Equal Rites: The Book of Mormon, Masonry, Gender, and American Culture

Clyde Forsberg  Jr.

Published by Columbia University Press 2004

Equal Rites

The Book of Mormon, Masonry, Gender, and American Culture

Clyde Forsberg Jr.

In the series Religion and American Culture

https://doi.org/10.7312/fors12640

Overview
Contents

About this book

Both the Prophet Joseph Smith and his Book of Mormon have been characterized as ardently, indeed evangelically, antimasonic. Yet in this sweeping social, cultural, and religious history of nineteenth-century Mormonism and its milieu, Forsberg argues that masonry, like evangelical Christianity, was an essential component of Smith's vision.

Both the Prophet Joseph Smith and his Book of Mormon have been characterized as ardently, indeed evangelically, anti-Masonic. Yet in this sweeping social, cultural, and religious history of nineteenth-century Mormonism and its milieu, Clyde Forsberg argues that masonry, like evangelical Christianity, was an essential component of Smith's vision. Smith's ability to imaginatively conjoin the two into a powerful and evocative defense of Christian, or Primitive, Freemasonry was, Forsberg shows, more than anything else responsible for the meteoric rise of Mormonism in the nineteenth century.

This was to have significant repercussions for the development of Mormonism, particularly in the articulation of specifically Mormon gender roles. Mormonism's unique contribution to the Masonic tradition was its inclusion of women as active and equal participants in Masonic rituals. Early Mormon dreams of empire in the Book of Mormon were motivated by a strong desire to end social and racial discord, lest the country fall into the grips of civil war. Forsberg demonstrates that by seeking to bring women into previously male-exclusive ceremonies, Mormonism offered an alternative to the male-dominated sphere of the Master Mason. By taking a median and mediating position between Masonry and Evangelicism, Mormonism positioned itself as a religion of the people, going on to become a world religion.

But the original intent of the Book of Mormon gave way as Mormonism moved west, and the temple and polygamy (indeed, the quest for empire) became more prevalent. The murder of Smith by Masonic vigilantes and the move to Utah coincided with a new imperialism—and a new polygamy. Forsberg argues that Masonic artifacts from Smith's life reveal important clues to the precise nature of his early Masonic thought that include no less than a vision of redemption and racial concord.

Author / Editor information

Clyde R. Forsberg Jr. is a CEP (Civic Education Project) Fellow and teaches American studies at the American University Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Reviews

A uniquely insightful answer to scholars' recent calls for greater understanding of Mormon theology, culture, and institutional character.

D.E. Mills Jr.:
[Equal Rites] is well written and engaging.

This is an important book on the history of American religion, culture, and society.

Grant Underwood:
Equal Rites is an imaginative and ambitious book.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Preface: Mormon Masonry? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xiii
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xxiii
Introduction: The Wax and Wane of Masonry in American Culture Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
I. THE MORMON-MASONIC NEXUS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	23
II. THE QUEST WTIHIN THE QUEST Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	99
III. THE ANTI-EVANGELICAIL MIND OF JOSEPH SMITH Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	137
IV. THE MILLENNIAIL, VRACIAL, ECONOMIC, AND POLITICAL CONFEDERACY Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	183
Postscript: The “Americanness” of Mormonism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	239
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	247
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	291
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	311

Language: English
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 352
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 39
- Other: 39 illus.

eBook

Published: March 10, 2004
ISBN: 9780231507462