The evidence of Joseph Smith’s close connection to occultism and Freemasonry, and how this influenced the origin and development of the LDS Church, is not well known outside of scholarly circles. Masonry’s influence on Joseph Smith, early Mormonism and Mormon temple architecture has been noted by a number of LDS historians. Some of the areas impacted by Masonic lore and ritual include the Book of Mormon, Joseph’s personal life, and the LDS temple ceremony. John L. Brooke in his book, The Refiner’s Fire: Making of Mormon Cosmology, 1644-1844, noted the following in reference to the story of discovery of the gold plates and the narrative structure of the Book of Mormon: Freemasonry provides a point of entry into this very complex story. As it had been in Vermont, Masonic Fraternity was a dominant feature of the cultural landscape in Joseph Smith’s  Ontario County…The dense network of lodges and chapters helps explain the Masonic symbolism that runs through the story of the discovery of the Golden Plates. Most obviously, the story of their discovery on a hilltop echoed the Enoch myth of Royal Arch Freemasonry, in which the prophet Enoch, instructed by a vision, preserved the Masonic mysteries by carving them on a golden plate that … Continue reading Mormonism and the Masonic Connection