NAUVOO LODGE

Early Mormon Leaders & prominent members who were members of the Masonic Fraternity...

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1. Joseph Smith, Junior-  Founder of the Mormon church, translator of The Book of Mormon, and self- proclaimed  prophet, seer & revelator.  Also served in various secular capacities, e.g.,  as Lieutenant General of the Nauvoo Legion, Mayor of Nauvoo, et cetera.  Smith was  made a Mason "at sight" by Grand Master Abraham Jonas,  being initiated as an Entered Apprentice on March 15, 1842 and, on the following day, passed to the degree of a Fellow Craft & raised the sublime degree of a Master Mason.  Smith was assassinated at Carthage Jail on June 27, 1844.  Click on Smith's image above to see an excellent collection of rare and/or obscure pictures of the prophet from various sources prepared by Dale Broadhurst.

2. Hyrum Smith-  The brother of the prophet, Hyrum served as patriarch of the church after the death of their father, Joseph Smith, Sr., who was also a Mason.  Hyrum was a member of Mount Moriah Lodge at Palmyra, Ontario County, NY prior to the Morgan Affair in the late 1820's.  He later served as the Senior Warden of the Nauvoo Lodge at its founding in 1841 and as Worshipful Master from November 10, 1842 to June 27, 1844 when he was assassinated at Carthage, IL with his brother, the prophet.

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3. Sidney Rigdon-  A Cambellite preacher who converted to the Mormon church, Rigdon served in the First Presidency of the church as a councilor to Joseph Smith.  Like Smith, he was also made a Mason "at sight" by Grand Master Abraham Jonas and was  initiated, passed & raised with Smith at Nauvoo (see dates above).  Rigdon is the only Nauvoo Mason of which I am aware who continued his Masonic affiliation and activity after the succession crisis in Nauvoo and the disbursement of the saints into competing religious groups.  Rigdon, according to his son, Wickliffe, was an active Mason until the end of his life.  He was a founding member of the Masonic Lodge at Friendship, NY chartered June 18, 1851.  At his death, he was buried with Masonic Rites administered by Allegheny Lodge No. 225.  

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4. Brigham Young- Member of the Quorum of the Twelve under Joseph Smith, Young became a Mason at the Nauvoo Lodge: Initiated 4/7/1842, Passed 4/8/1842 & Raised 4/9/1842.  According to the Official Lodge Minutes, Joseph Smith was present at the 1st and 3rd of these degrees  Later, Young led a majority of the Mormons from Nauvoo to the Great Salt Lake Valley in Utah after the assassination of the Prophet and there served as the second president of the church.  Young was known to have worn a Masonic stick pin on his shirt at various times for the rest of his life.  This pin has been edited out of all official LDS images of Young.  The image above was not edited.  Click the image for another photo of President Young wearing his Masonic Stick Pin.

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5. Dr. John Cook Bennett-  Dr. Bennett joined the Mormon church in the early 1840's and quickly rose to prominence in both secular and religious capacities.  He was initiated a Mason at Belmont Lodge No. 16 in St. Clairsville, OH in 1827.  He later joined Pickaway Lodge in  Circleville, OH & Friendship Lodge No. 89 in Barnesville, OH where he was elected Grand Chaplin in 1831.  Bennett was instrumental in establishing a Masonic Lodge in Nauvoo.  After the dispensation was granted to the Nauvoo Lodge, it soon came to light that Dr. Bennett was not a Mason in good standing, having been expelled from Pickaway Lodge in 1834.  Subsequent events led to both Bennett's expulsion from Nauvoo Lodge and the Mormon church.  He went on to author one of the most controversial anti-Mormon books of his time, "The History of the Saints."

6. Willard Richards- Richards was an Apostle, Church Historian & personal secretary to Joseph Smith.  He was present at Carthage Jail when the Prophet and his brother were assassinated.  Richards received his degrees in Masonry at the Nauvoo Lodge at the same time Brigham Young did- See dates above.

