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I want to apologize for the off-topic subject matter of this post. I do, however, think that it is relevant to the Forum, even if not strictly Baconian. FOR YEARS, I’ve been quietly fascinated with the LDS, or Mormon faith. You’ve all seen their missionaries and their blue leather book subtitled “Another Testament of Jesus Christ,” and I’m sure you can sing along to some of their musical numbers. (“Hello! I am Elder Marvin – this book will change your life!”) It was not, however, until recently, that I discovered their Masonic and possibly Baconian history. (Ok, the Baconian part might be a stretch.) Curiously, the unofficial symbol of the Church is the Beehive! So yes… I was quietly fascinated with the LDS Church. The reason for this? The “secrecy” surrounding its Temples, and their unique and often magnificent architecture. But my fascination did not fully take off until I came across this image: The image in question is a digital rendering – a rendering made by the interior design firm responsible for the restoration and renovation of the famous Salt Lake Temple – the Church’s signature edifice. Although the room, with its superb Beaux Arts detailing, may appear historic at first glance, it is in fact being built as of this post. At this point, you may be wondering why an image of a room – albeit a beautiful one – would prove so vital to my understanding of Freemasonry, the LDS faith, and Wisdom traditions in general. The answer lies in the image itself. To truly understand a space, one must have accurate knowledge of: a) The people who built/own it b) Its original/current function c) What that function meant/means to them The rendering depicts a Sealing Room, one of the most important and sacred spaces in the entire religion – for it is here that couples enter marriage. Historically, LDS weddings have generated controversy, because, according to doctrine, they must take place inside a Temple. To enter a Temple after its dedication, one must possess a Temple recommendation. Of course, that excludes friends and family outside of the faith, as well as others who have failed to meet the requirements. Everything I have said so far is in direct relation to what this space – the Sealing Room – means to Latter-Day Saints. I am not a Latter-Day Saint, nor do I ever intend to be one. So, what does the Sealing Room mean to me? It means everything because it changed everything. AFTER STARING at the image for several minutes, I scrolled down the page and read everything I just told you about LDS weddings. The picture, though, remained in my mind long after I had seen it. And that was because I had seen it before. Well, sort of… This is a Lodge Room – a room in NYC’s largest Masonic Temple. Notice the superb Beaux Arts detailing. Notice the two doors. Notice the altar in the center. Notice the arrangement of the furnishings around the altar. Look familiar? I don’t know if this is technically a Blue Lodge Room. It does, however, appear to be set up for Blue Lodge Masonry. If we compare the two spaces, there are several noticeable differences. Perhaps the most obvious is the color scheme and architectural finishes. Others include: a) The three lights around the altar (absent in the Sealing Room) b) The replacement of individual chairs with long benches in the Lodge c) The raised dais at the Eastern end of the Lodge (three steps, of course,) supporting the Worshipful Master’s chair Despite these differences, both spaces undeniably share a layout. The question, then, arises: Is there an unseen connection between the LDS faith and Freemasonry? MY RESEARCH confirmed that Joseph Smith, the founder of the LDS Church was, in fact, a Freemason. Although little is known about his involvement in Masonic activities, multiple sources state that he was initiated several years after the inception of the Church – not before. I’m not sure if the Sealing ceremony was, in its current form, introduced before or after Smith’s initiation into the Fraternity. It would, however, appear, from early photographs of LDS Temples, that the first Sealing Rooms were much smaller than current designs, with only a few chairs and the altar at the front of the space rather than in its center. These early rooms bore little resemblance to the Blue Lodge, and Smith likely never foresaw their modern counterparts. So, what is the connection? It is my belief that Joseph Smith was not the only Latter-Day Saint of the period – or even of today – with ties to Masonry. A video produced by the church states that LDS doctrine does not prohibit members from becoming Masons. It acknowledges the fact of Smith’s membership and even goes on to claim that he received revelation about the new church during his initiation. Upon further research, I discovered that even more striking parallels to Masonry can be found in the Temple Endowment Ceremony. The ceremony was introduced in Kirtland, Ohio – the town where Smith’s followers had settled – sometime after 1820. Kirtland was the site of the very first Temple, and the only one dedicated by Smith himself. The Kirtland Temple was designed and built after Smith’s own revelation. It is a simple, two-story affair, constructed in the federal style, with unusual gothic windows. This building was very, very different from modern LDS Temples. It consisted of two large meeting rooms, each occupying a floor, and space in the basement for the Endowment Ceremony. I assume that marriages were also performed here. (Baptism for the Dead, the only other Temple ceremony besides marriage and the Endowment, was not introduced until after the Church had moved from Kirtland to Nauvoo, Illinois.) THE PURPOSE of the Endowment, according to the Church, is to instruct faithful members on the history of the world, (of course, through an LDS lens,) starting with Creation and ending in the “restoration of the Gospel.” Its secondary purpose is to teach these