Conspiracy Against Free Agency

    This article will deal with the history of the battle for free agency. It will address primarily the adversary’s attacks upon free agency, a eternal principle under the laws of the Universe, and the people and organizations through which he has accomplished his purposes since the beginning of time. Although it is a long article, it should not be believed that it covers every aspect of the conspiracy, for this would take volumes. Just listing the names of all organizations designed to serve Satan in this purpose would be endless. It is not our purpose to attack all who might belong to these organizations since it has been a tactic of Satan to only let a very few select people at the top share in the “secret,” and the others have only been part of what they believe to be a benevolent organization, bringing to pass some good, without any real knowledge that this was but a cover to the more sinister aspects behind the scenes.
    It is a scriptural fact that Lucifer, the “son of the morning,” did seek to take the glory of God to himself and in so doing deny all humanity of free agency to glorify himself:

    How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, who didst weaken the nations!
    For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north,
    I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High. (Isaiah 14, 12-14)

    He was a son but was not the Chosen Son, although it was his desire to take the part of the Only Begotten:

    And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me saying -- Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.
    But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me -- Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.
    Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I the Lord God had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;
    And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice. (Moses 4:1-4)

    Satan was very persuasive in his cunning argument to redeem all mankind that one soul shall not be lost. Some, when approached to guarantee the salvation of their very children, that none would be lost, surely felt this would be the best way. Others, not certain as to who would win the argument, stood back to see the results, perhaps selfishly hoping only the best for themselves and with no desire to get involved. Others chose to back the Lord’s side, perhaps seeing that it was in their own best interest, with only a very few willing to give everything to support the Lord’s plan because they would do anything for Father. The Lord left it to everyone’s agency to choose for themselves:

    And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.
    And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate, and, at that day, many followed after him. (Abraham 3:27-28)

    Those who would not hearken unto the voice of Father and followed after Satan were one third of the hosts of heaven:

    And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and, behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
    And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels,
    And prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven.
    And the great dragon was cast out that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan, who deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
    And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven and did cast them to earth;... (Revelation 12:3,7-9 & 4)

    Satan was certain he was the Only Begotten:

    And now, when Moses had said these words, Satan cried with a loud voice, and rent upon the earth, and commanded, saying: I am the Only Begotten, worship me. (Moses 1:19)

    He later came to Adam an Eve after they had been cast out of the Garden of Eden and said, “I am the God of this world.” Through cunning and subtlety he sought to convince the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve that he being a son of God, was indeed the Only Begotten and as such was the god of this world:

    And Satan came among them, saying: I am also a son of God; and he commanded them, saying: believe it not; and they believed it not, and they loved Satan more than God. And men began from that time forth to be carnal, sensual, and devilish. (Moses 5:13)

    Well, Satan was right on the first and last claims. He is, as all of us, a son of God; and he is the god of this world. But he never has been, and never will be the Only Begotten of the Father, the Christ and Saviour of all mankind.
    The express purpose of this article will be to show that Satan, who came from the dark side of this origin of power, has sought from the very beginning to set forth a confederate (for lack of a better word) government, replicating in near exactness, the methods, practices and sometimes doctrines of the Lord’s plan, in an attempt to draw unto him as many of mankind who will once again not hearken unto the voice of Father. His powers are real and have lead many actively and passively to choose him once again in preference to the Lord since his appears to be the easier and more pleasurable path to pursue.
    The powers can be so nearly alike initially, that it is hard to distinguish one from another, as in the example of Aaron and the rod.

    And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did as the Lord had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
   Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers. 

    Now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.
    For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents; (Exodus 7:10-12)

    So initially, at least on the surface, it appeared that Satan could produce the same power as the Lord, but as time went on we could see the subtle differences:

    but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. (Exodus 7:12)

The problem is that it is the initial similarities that cause people to err, and ofttimes it is then too late when the subtle differences become apparent. It is for this reason that Satan’s power is often mistaken for the Lord’s, and sometimes the Lord’s power is mistaken for Satan’s. This happens when some are quick to judge the initial appearance as that resembling Satanic origin when that origin was really the Lord’s but then stolen by Satan to further his power and influence.
    Some have said that Satan is the great Counterfeiter; and to some degree this may be true; but in fact his power is real, not phoney as might be denoted by the word “counterfeit,” and is only surpassed by that of Father’s and His true Only Begotten Son and those acting in their name by their authority. He does operate on a parallel path that most nearly duplicates the Lord’s in many ways but by ultimately dark methods and with an entirely opposite result at the end. It is for this reason that many associate words, symbols and in some cases powers with that which is purely Satanic, when he has simply stolen or duplicated these means from the Lord’s side. It is also for this reason that many associate the source of all power and revelation to be from the Lord, and as such get caught in a web of deception.
    It will be the efforts of this article to show some of these similarities in these parallel courses to warn those that have eyes to see and ears to hear, as well as better arm those who choose the Lord’s side in this war over free agency that they may recognize more fully the opposition of the adversary through all history to these last days, at the very pinnacle of the culmination of this war. As such it will be necessary, in some cases, to swing back and forth in history to focus upon the reality of this sinister and very evil secret combination with Satan as its author since before the world was.
    When Satan came onto the scene, having been cast out of heaven, he immediately interacted with those who had not chosen to follow him the first time in another attempt to sway them from the righteous path. When coming upon Eve, he used much the approach that he had prescribed to from the beginning, only with a slightly different twist. To Eve he said: “Partake that you may become as God, knowing good and evil.” The lie is not that being the sons and daughters of Father, we have the very seeds of Godhood and thus the potential to become such, but that by being disobedient to Father and taking this shortcut course of partaking of this fruit, they might know all, as God knows all, and even being smarter by choosing the easier way to attain such. To this we see that the initial perspective of Godhood appears similar, but that the method and goal vary considerably. Thus Satan has shown from the beginning his tendency to duplicate the Lord’s plan through a cheap imitation, but nonetheless real plan.
    Later, when called to accountability, he excuses himself with the statement that he “has only done that which has been done on other worlds.” Charging that he will use the very powers of this world, that the Lord has created, to defeat the Lord’s plan. Although he sees himself as the victor, he has indeed accomplished the Lord’s plan in bringing to pass mortality and the beginning of the human race. This he cannot see, even though he had been present in the Premortal Councils of Heaven, because of an eternal blindness called “pride.” This will continue to be his undoing through all history and particularly at the conclusion of this war where he is finally defeated.
    After the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden he then appears again with his oft touted claim that he is the “god of this world” and proceeds to give them “religion,” the very opposite of what instruction the Lord had taught them previously. To this point there was never mention of “religion.” Father never gave religion. Satan was the first to mention “religion,” once again the opposite but real counterfeit of the Lord’s plan. It is to Satan that we can credit “religion” not the Lord.
    In the Garden, Adam and Eve learned true principles from Father:

    And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the Father and Son, saying: I am the Only Begotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth and forever, that as thou hast fallen thou mayest be redeemed, and all mankind, even as many as will.
    And in that day Adam was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.
    And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.
    And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters. (Moses 5:9-12)

    But as we quoted earlier, Satan came along and commanded them not to believe it and then taught them “religion” as his copy to the Lord’s plan. Vaguely familiar to Adam and Eve was an article that was worn by this professed “god of this world,” and the question arose:
    A) What is that apron you wear?
    S) It is an emblem of my powers and priesthoods.
    A) Priesthoods?
    S) Yes priesthoods!
    The above is a portion of conversation that is totally overlooked and misunderstood by a majority of Mormons. Satan does have real powers and priesthoods that rival the Lord’s, and has seemingly had such since before this world was. His priesthood and power is made manifest from the realms of black magic, sorcery, fortune and future telling, to the powers of evil leaders to spread blood and horror to this whole earth.
    Even this apron as described above as being worn by Satan, was depicted in the Salt Lake Temple as the very same that the Masonic order wears in its highest order. So here we swing greatly in time, showing a relationship between the adversary and a modern organization, shown to have some connection by a certain element in membership to the conspiracy in our day. This should be no surprise since Joseph Smith himself said:

    ...Freemasonry was the apostate endowment, as sectarian religion was the apostate religion. (Benjamin F. Johnson Diary)

    We shall reiterate, this does not mean that all Masons are part of the conspiracy. Only that Masonry has its roots in an apostate break from the Lord’s original teachings, and has been used by the forces of the adversary for his own purposes.
    Most Masons adhere to the oft taught history of Masonic origin as that of Solomon, king of Israel; Hiram, king of Tyre (an Egyptian providence); and Hiram Abiff, master architect and craftsman at the building of the first temple at Jerusalem. They were considered the first three Grand Masters that initiated the ceremony of Masonry as known today.
    Other than the unlikelihood, as we understand the Lord, of those not of Israel, participating in actual temple rights; we find that the belief of some Masons as to the true identity of the master, Hiram Abiff makes it even less likely as to his participation of any temple ordinances associated with the Lord:

    ...Hiram is Satan himself, the good god of the Masons, dethroned from his empire by Adonai, the God of the Christians, one God in three persons, Father, Son and the Holy Ghost. (The Mystery of Freemasonry Unveiled, Cardinal Caro y Rodriguez, pg. 66)

    As such, Hiram Abiff being given credit for the beginnings of Masonry makes some sense.
    Another problem with the scenario that the origin of Freemasonry was derived from Solomon’s temple is that one of the clasps of Masonry, the “five points of fellowship,” is an allusion to a Melchizedek Priesthood ordinance. This is unrealistic since the Melchizedek Priesthood was taken from the children of Israel with the translation of Moses, and was generally non-existent until the time of Christ, when he restored the Church in its fullness. Although there were some, including the prophets, that apparently held this priesthood, it could not have been found as an ordinance in the temple at the time of Solomon, thus indicating a different origin to Masonry.
    Some early Masonic history gives a more accurate history of Masonry. The Grand Lodge of England was organized 24 June, 1717 at London, and is given by some as the modern origin of Masonry by that name. At the same city in 1723, Dr. James Anderson published, with the authorization of the Grand Lodge, the authoritative volume, The Constitutions of the Freemasons. His opening paragraph read:

