Kevin Christensen Posted November 2, 2018 Posted November 2, 2018 Of course there are some Masonic connections between the language of the Nauvoo Endowment that persisted up to the early 90s. However, I count this kind of thing: Quote As to the temple in the Book of Mormon, we need to ask whether we would recognize a temple ceremony if we saw one.67 Vogel should consider how Mormon transmitted the notion that “the Lord doth grant unto all nations . . . all that he seeth fit that they should have” (Alma 29:8) and that “all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of [Christ]” (2 Nephi 11:4). With this, Mormon is inviting us into the realm of comparative world religion. The implications are far reaching. The Temple Context of 3 Nephi 11-29. In 3 Nephi 11:1, we have a multitude gathered at the temple. According to Mircea Eliade,68 the three parts of the temple at Jerusalem correspond to the three cosmic regions. The lower court represents the lower regions (“Sheol,” the abode of the dead), the Holy Place the earth, and the Holy of Holies heaven. The temple is always the meeting point of heaven, earth, and hell (Sheol). Considering 3 Nephi as a whole, we find three distinct levels of sacredness. Darkness/Separation: 3 Nephi 8-10 Preparation/Initiation: 3 Nephi 11:1-17:23; 18:1-37; 19:13; 20:1-28:12 Apotheosis: 3 Nephi 11:15; 17:24; 18:36-39; 19:14, 25-31; 28:10-18 The Rites of the New Year. The destructions described in 3 Nephi become especially striking, not just as perils,69 but as potent symbols when considered against the pattern of the New Year Temple rites current throughout the ancient world. Mormon tells us that this all happens “in the ending of the thirty and fourth year.” Eliade informs us that . . . in the expectation of the New Year there is a repetition of the mythical moment of passage from chaos to cosmos.”70 Regression to Chaos. The first act of the ceremony . . . marks a regression into the mythical period before the Creation; all forms are supposed to be confounded in the marine abyss of the beginning, . . . overturning of the entire social order. . . . Every feature suggests universal confusion, the abolition of order and hierarchy, “orgy,” chaos. We witness, one might say, a “deluge” that annihilates all humanity in order to prepare the way for a new and regenerated human species. 71 There arose a great storm . . . also a great and terrible tempest; and there was terrible thunder, insomuch that it did shake the whole earth as if it was about to divide asunder. . . . The city of Moroni did sink into the depths of the sea. (3 Nephi 8:5-6, 9) The Perilous Passage. Every temple, according to Eliade, symbolizes the Center, the zone of the sacred. The road to the center is fraught with perils, because it is in fact, a rite of passage from the profane to the sacred, from the ephemeral and illusory to reality and eternity, from death to life, from man to the divinity. Attaining the center is equivalent to a consecration, an initiation.72 O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you? . . . Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you. . . . As many as have received me, to them have I given to become the sons of God. (3 Nephi 9:13-14, 17) The Suspension of Time. The dead can come back now, for all barriers between the dead and the living are broken (is not primordial chaos reactualized?), and they will come back because at this paradoxical instant time will be suspended, hence they can again be contemporaries of the living. Moreover, since a new Creation is then in preparation, they can hope for a return to a life that will be enduring and concrete.73 And many graves shall be opened, and shall yield up many of their dead; and many saints shall appear unto many. (Helaman 14:25, and cf. 3 Nephi 23:9-13; 26:15) Three Days of Darkness. The death of the individual and the periodic death of humanity are necessary, even as the three days of darkness preceding the “rebirth.” 74 And then behold, there was darkness upon the face of the land. And it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof . . . could feel the vapor of darkness; And there could be no light, because of the darkness, neither candles, neither torches; neither could there be fire kindled. . . . And there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars. . . . And it came to pass that it did last for the space of three days. (3 Nephi 8:19-23) Humiliation of the King and the Role of the Scapegoat. To Marduk’s descent into hell . . there corresponded a period of mourning and fasting for the whole community and of “humiliation” for the king. . . . At this same period . . . the expulsion of evils and sins took place by means of a scapegoat.75 I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the father in taking upon me the sins of the world. (3 Nephi 11:11) The Sacred Combat. The ritual combats between two groups of actors reactualize the cosmogonic moment of the fight between the god and the primordial dragon . . . for the combat . . . presupposes the reactualization of primordial chaos, while the victory . . . can only signify . . . the Creation.76 That great city Zarahemla have I burned. . . . That great city Moroni have I caused to be sunk in the depths of the sea. . . . And many great destructions have I caused to come upon this land, and upon this