members the secret Passwords, Signs, and Tokens needed to enter the afterlife. (More on these soon.) The Ceremony is also a coming-of-age tradition. Initially, only men over 50 were allowed to participate; in 1980, the age limit was lowered to 18 and women were granted admission. As with much of the “work” performed in Temples, the Endowment can be observed multiple times by any individual; members are encouraged to return again and again on behalf of deceased ancestors who had no opportunity to participate themselves. If you already see the parallels to Masonry, it is interesting to note that this ceremony was introduced over ten years before Smith became a Mason. This becomes even more striking when it is discovered that Smith rose to the third degree after only a day in the Fraternity. To me, it seems there are only two possibilities: a) that Smith was influenced by Masonic teachings even before his initiation b) that the historical timeline is incorrect The Endowment was originally performed with live actors and real sets, but due to the inefficiency of putting on a drama multiple times daily for a limited audience, the Church has created a film presentation that encompasses the entire ceremony. In its first iteration, the Ceremony was conducted in a single room, divided by cloth partitions into six sections. Patrons would enter the first section, dressed in ceremonial white clothing (including aprons and possibly sashes) and be instructed on the creation of the world. Once the performers had finished their delivery, the partition was pulled aside, and everyone entered the second section. This went on until the final section, when the last partition was pulled aside to reveal a veil symbolic of death. Each patron would approach the veil, offer the token, and be admitted into the final section – a space representing the “Celestial Kingdom.” Out of respect for the Church and its members, as well as for any Masons viewing, I will not describe the token. But many sources state that it closely resembles that of the Master Mason. After being chased out of Kirtland by an “anti-Mormon mob,” the Saints settled in Nauvoo, Illinois. It was there that they began building their second Temple. Smith did not live to see it completed; he was lynched by another “anti-Mormon mob” while preaching in another town. Brigham Young, his second-in-command, assumed the role of Church President, and finished the Nauvoo Temple, only to have it burnt to the ground by – you guessed it – an “anti-Mormon mob.” In Nauvoo, the ceremony of Baptism for the Dead was introduced. The font in which it is performed is a large replica of the Brazen Sea – the bronze basin of King Solomon’s Temple. It’s a beautiful piece, supported by twelve oxen which represent the twelve Tribes of Israel, the twelve Zodiac, etc. To this day, every new Temple built by the Church has at least one Baptistry containing a font of this type. AFTER MIGRATING to Utah, the LDS began building Temples with individual rooms dedicated to the Endowment, each containing elaborate murals depicting a different scene in the drama. The rooms were built in succession, each a few steps higher than the previous, representing the spiritual progression to enlightenment. The Temples in Salt Lake City, Manti, and Logan are three fine examples of this arrangement. (Unfortunately, the Logan Temple was gutted and rebuilt in the 1970s.) Currently, the Church builds Temples with unconnected, unadorned Endowment rooms. It’s certainly more efficient that way, but with all honesty, I like the tradition of separate spaces with murals and live acting better – probably because it reminds me of the Scottish Rite dramas. SO, WHAT conclusions can we draw? Is the LDS Church a form of Masonry with a Christian twist? Certainly, many members whom I know and respect in my community would firmly disagree. I don’t claim to have an answer, and I intentionally leave this post open-ended to encourage discussion. This may only be the second time that the LDS have been mentioned on the Forum, and I believe it is a topic worth our insight.

On the heels of discovering some things about a pesky little elongated triangle of 18 degrees I have made a series of other observations that help to work out some other nagging questions I have which relate, in part, to the Droeshout engraving of a gentlemen I like to refer to as "geometric man". Some know him as William Shakespeare, but that is of little interest to me at this point. I am more interested in how this image was put together as a geometric composition. I have previously showed that at the heart of the Droeshout portrait (almost perfectly centered) is a 40,60,80 degree triangle which one can equate to the Summer triangle asterism made up of Deneb, Vega and Altair who are the main stars in Cygnus, Lyra and Aquila. The presence of the 40,60,80 triangle has been noted in an analysis of the Compass and Square representation which is treated empirically. It appears in rounded off fashion as triangle LIC here where the angles are (41,59,80). Of interest now is the fact that the elongated triangle CLm is part of it. It is also adjacent to the triangle ELI (27,53,100). As previously noted elsewhere, it is my suggestion that Bacon did in fact plan symbolically using this arrangement in the selection of two great circles used for navigation on the globe and also using a Mercator map projection. I'm going to show here that the same sort of scheme is applicable to the Droeshout portrait design. Elements in the portrait appear to confirm the scheme. Previously, I showed this: What I have termed the (40,60,80) triangle comes out of two parallels involving both tips of the collar, the rounds of the eyes and the prominent button hem line across them. Here we can see that line segments drawn from periods (Ed. to TRAGEDIES.), (Copies. to the intersection of the hem), (center of the O in original to tip of collar). A similarity to