Joseph Smith/Martyrdom/Masonic cry of distress

From FAIRMormon

Jump to: navigation, search
Copyright © 2005–2010 Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research. The content of this page may not be copied, published, or redistributed without the prior written consent of FAIR.

FAIR: Defending The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1997

FAIRwiki portal
Joseph Smith, Jr.
Joseph smith1.jpg
FAIRwiki articles
FAIR Wiki Topical Guide
FAIR web site
FARMS web site
  • [Pending]
Additional reading
Other portals

This article is a draft. FAIRwiki editors are currently editing it. We welcome your suggestions on improving the content.

This page is based on an answer to a question submitted to the FAIR web site, or a frequently asked question.

Contents

Question

Just before Joseph Smith died, did he begin to give the Masonic cry of distress?

Answer

It is reported that Joseph Smith uttered the words "Oh Lord, my God" as he stood at a second floor window in Carthage Jail -- just before he was shot by members of a mob. The words that accompany the Masonic 'Grand Hailing Sign of Distress' are "Oh Lord, my God, is there no help for the widow's son?"

John Taylor [eyewitness to the martyrdom; Master Mason]: In Carthage jail Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith "gave such signs of distress as would have commanded the interposition and benevolence of Savages or Pagans. They were both Masons in good standing. . . . Joseph's last exclamation was, 'O Lord, my God!'" (Times and Seasons, vol. 5, no. 13, 15 July 1844, 585).

Heber C. Kimball: "Masons, it is said, were even among the mob that murdered Joseph and Hyrum in Carthage jail. Joseph, leaping the fatal window, gave the Masonic signal of distress. The answer was the roar of his murderers' muskets" (Orson F. Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball [Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1888], 26).

Zina D. H. Young [1878]: "I am the daughter of a Master Mason [i.e., daughter of Heber C. Kimball]! I am the widow of a Master Mason [i.e., Joseph Smith] who, when leaping from the window of Carthage jail pierced with bullets, made the Masonic sign of distress; but . . . those signs were not heeded" (Andrew Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia [Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Company, 1901], 1:698). [NOTE: Zina's statement about 'leaping the window' matches very closely with what her father -- Heber C. Kimball -- said about the incident. But it must be kept in mind that Heber C. Kimball was not an eyewitness to what happened]

Conclusion

From the above LDS accounts, as well as from some contemporary non-Mormon accounts [[citation needed]], it would seem that the last words of Joseph Smith, Jr. were assumed by at least some people in the nineteenth century to be the Masonic cry of distress.

Endnotes

None

Further Reading

FAIR wiki articles

Freemasonry wiki articles

FAIR web site

Freemasonry on FAIR pages
  • FAIR 'Topical Guide' resource page FAIR link
  • Richard L. Anderson [on the reason for Joseph Smith becoming a Mason] PDF document, page 1, column 1, block quote FAIR link
  • Barry R. Bickmore, "Masonry and Mormonism," in Restoring the Ancient Church: Joseph Smith and Early Christianity (Redding, CA: FAIR, 1999), chapter 6, note #4. FAIR link
  • Greg Kearney, “The Message and the Messenger: Latter-day Saints and Freemasonry," (FAIR conference address, 2005) FAIR link
  • Greg Kearney, “The Temple and Masonry," (website evaluation, 2006) FAIR link
  • Benjamin McGuire, “The Masonic . . . Background of the Ceremony” (section of book review, 2007) FAIR link
  • Ben Spackman, “The Temple Ordinances and Freemasonry” (section of book review, 2006) FAIR link
  • Gilbert W. Scharffs, The Truth about "The God Makers" (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1994), chapter 9 FAIR link

DVD/MP3

DVD/MP3
  • Exploring the Connection Between Mormons and Masons (2009 DVD - interviews with Richard E. Bennett, Matthew B. Brown, Glen A. Cook [Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Utah], Steven C. Harper, and Daniel C. Peterson) off-site
  • Matthew B. Brown - KSL newsradio MP3 interview on Mormonism and Freemasonry (25 October 2009) off-site