    Adam, our first Parent, created after the Image of God, the great Architect of the Universe, must have had the Liberal Sciences, particularly Geometry, written on his Heart; for even since the Fall, we find the Principles of it in the Hearts of his Offspring, and which, in the process of time, have been drawn forth into a convenient Method of Propositions, by observing the Laws of Proportion taken from Mechanism: So that as the Mechanical Arts gave Occasion to the Learned to reduce the Elements of Geometry into Method, this noble Science thus reduced, is the Foundation of all those Arts, (particularly of Masonry and Architecture) and the Rule by which they are conducted and performed.
    No doubt Adam taught his Sons Geometry, and the use of it, in the several Arts and Crafts convenient, at least, for those early Times; for CAIN, we find, build a City, which he called CONSECRATED, or DEDICATED, after the Name of his eldest Son ENOCH; and becoming the Prince of the one Half of Mankind, his Posterity would imitate his royal Example in improving both the noble Science and the useful Art.
    Nor can we suppose that Seth was less instructed, who being the Prince of the other Half of Mankind, and also the prime Cultivator of Astronomy, would take equal Care to teach Geometry and Masonry to his Offspring, who had also the mighty Advantage of Adam’s living among them. (As quoted in The Temple Mormon and The Masonic Lodge, Mervin B. Hogan, pg. 26 - emphasis and capitalization in original)

    This official historian and Mason points clearly to the beginnings of Masonic ceremony as that of Adam, only with the “improving” by CAIN and his son ENOCH. It is obvious that the capitalization is by design, showing what is believed to be the superior status of CAIN, ENOCH (not to be confused with the Enoch that, with his city, was translated) and his CONSECRATED or DEDICATED City. This being perhaps the first example of Satan counterfeiting, stealing, or otherwise copying the Lord’s sacred truth to be twisted and used to his evil purpose.
    This points out the true origin of Masonry and the opposing works and their similarity to each other. It puts in proper context how Satan began, through his original mortal conspirator to counterfeit the Lord’s side. The scriptural evidence of this original conspiracy is as follows :

    And Cain loved Satan more than God. And Satan commanded him, saying: Make an offering unto the Lord.
    And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground and offering unto the Lord.
    And Abel he also brought of the firstlings of the flock, and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel, and his offering;
But unto Cain, and to his offering, he had not respect. Now Satan knew this, and it pleased him. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
    And the Lord said unto Cain: Why art thou wroth? Why is thy countenance fallen?
    If thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted. And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth to have thee; and except thou shalt hearken unto my commandments, I will deliver thee up, and it shall be unto thee according to his desire. And thou shalt rule over him;
    For from this time forth thou shalt be the father of his lies; thou shalt be called Perdition; for thou wast also before the world.
    And it shall be said in time to come -- That these abominations were had from Cain; for he rejected the greater counsel which was had from God; and this is a cursing which I put upon thee, except thou repent.
    And Cain was wroth, and listened not any more to the voice of the Lord, neither to Abel his brother, who walked in holiness before the Lord.
    And Adam and his wife mourned before the Lord, because of Cain and his brethren.
    And it came to pass that Cain took one of his brothers’ daughters to wife, and they loved Satan more than God.
    And Satan said unto Cain: Swear unto me by thy throat, and if thou tell it thou shalt die; and swear thy brethren by their heads, and by the living God, that they tell it not; for if they tell it, they shall surely die; and this that thy father may not know it; and this day I will deliver thy brother Abel into thine hands.
    And Satan sware unto Cain that he would do according to his commands. And all these things were done in secret.
    And Cain said: Truly I am Mahan, the master of this great secret, that I may murder and get gain. Wherefore Cain was called Master Mahan, and he gloried in his wickedness.
    And Cain went into the field, and Cain talked with Abel, his brother. And it came to pass that while they were in the field, cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and slew him.
    And Cain gloried in that which he had done, saying: I am free; surely the flocks of my brother falleth into my hands.
    And the Lord said unto Cain: Where is Abel, thy brother? And he said: I know not. Am I my brother’s Keeper?
    And the Lord said: What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood cries unto me from the ground.
    And now thou shalt be cursed from the earth which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand.
    When thou tillest the ground it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength. A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
    And Cain said unto the Lord: Satan tempted me because of my brother’s flocks. And I was wroth also; for his offering thou didst accept and not mine, my punishment is greater than I can bear.
    Behold thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the Lord, and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that he that findeth me will slay me, because of mine iniquities, for these things are not hid from the Lord.
    And I the Lord said unto him: Whosoever slayeth thee, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And I the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
    And Cain was shut out from the presence of the Lord, and with his wife and many of his brethren dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
    And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bare Enoch, and he also begat many sons and daughters. And he builded a city, and he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. (Moses 5:18-42)

    We quoted the above in entirety to show the true beginnings of the opposition to the Lord’s plan, known to some extent as certain elements of Masonry.
    In verse 31 he describes himself as “Master Mahan.” Knowing the true origin of Masonry had little or no connection with artificers of brick and mortar as the fable of Masonry would have us believe, we can see that the word “Mason” was a convenient substitute for the word “Mahan” to cover its true origin. The most common and highest degree that a new Mason may be almost immediately elevated to is that of a “Master Mason.” This is not at all to say that those that have achieved this third degree are willing participants in the evil conspiracy, but are only being prepared, in some small degree, by the more “enlightened,” to be elevated further in knowledge if they prove “worthy.”
    According to the footnote on page 13 of the Pearl of Great Price, Mahan means “mind,” “destroyer,” and “great one.” It is akin to Mayhem meaning “confusion” or “chaos.” This goes along with the New World Order’s creed of “Ordo ab Chaos,” meaning order out of chaos. It is indeed the plan of the conspiracy to destroy and bring chaos to cause the people of this world to accept their form of order, total subjection of the world’s populace. Especially those who once had the Spirit of Liberty within their bosom. This goes along with Satan’s words:

 

    With Gold and silver I will but up armies and navies, popes and priests, and reign with blood and horror upon this earth.

    And we find that this Satan is:

    ...that same being who did plot with Cain, that if he would murder his brother Abel it should not be known unto the world. And he did plot with Cain and his followers from that time forth. (Helaman 6:27)

    It is interesting that many within Masonry even admit that its origins were with Cain, but few know the significance of that fact:

    In the masonic legends of certain degrees it is customary to say that Masonry descends from Cain, the son of Eve, from Eblis, the Masonic Angel of Light, or perhaps the Lucifer of the Christians whereas, according to them it comes from Satan himself, who for them is the good God, the eternal enemy of Jehovah, the God of the Bible and of the Christians. (The Mystery of Freemasonry Unveiled, Cardinal Caro y Rodriguez, pg. 208)

    This is the fulfillment of prophecy, when the Lord said:

    And it shall be said in time to come -- That these abominations were had from Cain; for he rejected the greater counsel which was had from God; and this is the cursing which I put upon thee, except thou repent. (Moses 5:25)

    So these abominations, these secret combinations began with Cain, coming from Satan himself. To this there can be no doubt. This was the beginning of the great conspiracy here upon the earth.
    Cain begat a son and called his name Enoch, and built a city after his name. Perhaps this is an example of Satanic fortune-telling and his close relationship with Satan himself, who still had full recollection of the pre-mortal plan; as this is once again a counterfeit of the later good Enoch, the son of Jared, who built the city of Zion through revelation from the Lord.
    This Enoch, the Son of Cain, begat Irad, who begat Mehujael, who begat Methusael, who begat Lamech. Now this Lamech, being all the more wicked than Cain, also made a covenant with Satan:

    For Lamech having entered into a covenant with Satan, after the manner of Cain, wherein he became Master Mahan, master of that great secret which was administered unto Cain by Satan; and Irad, the son of Enoch, having known their secret, began to reveal it unto the sons of Adam.
Wherefore Lamech, being angry, slew him, not like unto Cain, his brother Abel, for the sake of getting gain, but he slew him for the oath’s sake.
For, from the days of Cain, there was a secret combination, and their works were in the dark, and they knew every man his brother. (Moses 5:49-51)

    Josephus further elucidates us regarding Lamech, saying:

    ...and because he was so skilful in matters of divine revelation, that he knew he was to be punished for Cain’s murder of his brother, he made that known to his wives. Nay, even while Adam was alive, it came to pass that the posterity of Cain became exceedingly wicked, every one successively dying one after another, more wicked than the former. (Antiquities of the Jews, Flavius Josephus, Chapter II:2)

    This “revelation” he received was obviously from the “god of this world.” From the Book of Jasher (II:26-36) we find that he not only slew his grandfather Irad (obviously mistaken as Cain by Jasher), but supposedly his son Tubal-Cain as well. Whether by accident as Jasher records or because he sought to expose the murder of Irad, is hard to know for certain since we find elsewhere that Tubal-Cain was as evil as his father Lamech. We see however that as a result of this murder, Lamech foolishly said to his wives:

    ...Hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech; for I have slain a man of my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. [ed. note: He was wounded by the secrets revealed by Irad, and possibly hurt by actions or words of Tubal-Cain]
If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech shall be seventy and seven fold,
    Wherefore the Lord cursed Lamech, and his house, and all them that had covenanted with Satan; for they kept not the commandments of God, and it displeased God, and he ministered not unto them, and their works were abominations, and began to spread among all the sons of men.
And it was among the sons of men, among the daughters of men these things were not spoken, because that Lamech had spoken the secret unto his wives, and they rebelled against him, and declared these things abroad, and had not compassion; (Moses 5:47-48, 52-53)

