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9/11 Masonic Terrorism in Early America

The September 11, 1826 Masonic Capture & Subsequent Terrorist Murder of Capt. William Morgan





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9/11 Masonic Terrorism in Early America

The September 11, 1826 Masonic Capture & Subsequent Terrorist Murder of Capt. William Morgan

� 2002 by John Daniel

Taken from the INTRODUCTION of:

�The Character, Claims and Practical Workings of Freemasonry� by Rev. Charles G. Finney

First published in 1869

Republished with this additional �Introduction� in 1998

Captain Morgan

Footnote documentation of this historic event is in the above book by Finney.

Finney�s book can be ordered at www.scarletandthebeast.com

Revival In America

Early in 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859), a famous French statesman, received official permission from the French government to travel to the United States to study the reason behind America�s greatness. After having spent nine months in our land, he returned and delivered the following report to the French Parliament:

I went at your bidding and passed through their thorough-fares of trade; I ascended their mountains and went down their valleys; I visited their manufactories, their commercial markets and emporiums of trade; I entered their judicial courts and legislative halls; but I sought everywhere in vain until I entered the Church. It was there as I listened to the soul-elevating principles of the Gospel of Christ, as they fell from Sabbath to Sabbath upon the masses of the people, that I learned why America was great and free and why France was a slave.

America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.

Tocqueville visited America during our nation�s Second Great Awakening, when pulpits were aflame with the gospel of repentance and salvation. Very significant were the thousands of Masons who flocked to church altars to renounce their Masonic oaths and receive Christ as Savior. Evangelist Charles Finney specifically included repentance from Freemasonry in his preaching and saw this action as a precursor to revival. America was experiencing revival amidst the Anti-Masonic Movement.

Little or no mention is made in our history books of the Anti-Masonic Movement, which formed the Anti-Masonic Party in 1827. The Random House Dictionary of the English Language gives a sketchy definition:

Anti-Masonic party, U.S. Hist. A former political party (1826-35) that opposed Freemasonry in civil affairs.

Anti-Mason, U.S. Hist. A member of the Anti-Masonic party or a supporter of its principles.

The Encyclopaedia Britannica gives a broader view of the Anti-Masonic Movement than do the dictionaries, yet it, too, holds to the media standard of reporting only part of the facts. We shall let the Britannica speak for itself before we tell the complete story.

In U.S. history, the Anti-Masonic Movement reflected a long-standing suspicion of secret fraternal orders, culminating in the political activities of the Anti-Masonic Party (1827-36). The movement was touched off in 1826 in western New York by the mysterious disappearance of William Morgan, a Freemason who had prepared for publication a book revealing the secrets of the Order of the Masons. Charged with stealing and indebtedness, Morgan was imprisoned and then reportedly kidnapped shortly after his release. He was never heard from afterward, and it was widely thought that he had been murdered. After prolonged investigation� the press, churches, temperance and antislavery elements joined in condemning the apparent �murder.�

When 15 Anti-Masonic candidates were elected to the New York Assembly in 1827, the dynamic political nature of the issue was recognized and the anti-Masonic Party was organized. National conventions met at Philadelphia in 1830 and at Baltimore in 1831, the latter to nominate [renounced Mason] William Wirt, former U.S. attorney general, as a presidential candidate. By this time the movement had spread across the Middle Atlantic States and into New England, usually through church, temperance, and anti-slavery channels.

The Anti-Masonic national nominating convention in Baltimore, with 13 states represented by 116 Anti-Masons, was the first of its kind in�U.S. Politics. The convention required a special three-fourths majority rather than a simple majority to nominate, a precedent followed by the Democrats in subsequent national conventions for more than a century. The convention system has been used since by the major U.S. political parties.

The Anti-Masonic Party won a large number of Congressional seats in 1832, but thereafter internal improvements and the protective tariff became the major issues. By late in the decade, Anti-Masonic agitation had been largely superseded by anti-slavery activities, and remnants of the party merged with the newly formed Whig Party in 1838.

After the �Morgan Affair,� when John Quincy Adams learned of these odious Masonic Obligations and partialities during his Presidency, he united his National Republican Party with the Anti-Masonic Party, which union became the Whig Party in 1838. In 1845, he wrote of Freemasonry, �A more perfect agent for the devising and execution of conspiracies against church or state could scarcely have been conceived.�

Freemasonry In Early America

A brief history of the activity of Masonry in America, both politically and militarily, must be understood before we can fully comprehend the appalling truth behind the censored story that spawned the Anti-Masonic Movement.

There are two separate Masonic forces in the world � one headquartered in London, the other in Paris. The Paris Lodge is of Templar origin. Its founders were the Knights Templar, who fled to Scotland during their 14th century persecution. While in Scotland they developed an esoteric form of worship that was carried into workingman lodges.