External links

Freemasonry on-line articles
  • Matthew B. Brown, "Mormons, Masons, and Myths," Mormon Times newspaper interview (19 May 2010) off-site
  • Matthew B. Brown - Provo Daily Herald newspaper interview on Mormonism and Freemasonry (31 October 2009) off-site
  • Matthew B. Brown, "Girded about with a Lambskin," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 6/2 (1997): 124–51. off-site PDF link
  • Matthew B. Brown, "Of Your Own Selves Shall Men Arise, Review of The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship by David John Buerger," FARMS Review of Books 10/1 (1998): 97–131. off-site PDF link
  • Kenneth W. Godfrey, "Freemasonry and the Temple," in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow, (New York, Macmillan Publishing, 1992), 2:528–529. off-site off-site direct off-site
  • Kenneth W. Godfrey, "Freemasonry in Nauvoo," in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow, (New York, Macmillan Publishing, 1992), 2:527–528. off-site off-site direct off-site
  • William J. Hamblin, "An Apologist for the Critics: Brent Lee Metcalfe's Assumptions and Methodologies (Review of Apologetic and Critical Assumptions about Book of Mormon Historicity by Brent Lee Metcalfe)," FARMS Review of Books 6/1 (1994): 434–523. off-site PDF link
  • William J. Hamblin, Daniel C. Peterson, and George L. Mitton, "Mormon in the Fiery Furnace Or, Loftes Tryk Goes to Cambridge (Review of The Refiner's Fire: The Making of Mormon Cosmology, 1644-1844 by John L. Brooke)," FARMS Review of Books 6/2 (1994): 3–58. off-site PDF link
  • Bryce Haymond, “Did the Temple Ordinances Come from the Masons?” – discussion of a quote by Hugh W. Nibley. off-site
  • Jeff Lindsay, “Questions about the LDS Temple Ceremony and Masonry,” LDS FAQ: Mormon Answers off-site
  • Paul Mouritsen, "Secret Combinations and Flaxen Cords: Anti-Masonic Rhetoric and the Book of Mormon," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 12/1 (2003): 64–77. off-site PDF link
  • Nathan Oman, "Secret Combinations: A Legal Analysis," FARMS Review 16/1 (2004): 49–73. off-site PDF link
  • Daniel C. Peterson, "Notes on ‘Gadianton Masonry’," in Ricks and Hamblin, eds., Warfare in the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1990), 174–224. direct off-site
  • Daniel C. Peterson, "Secret Combinations" Revisited," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 1/1 (1992): 184–188. off-site PDF link
  • Matthew P. Roper, "Review of Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? by Jerald and Sandra Tanner," FARMS Review of Books 4/1 (1992): 169–215. off-site PDF link (see pages 184–185).


Printed material

Freemasonry printed materials
  • Michael R. Ash, Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt (Redding, CA: FAIR, 2008), 27, 118, 129, 229–31, 233. off-site
  • Lisle G. Brown, "Temple Pro Tempore," Journal of Mormon History, vol. 34, no. 4, Fall 2008, 40.
  • Matthew B. Brown,"The LDS Temple and Freemasonry," in The Gate of Heaven: Insight on the Doctrines and Symbols of the Temple (American Fork, UT: Covenant, 1999), 299–318. off-site
  • Matthew B. Brown, Exploring the Connection Between Mormons and Masons (American Fork, UT: Covenant, 2009), 1–211. off-site
  • Richard L. Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling (New York: Knopf, 2005), 449–51.
  • Kenneth W. Godfrey, "Freemasonry in Nauvoo," in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow, (New York, Macmillan Publishing, 1992), 2:527–528. off-site off-site
  • Kenneth W. Godfrey, "Freemasonry and the Temple," in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow, (New York, Macmillan Publishing, 1992), 2:528–529. off-site off-site
  • Michael T. Griffith, "Masonry and the Mormon Temple," in A Ready Reply: Answering Challenging Questions about the Gospel, (Bountiful, UT: Horizon Books, 1994), 13–21. off-site
  • William J. Hamblin and David Seely, Solomon's Temple: Myth and History (London: Thames and Hudson, 2007), 182–186. off-site
  • Daniel C. Peterson, "Notes on 'Gadianton Masonry'," in Ricks and Hamblin, eds., Warfare in the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1990), 174–224. off-site
  • Gilbert W. Scharffs, Mormons and Masons: Setting the Record Straight (Orem, UT: Millennial Press, 2006), 1-91. off-site

Related papers

Related papers
  • Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, "The Message of the Joseph Smith Translation: A Walk in the Garden" PDF format (2008 - FAIR conference address) PDF link
  • Matthew B. Brown, "Luke 13:23-30 and the Israelite Temple" mp3 format (2010 BYU Studies symposium paper) [1]
  • Matthew B. Brown, "The Lord Speaks Again: Ancient Temple Patterns in D&C 124" (2009 - research paper) off-site
  • Matthew B. Brown, "The Israelite Temple and the Early Christians" (2008 - FAIR conference address) FAIR link
  • Matthew B. Brown, "Early Christian Rituals Came From Temple" - Mormon Times article (9 August 2008) [2]
  • Brant A. Gardner, "The Gadianton Robbers in Mormon's Theological History: Their Structural Role and Plausible Identification,” (2002 - FAIR conference address) FAIR link
  • Donald W. Parry, "Sinai as Sanctuary and Mountain of God" (1990 - FARMS festschrift paper). [3]
  • Daniel C. Peterson, "The Temple as a Place of Ascent to God" (2009 - FAIR conference address) FAIR link
  • Matthew P. Roper, "Adam in Ancient Texts and the Restoration" (2006 - FAIR conference address) FAIR link
  • John A. Tvedtnes, "Early Christian and Jewish Rituals Related to Temple Practices" (1999 - FAIR conference address) FAIR link

The Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research (FAIR) is a non-profit organization formed in late 1997 for the purpose of defending the Church. FAIR is staffed completely by volunteers, all of whom are dedicated to defending the Church. FAIR is not owned, controlled by, or affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All research and opinions provided on this site are the sole responsibility of FAIR and should not be interpreted as official statements of LDS doctrine, belief, or practice.

Retrieved from "http://en.fairmormon.org/Joseph_Smith/Martyrdom/Masonic_cry_of_distress"
Personal tools
In other languages