They are separate organizations, although Mormon temple rituals drew heavily on Freemasonry. Also the Mason's dues are a whole lot smaller than what you have to pay to get temple privileges in Mormonism.
Mormonism is complicated, and it has never quite figured which way it should go. It started out as a garden-variety tent-revival millenarian sect. The whole Book of Mormon is a treatise on Protestantism. But then JS discovered Freemasonry, and that indeed came to define the church more and more. It goes far beyond the temple ceremony. The Priesthood is a fraternal order. Heaven has degrees. The Bible was re-interpreted as a story about the patriarchs as craft masters. And so on. So yes, modern Mormonism can be seen as a variant of Freemasonry. The early leaders were in full agreement with the idea, as they saw Mormonism as restoring the "true order" of Freemasonry.
I don’t know if they can be. But from this day forward, when referring to a Mormon, I will say “he’s a Freemason” or “I believe that family practices Freemasonry.”
And I’ll say to Mormons, “you’re a Freemason, right?” “No? What’s the difference?” And “I still don’t get it. You should talk to a Freemason because it sounds exactly the same.”
Thanks for this post and all of the fun I’ll have with a straight face.
Mormons were not allowed membership in certain masonic lodges. I know this was the case with certain lodges in Idaho but Idaho's original constitution banned Mormons from voting so Idaho was not pro-Mormon in the old days.
Mormonism is no more Mason than my college fraternity was where I was initiated, given a new name and swore four loyalty oaths with four separate handshakes.
I would say the temple is the Mormon church's fraternal order. It created a insider's club inside the church. Great if you want to have separate loyalties and keep secrets.
Or Christians, or Methodists, or theists, or Earth Magic followers, or Sikhs (that's were the sacred undergarments was "borrowed" from) or any other religion Joe Smith stole something from?