    It may be for this reason that for many years women were refused any fellowship to Masonic organizations (except for Adoptive Masonry explained later), and even when they finally were admitted in modern times, it has not been to any of the degrees, ceremonies and rituals that the men attend. This because the wives of Lamech exposed the “secret” after he had confided in them. This differs from the Lord’s side of the plan where there are no “secrets” to be kept hidden from the women. In contrast, the women are an essential part, and full partner in bringing forth righteousness. The Lord’s plan requires the full participation of husband and wife to bring to pass exaltation.
    So Lamech begat Tubal-Cain, and before his possible demise, Josephus tells us that Tubal-Cain:

    ...was very expert and famous in martial performances. He procured what tended to the pleasures of the body by that method; and first of all invented the art of making brass. (Josephus - Chapter II, 2)

    So Tubal-Cain was a very carnal and sensual man that sought first what was pleasurable to the body. It is interesting to note that Tubal-Cain is the name used as the “new name” amongst the Masons and persists to be so to this day. Of this Benoit says:

 
    The password is “TUBALCAIN,” because he must work with metal, devoting himself to the study of Nature beginning with the mineral kingdom which holds first place. He must also honor TUBALCAIN as a descendent of Cain, and, according to the Masons, he should also honor Satan through Cain because Masonic traditions teach that he followed the cult of Nature. He is given an apron, because being at the beginning of his Masonic initiation he still has a feeling of modesty... The majority of these interpretations are given in Masonic books. They all result from the same nature of the ceremonies in relation to the end. (Benoit, FM 1, 206-208 - as quoted in The Mystery of Freemasonry Unveiled, pg. 54)

    Now remembering that Josephus recorded that the posterity of Cain became even more wicked than the previous generation, we can recognize that Tubal-Cain and those who came after must have been very wicked men. It says:

    And thus the works of darkness began to prevail among all the sons of men.
    And God cursed the earth with a sore curse, and was angry with the wicked, with all the sons of men whom he had made (Moses 5:55-56)

    So this wickedness continued among the sons of men, particularly the posterity of Cain, down to a time when the Lord determined to destroy them. Even the sons of Abel or Seth or others of the children of Adam mixed with the seed of Cain against the command of the Lord. The Books of Adam and Eve identify:

    ...drunkedness licentiousness, hatred, murder, and secret combinations as existing among the children of Cain (2 Adam and Eve 20:4-10). Before the Flood, the Books of Adam and Eve attempt to spell out what the scriptures say only briefly.
What most enticed the people to come down from the holy mount and mingle with the children of Cain was the appeal of a certain kind of music. That music possessed the power to ravish people’s souls (2 Adam and Eve 20:3). Once the people descended from the mount, all manner of lusts overcame them. The music had conditioned them for this result (2 Adam and Eve 20:20, 30-32). The music transformed the children of God, who had kept the divine law, who had regularly prayed and fasted, into children of the devil (2 Adam and Eve 20:15-16, 27, 35). The music robbed people of their self-control and thus of a measure of their agency (2 Adam and Eve 20:3, 9). The music’s intensity and momentum, when played at all hours by impassioned musicians, inflamed people’s hearts and won them over (2 Adam and Eve 20:2, 4, 12-13). A godly habit of life gave way to the abominations that were the commonplace of the Cananites (2 Adam and Eve 20:34).
     The account in the Books of Adam and Eve relates how a man called Genun, whom Satan inspired, made various kinds of trumpets, horns, stringed instruments, cymbals, psalteries, lyres, harps, and flutes and “gathered companies upon companies to play on them” (2 Adam and Eve 20:2, 4). When Genun and his companions played the instruments, “Satan came into them, so that [out of] them were heard beautiful and sweet sounds that ravished the heart” (2 Adam and Eve 20:3). When the bands played, the children of Cain “burned as with fire” among themselves, and as a consequence Satan “increased lust among them” (2 Adam and Eve 20:4]

      Mingling with the Cainites and partaking of their secret combinations and lust, brought the world to the destruction by the Lord know as the Flood, when all were destroyed but a few of Noah’s family. They came forth from the ark after the flood:

     And Noah began to be a husbandman; and he planted a vineyard.
     And he drank of the wine, and became drunk; and he was uncovered within his tent.
     And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
     And Shem and Japeth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.
     And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
     And he said, Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
     And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
     God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. (Genesis 9:21-27)

    So even though Ham committed the act, Canaan, his son, and his posterity were cursed. The Book of Abraham tells us that Ham had a wife named Egyptus, who was a Cainite. That Canaan was a Cainite posterity is most likely, although he could have had at least one other wife because Jasher states:

    Then Noah took three daughters of Eliakim, son of Methuselah, for wives for his sons, as the Lord had commanded Noah. (Jasher chapter V:35)

    But either because his wife fell from the faith or in addition, he chose another wife because this one was not able to bare children to him. Her name was Egyptus, a Cainite, who entered the ark with him and bore him sons named: Cush, Mizraim, Phut and Canaan, and a daughter also named Egyptus. For the Book of Abraham says:

    Now this king of Egypt was a descendant from the loins of Ham, and was a partaker of the blood of the Canaanites by birth.
    From this descent sprang all the Egyptians, and thus the blood of the Canaanites was preserved in the land.
    The land of Egypt being first discovered by a woman, who was the daughter of Ham, and the daughter of Egyptus, which in the Chaldean signifies Egypt, which signifies that which is forbidden.
    When this woman discovered the land it was under water, who afterward settled her sons in it; and thus from Ham, sprang that race which preserved the curse in the land. (Abraham 1:21-24)

This being that curse which was put upon Cain, and remembered by Lamech, and thus it was perpetuated through the flood by this lineage.
    Now the son of this daughter Egyptus, although cursed, was a righteous man as he was taught the Gospel by his grandfather Noah, and he lived after this righteous manner, seeking to establish the patriarchal order even though he could not hold the priesthood.

    Now the first government of Egypt was established by Pharaoh, the eldest son of Egyptus, the daughter of Ham, and it was after the manner of government of Ham, which was patriarchal.
    Pharaoh, being a righteous man, established his kingdom and judged his people wisely and justly all his days, seeking earnestly to imitate that order established by the fathers in the first generations, in the days of the first patriarchal reign, even in the reign of Noah, his father, who blessed him with the blessings of the earth, and with the blessings of wisdom, but cursed him as pertaining to the priesthood.              

    Now, Pharaoh being of that lineage by which he could not have the right of the Priesthood, notwithstanding the Pharaohs would fain claim it from Noah, through Ham, therefore my father was led away by their idolatry. (Abraham 1:25-27)

    Contrary to the account given by most Masons as to their origin, this is the most likely beginning of that craft, after the flood, for he was taught after the manner of the patriarchal order of Ham his grandfather and by his great grandfather Noah, and through this association, he must have known much of the endowment of the Lord.
    This would also explain the imagery of the Masons concerning Astronomy, or perhaps better described as Astrology, because of the knowledge later learned from Abraham who lived among them, and then corrupted by the Egyptians.

    But the records of the fathers, even the patriarchs, concerning the right of the Priesthood, the Lord my God preserved in mine own hands; therefore a knowledge of the beginning of creation, and also of the planets and the stars, as they were made known unto the fathers, have I kept even unto this day, and I shall endeavor to write some of these things upon this record, for the benefit of my posterity that shall come after me. (Abraham 1:31)

As to Ham’s firstborn son from his wife Egyptus, Cush, we read an interesting account from Jasher:

    And Cush the son of Ham, the son of Noah, took a wife in those days, in his old age, and she bare a son, and they called him Nimrod, saying, At that time the sons of men again began to rebel and transgress against God, and the child grew up, and his father loved him exceedingly, for he was the son of his old age.
    And the garments of skin which God made for Adam and his wife, when they went out of the garden, were given to Cush.
    For after the death of Adam and his wife, the garments were given to Enoch, the son of Jared, and when Enoch was taken up to God, he gave them to Methuselah, his son.
    And at the death of Methuselah, Noah took them and brought them to the ark, and there were with him until he went out of the ark.
    And in their going out, Ham stole those garments from Noah his father, and he took them and hid them from his brothers.
    And when Ham begat his first born Cush, he gave him the garments in secret, and they were with Cush many days.
    And Cush also concealed them from his sons and brothers, and when Cush had begotten Nimrod, he gave him those garments through his love for him, and Nimrod grew up, and when he was twenty years old he put on those garments.
    And Nimrod became strong when he put on those garments, and God gave him might and strength, and he was a mighty hunter in the earth, yea, he was a mighty hunter in the field, and he hunted the animals and he built altars, and he offered upon them the animals before the Lord.
    And Nimrod strengthened himself, and he rose up from amongst his brethren, and he fought the battles of his brethren against all their enemies round about.
    And the Lord delivered all the enemies of his brethren in his hands, and God prospered him from time to time in his battles, and he reigned upon earth.
    Therefore it became current in those days, when a man ushered forth those that he had trained up for battle, he would say to them, Like God did to Nimrod, who was a mighty hunter in the earth, and who succeeded in the battles that prevailed against his brethren, that he delivered them from the hands of their enemies, so may God strengthen us and deliver us this day.
    And when Nimrod was forty years old, at that time there was a war between his brethren and the children of Japeth, so that they were in the power of their enemies.
    And Nimrod went forth at that time, and he assembled all the sons of Cush and their families, about four hundred and sixty men, and he hired also from some of his friends and acquaintances about eighty men, and he gave them their hire, and he went with them to battle, and when he was on the road, Nimrod strengthened the hearts of the people that went with him.
    And he said to them, Do not fear, neither be alarmed, for all our enemies will be delivered into our hands, and you may do with them as you please.
    And all the men that went were about five hundred, and they fought against their enemies, and they destroyed them, and subdued them, and Nimrod and all the people that were with him turned homeward.
    And when Nimrod had joyfully returned from battle, after having conquered his enemies, all his brethren, together with those who knew him before, assembled to make him king over them, and they placed the regal crown upon his head.
    And he set over his subjects and people, princes, judges, and rulers, as is the custom amongst kings.
    And he placed Terah the son of Nahor the prince of his host, and he dignified him and elevated him above all his princes.(Jasher, Ch. VII:23-41)