people, because of their wickedness and abomi-nations. (3 Nephi 9:3-4, 12) The Symbolism of Light Coming into Darkness. Renewal of the world through rekindling of the fire, . . . a renewal that is equivalent to a new creation. . . . It is at this period that fires are extinguished and rekindled; and finally, this is the moment of initiations, one of whose essential elements is precisely this extinction and rekindling of fire.77 I am the light and the life of the world. . . . The light of the body is the eye; if, therefore, thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. (3 Nephi 9:18; 13:22-23) Coronation. This triumph was followed by the enthronement of Yahweh as king and the repetition of the cosmogonic act.78 They did cry out with one accord, saying: Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him. (3 Nephi 11:16-17) Sacraments. This periodic “salvation” of man finds an immediate counterpart in the guarantee of food.79 Now, there had been no bread, neither wine, brought by the disciples, neither by the multitude; But he truly gave unto them bread to eat, and also wine to drink. And he said unto them: He that eateth this bread eateth of my body to his soul; and he that drinketh of this wine drinketh of my blood to his soul; and his soul shall never hunger nor thirst, but shall be filled. (3 Nephi 20:6-8) Baptism. Baptism is equivalent to the ritual death of the old man followed by a new birth. On the cosmic level it is equivalent to the deluge: abolition of contours, fusion of all forms, return to the formless.80 Behold, ye shall go down and stand in the water, and in my name ye shall baptize them. . . . And then ye shall immerse them in the water, and come forth out of the water. (3 Nephi 11:23, 26) Opposition in All Things. The ambivalence and polarity of these episodes (fasting and excess, grief and joy, despair and orgy) only confirm their complementary function in the frame of the same system.81 For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. (2 Nephi 2:11; cf. 2 Nephi 2:10-27, implied in 3 Nephi 14:13-14) Recital of the Creation Story. To listen to the recital of the birth of the world is to become the contemporary of the creative act par excellence, the cosmogony.82 And he did expound all things, even from the beginning. (3 Nephi 26:3) At-one-ment. Sacrifice is intended “to restore the primordial unity.”83 And now, Father, I pray unto thee for them, and also for all those who shall believe on their words, that they may believe in me, that I may be in them, as thou Father, art in me, that we may be one. (3 Nephi 19:23) Initiation. Any ritual whatever . . . unfolds not only in a consecrated space . . . but also in a “sacred time,” “once upon a time” (in illo tempore, ab origine), that is, when the ritual was performed for the first time by a god, an ancestor, or a hero. Every ritual has a divine model, an archetype. . . . Not only do rituals have their mythical model but any human act whatever acquires effectiveness to the extent to which it exactly repeats an act performed at the beginning of time by a god, a hero, or an ancestor. . . . Insofar as he repeats the archetypal sacrifice, the sacrificer, in full ceremonial action, abandons the profane world of mortals and introduces himself into the divine world of the immortals.84 For the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do. . . . And ye shall sit down in the kingdom of my Father; . . . ye shall be even as I am, and I am even as the Father; and the Father and I are one. (3 Nephi 27:21; 28:10) The 3 Nephi experience follows the pattern of Old World Forty-Day writings, a distinguishing feature of which is an organic structure of rites and ordinances. The original sense of “perfect – telios” as in “Be ye therefore perfect (Matthew 5:48 and 3 Nephi 12:48), “has long been associated with becoming initiated into the great mysteries.”85 The Nephites were gathered at the temple in a covenantal context. Thou . . . shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths; But verily, verily, I say unto you, swear not at all. . . . But let your communication be yea, yea, Nay, nay. (3 Nephi 12:33-34, 37) Some aspects of the Nephite experience are shrouded in secrecy. And it was forbidden them that they should utter; neither was it given unto them power that they could utter the things which they saw and heard. (3 Nephi 28:14) Worthiness was very important. And it was the more righteous part of the people who were saved. (3 Nephi 10:12) Ye shall not suffer any one knowingly to partake of my flesh and blood unworthily. (3 Nephi 18:28) This is all a very solemn and holy occasion with somber responsibilities: Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. (3 Nephi 14:6) Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the salt of the earth; but if the salt shall lose its savor wherewith shall the earth be salted? The salt shall be thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men. (3 Nephi 12:13) The Nephites were charged to keep several commandments: Sacrifice of a broken heart and contrite spirit (3 Nephi 9:20) Obedience (3 Nephi 12:20) Gospel (3 Nephi 12:31-34; 14:12) Charge to avoid evil speaking (3 Nephi 12:22) Chastity (3 Nephi 12:27-32) Consecration (3 Nephi 13:33; 3 Nephi 26:19; 4 Nephi 1:3) The Nephite initiation included two levels of priesthood ordinations. And