the use of the point in the O as an origin is seen on the hem line. Notice here that the (40,60,80) triangle has been centered upon the image and that is oriented with the 60 degree angle at the top, so it is tilted compared to the C&S symbol orientation. Simply by integrating the Compass and Square geometry to this we can proceed to build the square that contains it. That looks like this: abc is (41,80,59), adb is the elongated (18, 80, 79), cbg is the elegant (27,100,53). Completing the square produces some interesting correspondences. ae projects to the bottom corner. The line originating in the O which goes through c-d-b intersects ak in the center of the square (the G in the traditional Compass and Squared depiction). Adding the blue lines to show the framing square produces the intersection at c atop the Summer Triangle. gch projects to the top of the A in Shakespeare above. Of possible interest is the new triangle ach (22, 63,95). That one contains the eye, nose, ear and mouth. We have 22 and 158 here (not quite 157, but maybe close enough to suggest it). If we project beyond ah we hit ROS and &. That's a fancy way to give Rose or Rosy. hk is, of course, perpendicular to it and gives us the Cross(ing) which we can construct a ROSY CROSS suggestion with if we want to. There's also an additional line starting from the period after "Blount." which goes through the intersection of the lines ae and hk right through R C. This forms an angle at R involving the letters C R O S and &. In that regard the corner there gives a more direct Rosy Cross suggestion. The frame of the image seems to have been sized with the square in mind. This can be seen by showing: If one encircles the Square shown in yellow the blue circle produced is of exactly the same width as the frame of the image. Centering a circle atop the frame produces small Vesica which has a divider that is parallel to adk and the arm of the framing square. That divider intersects the middle of the right eye. The circle around the yellow square also touches the edge of the page. Alot of thought has gone into this to make all this appear. Remember that it all starts with a centered (40,60,80) suggestion that we can liken to: The great similarity we see with Bacon's geo planning is with the use of the triangles that play positional roles. I contend Bacon used three celestial triangle asterisms, the Summer Triangle, the Mitre of St Peter (Triangulum) and the Winter Triangle to set up a pair of Great Circles whose intersection corresponded with a Mercator map alignment from the Nile Delta through the Pillars of Hercules to NA (Alexandria to Alexandria if you want). The Droeshout portrait is is showing is a similar planning in its layout. The entire thing has parallels in the Masonic Compass and Square geometry. Bacon obviously looked into nature saw the elegant correspondences (it does not appear to be just a series of simple coincidences that fit well together). However, we have to be very cautious in attributing this portrait to Bacon. Any individual with knowledge of the Compass and Square geometry could have involved it. The compass and square were being used in printers marks at this time. Treating them geometrically and exactly, if it was already a common idea, would necessarily produce a 40,60,80 relative that can bridge us back to Bacon and an idea of celestial navigation. The Rosy Cross suggestion here is very compelling. It appears to perhaps suggest that an early ACCEPTION group called ROSY CROSS may have had a hand in the printing of the first folio. This seems at least possible. The portrait of the geometric man serves to tell us that we are likely dealing with some careful planners.

Hi, all - I recently came across a photo of Raphael's "The School of Athens." (I won't bother posting an image here because I'm sure you all have seen it many times). The first thing that struck me, oddly enough, upon rediscovering this fantastic artwork, was that the architecture was distinctly Roman, rather than Greek. The building was finished in the Tuscan order of architecture (introduced later by the Romans), with pilasters lining the walls instead of columns, and the coffered, barrel-vaulted ceiling reminded me of some roman basilicas I had seen. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe the Greeks ever used octagonal coffers in their architecture. But here's the interesting part: The two statues really jump out at me. One is obviously a depiction of Apollo, and the other is just as obviously Athena. Any Baconian will of course notice the spear in the latter's hand, and possibly even make the connection Bacon's "double A" headpiece. (I think Rick Wagner had a theory about the first "A" - i.e., the light one - representing the god of the sun, with the dark "A" representing his female counterpart, the Spear Shaker.) I see them in "School" occupying niches on opposite sides of the main gallery - almost like the twin Pillars of the First Temple. Also, there is a tryptic opening at the very top center of the image - just like the tryptic entrances of Gothic/Masonic cathedrals. If anyone has any thoughts about this remarkable painting, I would love to hear what you all think!

Great new article submitted by R.E. Kretz: The origins of modern freemasonry are, of course, rooted in the distant past and shrouded by the mists of time, appearing as a mystery wrapped in an enigma. In Act 2 Scene 7 of Shakespeare’s play As You Like It, Jaques says: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts.” It would seem that there is as much vigorous debate about the origins of modern freemasonry as there is about who is to be credited for Willam Shakespeare’s writings. When we peruse Shakespeare’s writings and the rubric of freemasonry, we find several of the same players involved, having their exits and entrances, and one man, Sir Francis Bacon, in his time playing many parts. Read more: https://sirbacon.org/camelot/