False Light, False Gods: The Twisted Parallels Between Freemasonry and Mormonism

In a time when spiritual deception is celebrated as “tolerance,” and every religious voice is given equal footing, it has never been more important for Christians to draw a clear line between the truth of God’s Word and the counterfeit gospels that lead to eternal destruction.

Recently, I came across the story of a man whose grandfather was both a 33rd Degree Freemason and a lifelong deacon in a Baptist church. After his grandfather’s death, the man inherited books such as Morals and Dogma by Albert Pike and Mackey’s Encyclopedia of Freemasonry. The disturbing contents of those volumes left him with a painful conclusion: his grandfather either lied to the Masons or lied to the church. He could not have faithfully belonged to both.

That dilemma exposes a deeper truth—one that also applies to another institution masquerading as Christian: the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), commonly known as Mormonism. The similarities between Freemasonry and Mormonism are not coincidental; they are spiritual red flags. Both claim divine light but offer darkness. Both present themselves as morally upright but conceal dangerous lies. And both lead their followers away from the Jesus Christ of the Bible.

Albert Pike, one of the most revered Masonic scholars, wrote in Morals and Dogma that “Lucifer, the Light-Bearer... is God.” He exalted Lucifer as the god of light and opposed him to Adonay (the Hebrew name for the Lord) whom he smeared as the god of darkness and evil. While some modern Masons try to whitewash these claims, the writings stand. There’s no place in biblical Christianity for worship of Lucifer, no matter how cleverly it's dressed up in ritual and philosophy.

Now consider Mormonism. LDS doctrine teaches that Jesus and Lucifer are spirit brothers—two sons of the same Heavenly Father. It claims God was once a man who became exalted, and that men, too, can become gods. These teachings are just as blasphemous as Pike’s writings, even if they are polished with smiling missionaries and temple pageantry. In the end, both systems preach another gospel and another god—which Paul sternly warned against in Galatians 1:8.

And the connection runs deeper.

Joseph Smith himself was a Freemason. He was initiated into Freemasonry on March 15, 1842, in Nauvoo, Illinois. Just a few weeks later, he introduced the LDS temple endowment ceremony—complete with ritual oaths, hand signs, tokens, and clothing directly patterned after Masonic rites. Smith claimed divine revelation for these ceremonies, but the timing and resemblance are far too convenient to ignore. In truth, Mormon temple ordinances are steeped in Masonic ritual and occult symbolism, not biblical truth.

Both Freemasonry and Mormonism involve secret temple rituals and oaths, including blood oaths in earlier forms. Freemasonry boasts of its secrecy (see Morals and Dogma, pp. 104–105), while the Mormon temple ritual, until 1990, included gestures symbolizing penalties for revealing secrets—just like Masonic initiations. Jesus, on the other hand, openly condemned secretive religious swearing: “Do not swear at all… Let your ‘Yes’ be yes, and your ‘No,’ no. Anything more than this comes from the evil one” (Matthew 5:34–37, NLT).

Both systems portray themselves as enlightened paths to truth. Yet Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). The true gospel is not hidden behind curtains or secret handshakes. It is the good news of Jesus Christ crucified and risen, available to all who repent and believe—no passwords, no rituals, no hidden knowledge required.

The painful truth is this: you cannot worship Lucifer and Jesus. You cannot claim to follow the Bible while submitting to secret oaths and doctrines that contradict it. You cannot hold hands with false prophets and remain loyal to the true Shepherd.

Mormonism and Freemasonry are not just “different perspectives”—they are spiritual counterfeits. And any system that denies the full deity of Jesus Christ, adds to God’s Word, or invites you into secrecy and deception is not just wrong—it’s dangerous.

Christians must wake up and stand firm. We are not called to blend in with false religions but to expose the darkness with the light of God’s Word. As Ephesians 5:11 commands, “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.”

There is one Gospel. One Savior. One Light. And His name is Jesus Christ—not Lucifer, not Joseph Smith, not the architects of Freemasonry.