Joseph Smith, Jr. developed the temple endowment by integrating concepts he encountered during his involvement in Masonry, a connection that Mormon authorities continue to downplay.

“There is absolutely no question in my mind that the Mormon ceremony which came to be known as the Endowment, introduced by Joseph Smith to Mormon Masons, had an immediate inspiration from Masonry.”

Reed Durham/LDS Historian, speech at Mormon History Association in Nauvoo, Illinois; see Richard Abanes, One Nation Under Gods (New York: Basic Books, 20 March 2002), 38.