Temples/Endowment/Freemasonry/All Seeing Eye

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Contents

Claim

The claim is sometimes made by critics that since the All-Seeing Eye of God is displayed on the exterior and interior of the Salt Lake Temple[1] and the All-Seeing Eye is an emblem utilized by the Freemasons then the Mormon usage must be an indication of a connection between Mormon temples and Freemasonry.


Response

The All-Seeing Eye of God was not a symbol created by the Masonic fraternity and, in fact, was utilized as an emblem in Christian architecture long before Speculative Freemasonry became an organization.

Latter-Day Saints as a group became involved in Freemasonry in early 1842 but, as noted in the timeline below, the All-Seeing Eye of God was a well-established symbol among the Mormons long before this affiliation.


1828–29 – “I pray the God of my salvation that He view me with His all-searching eye” (2 Ne. 9:44).

1828–29 – “under the glance of the piercing eye of the Almighty God” (Jacob 2:10).

1828–29 – “the glance of [God’s] all-searching eye” (Mosiah 27:31).

December 1830 – “I can stretch forth mine hands and hold all the creations which I have made; and mine eye can pierce them also” (Moses 7:36).

2 January 1831 – “Thus saith the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, the Great I AM, Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the same which looked upon the wide expanse of eternity, and all the seraphic hosts of heaven, before the world was made; The same which knoweth all things, for all things are present before mine eyes. . . . mine eyes are upon you. I am in your midst and ye cannot see me” (D&C 38:1–2, 7).

13 August 1831 – “mine eyes are upon those who have not as yet gone up unto the land of Zion” (D&C 62:2).

1 November 1831 – “Hearken, O ye people of my church, saith the voice of Him who dwells on high, and whose eyes are upon all men” (D&C 1:1).

November 1831 – “Behold and lo, mine eyes are upon you” (D&C 67:2).

31 July 1832 – “my heart is naked before [God’s] eyes continually.”[2]

4 January 1833 – “the eyes of my Maker are upon me.”[3]

May 1835 – “the scrutinizing eye of ‘Him with whom we have to do.’”[4]

29 January 1836 – “[the] Lord had [His] eye upon thee.”[5]

9 May 1836 – “they stand naked and exposed to the piercing eye of Jehovah.”[6]

May 1836 – “God is not mocked with impunity. His all seeing eye beholds you at all times. . . . His all-seeing eye surveys the whole of His vast creation.”[7]

April 1837 – “the scrutinizing eye of Jehovah is ever upon them.”[8]

June 1837 – “In vain do they attempt to hide from the scrutinizing eye of Jehovah.”[9]

20 March 1839 – “Behold, mine eye seeth and knoweth all their works.”[10]

3 July 1839 – “the God of Jacob has His eye upon you.”[11]

September 1840 – “the all-searching eye of an Omnipresent God.”[12]

January1841 – “God that sheweth mercy; having His eye at the same time directed towards His covenant people.”[13]

13 December 1841 – “Let it not be supposed that the sick and the destitute are to be denied the blessings of the Lord’s house; God forbid; His eye is ever upon them for good.”[14]


Notes

1. The All-Seeing Eye of God can be seen on east and west center towers of the Salt Lake City temple and also in the interior in the Garden Room (see Ensign, October 1990, 39; March 1993, 33).

2. Letter by Joseph Smith Jr. in Dean C. Jessee, ed., Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, rev. ed. (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and BYU Press, 2002), 269; hereafter cited as PWJS.

3. Letter by Joseph Smith Jr. in ibid., 298.

4. Statement by Oliver Cowdery in Messenger and Advocate, vol. 1, no. 8, May 1835, 121; hereafter cited as M&A.

5. Joseph Smith Sr. statement in Dean C. Jessee, Mark Ashurst-McGee, and Richard L. Jensen, eds., The Joseph Smith Papers: Journals Volume 1, 1832–1839 (Salt Lake City: The Church Historian’s Press, 2008), 176.

6. Letter by Parley P. Pratt dated 9 May 1836 in M&A, vol. 2, no. 8, May 1836, 318.

7. Remark by John Whitmer in ibid., 306.

8. Statement by William Marks in ibid., vol. 3, no. 7, April 1837, 493.

9. Comment by William Marks in ibid., vol. 3, no. 9, June 1837, 525.

10. Letter by Joseph Smith Jr. in PWJS, 435.

11. Epistle of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles signed by Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, John E. Page, Wilford Woodruff, John Taylor, and George A. Smith in Brigham H. Roberts, ed., History of the Church (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1930), 3:394; hereafter cited as HC.

12. Orson Pratt, An Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions (Edinburgh: Ballantyne and Hughes, 1840), 27.

13. Article by Brigham Young and Willard Richards in Millennial Star, vol. 1, no. 9, January 1841, 223.

14. Epistle of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles signed by Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Pratt, William Smith, Lyman Wight, Wilford Woodruff, John Taylor, George A. Smith, and Willard Richards in Times and Seasons, vol. 3, no. 4, 15 December 1841, 626. Notice that the all-seeing eye is being indirectly connected with the temple.


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 - 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," Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow, (New York, Macmillan Publishing, 1992), 2:528–529. off-site direct off-site
  • Kenneth W. Godfrey, "Freemasonry in Nauvoo," Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow, (New York, Macmillan Publishing, 1992), 2:527–528. 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 Warfare in the Book of Mormon, edited by Stephen D. Ricks and William J. Hamblin (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).
  • Eugene Seaich, “Was Freemasonry Derived from Mormonism?” – article hosted on the SHIELDS website. off-site

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," 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," 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, "The Freemasons and Solomon's Temple," in Hamblin and 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.
  • 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, "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) [1]
  • Brant A. Gardner, "The Gadianton Robbers in Mormon's Theological History: Their Structural Role and Plausible Identification,” (2002 - FAIR conference address) FAIR link
  • 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
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