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I must admit that, at first, I did not understand the relevance of your reference to non-American Masonic ritual here. "Surely, there is no evidence that Masons in Nauvoo would have been familiar with such ritual," I thought. But then you brought up George Oliver's writings and tied it all in quite...

❶Reverential Sign- Sign of Salute RITUAL- The Reverential Sign or Sign of Sorrow, which is given by laying the right hand on the forehead for support, and left at the heart in a bowing humble attitude. It represents the attitude in which our first parents met Jehovah in the garden of Eden after the...

The text of AoF suggested that Adam’s own Masonic initiation into Masonry began in the Garden of Eden. It stated that “the principles of speculative Masonry, which had been communicated to Adam in Paradise, were never by him forsaken.” Thus Adam’s initiation into Divine Masonry took place in Paradis...

I appreciate you referencing Brothers Town and Woodworth; I had not previously read their comments and you provide some great context as to how many might have interpreted Masonic ritual during that time. However, even if half of the Masons at that time held this or similar opinions and interpretat...

Perhaps the similarities between Mormon and Masonic ceremonies didn't seem as significant to anyone in Smith's day as they do now, because people didn't have as broad a perspective on how many kinds of religious or social rituals could be possible. There were Christian sacraments, and there were th...

Yes; however, that relationship/connection is quite limited and superficial, even when looking at the earliest known versions of the ceremony that Brigham Young had standardized. I say "limited and superficial" because similarities have only to do with how things are taught, but nothing to do with ...