Method Infinite: Freemasonry and the Mormon Restoration

By Cheryl L. Bruno, Joe Steve Swick III, and Nicholas S. Literski “The full truth about Smith’s restoration movement cannot be understood without the deep, poignant research that makes up this volume. . . . This book is a game changer for sure.” — Devery S. Anderson “Sweeping in scope and meticulous in detail, Method Infinite excavates the shared past of Masonry and the Latter-day Saint Restoration—and skillfully uncovers a lost context of Joseph Smith's prophetic work.” — Don Bradley “It will for sure, without question, be the definitive overview of the relationship between Mormonism and Freemasonry.”  — Cristina Rosetti, Dialogue Book Report “Method Infinite was the most significant Mormon Studies book to come out in 2022 and easily one of the most important and significant Mormon Studies volumes to be released in the last decade. . . . If you do not have a copy, I HIGHLY recommend you get a copy and read it.” — Andrew Hamilton “This work is an important contribution to Mormon Studies and fundamentally changes the way one thinks about the intersection between Masonry and early Mormonism.” — Charles R. Harrell “The culmination of decades of research and scholarship, a massive work of importance to understanding early Mormon history in the context of the time and places of the Restoration.” — Association for Mormon Letters "The definitive work on the subject. . . . Both Freemasons and students of Mormon History will find this book well researched and its thesis persuasive." — The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal    Available in ebook for Kindle, Apple, Google Play, and, Kobo. Also available through Amazon and Benchmark Books Download a free sample preview. Book Description: While no one thing can entirely explain the rise of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the historical influence of Freemasonry on this religious tradition cannot be refuted. Those who study Mormonism have been aware of the impact that Freemasonry had on the founding prophet Joseph Smith during the Nauvoo period, but his involvement in Freemasonry was arguably earlier and broader than many modern historians have admitted. The fact that the most obvious vestiges of Freemasonry are evident only in the more esoteric aspects of the Mormon faith has made it difficult to recognize, let alone fully grasp, the relevant issues. Even those with both Mormon and Masonic experience may not be versed in the nineteenth-century versions of Masonry's rituals, legends, and practices. Without this specialized background, it is easy to miss the Masonic significance of numerous early Mormon ordinances, scripture, and doctrines. Method Infinite: Freemasonry and the Mormon Restoration offers a fresh perspective on the Masonic thread present in Mormonism from its earliest days. Smith's firsthand knowledge of and experience with both Masonry and anti-Masonic currents contributed to the theology, structure, culture, tradition, history, literature, and ritual of the religion he founded. Comprehensive Table of Contents: Show/Hide . Preface Introduction: Jachin and Boaz on the Woodpile 1. Legends of the Craft: The Philosophic System of Freemasonry The Three Degrees of Craft, or Blue Lodge Masonry Loss and Recovery: The Legend of Hiram Abiff York Rite Masonry The Scottish Rite Nineteenth-Century Development of Masonic Degrees The Nature of Symbolic Instruction Christian Character of Freemasonry The First Freemasons A New Dispensation 2. The Enchanted Land: The Smith Family’s Masonic Environs Asael Smith and Freemasonry Arrive in Vermont The Mystic Word Encounters Enlightenment Ideas A Masonic Name Treasures Hidden in the Earth and a Son to Find Them Residences and Relocations of the Smith Family Affiliations of Alvin and Hyrum “By Which He Could Discern Things Invisible to the Natural Eye” Winning the Faculty of Abrac Rational Mysticism—Smith Style 3. A Gathering of Crows: William Morgan, Masonry, and Death Morgan the Mason Whisperings and Warnings A Growing Mystery Convention of Seceding Masons The Question of Freemasonry The False and the True 4. From Darkness to Light: The Prophet’s Masonic Initiation The Masonic Rite of Illumination Accounts of the First Vision Setting Hoodwinked Petition Reflection A Secret Place in the Woods Kneeling for Prayer Bound by an Unseen Power Brought to Light Instruction by Degrees Ritualizing the First Vision The First Vision: A Masonic Allegory Made Literal 5. The Book of the Law, Long Lost, Now Found An Ancient American Angel Joseph Smith’s Visits to the Hill 1823 Visit: Pursuing the Plates 1824 Visit: Raising the Dead 1825 Visit: Treasure Seeing 1826 Visit: Finding a Wife 1827 Visit: The Three Ruffians Truth from the Earth The Book of the Law and the Golden Plates Urim and Thummim: A Masonic Key Masonry, Anti-Masonry, and the Book of Mormon 6. Mormonism’s Masonic Midrash The Book of Mormon The “Joseph Smith Translation” Royal Arch Masonry’s Enoch: The Authentic Tradition Restored Doctrine and Covenants 7. The Book of Abraham: Advancing the Interests of True Masonry