Was im Tempel geschieht

[Jutta]

Ja, die Mormonen sind zu erstaunlichen Leistungen fähig, wenn sie ihren Glauben bedroht sehen. Da wird gelogen, getrickst, mit Nebelkerzen geworfen, um zu verschleihern, dass man eigentlich Angst hat, sich den eigenen Bweifeln zu stellen. Bezogen auf den Tempel (Hierraus zitiert: "http://www.exmormon.org/journey/journey_g.htm"):

Mormon leaders proclaim that the temple endowment was given to Joseph Smith by revelation, but after reading the book Freemasonry Exposed, I seriously questioned the validity of the Church's claim. After reading only a few pages of the book I could see the unmistakable similarities between the Masonic Initiation Ceremony and the Mormon Temple Ceremony.
Joseph Smith became a Mason on March 15, 1842 and rose to the sublime degree the following day. This initiation took place in his upper business office or Masonic lodge room (History of the Church, vol. 4, p. 550-551). Only a few weeks after Joseph's initiation into Masonry, he taught the other LDS Church leaders in the same Masonic lodge room. Joseph's interest in Masonry became so infectious that many Mormon elders hastened to follow his lead, and within six months the lodge had 286 candidates. He gave instructions on the principles and order of the Priesthood, attending to washings, anointing, endowments, and the communication of keys. (Ibid. vol. 5, p. 2) There is no doubt that Joseph's primary interest in Masonry was because of its ritual. Like Solomon, he became a temple builder. Joseph Smith's own temple records indicate his temple endowment took place on May 4, 1842, just seven weeks after his Masonic initiation. In Smith's own words he said: "In the evening I received the first degree in Freemasonry in the Nauvoo Lodge." The next day he stated: "I was with the Masonic Lodge and rose to the sublime degree." This qualified Joseph to be a Master Mason. (Ibid. 1842 vol. 4, p. 552)
Joseph Smith Sr., Joseph Smith Jr., Hyrum Smith, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Newel K. Whitney, John C. Bennett, John Taylor, Sidney Rigdon, and other Mormons were Masons. Shortly after their temple endowment ceremonies, Joseph Smith Jr. and other Mormons were expelled from the Masonic order for violating their oaths. It was May 4, 1842 that Joseph Smith introduced the Masonic Ceremony as the Mormon Temple Ceremony and declared that it was "received as a revelation from God." (History of the Church, vol. 5, pp. 1-2)
When Dr. Reed Durham, director of the LDS Institute of Religion, made this discovery in 1974 and gave a speech on the subject of the Mormon-Mason connection before the Utah History Association on April 20, 1974, he was highly criticized for making this matter public. He also showed the Jupiter talisman during that speech, and explained that Joseph had carried it on his person since 1826 (the same year he was convicted of money-digging charges and being a believer in magic), and that he had the Jupiter talisman on him at the time of his death. The talisman contains symbols relating to astrology and magic, and there were other magical items discovered at the same time that belonged to Hyrum Smith.
Although most Mormon historians do not mention these facts in their church-authorized writings (including Mormon deception, intimidation, repression, theft, and violence as well as other matters that might call into question the sacred nature and integrity of the Mormon experience), they have to admit that the endowment ceremony contains many details that are similar to the Masonic initiation rites of the 1800's, especially since Joseph became a Mason such a short time prior to the "revelation."

Similarities Between the Masonic Temple Ceremony
and the Mormon Temple Ceremony, Nauvoo, Ill. (...)

Im weiteren führt der Autor die Gemeinsamkeiten von Tempelritualen, und dener der Freimaurer an.

Heute lehren Mormonen, dass die Tempelzeremonien schon bei König Salomo praktiziert wurden, und die Freimaurer nur eine verstümmelte Form praktizieren. Wenn dem so wäre, warum wurde die Freimaurerloge der Mormonen in nauvoo zur "Winkelloge" (abtrünnige Loge) vom Großmeister erklärt, wie das Internationale freimaurerlexikon aus den 1920er Jahren berichtet? Und warum sind mormonische Historiker dieser Meinung:

„Ich bin überzeugt, dass im Studium der Freimaurerei ein entscheidender Schlüssel zum tiefen Verständnis Joseph Smiths und der Kirche liegt... es begann mit Josephs Zuhause, als sein älterer Bruder Freimaurer wurde... Für mich stellt es überhaupt keine Frage dar, das die mormonische Zeremonie, die als das Endowment bekannt und von Joseph Smith für mormonische Freimaurer eingeführt wurde, unmittelbar von der Freimaurerei inspiriert ist... Das heißt nicht, das nicht auch eine andere Quelle der Inspiration eine Rolle spielte; die Ähnlichkeit zwischen den beiden Zeremonien ist jedoch so offensichtlich, dass eine abhängige Verbindung nicht geleugnet werden kann“. (Mormon Miscellaneous, October 1975, S. 11ff, gefunden in: Rüdiger Hauth, „Tempelkult und Totentaufe – Die geheimen Rituale der Mormonen“, S. 153)

darauf, lieber Berliner, hätte ich gerne eine Antwort!