Most workingmen in those days built cathedrals and castles out of stone. As stonemasons, they quartered close to work in mason lodges. Apprentices quartered in �entered apprentice� lodges; craftsmen in �fellow craftsmen� lodges; and taskmasters in �master mason� lodges. The Templars attached their form of mystic worship to these three degrees of labor. Hence stone-mason lodges were turned into centers of esoteric worship.

This form of esoteric worship was carried from Scotland to London at the turn of the 17th century when Scottish King James VI, who had reigned in Scotland from 1567 to 1603, was appointed by England�s childless Queen Elizabeth I to reign as King James I over their United Kingdoms. This is the same King James who authorized the 1611 King James Version of the Bible.

During the 1640s, when civil war erupted against the Stuart dynasty, the freedom fighters were of the working class. Naturally they planned their secret strategy against the throne from behind the walls of their mason lodges. After they won their freedom, they became known as free masons.

In 1660 the Stuarts were back on the throne. The Glorious Revolution in 1688 permanently dethroned them. In 1717 the Stuart remnant were exiled to France, along with their Scottish masonry. By 1755 the Scottish Rite had developed to 32 degrees, broadened it name to the Scottish Rite of French Freemasonry, and in 1760 began to plan for revolution to win freedom for the workingmen of France. In 1782, and with assistance from the Illuminati, the Scottish Rite of French Freemasonry began agitating for revolution, finally triggering the French Revolution of 1789 to1793.

The Scottish Rite was brought to America during the French and Indian war (1754-1760), settling at Charleston, S.C. on the 33rd degree parallel. In 1786 the Southern Jurisdiction of Scottish Rite Freemasonry adopted the French Masonic constitution as a basis for its constitution. It is therefore Templar and republican in origin. In 1801 the 33rd and final degree was created at Charleston. Today the Masonic world is ruled from that city, with its secretariat headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Masonic Lodges with French Constitutions end their prayers in the name of the Great Architect of the Universe. (Sometimes the title �Grand Architect� is substituted for the title �Great Architect�).

The other force of Freemasonry is of Rosicrucian origin headquartered in London. In 1717, after the exile of the Stuarts to France, seven British Rosicrucians united English Freemasonry under a Grand Lodge. Placed at its head was the king of England. From then until now, English Masonry has remained royalist and Rosicrucian. The British kept the three original degrees of Freemasonry until 1860, when they added the additional degrees of the Scottish Rite, but for competitive reason dropped the name �Scottish.�

Before the French and Indian War, American lodges were of British origin under British constitutions. Within the lodges were two factions vying for control � Moderns and Ancients. Moderns wanted to update the ancient rituals. Under their control prayers ended in the Name of Jesus Christ. When the Ancients merged with the Moderns in 1813, lodges became purely deistic and prayers in Christ�s name gradually died out as the ancient rituals returned. Under the Ancients, prayers began to be offered in the name of the Great Architect of the Universe, as is done in French Freemasonry.

A few Ancient lodges existed in America before 1813. For example, the Boston lodge went Ancient in 1751, as did St. John�s Lodge in Philadelphia ten years later. The British founded the Philadelphia lodge in 1730, which was the earliest known lodge in the North American colonies. One of its first initiates was Ben Franklin, who received his degrees in February of 1731.

As stated earlier, French lodges did not appear in America until the French and Indian War, where young George Washington first learned soldiering. These lodges were �military� or �traveling lodges,� exclusively for soldiers and diplomats. Military lodges became famous during our War of Independence. George Washington officiated in them, as we shall see.

George Washington is an important figure, both in Masonic history and in understanding the story of William Morgan. Morgan, a Royal Arch Mason, renounced Freemasonry, and in 1826 planned to expose the dangers of its secrets in a book. Washington likewise warned the whole country on the eve of his death to beware of secret societies. Both men were specific in their warning; the European Illuminati had infiltrated American Freemasonry.

Washingtons Masonic Apron

Washington�s Boycott of English Masonic Lodges

Washington was an adhering Mason from age 21 to his death. His Masonic credentials began at Fredericksburg, Va., Lodge No. 4, where he was initiated 1st degree on Nov. 4, 1752; passed to 2nd degree on March 3, 1753; and raised to 3rd degree on Aug. 4, 1753. Lodge No. 4 was a British constituted lodge, which offered only three degrees. At that time, George Washington was as high as he could go in colonial Freemasonry. A year after initiation, he visited the lodge once again, and never returned. In fact, he never set foot in any British lodge after the Revolution began.

