Nevo Posted May 20, 2015 Posted May 20, 2015 (edited) What about JS, Sr. joining Masonry prior to coming to New York? Is the option really that he was initiated in Canandaigua or wasn't a Mason? I've thought about the possibility of him being a Mason in Vermont. John Brooke notes that Joseph Sr.'s brother-in-law, John C. Waller, was the Senior Warden of the Federal Lodge in Randolph in 1804, and he suggests that the John Smith who was Senior Warden in 1813 may have been Joseph's brother (see Refiner's Fire, 140). If Joseph Sr. was going to become a Mason, Vermont would have been the logical place for him to do it. Brooke allows that it's possible that he joined the lodge in Randolph, but later writes: "Joseph Smith Sr., moving his family from one hardscrabble situation to another, was certainly too poor to have been a Freemason in good standing. His Masonic education would have come from hearsay, kin ties to Freemasons, Masonic manuals, and his fascination with the related hermetic 'field' of occult divining" (Refiner's Fire, 145). Edited May 21, 2015 by Nevo
Alvie J Posted June 23, 2015 Posted June 23, 2015 These are some interesting ideas to research, but when it comes to the topic of Mormonism, it is all a question of who knew "what" when? Lucinda plays a major role in this because her first husband is said to have been killed by masons, yet she went on to marry another mason. I think the question is not necessarily who all besides JS was a mason, but who knew anything beyond blue lodge masonry that could have influenced mormonism (York and Scottish Rite, Elus Cohen, Rosicrucian, Martinist, etc)I know this has come up in other threads, but I think if a motive for Lucinda marrying Joseph Smith can be shown as her disagreeing with her former husband and wanting to keep her esoteric minded beliefs, and it can be proven none of the appendage bodies had been added to the blue lodge in their areas yet (as Greg Kearney has asserted), this may turn into a major argument in support of the claims of Mormonism.If you’re really interested in the Book of Mormon and its connection to Masonry and the Rosicrucians perhaps you might look at this college research paper in which explores the Book of Mormon as a ciphered text. It’s full of colored graphs and to pictures better help the reader discern the ciphers and their meanings. https://www.academia.edu/7892970/The_Mormon_Cipher
Calm Posted June 23, 2015 Posted June 23, 2015 This started 12 identical posts advertising his paper....shall we open for bets on banning, gents and ladies?
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