    Now this Terah was the father of Abram. And thus we find from this account of Jasher that Nimrod was the King of Egypt at the time Abraham was born and nearly killed.
    So through the available books of antiquity, we can more readily deduce the true origins of Masonry and its modern-day facets of conspiracy. As quoted of Dr. James Anderson, it began with Cain. It was carried through the flood with the posterity of Ham and finally into Egypt with Pharaoh and Nimrod. Mervin B. Hogan, in his booklet The Temple Mormon and the Masonic Lodge states:

    The square, level, plumb, and compasses were ancient ethical symbols or emblems to the earliest Egyptians. (pg. 23)

    It was with this knowledge of building, handed down from Cain, that Nimrod and his followers used when they conspired against Father and built the tower of Babel:

 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.
 And they said, Go to, let us build up a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
 And the Lord said, Behold, the people are one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.
 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
 Therefore is the name of it called Babel, because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth; and from there did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of the earth. (Genesis 11:1-9)

    Apparently one of Nimrod’s desires in building the tower was to gain acclaim throughout the land that he might retain his power over the inhabitants. In the book “Babylon Mystery Babylon,” it states:

    Apparently Nimrod’s success as a mighty hunter caused him to become famous among those primitive people. He became “a mighty one” on the earth -- a famous leader in worldly affairs. Gaining this prestige, he devised a better means of protection. Instead of constantly fighting the wild beasts, why not organize the people into cities and surround them with walls of protection? Then, why not organize these cities into a “kingdom?” Evidently this was the thinking of Nimrod, for the Bible tells us that he organized such a kingdom.

And the beginning of his KINGDOM was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. (Genesis 10:10)

The kingdom of Nimrod is the first mentioned in the Bible.
Whatever advances may have been made by Nimrod would have been well and good, but Nimrod was an ungodly ruler. The name Nimrod comes from “marad,” meaning, “he rebelled.” The expression that he was a mighty one “before the Lord” can carry a hostile meaning -- the word “before” being sometimes used as meaning “against” the Lord. The Jewish Encyclopedia says that Nimrod was “he who made all the people rebellious against God.” (Babylon Mystery Babylon, Ralph Edward Woodrow, pg 2 & 3)

    The noted historian Josephus wrote:

    Now it was Nimrod who excited them to such an affront and contempt of God. He was the grandson of Ham, the son of Noah,- a bold man, and of great strength of hand. He persuaded them not to ascribe it to God, as if it was through his means they were happy, but to believe that it was their own courage which procured that happiness. He also gradually changed the government into tyranny,- seeing no other way of turning men from the fear of God, but to bring them into a constant dependence upon his power...
  Now the multitude were very ready to follow the determination of Nimrod, and to esteem it a piece of cowardice to submit to God... (Josephus IV:2-3)

    It is eye-opening to see that the conspiracy has not changed its tactics in gradually altering government into tyranny, as it has accomplished this in our day. A more detailed account is found in Jasher [Not indented due to length]:

    And king Nimrod reigned securely, and all the earth was under his control, and all the earth was of one tongue and words of union.
    And all the princes of Nimrod and his great men took counsel together; Phut, Mitzraim, Cush and Canaan with their families [now these were all the sons of Ham, and no doubt Egyptus and her family were involved as well], and they said to each other, Come let us build ourselves a city and in it a strong tower, and its top reaching heaven, and we will make ourselves famed, so that we may reign upon the whole world, in order that the evil of our enemies may cease from us, that we may reign mightily over them, and that we may not become scattered over the earth on account of their wars.
    And they all went before the king, and they told the king these words, and the king agreed with them in this affair, and he did so.
    And all the families assembled consisting of about six hundred thousand men, and they went to seek an extensive piece of ground to build the city and the tower, and they sought in the whole earth and they found none like one valley at the east of the land of Shinar, about two day’s walk, and they journeyed there and they dwelt there.
    And they began to make bricks and burn fires to build the city and the tower that they had imagined to complete.
    And the building of the tower was unto them a transgression and a sin, and they began to build it, and whilst they were building against the Lord God of heaven, they imagined in their hearts to war against him and to ascend into heaven.
    And all these people and all the families divided themselves in three parts; the first said We will ascend into heaven and fight against him; the second said, We will ascend to heaven and place our own gods there and serve them; and the third part said, We will ascend to heaven and smite him with bows and spears; and God knew all their works and all their evil thoughts, and he saw the city and the tower which they were building.
    And when they were building they built themselves a great city and a very high and strong tower; and on account of its height the mortar and bricks did not reach the builders in their ascent to it, until those who went up had completed a full year, and after that, they reached to the builders and gave them the mortar and the bricks; thus was it done daily.
    And behold these ascended and others descended the whole day; and if a brick should fall from their hands and get broken, they would all weep over it, and if a man fell and died, none of them would look at him.
    And the Lord knew their thoughts, and it came to pass when they were building they cast the arrows toward the heavens, and all the arrows fell upon them filled with blood, and when they saw them they said to each other, Surely we have slain all those that are in heaven.
    For this was from the Lord in order to cause them to err, and in order to destroy them from off the face of the ground.
    And they built the tower and the city, and they did this thing daily until many days and years were elapsed.
    And God said to the seventy angels who stood foremost before him, to those who were near to him, saying, Come let us descend and confuse their tongues, that one man shall not understand the language of his neighbor, and they did so unto them.
    And from that day following, they forgot each man his neighbor’s tongue, and they could not understand to speak in one tongue, and when the builder took from the hands of his neighbor lime or stone which he did not order, the builder would cast it away and throw it upon his neighbor, that he would die.
    And they did so many days, and they killed manly of them in this manner.
    And the Lord smote the three divisions that were there, and he punished them according to their works and designs; those who said, We will ascend to heaven and serve our gods, became like apes and elephants; and those who said, We will smite the heaven with arrows, the Lord killed them, one man through the hand of his neighbor; and the third division of those who said, We will ascend to heaven and fight against him, the Lord scattered them throughout the earth.
    And those who were left amongst them, when they knew and understood the evil which was coming upon them, they forsook the building, and they also became scattered upon the face of the whole earth.
    And they ceased building the city and the tower; therefore he called the place Babel, for there the Lord confounded the language of the whole earth; behold it was at the east of the land Shinar.
    And as to the tower which the sons of men built, the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up one third part thereof, and a fire also descended from heaven and burned another third, and the other third is left to this day, and it is of that part which was aloft, and its circumference is three days’ walk.
    And many of the sons of men died in that tower, a people without number. (Jasher IX:20-39)

    Now Nimrod had become king of all the sons of men, and continued to be such now over all those of a common language after the confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel. Babylon remained a principle city of the adversary, while its direct influence was not as wide spread as it once was. Egypt under the Pharaohs remained a providence of Satan’s influence in many times, although it would appear by scripture that on occasion it even came under non-cainite rule as some sources point to Abraham’s plural wife Hagar as the daughter of an Egyptian Pharaoh. There is no indication that Abraham had ever violated the Lord’s rule concerning the mixing of the races, as he received some of the greatest eternal blessings from the Lord. Babylon and Egypt continued to be somewhat the headquarters of the conspiracy and remain the two prophetic symbols of evil combined to this day. Most all prophets have made reference to one or both of these to express the adversary’s power base, although seldom did it refer to a specific geographical area as was known originally.
    Others of the worlds inhabitants were scattered throughout the earth, even to areas unoccupied since the flood. Jared, his brother, and their families were such a group.

    ...Jared came forth with his brother and their families, with some others and their families, from the great tower, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, and swore in his wrath that they should be scattered upon all the face of the earth; and according to the word of the Lord the people were scattered.
    And the brother of Jared being a large and mighty man, and a man highly favored of the Lord, Jared, his brother, said unto him: Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not understand our words.
    And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon Jared; therefore he did not confound the language of Jared; and Jared and his brother were not confounded.
    Then Jared said unto his brother: Cry again unto the Lord, and it may be that he will turn away his anger from them who are our friends, that he confound not their language.
    And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon their friends and their families also, that they were not confounded.
    And it came to pass that Jared spake again unto his brother, saying: Go and inquire of the Lord whether he will drive us out of the land, and if he will drive us out if the land, cry unto him whither we shall go. And who knoweth but the Lord will carry us forth into a land which is choice above all the earth? And if it be so, let us be faithful unto the Lord, that we may receive it for our inheritance.
    And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord according to that which had been spoken by the mouth of Jared.
    And it came to pass that the Lord did hear the brother of Jared, and had compassion upon him, and said unto him:
    Go to and gather together thy flocks, both male and female, of every kind; and also of the seed of the earth of every kind; and thy families; and also Jared thy brother and his family; and also thy friends and their families, and the friends of Jared and their families.
    And when thou hast done this thou shalt go at the head of them down into the valley which is northward. And there will I meet thee, and I will go before thee into a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth.
    And there will I bless thee and thy seed, and of the seed of thy brother, and they who shall go with thee, a great nation. And there shall be none greater than the nation which I will raise up unto me of thy seed, upon all the face of the earth. And thus I will do unto thee because this long time ye have cried unto me. (Ether 1:33-43)

    Not many generations passed and these sons of men began to return to their wicked ways through the same secret conspiracies that dated back to Cain:

    Now the daughter of Jared [not the same as above] being exceedingly expert, and seeing the sorrows of her father, thought to devise a plan whereby she could redeem the kingdom unto her father.
    Now the daughter of Jared was exceedingly fair. And it came to pass that she did talk with her father, and said unto him: Whereby hath my father so much sorrow? Hath he not read the record which our fathers brought across the great deep? Behold, is there not an account concerning them of old, that they by their secret plans did obtain kingdoms and great glory?
    And it came to pass that Akish gathered in unto the house of Jared and all his kinfolk, and said unto them: Will you swear unto me that ye will be faithful unto me in the thing which I shall desire of you?
    And it came to pass that they all sware unto him, by the God of heaven, and also by the heavens, and also by the earth, and by their heads, that whoso should vary from the assistance which Akish desired should lose his head; and whoso should divulge whatsoever thing Akish made known unto them, the same should lose his life.
    And it came to pass that thus they did agree with Akish. And Akish did administer unto them the oaths which were given by them of old who also sought power, which had been handed down even from Cain, who was a murderer from the beginning.
    And they were kept up by the power of the devil to administer these oaths unto the people, to keep them in darkness, to help such as sought power to gain power, and to murder, and to plunder, and to lie, and to commit all manner of wickedness and whoredoms.
    And it was the daughter of Jared who put it into his heart to search up these things of old; and Jared put it into the heart of Akish; wherefore, Akish administered it unto his kindred and friends, leading them away by fair promises to do whatsoever thing he desired.
    And it came to pass that they formed a secret combination, even as they of old; which combination is most abominable and wicked above all, in the sight of God;
    For the Lord worketh not in secret combinations, neither doth he will that man should shed blood, but in all things hath forbidden it, from the beginning of man, (Ether 8:8-9, 13-19)

    Now the above says clearly that these things were written of old and were handed down even from Cain. However, even if these records were unavailable, this conspiracy had no problem continuing, for the Book of Helaman says [Not indented due to length]:

    And in the commencement of the sixty and seventh year the people began to grow wicked again.
For behold, the Lord had blessed them so long with the riches of the world that they had not been stirred up to anger, to wars, nor to bloodshed; therefore they began to set their hearts upon their riches; yea, they began to seek to get gain that they might be lifted up one above another; therefore they began to commit secret murders, and to rob and to plunder, that they might get gain.
    And now behold, those murderers and plunderers, were a band who had been formed by Kishkumen and Gadianton. And now it had come to pass that there were many, even among the Nephites, of Gadiantons band. But behold, they were more numerous among the more wicked part of the Lamanites. And they were called Gadianton’s robbers and murderers.
    And it was they who did murder the chief judge Cezoram, and his son, while in the judgement seat; and behold, they were not found.
    And now it came to pass that when the Lamanites found that there were robbers among them they were exceedingly sorrowful; and they did use every means in their power to destroy them off the face of the earth.
    But behold, Satan did stir up the hearts of the more part of the Nephites, insomuch that they did unite with those bands of robbers, and did enter into their oaths, that they would protect and preserve one another in whatsoever difficult circumstances they should be placed, that they should not suffer for their murders, and plunderings, and their stealings.
    And it came to pass that they did have their signs, yea, their secret signs, and their secret words; and this that they might distinguish a brother who had entered into the covenant, that whatsoever wickedness his brother should do he should not be injured by his brother, nor by those who did belong to his band, who had taken this covenant.
    And thus they might murder, and plunder, and steal, and commit whoredoms and all manner of wickedness, contrary to the laws of their God.
    And whosoever of those who belonged to their band should reveal unto the world of their wickedness and their abominations, should be tried, not accord to the laws of their country, but according to the laws of wickedness, which had been given by Gadianton and Kishkumen.
    Now behold, it is these secret oaths and covenants which Alma commanded his son should not go forth unto the world, lest they should be a means of bringing down the people unto destruction.
    Now behold, these secret oaths and covenants did not come forth unto Gadianton from the records which were delivered unto Helaman; but behold, they were put into the heart of Gadianton by that same being who did entice our first parents to partake of the forbidden fruit --
Yea, that same being who did plot with Cain, that if he would murder his brother Abel it should not be known unto the world. And he did plot with Cain and his followers from that time forth.
    And also it is the same being who put it into the hearts of the people to build a tower sufficiently high that they might get to heaven. And it was that same being who led on the people who came from that tower into this land; who spread the works of darkness and abominations over all the face of the land, until he dragged the people down to an entire destruction, and to an everlasting hell.
    Yea, and it is that same being who put it into the heart of Gadianton to still carry on the work of darkness, and of secret murder; and he has brought it forth from the beginning of man even down to this time.
And behold, it is he who is the author of all sin. And behold, he doth carry on his works of darkness and secret murder, and doth hand down their plots, and their oaths, and their covenants, and their plans of awful wickedness, from generation to generation according as he can get hold upon the hearts of the children of men. (Helaman 6:16-30)

    This shows without doubt that this conspiracy need not have been passed from one to another, although in most if not all cases this has been true. The record makes it clear that the posterity of Cain, through Lamech and Nimrod to this point, were just as wicked, if not more so, with each succeeding generation. This conspiracy became the cause of the destruction of the Jaredites as well the Nephites, as related by Moroni:

    And they have caused the destruction of this people of whom I am now speaking and also the destruction of the people of Nephi.
And whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations, to get power and gain, until they spread over the nation, behold, they shall be destroyed; for the Lord will not suffer that the blood of the saints, which shall be shed by them, shall always cry unto him from the ground for vengeance upon them and yet he avenge them not. (Ether 8:21-22)

    It would seem likely that this very same would have been the cause of the destruction of Jerusalem and the forewarning of such an event by Jeremiah and Lehi. As recorded, the conspiracy of these secret combinations plagued the Nephites and Jaredites throughout their history. There is much to indicate that this was also true of the Israelites that continued in the old world. That these works of darkness could make it across the ocean and continue for many generations should be sufficient proof that they would make it through the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity to be in effect at the Meridian of Time, for the ultimate conspiracy against our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
    This kind of conspiracy made itself prominent in this hemisphere some 60 years before the birth of the Saviour. Here, in the Americas, a combination that came to be known as the Kingmen, sought to overtake the free agency of others and rule in unrighteous dominion. Fortunately, one of the greatest freemen ever to live upon this earth, Moroni, took the lead in covenanting to protect the gift of free agency bestowed by a loving Father, and caused others to do likewise.
    This did not, however, destroy the aspirations of conspiring men. Kishkumen and his band of faithful followers continued on in secret until he was killed and the secret combination fled to the wilderness with their new leader named Gadianton. This group came to be known as the Gadianton Robbers and as described above, were a plague to the Nephites both overtly and covertly, right up until the death of Christ in the old world; and then thereafter when the Nephites once again returned to wickedness.
    The conspiracy did not flee from the old world either, just because the Saviour was there in person. No, instead it called upon all the forces of darkness to bring to pass His death and then the death of the true Church. Just some 35 years after the death of the Saviour, scriptural evidence suggests that the conspiracy had already insidiously crept in and had taken over the doctrines within the Church to a great degree as Jude warned:

    Behold, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of common salavation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. (Jude 1:3-4)

    So the powers of darkness revelled in its apparent successes and the forces of Satan laughed with glee as these insidious elements crept into the Church only to take it over in a short period of time. With the successful elimination of the Apostles, it was a matter of just a couple centuries that these evil forces were again totally in control. Some of the most evil of Papal excesses including adultery, incest, and even murder, were committed from this time forward. With the so-called “conversion” of Constantine, Paganism became the bedfellow of Christians everywhere. All the Pagan excesses and rituals were incorporated into “Christianity” to supposedly appease and interest these new converts, but instead accomplished the degradation of what was left of the Christian element.
    The fight between light and darkness, good and evil, continued throughout the Dark Ages as the white knights of the roundtable continued the war against the Dragon and his dark knights of the conspiracy. As we have shown throughout this entire article, Satan has duplicated through his power, a confederate side, in this case called the Knights Templar. The Encyclopedia Americana says:

    It is within the range of possibility that a connection existed between the chivalric order of the Knights Templars, and the fraternity of operative Mason of medieval times, because bodies of skilled workmen erected Templar strongholds in the Holy Land, and built their preceptors and priories and round churches in Europe.
    The Famous Temple Church in London is an example. What was more natural than that the Knights Templar, in the fourteenth century, proscribed, persecuted and despoiled of all things, should seek their perpetuation among affiliated bodies of mechanics, of whose universality and antiquity they had abundant evidence? (as quoted in Mormonism and Freemasonry, Anthony W. Ivins, pg. 14-15)