7. George J. Adams- Information to follow...

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8. Heber C. Kimball-  Kimball was an early convert to the Mormon church who became a member of the First Quorum of the Twelve under Joseph Smith & a councilor to Brigham Young during his presidency.  Kimball was made a Mason at  Milner Lodge in Victor, Ontario County, NY in 1825.  He was reported to have petitioned  the Royal Arch Chapter in Canadigua, NY in 1826  just before the Anti-Mason sentiment sparked by the Morgan Affair shut down most lodges in that region of the country.   Kimball served as Junior Deacon of the Nauvoo Lodge.

9. Newel K. Whitney- Whitney was a successful merchant who joined the Mormons in the early 1830's.  He was ordained a Bishop by Joseph Smith to preside over the Saints of Ohio and the Eastern States.  Whitney was made a Mason at Meridian Orb Lodge No. 10, Painesville, Lake County, Ohio.  He later served as Treasurer of the Nauvoo Lodge at its founding.

10. John Taylor-  An apostle under Joseph Smith, John Taylor was made a Mason at Nauvoo.  He later succeeded Brigham Young to the presidency of the LDS church. 

11. Parley P. Pratt- Pratt was an early convert to the church (1830) who served as a Branch President in Missouri and later as an Apostle.  He served several missions for the church, including one to England.  Pratt also was the editor of the Millennial Star, a Mormon newspaper.  He was made a Mason at the Nauvoo Lodge- Initiated 7/10/1843, Passed 7/13/1843 & Raised 7/30/1844.

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12. Wilford Woodruff-  Woodruff was also an apostle under Joseph Smith.  He received his Masonic degrees in the Nauvoo Lodge.  Woodruff was the fourth president of the LDS church.

13. Lorenzo Snow-  Like Taylor & Woodruf, Lorenzo was also an apostle under Joseph Smith who later became the president of the church.  He was made a Mason at Nauvoo and was the fifth president of the LDS church.  

14. Orson Hyde-  Hyde was an important member of the early church.  He was an apostle and served several missions for the church, including one to Palestine to dedicated the Holy Land for the final gathering of Israel.  Hyde received his 1st and 2nd degrees in Masonry at Meridian Orb Lodge No. 10 in Painesville, Lake County, Ohio.  He was raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason at the Nauvoo Lodge on January 18, 1843.

15. Orin Porter Rockwell-  Rockwell was an early convert to the church who was a close friend and bodyguard of Joseph Smith.  It is believed that he was a member of the Danites in Missouri.  Rockwell was accused of the attempted assassination of Lilburn W. Boggs, who had issued the "Extermination Order" against the Mormons when Governor of Missouri.  He served 9 months in prison, but was never tried.  Rockwell became a Mason at the Nauvoo Lodge- Initiated 3/9/1844, Passed 3/11/1844 & Raised 3/29/1844.

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16. William Clayton-  Brother Clayton was an English convert who migrated to Nauvoo in 1840 and was one of Joseph Smith's personal secretaries and confidants.  He was one of the first polygamist who practiced covertly under the blessing of the prophet.  He was also a member of the "Holy Order" prior to the death of Joseph Smith.  He was made a Mason at Nauvoo in April of 1842.  He was a meticulous in his journal writing and has preserved a wealth important information relating to early Mormon ritual, practice, and belief as well as the details of day to day life in Nauvoo.  He was among the Saints who moved west under the leadership of Brigham Young and the Council of the Twelve.

17. George Miller-  Miller converted to Mormonism in 1839.  He was soon called to replace Edward Partridge as bishop and later Don Carlos Smith as president of the High Priests in Nauvoo.  Bishop Miller was made a Mason at Widow's Son No. 60 in Albemarle, Milton County, VA.  According to the records of that lodge, Miller was initiated as an Entered Apprentice on 11/13/1819, passed to the degree of a Fellow Craft on 12/20/1819, and raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason on 12/22/1819.***  Bishop Miller was a charter member and the first Worshipful Master of the Nauvoo Lodge.  Miller was one of the original members of Joseph Smith's "Holy Order" and a member of the elite "Council of Fifty."  After the death of Joseph Smith, Miller had a falling-out with Brigham Young and others who had assumed the leadership of the church and eventually joined with James J. Strang and his followers in Wisconsin.    

(Source : Masonic Moroni)