I've recently joined a Masonic Lodge.  The group has been of interest to me since I learned many years ago that Joseph Smith was a Mason.  The Masons are nothing more than a fraternal group that promote a belief in God (the god of your choice), and making good men better.  It is not a religion.  Having been through Masonic ceremony, I can tell you there is NO QUESTION that Joseph Smith took the Mormon Temple Ceremony from the Masons.  Much of it is word-for-word and physically identical to the Mormon Temple Endowment Ceremony.    Or maybe it's just IRONIC that only two months after Joseph Smith BECAME a Mason that the Temple Endowment was "revealed" to him.  Let's face it....Joseph Lied!