    Anthony W. Ivins continues to explain in his book Mormonism and Freemasonry, the origin of Freemasonry through the Dark Ages, which we quote at length without indents to conserve space:
    About the year 1118 A.D. a Burgundian Knight, Hugh de Paganis and eight comrades bound themselves by covenant to the representative of the Latin Christian Church at Jerusalem to fight for, defend and protect, the King of Heaven, as represented by his church upon the earth.
    Other members were added to the number and quarters were provided for the brotherhood in a Mohammedan Mosque, which was used as a palace of the Christian King of Jerusalem.
    This palace is said to have been built on Mount Moriah, the supposed site of the Temple of Solomon, and came to be known as Templum Solomonici (Solomon’s Temple). It was from this that the name Knights Templar was taken.
    At a later date Hugh de Paganis went to England, where a number of English Knights were induced to become members of the brotherhood, and return with him to the Holy Land. Among these was the Count of Anjou, who was crowned King of Jerusalem in 1131.
    It will thus be observed that the order of knights Templars was not instituted until about one thousand years after the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem by the Roman armies, under the leadership of Vespacian and his son Titus, at which time the very foundation stones were removed, as our Lord had declared that they should be. (Matt. 24:2)
    It is a historical fact that at the time of the taking of Jerusalem by the Roman army not one of the foundation stones of the Temple was left upon the other.
    If the Knights Templars had proper understanding of the ceremonies and ordinances of the Temple of Solomon, from what source was it obtained? Matthew Ramsey, a scotch gentleman, and writer on the subject, believed that Freemasonry had its origin with the Knights Templars.
    Between the date of its inception at Jerusalem, in 1118 and 1314, the Order of the Knights Templars had become a powerful and wealthy organization. They recognized allegiance to no power above the Church, of which the Pope was the recognized head.
    At this time Jacques de Molay was Grand Master of the Order. Pope Clement V and Phillippe-le-bel, King of France, fearing the growing power of the Templars, and coveting their immense wealth, resolved to destroy the Order. While Jacques de Molay was preparing an expedition to avenge the wrongs and disasters suffered by the Christians in the East, the Pope ordered him to come to France. On his arrival he was received with every mark of friendship, but soon after the king ordered his arrest together with other members of the Order, accusing them of most heinous crimes, denouncing them particularly because of the secret rites and oaths of initiation.
    By order of the Archbishop of Sens, Jacques de Molay, Guy of Auverne, and others of the Order were burned at the stake, on March 18, 1314. The Pope had declared the Order of Knights Templars abolished throughout the world, and the execution of the Grand Master and his companions gave the coup de grace to the order.
    The Knights, scattered by the action of the Pope, took refuge in various countries. Some who had escaped to Portugal assumed the title of Knights of Christ. Before his death Jacques de Molay appointed Johan Marcus Larmenio his successor to the office of Grand Master. Some of the Knights, who fled to Scotland and took refuge at the court of King Robert Bruce, refused to recognize his authority, and under the patronage and protection of the king, pretended to reestablish the Order of the Temple under the title of Architects, and laid the foundation of the Order of the Free and Accepted Masons of the Scottish Rite. This was in 1314.
    This society is said to have retained the execratory oath to avenge the death of Jacques de Molay and his associates upon those who were responsible for their execution, but after the death of Phillippe-le-bel and Pope Clement V and others who were concerned in the death of their fellow members, this appears to have discontinued, and the Order gave more particular attention to allegories and symbols, and extensive texts from the Bible were introduced into their ceremonies.
    Little is known of the further activities of the Masons until the reign of Charles I of England. The enemies of Oliver Cromwell, seeking to restore the monarchy, created the Degree of Grand Master, to prepare the minds of the Masons for that event. King William III was initiated into the Order, and a great revival occurred. In February, 1717, the first Grand Lodge is said to have been established in London. The four lodges then existing in that city met at the Tavern of The Apple Tree, and appointed Anthony Sayer Grand Master. This is credited by many authorities as being the real origin of the craft. There are others, however, who claim that the craft did not originate with any order of chivalry, but in the building fraternities of the Middle Ages.
    From the time of the organization of the Grand Lodge at the Tavern of The Apple Tree, Freemasonry spread rapidly throughout Europe, and in 1732 crossed the Atlantic to America. If the theory of Chevalier Ramsey is correct, that is, that modern Freemasonry had its beginning with the Society of Architects, founded in Scotland under the protection of Charles Bruce, and the title of Ancient and Accepted Masons of the Scottish Rite, then we may trace its origin to the Order of the Knights Templars, and through them to the ancient mysteries, practices in Egypt, Chaldea, Greece, Etruria and other ancient nations from time immemorial.
    It is well known that one of the charges made against Jacques de Molay and his associates was that they used secret oaths and rites in their initiations. We are told that the aim of the Architects was to perpetuate the ancient order of the Temple, it is therefore to be presumed that they endeavored to observe the rites and ordinances practiced there. (Mormonism and Freemasonry, Anthony W. Ivins, pg. 15-20)

    So we see that with apostasy, Satan once again took control with his agents as head of the Church, and grew to other organizations supporting this control. From the Papal heads, to the Knights Templars to the Grand Lodge of England in 1717, we find the adversary continuing the foundation of his organization after the death of the Saviour to strengthen his forces for the pinnacle of the fight in the last days in his struggle to counteract the efforts of the Lord to reestablish free agency for his children in this ongoing war.
    Many are aware that the Lord, through men inspired and raised up for that very purpose, brought forth the most important freedom document and doctrine in July of 1776, the Declaration of Independence. Few, however, are aware of Satan’s counteractive measures at the self same time, namely the Illuminati, brought forth by his inspired servant Adam Weishaupt in May 1776.
    Perhaps one of the best works on the Illuminati was published in 1798 by John Robison, called Proofs of a Conspiracy. We quote at length from its contents below, without indentation to once again conserve space:

    First of all a remarkable lodge of the Eclectic Masonry was erected at Munich in Bavaria, it was called The Lodge Theodore of Good Counsel. It had its constitutional patent from the Royal York at Berlin, but it had formed a particular system of its own, by instructions from the Loge des Chevaliers Bienfaisants at Lyons, with which it kept up correspondence. This respect to the Lodge at Lyons had arisen from the preponderance acquired in general by the French party at the convention at Willemsbad. The deputies of the Rosaic Lodges, as well as the remains of the Knights Templars, and Stricten Observanz, all looking up to this as the Mother Lodge. Refining gradually on the simple British Masonry, as found in the Lodge of England, this Lodge had formed a system of “practical morality,” which it asserted to be the aim of genuine Masonry, saying, that a true Mason, and a man of upright heart and active virtue, are synonymous characters, and that the great aim of Free Masonry is to promote the happiness of mankind by “every means in our power.” [Thus advancing the philosophy that the “end justifies the means.”] In pursuance of these principles, the Lodge Theodore professedly occupied itself with economical, statistical, and political matters, and not only published from time to time discourses on such subjects by the Brother Orator, but the members considered themselves as in duty bound to propagate and inculate the same doctrines out of doors.
    Of the zealous members of the Lodge Theodore the most conspicuous was Dr. Adam Weishaupt, Professor of Canon Law in the university of Ingolstadt. This person had been educated among the Jesuits; but the abolition of their order made him change his views, and from being their pupil, he became their most bitter enemy. He had acquired a high reputation in his profession, and was attended not only by those intended for the practice in the law-courts, but also by young gentlemen at large, in their course of general education; and he brought numbers from the neighboring states to this university, and gave a ton to the studies of the place. He embraced with great keenness this opertunity of spreading the favorite doctrines of the Lodge, and his auditory became the seminary of Cosmopolitism. The engaging pictures of the possible felicity of a society where every office is held by a man of talents and virtue, and where every talent is set in a place fitted for its exertion, forcibly catches the generous and unsepecting minds of youth, and in a Roman Catholic state, far advanced in the habits of gross superstition (a characer given to Bavaria by its neighbors) and abounding in monks and idle dignitaries, the opportunities must be frequent for observing the inconsiderate dominion of the clergy, and the abject and indolent submission of the laity. Accordingly Professor Weishaupt says, in his Apology for illuminism, that Deism, Infidelity, and Atheism are more prevelant in Bavaria than in any country he was acquainted with. Discourses, therefore, in which the absurdity and horrors of superstition and spiritual tyranny were strongly painted, could not fail of making a deep impression. And during the state of the minds of the auditory the transition to general fidelity and irreligion is so easy, and so inviting to sanguine youth, prompted perhaps by a latent wish that the restraints which religion imposes on the expectants of a future state might be found, on enquiry, to be nothing but groundless terrors; that I imagine it requires the most anxious care of the public teacher to keep the minds of his audience impressed with the reality and importance of the great truths of religion, while he frees them from the shakles of blind and absurd superstition. I fear that this celebrated instructor had none of his anxiety, but was satisfied with his great success in the last part of this task, the emancipation of his young hearers from the terrors of superstition. I suppose also that this was the more agreeable to him, as it pictured him in triumph over the Jesuits, with whom he had long struggled for the direction of the university.
    The Lodge Theodore was the place where the above mentioned doctrines were most zealously propagated. But Weishaupts emissaries had already procured the adherence of many other Lodges; and the Eclectic Masonry has been brought into vogue chiefly by their exertions at the Willemsbad convention. The Lodge Theodore was perhaps less guarded in its proceedings, for it became remarkable for the very bold sentiments in politics and religion which were frequently uttered in their harangues; and its members were noted for their zeal in making proselytes. Many bitter pasquinades, satires, and other offensive pamphlets were in circulation, and even larger works of very dangerous tendency, and several of them were traced to that Lodge.
    It was then discovered that this and several associated Lodges were the nursery or preparation-school for another Order of Masons, who called themselves the ILLUMINATED, and that the express aim of this Order was to abolish Christianity, and overturn all civil government.
    The Order was said to abjure Christianity, and to refuse admission into the higher degrees to all who adhered to any of the three confessions. Sensual pleasures were restored to the rank they held in Epicurean philosophy. Self-murder was justified on Stoical principles. In the Lodges death was declared an eternal sleep; patriotism and loyalty were called narrow-minded prejudices, and incompatible with universal benevolence; continual declarations were made on liberty and equality as the unalienable rights of man. The baneful influence of accumulated property was declared an insurmountable obstacle to the happiness of any nation whose chief laws were framed for its protection and increase. Nothing was so frequently discoursed of as the propriety of employing, for a good purpose, the means which the wicked employed for evil purposes; and it was taught, that the preponderancy of good in the ultimate result consecrated every mean employed; and that wisdom and virtue consisted in properly determining this balance. This appeared big with danger; because it appeared that nothing would be scrupled at, if we could make it appear that the Order could derive advantage from it, because the object of the Order was held superior to every consideration.
    The order of ILLUMINATI appears as an accessory to Free Masonry. It is in the Lodges of Free Masons that the Minervals are found, and there they are prepared fore Illumination. They must have previously obtained the three English degrees. The founder says more. He says that his doctrines are the only true Free Masonry. He was the chief promoter of the Eclectic System. This he urged as the best method for getting information of all the explainations which have been given of the Masonic Mysteries. He was also a Strict Observanz, and an adept Rosycrucian. (Proofs of a Conspiracy, John Robison, pgs. 57-63)

    Weishaupt’s method of operation was to first recruit a large number of potential candidates to the lower degrees. In this example let us say one hundred. He would then move them through the degrees while all the time testing them in their willingness to accept stronger doctrine and thus eliminating all those that were unworkable along the way. He might claim first that the third degree was the highest, and then claim the tenth degree was the highest to a select few of say fifty. Then once elevated, he would choose maybe twenty to take to the twentieth degree, then ten to the thirtieth degree and finally only a couple on to the thirty-second degree with perhaps only one on to the thirty-third degree. Only those in the higher degree would know the true doctrines of the Order with only the very highest knowing the true god worshipped. Only those select of the thirty-third degree would have the full power of their god Lucifer. The great historian of Masonry and supreme Pontiff of all Masonry Albert Pike, stated on July 14, 1889 to the 23 Supreme Councils of the World:

    That which we say to the crowd is - we worship a God, but it is the God that one adores without superstition. To you, Sovereign Grand Inspector’s General, we say this, that you may repeat it to the Brethren of the 32nd, 31st and 30th degrees - the Masonic religion should be, by all of it’s initiates of the high degrees maintained in the purity of the Luciferian doctrine. If Lucifer were not God, would Adonay (the God of the Christians) whose deeds prove his cruelty, perfidy, and hatred of man, barbarism and repulsion for science, would Adonay and his priests, calumniate him? Yes, Lucifer is God, and unfortunately Adonay is also God ... the intelligent disciples of Zoroaster, as well as the Gnostics, the Manicheans and the Templars have admitted, as the only logical metaphysical conception, the system of two divine principles fighting eternally, and one cannot believe the one inferior in power to the other. Thus ... the true and pure philosophic religion is the belief in Lucifer, the equal of Adonay.
Yes Lucifer is God. The true and pure philosophic religion of Free Masonry is belief in Lucifer.