the Lord said unto him: I give unto you power that ye shall baptize this people. . . . And again the Lord called others, and said unto them likewise; and he gave unto them power to baptize. (3 Nephi 11:21-22) The disciples bare record that he gave them power to give the Holy Ghost. (3 Nephi 18:37) The Nephites are warned against Satan: Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always, lest ye be tempted by the devil, and ye be led away captive by him. (3 Nephi 18:15; also 2 Nephi 2:29) There are warnings against false prophets (3 Nephi 14:15-23; also consider Korihor, Sherem, Nehor, Isabel, Gadianton, and Zeezrom as types). Prayers and Prayer Circles. After this manner therefore pray ye. (3 Nephi 13:9) Jesus stood in the midst. . . . Angels descend[ed] out of heaven . . . and encircled those little ones about, . . . and the angels did minister unto them.86 (3 Nephi 17:12, 24) The climax and purpose of the rites point to deification. And ye shall sit down in the kingdom of my Father; yea, and your joy shall be full, even as the Father has given me fulness of joy; and ye shall be even as I am [perhaps I AM], and I am even as the Father; and the Father and I are one. (3 Nephi 28:10) By this time the Latter-day Saint reader of 3 Nephi may also begin to see increased significance in the frequent mention of white robes and garments throughout 3 Nephi (11:8; 19:25; 27:19), as well as the Lord’s invitation to “thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel [i.e., a true messenger]” (3 Nephi 11:14), or when “he touched with his hand the disciples whom he had chosen, one by one, . . . and he spake unto them as he touched them” (3 Nephi 18:36) or when the Lord’s voice was heard to say, “Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you” (3 Nephi 9:14). Therefore, ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for he that asketh receiveth; and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened. (3 Nephi 27:29) I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and I shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed. There is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father. (Enos 1:27) https://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1425&index=28 For me, this was triggered by reading Welch's initial work on 3 Nephi. The parallels to Eliade's work leapt out afterwards. Welch has taken his work much much further even since Illuminating the Sermon at the Temple and the Sermon on the Mount. And others have done so as well. Gordon Thomasson has told of the occasion when Nibley realized that the Book of Mormon was full of temple themes, in their case, in Alma 9-13. And of course, Hamblin has talked about Jacob's teaching in light of the Day of Atonement, and Welch and others have explored Benjamin's discourse at the temple. And others have taken it much further, for instance, LeGrand L. Baker and Stephen D. Ricks, Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord: The Psalms in Israel’s Temple Worship in the Old Testament and in the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2011) and D. John Butler's Plain and Precious Things: The Temple Religion of the Book of Mormon's Visionary Men. So it is one thing to approach the development of the LDS endowment through history and influences like the Old Testament and Masonry. However, I have yet to see those who take a historical and developmental approach drawing on Masonic stuff account for (or even mention) what is already in the Book of Mormon, and why it happens the even though the LDS endowments ends up doing the same things that the Book of Mormon does with the temple, though using different language and without Masonic connections. The Book of Mormon was not a source that anyone considered because everyone is so distracted and/or scandalized by the Masonic connection. FWIW Kevin Christensen Cansburg, PA 2
JLHPROF Posted November 2, 2018 Posted November 2, 2018 5 hours ago, Kevin Christensen said: Of course there are some Masonic connections between the language of the Nauvoo Endowment that persisted up to the early 90s. Gordon Thomasson has told of the occasion when Nibley realized that the Book of Mormon was full of temple themes, in their case, in Alma 9-13. So it is one thing to approach the development of the LDS endowment through history and influences like the Old Testament and Masonry. However, I have yet to see those who take a historical and developmental approach drawing on Masonic stuff account for (or even mention) what is already in the Book of Mormon, and why it happens the even though the LDS endowments ends up doing the same things that the Book of Mormon does with the temple, though using different language and without Masonic connections. The Book of Mormon was not a source that anyone considered because everyone is so distracted and/or scandalized by the Masonic connection. Again, it all comes back to the starting point we choose. If we assume Joseph cobbled the endowment together using disparate sources (masonry, BOM and other scriptures, etc) we reach one conclusion. If we believe Joseph received the endowment by revelation, even if inspired by elements around him then it shouldn't surprise us to find elements of the endowment scattered throughout the world. It's about the hypothesis as much as the evidence.
Recommended Posts