Recovered Text of the Egyptian Papyri The Facsimiles: Dating and Descriptions Papyrus Fragments The Kirtland Egyptian Papers Early Development of a Mormon Ritual Joseph Smith as Prophetic Restorer 8. The Trowel and the Sword Hiram, Ohio: “A Hill of Zion” Kirtland, Ohio: Masonic Architecture, Appurtenances, and Inner Workings Kirtland School of the Prophets The Development of Early Temple Rituals Joseph Smith as Ritualist Building the Fane 9. Angel at the Threshing-Floor The Big Fan Brother of Gideon Danites The Daughter of Zion Danite Structure, Signs, and Oaths Ecclesiastic and Military Entanglement The Mystic Tie Danites in Nauvoo Danites, Freemasonry, and Joseph’s Theocratic Design 10. The Grand Design: Joseph’s Masonic Kingdom on the Mississippi Politics Education Economics Sociality True Religion and the New Society 11. The Ancient Order of Things: Freemasonry Restored Restoring Ancient Freemasonry The Reorganization of the Grand Lodge of Illinois A Masonic Lodge in Nauvoo Irregularities in Nauvoo Lodge A Restored Lodge in the Ancient Order 12. Keeping a Secret: The Organization of the Female Relief Society Masonic Origins and Forms in the New Society Precedents for Women in Freemasonry The Relief Society and Polygamy Mormon Women and Masonic Orders 13. Greater than Solomon: Joseph Smith’s “Grand” Aspirations Irregularities in Illinois Rising Sun Lodge No. 12, Montrose, IA Nauvoo Lodge Returns to Work, Proposes New Lodges Nauvoo Masons Install Warsaw Lodge Officers The Baltimore Convention Keokuk Lodge U.D., Keokuk Iowa Nye Lodge U.D., Nauvoo, Illinois La Harpe Lodge, La Harpe, Illinois Helm Lodge and the Proposed Hiram Lodge, Nauvoo, Illinois Influence of Joseph Smith on Nauvoo Lodge Charters Revoked Hiram Lodge No. 7, Augusta, Iowa A Mormon Grand Lodge What King Solomon Could Not Do 14. The Glory of this Latter House The Nauvoo Temple and its Ritual Masonic “Enduement” The Mysteries of Godliness Let Us Go Up: Masonic Ascent to the Heavenly Temple The Quorum of the Anointed Nauvoo Temple Architecture and Furnishings Mormon and Masonic Ritual Similarities The Power of Ritual 15. Look to the West: The Political Kingdom of God The Political Kingdom of God Mormon Theodemocracy and the United States Presidency March 6 Feby 1844 Proposed plan for a Moot congress Organization & Congress The Council of Fifty Structure and Characteristics of the Council of Fifty The Grand Council and Translatio Imperii A Foundation to Revolutionize the World 16. Treasures Hidden in the Grave The Character of God Perfection of Human Personality Joseph Smith and Kabbalah The Grand Council Creation from Disorder The Bright Fraternal Chain: Purpose of Masonic Ritual The Hidden Kingdom 17. Death of a Builder The Work on the Trestleboard First Blow: Apostates A Lamb to the Slaughter Second Blow: High-Ranking Masonic Leaders Third Blow: Military and Vigilante Forces A Master Mason’s Last Words Images of the Martyrdom Jewels of the Lodge The Villains Escape Punishment A Curious Pattern of Burials Where is Our Good Master? 18. All Manner of “–ites” Brigham Young: Proprietor of the Ritual Sidney Rigdon, Freemason to the End Strangite Masonry and the Order of Illuminati Charles Thompson: The Free and Accepted Order of Baneemy, and Fraternity of the Sons of Zion Lyman Wight and the Community at Zodiac Alpheus Cutler: Chief Architect and Master Workman of God’s Holy Houses William Smith’s Priest and Priestess Lodges The Smith Family and the Reorganization Freemasonry’s Legacy Among the Mormons 19. That Which Was Lost Transition by Degrees A Loss of Understanding Bibliography Index Q&A with the Author: Show/Hide . Typically, discussion about Mormonism and Freemasonry centers on the Latter-day Saint temple endowment. How does your book change the focus of the discussion? One of the biggest mistakes that is made in studying Mormonism and Masonry is to focus solely on the endowment. In order to understand why traces of Freemasonry can be seen in Mormon temple ritual, one must begin at Joseph Smith’s birth and look at how Masonry affected him throughout his life. This book gives a panoramic view of the subject and really does change the focus of the discussion.  Freemasonry was ideologically and symbolically everywhere in eighteenth and nineteenth-century America. Is it reasonable to assume it would also be present in the early elements of the Restoration? Freemasonry was ubiquitous in nineteenth-century America. Though hard to believe today, the Craft was part of the cultural landscape, and virtually everyone had some understanding of its general principles and structure. Still, it is interesting to see how some of the early historical accounts about the first vision and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon put them into a Masonic framework.  