Washington was not alone in breaking connections with the mother lodge of England. Freemason Albert G. Mackey informs us, �Soon after the beginning of the Revolution, a disposition was manifested among American Free-masons to dissever their connection, as subordinates, with the Masonic authorities of the mother country, and in several of the newly erected States the Provincial Grand Lodges assumed an independent character.�

Another record of Washington�s affiliation with a lodge was in Virginia. (Virginia had �dissevered� its lodges from English control.) Lodge No. 39 of Alexandria, previously working under the Grand Lodge of Penn., transferred its allegiance to Virginia in 1788 and became Lodge No. 22. On April 28, Washington was made Charter Master in absentia and reelected Dec. 29.

Worshipful Master George Washington

Worshipful Master George Washington presiding over Lodge No. 22. Life Magazine, Oct. 8, 1956, p. 122

There is no record that Washington renounced his Masonic oaths, resigned from any lodge, be it British or French, or protested his leadership role in a lodge in absentia. Our first President was an active Mason his entire life, writing cordial letters to, and receiving letters from lodges until his death. Throughout his political career he visited a number of French lodges and officiated in some, but always boycotted English lodges.

President Washington also enjoyed attending public Masonic functions. On Sept. 18, 1793, he is pictured in a painting wearing his Masonic apron laying the cornerstone of the Capitol Building. And in 1795, he assisted in laying out the streets of the Capitol in the shape of Masonic symbols.

Washington constantly gave a Masonic idiom. When speaking of �Providence,� which was our founding father�s term for God, he frequently used the phrase �Grand Architect of the Universe.� He believed the success of the Revolution was due to the �Grand Architect of the Universe,� and ended his frequent prayers in that deity�s name. In short, writes Masonic scholar William H. Stemper, �Freemasonry was Washington�s political theology. It enabled him to project a political sacrality. Washington�s usage of Freemasonry as a political theology was to reconcile and harmonize democracy with the providential moral working of the foundation of the Republic. Yet, there is little or no �sacred� mystery [in Washington�s lifestyle].�

Washington was so revered by American Masons that several started a movement to make him national Grand Master of all U.S. Masons. To create a national Grand Lodge, all state Grand Lodges were required to relinquish their authority. Massachusetts Masons did not consent, and the idea died.

Most of General Washington�s hands-on Masonic activity occurred during our War of Independence. Until then Masonry�s growth was slow in America. During war Masonic membership increases, because Masonic oaths demand of Masons (whether friend or foe) that they protect each other from harm.

I will not give the grand hailing sign of distress except I am in real distress� should I ever see that sign given, or the word accompanying it, and the person who gave it appearing to be in distress, I will fly to his relief at the risk of my life, should there be a greater probability of saving his life than of losing my own.

This oath was practiced at least twenty years before the Revolution. Consequently, it was a great incentive for a soldier to join Freemasonry. According to Masonic records, �Members of the Craft were among the highest in command of all armies�.�

Masonic Partiality

Here we discover an extreme partiality among Masonic soldiers that gives privileges not afforded the average soldier. When the war was over, this partiality extended to their private and public lives. For example, a Mason often found it easier to find work than did a non-Mason. If venturing into business, a Mason was assured a loan simply by giving the proper hand- shake to a Masonic banker. Should a Mason choose politics as a career, he was guaranteed votes of all Masons who had reached the Royal Arch degree (13th degree in Scottish Rite and 7th degree in York Rite), which oath reads:

I will promote a companion Royal Arch Mason�s political preferment in preference to another of equal qualifications.

Once in political office, the Mason must vote the dictates of his Masonic superiors. In the Masonic book, Webb�s Monitor, we read:

Right or wrong his very existence as a Mason hangs upon obedience to the powers immediately set above him. The one unpardonable crime in a Mason is contumacy [insubordination] or disobedience.

Masonic partiality also permits Master Masons to commit criminal acts and find protection among Masons. The Master Mason swears:

A Master Mason�s secrets given to me in charge as such, and I knowing him to be such, shall remain as secure and inviolable in my breast as in his own�murder and treason excepted.

If a Mason is a defendant in court, Masonic partiality extends to the witness stand. In the Masonic Hand Book we read:

You must conceal all the crimes of your brother Masons, except murder and treason, and these only at your own option, and should you be summoned as a witness against a brother Mason, be always sure to shield him. Prevaricate, don�t tell the whole truth in this case, keep his secrets, forget the most important points. It may be perjury to do this, it is true, but you�re keeping your obligations, and remember if you live up to your obligations strictly, you�ll be free from sin.

