Description
Book SynopsisBoth 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.
Trade ReviewEqual Rites is an imaginative and ambitious book. -- Grant Underwood Journal of American History This is an important book on the history of American religion, culture, and society. Choice [Equal Rites] is well written and engaging. -- D.E. Mills Jr. Reviews in Religion and Theology A uniquely insightful answer to scholars' recent calls for greater understanding of Mormon theology, culture, and institutional character. Religous Studies Review
Table of ContentsPreface: Mormon Masonry? Introduction: The Wax and Wane of Masonry in American Culture Part I. The Mormon-Masonic Nexus 1. Reading a Sealed Book 2. Was Joseph Smith a Mason? 3. Dreaming Masonry: Getting the Story Plumb 4. As the Words of a Book That Is Sealed: The Book of Mormon as Esoteric Male (Hi)Story 5. Fleeing Babel with Mother and Child in Tow Part II. The Quest Within the Quest 6. A Bible! A Bible! We Have Got a Bible 7. The Search for the Long Lost Book in the Book of Mormon 8. What Manner of (Masonic) Men? Part III. The "Anti-Evangelical" Mind of Joseph Smith Jr. 9. Whether a Man Can Enter a Second Time into His Mother's Womb 10. Heaven and Hell: Divining the Ghost of Emmanuel Swedenborg 11. Father-Son and Holy Ghost--Mother? The Mormon-God Question Part IV. The Millennial, Racial, Economic, and Political Confederacy 12. Thy Kingdom Come: On Earth as It Is in Heaven 13. The Lost Ten Tribes Found: Mormons and Jews 14. The Curse and Redemption of the Lamanites 15. The Economic Kingdom of God: Masonic Utopianism Unveiled Postscript: The "Americanness" of Mormonism Notes Bibliography Index
