num_pages: 534
description: COLOR EDITION  OVER 150 FIGURES (BLACK AND WHITE VERSION ALSO AVAILABLE)What I have enjoyed about Jeffs work over the years is that unlike many students of this topic he has not confused form and substance. His work has tracked the substance of the endowment ceremony to ancient sources and shown that the Lord revealed much of it to Joseph before he reached Nauvoo and joined a Masonic lodge established there. I trust that reading this book will heighten your intellectual comprehension and deepen your spiritual understanding. Richard E. Turley Jr. former Assistant Church HistorianFrom the all-seeing eye on the Salt Lake temple to the turbaned angel and compass and square on the Nauvoo temples weathervane and from ritualized hosanna shouts to traversing the veil Latter-day Saint temples share elements in common with Freemasonry. Why? And how does this square with modern temple worship as a restoration of ancient temple practices? Jeffrey M. Bradshaws closely argued and beautifully illustrated Freemasonry and the Origins of Latter-day Saint Temple Ordinances illuminates these mysteries beginning with a concise history and appreciative explanation of Freemasonry. Don Bradley historian author The Lost 116 Pages: Reconstructing the Book of Mormons Missing StoriesThough many previous histories of Freemasonry in the early days of the Church have appeared over the decades my interest is much narrower: how Freemasonry relates to the origins of the Latter-day Saint temple ordinances. That seems to be the central question about Freemasonry for most Church members but it has never received a satisfactory treatment.As is well known there are elements of the Nauvoo temple ordinances that are almost identical in form to those used in Masonic rites. Since modern Freemasonry is largely an 18th century creation similarities like these seem to undermine Joseph Smiths claims that the temple ordinances are ancient going back to the foundation of the world.In this book I discuss why divine revelation and Joseph Smiths participation in Freemasonry are not competing explanations for the origins of temple ordinances. Rather they are along with other important elements such as the revelations he received during his Bible translation project complementary parts of the same interwoven process.It is striking that whatever elements Joseph Smith may have borrowed from Freemasonry he seems to have used his prophetic gifts to bring them closer in line with ancient precedents. There is relatively little in the ordinances that does not have a plausible counterpart in antiquity. And more will surely be found as time goes on.The second half of the book provides a detailed comparative analysis. What is new here is the attempt to look systematically at each of the elements of the temple ordinances one-by-one in light of precedents in the Bible ancient sources and Freemasonry. In contrast to exposs of the temple ordinances and Freemasonry I avoid direct discussion of confidential aspects of the rituals themselves.ContentsIntroduction to Freemasonry1. Roots and Branches of Freemasonry2. The Lodge Among the Latter-day SaintsThe Restoration of Temple Ordinances3. A Temple Tutorial in the Early Ministry of Joseph Smith4. Bounded Flexibility in Adjustments to Temple OrdinancesComparing Rites5. Something Old Something New6. General Comparisons7. Initiatory Ordinances8. Ritual Gestures and Language Patterns9. Endowment10. Traversing the Veil11. Sealing12. The Fulness of the Priesthood13. Nauvoo Temple Architecture Layout and Furnishings14. The Two Crowning Adornments of the Nauvoo Temple15. A Review of Comparisons and Their Implications
language: English
title: Freemasonry and the Origins of Latter-day Saint Temple Ordinances
publisher: None