Where does the title of the book come from? Edward Tullidge ascribes the following quote to Eliza R. Snow: “There is method in Mormonism—method infinite. Mormonism is Masonic.” What Masonic elements that were used to help usher in the restoration are still present in the Church today? Do they still hold the same importance? Many elements of Mormonism that church members think are unique to Joseph Smith in fact have roots in Masonry. These include the concept of restoration, plates of gold that were hidden up and then found, the Grand Council of Heaven, the eternity of matter, the chain of belonging, dispensation heads, and oath-bound rituals to impart greater light and knowledge to those seeking to progress through degrees. Latter-day Saints may be aware of Masonic handclasps and symbols, including aprons, squares, and compasses, but do not always realize that Masonry also includes three distinct knocks, five points of fellowship, endowments, and many similarities of wording found in the temple. Method Infinite gives insight on these similarities and why they were of interest to Joseph Smith. Modern Mormonism has lost the significance of many of these elements, and therefore, they have declined in importance and many have been removed from our ritual. What do you want readers to take away from your book? We hope that the book will teach readers that Freemasonry had an effect on Mormonism from the very beginning, and is not just limited to a few resemblances in the temple. But more than that, we hope to ease the anxiety many have felt over Masonic influence in the founding years of the Church. Praise for Method Infinite: “In this book, authors Cheryl L. Bruno, Joe Steve Swick, and Nicholas S. Literski have shown us just how prevalent Freemasonry was in the culture, lives, and minds of Joseph Smith and his contemporaries, and, more importantly, how interwoven it is in the teachings and rituals that became so important in early Mormonism. The full truth about Smith’s restoration movement cannot be understood without the deep, poignant research that makes up this volume. The reader will find it packed with evidence pulled from a variety of solid sources. This book is a game changer for sure. ”— Devery S. Anderson, editor, The Development of LDS Temple Worship, 1845–2000: A Documentary History “Sweeping in scope and meticulous in detail, Method Infinite excavates the shared past of Masonry and the Latter-day Saint Restoration—and skillfully uncovers a lost context of Joseph Smith's prophetic work. ”— Don Bradley, author, The Lost 116 Pages: Reconstructing the Book of Mormon's Missing Stories “If I could pick one book for 2022, it’s Method Infinite. . . . It will for sure, without question, be the definitive overview of the relationship between Mormonism and Freemasonry. It is beautifully written. . . . It is going to be a staple in thinking about the esoteric dimensions of Mormonism.” — Cristina Rosetti, Dialogue Book Report “Method Infinite was the most significant Mormon Studies book to come out in 2022 and easily one of the most important and significant Mormon Studies volumes to be released in the last decade. . . . The number of parallels and connections are mind boggling. Swick and Literski are Master Masons, and Bruno has studied Masonry and mysticism extensively. All have been or are members of the LDS Church. All three are excellent scholars and have researched this subject for decades. The level of information they have included is astonishing. . . . My Gen Z students would use the word amazeballs to describe Method Infinite and they and they would be accurate. If you do not have a copy, I HIGHLY recommend you get a copy and read it.” — Andrew Hamilton, Association for Mormon Letters “Method Infinite is the culmination of decades of research and scholarship, a massive work of importance to understanding early Mormon history in the context of the time and places of the Restoration. . . . [The] authors bring the insider perspective of both the LDS Church and Masonry. Swick and Literski are Master Masons with advanced degrees in the Craft, and with Bruno are also scholars steeped in Mormon history. Together, they have completed the most comprehensive treatment of the parallels and direct Masonic influences on the founding of the LDS Church to date.” — Kevin Folkman, Association for Mormon Letters “Method Infinite is an eye-opening, comprehensive reconstruction of early Mormon connections with Freemasonry, showing how Masonic lore and practice informed early Mormon development much sooner and penetrated more deeply than previously imagined. Mormonism drew not only on the ritualistic forms and language of Masonry, but also on its theological narratives of dispensationalism, continuing revelation, redemption from sin, Christian perfectionism and theosis, just to name a few. This work is an important contribution to Mormon Studies and fundamentally changes the way one thinks about the intersection between Masonry and early Mormonism.” — Charles R. Harrell, author, "This Is My Doctrine": The Development of Mormon Theology “An insightful and information-packed volume about a plethora of possible points of contact between Freemasonry and the Restoration. . . . While many studies of Masonry and the Latter Day Saint movement focus primarily on temple rituals, Method Infinite covers the entirety of Joseph Smith’s life and follows the influence of Masonic