot about Freemasonry. The first lodge to be established in Utah was a military lodge instituted when Johnston’s army came to put down the “Mormon Rebellionâ€.After that, all lodges in Utah were seen as a foil to Brigham’s “theocratic democracyâ€, and anti-Mormon sentiment developed and festered. In the early 1900’s, the Grand Lodge of Utah declared that no Mormon could be made a Mason in its jurisdiction, a policy that was reversed only in the early 80s. I know of some lodges in Utah that were blackballing Mormon candidates into the mid 90s.Although this destructive and anti-Masonic policy has been overcome, it has added to the awkward history and has developed a sense of unease that Mormons have, in general, with Freemasonry. They know that the early leaders were Masons, and that we no longer talk about that sort of thing. Brother Maples, you may have been a little uncomfortable but I promise they were probably uncomfortable too.The good news is now that Freemasonry in Utah is no longer excluding the majority of the population, there is a whole new group of people that are becoming more and more interested in it. Though still the smallest jurisdiction in the US, I believe that the Grand Lodge of Utah is growing.I hope that I haven’t bored you, that I have somewhat answered your question, and I hope that I don’t have too many of my facts wrong. Again, I will add my caveat: I am interested in the history between Mormons and Masons, and believe that the preceding information is accurate, but I am not an historian, so I can’t guarantee it.
 

ess1113

Premium Member
Try wearing a square and compass to a Catholic function. That gets some cold looks and you get labelled a heretic.
 

jwhoff

Premium Member
That state of mind would be unfounded given that the Catholic Church formally holds no contempt for Freemasonry today. In fact, I have heard from a couple of masons who approached their local Cardinals with the question and were told, no, there is no current policy against freemasonry.

We must remember, church congregations and masonic lodges are made up of people. People with preconceived prejudices, fear, and ignorances most often passed down from generation to generation. This is a trait carried in us all. We simply choose to uphold or grow past it. But ... it is our first inclination.
 

ess1113

Premium Member
JWHOFF, I can only speak from my own experiences. I am an active and dedicated member of the local Catholic parish here. Starting in October 2010, I have received numerous phone calls from priests and fellow parishoners concerning my Masonic affiliations. The previous parish priest called me and then sent a very large packet of documents from the diocese and from Cardinal DeNardo in Houston clearly stating that Freemasonry was completely and totally incompatible with Catholicism. These weren't opinion papers but Canon Law documents and Papal bulls stating the official Church position. In June 2011, my wife who teaches at the local Catholic school was called into the Principals office and told that she could remove the Masonic Blue Slipper decal from her vehicle or seek employment elsewhere. This was not a personal issue, the diocesan lawyer was there to enforce the action. She removed the decal and retained her job.On December 23, 2011, I was called by the same principal whop asked if I could meet her in the school office. When I arrived she apologized but she was instructed from the new parish priest that she needed some information about my involvement with the Freemasons. I respect this principal immensely but I respectfully declined to answer ANY questions unless the parish priest called me directly. She apologized but stated that she was only doing what she was asked to do. This is coming from a parish where I have donated many hours of volunteer time erecting the fencing around the school playground, setting up school play backdrops, putting the stage up for the school drama club, served as committee chairman for the cleanup after the annual fall festival, and tithed regularly for the last ten years. I have washed dishes and trays in the school cafeteria and I have swept and mopped floors after school events. As of last month, I was informed that I could not be a sponsor for a man seeking to convert to Catholicism since I was prohibited from any duties that involved public ministry. I also cannot be a eucharistic minister or lay eucharistic minister based on the ruling of Cardinal DeNardo of Houston and Bishop Vasquez from the Austin Diocese.I respectfully disagree with this being a personal issue with individuals. When the personal ridicule and condemnation comes from the diocesan lawyer and the parish priest it becomes an institutional issue that defines contempt. I remain a committed and dedicated Catholic that regularly receives Holy Communion and a parent that sends his only child to a Catholic school. It is most emphatically NOT an issue with a single individual. It is an institutional issue that will not be easily overcame and probably not in my lifetime. For these reasons and with these experiences I strongly disagree.
 

jwhoff

Premium Member
Sorry brother. I was told differently by other Catholic masons. I stand corrected. I deeply regret your plight.
 

Plustax

Registered User
I still don't truly understand what this anti mason thing is all about between catholics and masons. I was raised a catholic and no longer follow the practices. I have been a mason for 25+ years. My brother is a KC & I still don't get what the whole thing is all about. I've heard stories about historical things that a Pope did, but to me its like some people still holding a grudge for what was done to their ancestors. I find it all ludicrous.
 
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