Freemasonry and the Latter Day Saint movement

The relationship between Mormonism and Freemasonry began early in the life Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, as his older brother Hyrum and possibly his father were Freemasons while the family lived near Palmyra, New York. Nevertheless, in the late 1820s, the western New York region was swept with anti-Masonic fervor.

By the 1840s, however, Smith and several prominent Latter Day Saint had become Freemasons and founded a lodge in Nauvoo, Illinois, in March 1842. Soon after joining Freemasonry, Smith introduced a temple endowment ceremony including a number of symbolic elements that were very similar to those in Freemasonry. Smith remained a Freemason until his death; however, later leaders in the movement have distanced themselves from Freemasonry. In modern times, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the predominant Latter Day Saint sect, holds no position for or against the compatibility of Masonry with LDS Church doctrine.

A significant number of leaders in the early Latter Day Saint movement were Masons prior to their involvement in the movement. Notable examples include Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, John C. Bennett, Hyrum Smith and Joseph Smith, Sr.

In the early 1840s, a Masonic Lodge was formed by Latter Day Saints who were Freemasons. Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum became members of the newly-formed Nauvoo lodge. It appears that John C. Bennett had a particularly strong influence in the spread of Freemasonry among the Mormons, and soon over 1,500 Mormon men in the city of Nauvoo were practicing Masons. Mormon historian Reed Durham writes:

...
Wikipedia