ideas and rituals into some of the major branches of Mormonism that emerged in the aftermath of the Prophet’s death. . . . I found it to be a fascinating read and would recommend it to scholars and others interested in gaining a deeper understanding of both 19th century American Freemasonry and the early Latter Day Saint movement” — Chad Nielsen, Times and Seasons “Method Infinite has been in the making for twenty years, and the final product is well worth the wait. Both Greg Kofford Books and the three authors deserve respect and admiration for seeing this volume to completion. After reading this book I feel like a new world of knowledge has been revealed to my mind. It is a difficult task for historians to write and explain two traditions, but to write so that the lay person can understand these intertwining histories of both Mormonism and Freemasonry is a herculean task, one that authors Bruno, Swick, and Literski have accomplished in this volume.” — Joe Geisner, editor, Writing Mormon History: Historians and Their Books “The definitive work on the subject. . . . Both Freemasons and students of Mormon History will find this book well researched and its thesis persuasive. The authors go to great lengths to make sure that both the Masonic and Mormon aspects of their arguments are accessible to all readers. Moreover, for those of us who approach the book with both sets of eyes, we will find that the narratives are woven together to produce a highly satisfying read.” — Jason R. Smith, The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal “Carefully toeing the line between reducing Mormonism to its cultural contexts and highlighting the secular realities in which it developed, the authors have produced the most comprehensive work to date on the interconnections between Joseph Smith’s Mormonism and the prolific culture of Masonry that existed in nineteenth century America. . . . Method Infinite makes a valuable contribution not only to Mormon studies, but also to United States' social and religious history.” — William Perez, Arc: The Journal of the School of Religious Studies “Method Infinite is a tour de force. In no less than 450 pages—index and comprehensive bibliography excluded—it offers a virtual encyclopedia of all possible parallels between Freemasonry and Mormonism. . . . The Masonic angle is an important one to the study of early Mormonism. The book is a valuable and welcome resource for this study.” — Massimo Introvigne, Mormon Studies Review “Method Infinite is an invaluable resource for better understanding the dynamic religious environment from which the early Latter-day Saint church sprang that will appeal to scholarly and lay audiences alike. . . . The authors’ treatment of both Freemasonry and Mormonism is considerate and insightful.” — Courtney Jensen Peacock, Journal of Mormon History “A welcome entrant to the arena with its superabundance of details, down to the minutiae.” — Garrett Maxwell, The Utah Monthly About the Authors: Cheryl L. Bruno has a BS in Recreation Management from Greensboro College and did graduate work in Educational Psychology at Brigham Young University. Cheryl is an independent researcher on Mormon history, with publications in the Journal of Religion and Society, the John Whitmer Historical Association Journal, and the Journal of Mormon History. She has also presented at cthe Mormon History Association Annual Conference, the Claremont Mormon Studies Conference, the Pacific Northwest Region Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature, the John Whitmer Historical Association Annual Conference, Sunstone Symposium, and the Mormonism and Western Esotericism Conference. In addition, Cheryl is Director of Resident Life at Madonna Gardens Assisted Living and Memory Care, has published personal essays and poetry in several anthologies, and has created a deck of Mormon-themed tarot cards.  Joe Steve Swick III is a long time student of the history and dogmas of Mormonism and Freemasonry. He received his endowment in 1982 and was raised a Master Mason in 1995. He is twice Past Master of his local lodge, and twice Past High Priest of his Royal Arch Chapter, receiving the Masonic Order of High Priesthood in 2004. Joe was a career Program Manager for Word Perfect in Provo, Utah, and for Microsoft in Redmond, Washington. Nicholas S. Literski, JD, PhD, is an adjunct senior lecturer at the California Institute of Integral Studies and a professional spiritual guide. In 2001, Nick became the first Master Mason raised in Hancock County after the 1840s Mormon exodus, going on to receive the Royal Arch, Cryptic, and Knight Templar degrees within the York, as well as the 32nd degree of the Scottish Rite. Nick’s work has been published in FARMS Review of Books on The Book of Mormon, Psychological Perspectives: A Quarterly Journal of Jungian Thought, and the recent compilation, The Reality of Fragmentation and the Yearning for Healing: Jungian Perspectives on Democracy, Power, and Illusion in Contemporary Politics.   More Information: 531 pages 978-1-58958-689-5 (paperback); 978-1-58958-753-3 (hardcover)