    This belief of eternal war is interesting, but is once again Satan’s counterfiet of the Lord’s truth. As pointed out earlier, Lucifer was in the pre-mortal councils of heaven, where he obviously received “powers and priesthoods.” However, truth has never taught that Father and His Son Jesus Christ would not come to win the battle, for the scriptures make it clear that Satan will be cast into the bottomless pit at the beginning of the Millenium and held there for a thousand years, after which he will be loosed for a short season and then comes the destruction of this world as we know it, as well as that of Satan. Yet, it is understandable how Satan uses his doctrine of eternal war with Father not being victor to get these men to accept him as an equal god.
    So this is the Luciferian doctrine held to at the highest levels of Illuminated Masonry. As was pointed out above, Illuminism believes the very evil doctrine of “the end justifies the means.” Weishaupt, in speaking to an initiate said:

    Remember that the end justifies the means, that the descreet person must take for good all means which the wicked person uses for evil. Those which we have used ... are nothing more than a pious fraud, etc. (Ronel, pg. 104, as quoted in The Mystery of Freemasonry, pg. 148)

    This being diametrically opposed to the Lord’s truth as taught by the Apostle Paul:

    ...not rather (as we are slanderously reported, and as some affirm we say), Let us do evil, that good may come? Whose damnation is just. (Romans 3:8)

    So we find that the Illuminati and its auxillary organizations have been a chief vehicle through which Satan has launched his campagn against free agency here in the last days. Yet we find that some of the very men whom we look to as inspired of a loving Father to bring forth this bastian of liberty in this country, were also Masons. One of these that most must consider the absolute key to the success of the fight for liberty was George Washington. His response, after having been sent a copy of the foregoing book, Proofs of a Conspiracy by John Robison, was:

    I have heard much of the nefarious and dangerous plan and doctrines of the Illuminati, but never saw the book until you were pleased to send it to me. It was not my intention to doubt that the doctrine of the Illuminati had not spread to the United States. On the contrary, no one is more satified of this fact than I am.... (Letter from George Washington to Reverend G. W. Snyder, September 25, 1798, as quoted in The Review of the News, July 19, 1972, p. 59)

    So here, a fellow Mason, admitted that he saw the “nefarious and dangerous plan and doctrines of the Illuminati.” This should be sure proof that not all Masons agree with that which is taught at the highest ranks. In fact, our best judge of what a person truly believes must still be:

    Wherefore, by their fruits ye shall know them. (Matthew 7:20)

    When the country was very vulnerable and still used to centuries of monarchy, a decision was being made as to what kind of government would be best. At this critical juncture, some of the forces that be, sent a man to present to George Washington an offer to be King of the United States. George Washington was barely able to contain his temper as he told the man in no uncertain terms what he could do with his offer. Had George Washington been of mind, as the beliefs and goals of the Illuminati, it is certain that he would have jumped at such an offer. This, and other actions, are clearly the fruits that we might know the great heavenly virtue that permeated the soul of this great man. Others of the Founding Fathers who were Masons as well can be judged in the same great light of their fruits. All knew they were signing their death warrants called the “Declaration of Independence.” All pledged their fortunes, sacred honor, and even lives if need be. All lost much in this great struggle, but they all knew it would be an even greater price to pay if they were unsuccessful, LIBERTY!
    The restoration of the Gospel brought with it a whole new group of men that fought the fight for free agency. It would seem that all the forces of the adversary combined at one time or another to defeat this attempt of the Lord’s to bring forth righteousness, yet He was once again sucessful for those who were his elect.
    From the beginning the servants of the adversary, both so from the start as well as those that fell to his temptations, sought to destroy this great work. We can see from examples such as Hiram Page receiving revelation from his peep stone, to Sampson Arvid organizing in secret the Danaites, to John C. Bennett spreading his spiritial wife doctrine; that many sought to help Satan duplicate the Lord’s efforts through Joseph Smith that many might be led astray and destroy the Lord’s plan.
    Many there are that are antagonistic to the Restoration that claim Joseph Smith of being part of these secret organizations or starting his own. These are the same that claim this grade school educated youth was cunning enough to write a wonderful book like the Book of Mormon without heavenly inspiration, but in the next breath claim him so foolish that he would first publish a book with strong language against secret combinations and then go forth and involve himself and others in such a society. They claim almost super-intelligence to him on one hand, and then stupidity on the other.
    Even his critics claim he was anti-secret society right up until Nauvoo, so our study will be confined to that period of time. In connection with what we have related above, it is obvious that we need to examine Joseph’s dealings with the Masons and try to ascertain purposes some 150 years later.
    To begin with, we need to point out that at the time Joseph translated the Book of Mormon and its teachings regarding secret combinations, there was much anti-Masonic sentiment throughout the area in which he was living. The incident which incited such sentiment was the murder of one William Morgan after he renounced Masonry and wrote an expose’ published in Batavia, New York in 1827. The wife of this man that exposed Masonry, later became a member of the Church in Nauvoo and eventually was:

    ...one of the first women sealed to the Prophet Joseph. (Historical Record, Vol. VI, pg. 233)

    At the time, however, further investigation shows that both Joseph’s father, Joseph Smith Sr. and brother, Hyrum Smith, were Masons. If Joseph had written the Book of Mormon of his own accord, it would seem plausable that he not would come out so strongly against the Masons, but instead would have side-stepped the issue with a desire to pacify the strong feeling against those such as his brother and father.
    In 1835, the Egyptian Papyrus first came into the hands of the Prophet Joseph Smith. In July of 1835, Michael Chandler wrote a letter attesting to Joseph’s translation of the hieroglyphics and Jospeph’s own journal entry signifies his continuous labors in this work. Journal entries through the next two years show the same diligence to this translation when at the end of 1837 a committee was appointed to print these records. During this time, Joseph indicated to many the great significance of this record to the keys of the priesthood but his time was taken up with many important items of business, including much persecution. E. Cecil McGavin states:

    This explains why the publication was delayed until 1842. Though the manuscript had likely been in the printer’s office for months, the first facsimile was not printed in the Times and Seasons until March 1, 1842. Two weeks later the second installment was printed. This is the one in which it is said there are so many “traces of Masonry.”
    ...It is also striking that this was published the very day that Joseph Smith was made a Mason. Surely no one would suggest that in a few hours he could gain enough information from the Masonic fraternity to prepare all this mysterious material and get it into print that same day. The complexity of the situation is increased when we learn that it was “in the evening” that he received the first degree of Masonry. (Mormonism and Masonry, E. Cecil McGavin, pg. 83)

    On the night of March 15, 1842, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon were initiated as Entered Apprentice Masons. Of this, Joseph recorded in his journal:

    I officiated as grand chaplain at the installation of the Nauvoo Lodge of Free Mason, at the grove near the Temple. Grand Master Jonas, of Columbus, being present, a large number of people assembled on the occasion. The day was exceedingly fine; all things were done in order, and universal satisfaction was manifested. In the evening I received the first degree in Free Masonry in the Nauvoo Lodge, assembled in my general business office. (History of the Church, Vol. 4, pg. 552)

    The following morning, they were advanced to the second degree of a Fellow Craft Mason. In the afternoon of that day, Joseph Smith was advanced to the sublime degree of Master Mason. A Masonic historian, S.H. Goodwin records from the Masonic minutes of a later meeting examining these actions:

    Resolved: That Bodley Lodge No. 1, of Quincy, request of the Grand Lodge of the state of Illinois, that a committee be appointed at the next annual meeting of said lodge to make enquiry into the manner the officers of the Nauvoo Lodge, U.D. were installed, and by what authority the Grand Master initiated, passed and raised Messrs. Smith and Sidney Rigdon to the degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason, at one and the same time, and that the proceedings of the committee be reported for the benefit of this lodge. (Mormonism and Masonry, S.H. Goodwin, pgs. 28-29)

    As to Joseph’s activity in Masonry from that point on, we will once again quote from E. Cecil McGavin:

    It should be observed that Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon attended three meetings of the lodge under the leadership of Grand Master Jonas, being duly initiated once at each meeting. At the third meeting, they were raised to the sublime degree, which simply means that they received the first three degrees of Masonry, a very humble beginning in the fraternity. The Prophet was so busy with Church matters that he never took an active part in lodge work. It seems from the meager records that are extant, that Joseph Smith attended as many meetings on those two days as he did during the rest of his lifetime. Initiated in haste and hurriedly promoted through three degrees, he learned scarely nothing about the secret practices and elaborate ritual of the Masons. In the months that followed, he left the lodge work in the hands of others, never attending more than three subsequent meetings and never receiving a higher degree than the one the Grand Master conferred upon him at the third meeting he attended. (Mormonism and Masonry, E. Cecil McGavin, pg. 90)

