The perception that early Mormonism was an anti-Masonic religious movement is one of the most curious aspect of the question of Mormonism & Freemasonry. How and why Mormonism went from the sentiment express by Martin Harris and others (see below) to the wholesale embrace of Freemasonry at Nauvoo in the 1840's is a question that has yet to be adequately addressed. This page will present a collection of images and links to articles that explore Anti-Masonry in upstate New York and its influence on Mormonism from the late 1820's to the early 1830's. Because there is very little material available on this topic, this page will of necessity be quite incomplete...
WILLIAM W.
PHELPS- Phelps became a Master Mason in Cortland, NY. He later
became disenchanted with Masonry during the Anti-Masonic frenzy of the Morgan
Affair and its aftermath. Phelps renounced Freemasonry and became
active in the Anti-Masonic political party in the late 1820's, editing two
Anti-Masonic newspapers and seeking a nomination for Lieutenant Governor on the
Anti-Masonic ticket before he joined the Mormon church. He was the editor
of the Evening
& Morning Star, the Mormon newspaper in Independence, MO and wrote
the classic Mormon hymn "The Spirit of God." I have so far been unable to
find anything concerning Phelps' reaction to the Mormons' embrace of Freemasonry
in the 1840's.
MARTIN HARRIS- Martin Harris, one of the three special witnesses to the Book of Mormon, was reported to have said that the Book of Mormon was "Anti-masonick Bible, and that all who do not believe it will be dammed." (March 1830. Geauda Gazette. Quoted in Vogel, "Mormonism's Anti-Masonick Bible," 1989).
OLIVER
COWDERY- Cowdery, like Harris, was one of the three witnesses to the
Book of
Mormon and an important player in the events surrounding the founding of the
church. William Bryant, a contemporary of Oliver Cowdery and a Mason, in
an interview conducted by William H. Kelley, an RLDS missionary, recalled the
following: "He [Cowdery] was strong against the Masons; he helped to write
Morgan's book, they said." (Saints' Herald 28- 1 June 1881:
162. Quoted in Early
Mormon Documents, Vol. II, ed. Dan Vogel) In another interview
conducted by Kelley, Danford Booth, an anti-Mason and active Whig, reported that
the statement concerning Cowdery's involvement with Morgan and anti-Masonry was
"nonsense." (ibid.)
The information concerning Cowdery's anti-Masonic connection, if any, is full of
questions and inconsistencies.
GEORGE W. HARRIS (not pictured)- Information to follow...
"CAPTAIN" WILLIAM MORGAN-
Information to follow...
THURLOW WEED- Mr. Weed, the acknowledged leader of the early Anti-Masonic Party, was born in Cairo, New York on November 15, 1797. He was apprenticed to a printer at the age of 14 and worked there until the beginning of the War of 1812, where he served as a volunteer. After his war service, he worked as a journalist for several newspapers until 1822, when he became editor of the Rochester Telegraph. He became involved in the Morgan case and was a key player in many of the events surrounding the rise of the Anti-Masonic Political Party. Weed was also the founder of the Albany Evening Journal, an anti-Masonic publication which he edited for thirty-three years. After being originally turned away by Egbert Gradin to publish the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith approached Mr. Weed who recalled the meeting in this selection from an article he wrote in 1858:
THURLOW
WEED- Mr. Weed, the acknowledged leader of the early Anti-Masonic Party, was
born in Cairo, New York on November 15, 1797. He was apprenticed to a printer at
the age of 14 and worked there until the beginning of the War of 1812, where he
served as a volunteer. After his war service, he worked as a journalist for
several newspapers until 1822, when he became editor of the
Rochester Telegraph. He became involved in the Morgan case and was a key
player in many of the events surrounding the rise of the Anti-Masonic Political
Party. Weed was also the founder of the Albany Evening Journal, an
anti-Masonic publication which he edited for thirty-three years. After
being originally turned away by Egbert Gradin to publish the Book of Mormon,
Joseph Smith approached Mr. Weed who recalled the meeting in this selection from
an article he wrote in 1858:
"...Within our recollection Mormonism was 'a speck, not bigger than a man's hand.' The original Impostor, JOE SMITH, came to the writer of this article, only thirty-two years ago, with the manuscript of his Mormon Bible, to be Printed. He then had one follower, (a respectable and wealthy Farmer of the town of Macedon) who offered himself as security for the Printing. But after reading a few Chapters, it seemed such a jumble of unintelligible absurdities, that we refused the work, advising HARRIS not to mortgage his Farm and beggar his Family..." (Albany Evening Journal 29 (19 May 1858): 2.
Quoted in Early Mormon Documents, Vol. III, ed. Dan Vogel.)
Articles on Mormonism & Anti-Masonry
The Mormon Baptism of William Morgan
by John E. Thompson
Mormons, Masonry & the Morgan Affiar
by W. Bro. K.H. Montgomery
Captain Morgan and the Masonic Influence in
Mormonism
by Jerald & Sandra Tanner
Articles & Links on William Morgan & Anti-Masonry
The William Morgan &
Lucinda Morgan Smith Home Page
prepared by Dale Broadhurst
the Morgan Affair
Aftermath
by Bro. David P. Brownback
the Morgan
Affair
From Anti-Masonry Points of View
Related Historical Documents
Illustration of Masonry
by Capt. William Morgan (1827)
An Account of the Savage
Treatment of Captain William Morgan
by Edward Giddins (1829)
The Proceedings of the U.S.
Anti-Masonic
Convention
(1830)
Suggested Reading
Vogel, Dan. Mormonism's "Anti-Masonick Bible." The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal, vol. 9, 1989: pp. 17-30.
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