Is it an effort of the imagination to draw parallels between Captain William Morgan (1774-1826), possibly the founder of the anti-Mason movement, and Joseph Smith (1805-1844), the founder of Mormonism? What similarity of beliefs do an anti-Mason and a Mormon share? How did the paths of the two cross? The answers will surprise you.
Captain William Morgan is popularly linked to the anti-Mason movement. He tried to become a founding member of a new Masonic lodge in Batavia, New York in 1826. He claimed that he was a member of another lodge, which should have guaranteed his inclusion in the new Batavia establishment. However, his request to join the new lodge was rejected. In retaliation, Morgan threatened to publish a book that would reveal the secrets of Freemasonry. Attempts were made to remove Morgan from citizenship. False charges were brought against him and he was arrested twice. The first time, a friend and fellow anti-Mason, David C. Miller, got him out of jail. After the second arrest, Morgan was rescued by an unknown person (believed to be a Freemason) and “taken away” from Batavia. They never saw him again.
Joseph Smith is recognized as the founder of Mormonism. His followers believed that he was a prophet whose mission was to restore the original Christian church. Joseph Smith was said to have received “plates” from an angel, the risen prophet Moroni, in which a book was transcribed. This text would be known as the Book of Mormon. It is also said that Joseph Smith was visited by John the Baptist and disciples of Jesus Christ in revelations. Some people did not believe the story of the delivery of the hidden plates to Joseph Smith and accused him of being an imposter. He was eventually murdered for treason in the state of Illinois, although there was much controversy surrounding the details of his death.
At the time of William Morgan’s disappearance, he was married. After his disappearance and alleged murder, his widow, Lucinda, married Joseph Smith and became one of his many wives, as the Mormon religion allowed polygamy (having more than one wife at the same time). The issue of polygamy was one on which Freemasons and Mormons wholeheartedly disagreed. Masonic lodges in Utah and Nevada prohibited Mormons from joining a Masonic lodge for many decades due to this disagreement.
Members of Freemasonry alleged that the Mormon church adopted many of the Masonic rituals and ceremonies as its own, copying their “initiation rites” so to speak. Some believe this precipitated the disappearance of Captain Morgan. Followers of Joseph Smith claim not to be affiliated with Freemasons. However, they admit to having “borrowed” some of the elements of the ceremony, but say that is where the similarity ends. Mormon church leaders say that the core concepts of their religion belong to authentic sources referenced in the Bible.
To present a strong affiliation between Morgan and the Mormon church, Morgan was one of the first recipients of the “baptism of the dead” granted in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon church). Baptism of the dead is baptism by “proxy”, after the fact, for someone who has passed away.
In 1842, Joseph Smith was said to have joined a Masonic lodge in Nauvoo, Illinois, attained the rank of Master Mason on the second day, was there for six months, and then was terminated from the lodge for alleged irregularities due to not following rules. and official Masonic regulations. When the chapter was first founded, Smith, like Morgan, was initially denied entry.
Also like Freemasonry, members of the Mormon church did not want their ceremonies and rituals to be publicized. To have published such material would have been an offense against the groups. In order to participate in Mormon temple ceremonies, you must have a letter of recommendation from local church leaders. Similarly, to become a Freemason, you must be invited by a current member.
Other similarities between the two men include:
- Both men were persecuted in 1826 in New York.
- Both men were trying to publish records that others did not want published (The Illustration of Freemasonry for one of the Brotherhood and the Book of Mormon).
- Both men left New York State under duress. Joseph Smith decided that Missouri would be a more conducive environment for his new church and was forced to move from there to Illinois. While William Morgan was kidnapped and allegedly murdered, there were alleged sightings of Morgan in Boston, Massachusetts, and as far away as Smynia (present-day Turkey), but no solid evidence ever appeared.
- Both men are said to have been murdered as a result of the persecution for their beliefs, but the details surrounding both “murders” remain vague and are filled with different accounts of what actually happened.
- Both Masons and Mormons refer to each other as “brothers” who are in a kind of fraternity.
Of course, one of the essential differences between the two men is that while Joseph Smith chose to emulate some of the rules and rituals of Freemasonry, William Morgan (who told others that he was once a Freemason) became anti-Freemason. In fact, Morgan’s disappearance was the catalyst for an anti-Mason movement and an entirely new third political party, the anti-Mason party.