    With such meager involvement, it is hard to understand how many opposed to the Church, as well as many in the Church, have claimed that the inspiration for the Book of Abraham and the temple endowment came from his learning of the teachings of Masonry. The evidence strongly points otherwise, and no one of that time, including apostates who were Masons ever made such credible claims.
    One such example would be that of John C. Bennett. As a Mason, well read of antiquities, he perverted the doctrine of Celestial Plural marriage to one of “spiritual wifery” to satisfy his own carnal lusts. This had been a teaching of Adoptive Masonry since approximately 1774:

    In the Masonry of adoption, (or Adoptive Masonry which admits women under symbols or legends), they are taught the practice of a vice most nefarious and dangerous to humanity, namely the love of polygamy, free love, and to practice masonic kindness towards the “brothers” or “friends.” The reader will excuse me from going into detail on this subject and of what else is practiced in the higher masonic grades thereof. (The Mystery of Freemasonry Unveiled, Cardinal Caro y Rodriquez, pg. 170)

    He later does, however, hint as to the goings on in these evil cerimonies:

    ...through ceremonies of initiation, as well as through questions and answers of catechism, women were made to lose all their modesty and delicacy, and to obtain masonic liberty and charity; they are taught hatred toward priests, the religion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of Satan, Also, Co-Masonry has its palladic or Satanic rite. I have already said that they are made to profane the consecrated host.
    As it is supposed, licentiousness has reached and surpassed all limits, to such a degree that the uniintiated and even masons have protested against the orgies of the Lodge of Egyptian Masonry of adoption, founded in Paris in 1782 by the famous Count Cagliostro. The Great Orient, itself, in its convention of 1807, recalls the deplorable abuses committed in 1774 in some lodges of adoption. (The Mystery of Freemasonry Unveiled, Cardinal Caro y Rodriquez, pg. 238-239)

    Once again Satan, through his mortal agents, counterfeited the Lord’s truth, in this case Celestial Plural marriage. John C. Bennett used Joseph’s and the Lord’s name to validate his evil teachings where he would seduce women and then use his medical skills to cover up his heinous actions through abortions.
    Upon discovering the wicked actions of John C. Bennett, he was called up before the High Council. As a result he was disfellowshipped from the Church. Because of the charges against him, he submitted his resignation as Mayor and head of the Nauvoo Legion, which was accepted. He also signed a statement before a magistrate absolving Joseph Smith from any involvement or influence in his licentuous acts.
    A strong confession on his part before the Masonic Lodge brought a defense by the Prophet himself (one of his very few recorded occurances of his attendence with Masonry), and a stay of action by his Masonic brethren. However, it was later discovered that he had been barred from association in an Ohio Masonic Lodge, and he was then removed from fellowship in the Nauvoo Lodge.
    He soon became a virlent enemy of the Church, and wrote an expose’ upon the Church and Joseph Smith, of the most libelous kind that accused the Prophet of actions his previously signed statement denyed. Of all the slanderous staements made in this expose’, no hint of charge was made that Joseph Smith copied all or any, of the Masonic ceremony, and this when such a charge would presumably have put him back in good standing with Masonry. Others with Masonic underpinnings also failed to make such claims:

    Historically, the Mormon Temple Ceremony was first restored in the Nauvoo Temple. It almost immediately drew outspoken and vicious criticism from the enemies of the Church, which particularly included Illinois Freemasonry. The anti-temple claims were vile and foul: they dishonestly implied, suggested, and unabashedly, asserted the ceremonies were lewd, lascivious, and prostituted feminine virtue to the animal appetites of self-satisfying males. However -- and this point is of the greatest importance -- no claim was ever made in Illinois that the Mormon Temple Ceremony had any relationship in any way to the rituals of the Masonic Lodge. (The Temple Mormon and the Masonic Lodge, Mervin B. Hogan, pg. 3)

    It should be obvious as to why all in that day, even the Church’s most virilent enemies, failed to made such a charge. Because it was and is not in the least bit true, and they knew that there were many Mormons that were also Masons, that could prove such to be so. Perhaps this was the main reason for any association with the Masonic Order. That such claims could be easily put down. Add to this that these Mormon Masons would feel that they would have the independence in that Lodge in Nauvoo, much as they had unprecedented independence in the City of Nauvoo due to a unique charter giving them great control. With this control, perhaps they felt that they might negate the influence of the evil aspects of Masonry. However the scienero is interpreted, one fact remains boldly clear -- from the time they left Nauvoo, there was no further involvement with Masonry.
    So why did Joseph Smith even become a member of the Masonic Order? Well all is supposition at this late date, but we can look to surrounding circumstance to gain some context. The Church had been driven from Ohio and Missouri, and some claim that Joseph welcomed the support of the brotherhood of Masons to hopefully curtail some of the persecution received in the past. It is, however, doubtful that Joseph would have willing struck hands with the world when he spoke often that persecution was a sign of the war that was ensuing. It was not in his nature by all that we know of him. It is true that he too felt safe from the evil influences of Masonry, even though he spoke of that perversion:

    Elder Heber C. Kimball, who had been a Mason for many years, related that after Joseph Smith became a Mason, he explained to his brethren that Masonry had been taken from the priesthood. (Mormonism and Masonry, E. Cecil McGavin, pg. 199)

    Although Cecil McGavin gives no source for this statement, its is likely that this information may have come from Heber C. Kimball’s daughter, for she stated that:

    The Prophet Joseph, after becoming a Mason, said that Masonry had been taken from the Priesthood. (Women’s Exponent, Vol. 12, pg. 126)

    It would seem the most likely reason for his membership in the Masonic Order, was simply to see how much the ceremony had degenerated from its original purity, as he now knew the endowment given to him by our Heavenly Father. It also gave him some insight, as he talked to other Masons throughout the country, as to the evil conspiracy involved amoung them. These things he felt safe in investigating without becoming one of them. Joseph never changed his opinion of secret societies, as his numerous public statements confirm:

    We further, caution our brethren, against the impropriety of the organization of bands or companies, by covenant, oaths, penalties, or secrecies, but let the timepast of our experience and sufferings by the wickedness of Doctor Arvad suffice, and let our covenants, be that of the everlasting covenant, as it is contained in the holy writ, and the things which God has revealed unto us; pure friendship, always becomes weakened, the very moment you undertake to make it stronger by penal oaths and secrecy. (Times and Seasons, Vol. 1, pg. 133 - Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 146)

    Joseph Smith was in a unique position: The Lord had revealed much to him regarding this evil conspiracy. This combined with the knowledge he could gain from first hand information made him a dangerous man as he was President of the Church, then gaining much strength throughout the land. Add this to the fact that he was a Presidential candidate, and this gave him a very strong platform from which he could reveal their secret combinations to the people that might wake up to the awful sense of their situation.
    It is for this reason that the forces of evil conbined to have him killed. Them he recognized at the window of the jail just before he was shot to death. So recognizing these conspiring Masons, he gave them one last chance to repent or have the blood and sins of that generation upon them, and gave the Masonic signal of distress, “O Lord My God!” It is stated clearly that this could not have been the beginning of a prayer, because Joseph did not pray in that manner. Perhaps, with his last words, he intentionally gave us indication as to who his killers were, and who we must watch out for continually.
    As stated before, the Church left Masonry in Nauvoo. No lodge was organized in Utah until the soldiers of Johnston’s army did so years later, and this became a severely anti-Mormon organization. However, Brigham Young was a Mason and most every painting or picture of him showed him wearing his Masonic pin through the insuing years. Perhaps the best explaination was that he was showing all Masonry that he did not need them but instaed had the “true Masonry,” a term used by others of the Lord’s servants.
    A letter to the editor dated May 6, 1880 related an incident concerning a stranger that certainly was of heavenly origin:

    Editors Deseret News, In the month of April, 1878, one Robert Edge, a preacher of the Gospel after the apostolic order, came to and near Lexington, Henderson Co., Tennessee, and commenced warning people of the judgements of God that will shortly come upon them for their wickedness. Spoke very lengthly upon the fulfillment of prophecy that was uttered by ancient prophets, and thoroughly proving the falling away and apostasy of the primitive Church; the killing of the Saints by pagan Rome; the rise and progress of the Romish Church, as being mystery Babylon, and all her daughters and grand-daughters being under inspiration of Lucifer, the son of the morning; that Jesus Christ is the head Mason, and that Masonry, as at present, is a base countefeit, and all secret societies are instituted of men, and are an abomination in the sight of the Lord. (Deseret News, May 17, 1880)

    An additional account stated that:

    ...Mr. Edge pronounced the secret societies as being man-made institutions through which the evil operated. In referring to Masonry, he said, “Although this institution dates its origin many centuries back, it is only a perverted priesthood stolen from the temples of the Most High.” After giving several Masonic signs he testifies that Jesus Christ Himself was the chief and master Mason. (Juvenile Instructor, Vol. 21, 1886 - as quoted in The Three Nephites, by Ogden Kraut)

    This Mr. Edge may have been one of the three Nephites, or he could have been the same as stated earlier, Moroni. It was Moroni that gave this very solemn warning to us, in these days, and for which we need to pay special heed:

    Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are built up to get power and gain -- and the work, even the work of destruction come upon you, yea, even the sword of the justice of the Eternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and destruction if ye shall suffer these things to be.
    Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it up.
    For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is buit up by the devil, who is the father of all lies; even that same liar who beguiled our first parents, yea, even that same liar who caused man to commit murder from the beginning... (Ether 8: 23-25)

    In conclusion, to state that Mormonism is affiliated with Masonry and in turn the conspiracy because of possible similarities is absurd. It would be like saying that since red is associated with Satanism, all who wear red ceremonially are connected with Satan. This, however, does not take into consideration that when the Lord returns His clothing will be the color of crimson.
That some of the symbols have been used by Satan in conjuction with his powers and priesthoods, does not exclude the Lord using them in righteous power. To discount the counterfieting of Satan and concentrating on the use of certain tools only in darkness, is ignoring and perhaps even fighting against the Lord’s side of this struggle for free agency. Those who are not actively fighting on the Lord’s side, as in the pre-mortal existance, are certainly assisting the Conspiracy Against Free Agency. ©