Masonic partiality extends to the jury box. The Blue Lodge degrees read:

Whenever you see any of our signs made by a brother Mason, and especially the grand hailing sign of distress, you must always be sure to obey them, even at the risk of your life. If you�re on a jury, and the defendant is a Mason, and makes the grand hailing sign, you must obey it; you must disagree with your brother jurors, if necessary, but you must be sure not to bring the Mason guilty, for that would bring disgrace upon our order. It may be perjury, to be sure, to do this, but then you�re fulfilling your obligation, and you know if you live up to your obligations you�ll be free from sin.

Once a Mason reaches Royal Arch degree, he is to conceal all crimes of brother Masons, including murder and treason. Royal Arch Masons swear:

I will aid and assist a companion Royal Arch Mason, when engaged in any difficulty, and espouse his cause, so far as to extricate him from the same, if in my power, whether he be right or wrong�. A companion Royal Arch Mason�s secrets, given me in charge as such, and I knowing him to be such, shall remain as secure and inviolable, in my breast as in his own, murder and treason not excepted.

Although there is an upside to being a Mason, which is preferential treatment of each other in every walk of life, including protection should a Mason himself commit crimes, there is also a downside. A Mason must agree to maintain silence of knowledgeable crimes committed by brother Masons, including murder. If summoned to court as a juror or a witness on behalf of a brother Mason being prosecuted, he must perjure himself.

Preferential treatment, partiality, and hiding crimes are contrary to Holy Scriptures that lay open on the Masonic altar. The Apostle Paul wrote in I Tim. 5:21-22, �I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality. Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men�s sins: keep thyself pure.�

During War Partiality Increases Masonic Membership

Preservation of life was the bait that enabled Freemasonry to rapidly grow during our War of Independence. A soldier had a greater chance of returning home if he joined a military lodge. In Life Magazine (Oct. 8, 1956), we read: �During the Revolutionary War, Washington�favored creation of military Lodges for soldiers. There were at least 11 such Lodges, the most famous being American Union Lodge Number One. At Valley Forge, Washington helped initiate Lafayette into Masonry.�

By the time our revolution was won, Masons occupied every dominant position that militarily protected or politically governed this fledgling nation. Freemasonry confirms in a 1951 Masonic edition of the Holy Bible (page 6) that twenty-four of Washington�s major generals were Masons, as were thirty of his thirty-three brigadier generals. And of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, 53 were claimed by Freemasonry to be Master Masons. In fact, there is ample evidence to show that we won the Revolution because of complicity among American, French and British Masons.

After the war, Masonic partiality helped pave the road to the White House. George Washington, an able candidate, was elected first President of the United States. His Vice President was Freemason John Adams, who is reported to have been the founder of the Masonic Lodges in New England. (John Adams was the father of President John Quincy Adams (1825-1828). For twenty years following his presidency, John Quincy Adams played an important role in the anti-Masonic Movement.)

At George Washington�s inauguration, Masonic involvements continued to prevail. Robert Livingston, Grand Master of New York�s Grand Lodge, administered the Oath of Office. Marshal of the day was Freemason General Jacob Morton. Washington�s escort was Freemason General Morgan Lewis. The Bible used for the oath of office was a Masonic Edition from St. John�s Lodge No. 1 of New York.

Again, near the end of Washington�s second term as President, when he announced that he would not seek a third term, the President received a letter from Grand Lodge of Penn. congratulating Him for his many years of Masonic and public service. Washington�s cogent response brings into focus the subtlety and importance of this stage in American Masonic development:

Fellow citizens and brothers�I have received your address with all Brotherly affection� [T]o have been, in any degree, an instrument in the hands of Providence to promote orders and union, and erect upon a solid foundation, the true principles of government, is only to have shared with many others in a labour, the result of which, let us hope, will prove through all ages a sanctuary for Brothers, and a lodge for the virtues� Permit me to reciprocate your prayers, and to supplicate that we all may meet thereafter in the eternal Temple whose Builder is the Great Architect of the Universe.

One year before his death, Washington was informed by letter that Masonic partiality had enabled evil to enter the Lodge. Agents of the European Illuminati had infiltrated his beloved Freemasonry for the express purpose of subverting our government. The letter also accused our first President of �presiding over the English lodges in this country.� (In Charles G. Finney�s book on Freemasonry, the �Introduction,� pp. lxi-lxvii, contains a brief history of the Order of the Illuminati in early America).

On Sept. 25, 1798, Washington responded to the accusation: �I have little more to add than thanks for your wishes, and favorable sentiments, except to correct an error you have run into of my presiding over the English lodges in this country. The fact is I preside over none, nor have I been in one more than once or twice within the last thirty years. I believe, notwithstanding, that none of the lodges in this country are contaminated with the principles ascribed to the society of the Illuminati.�

The accusation made of Washington that he presided �over the English lodges in this country� was to apparently suggest he was a secret agent for the British. As Masonic history records, and as we have revealed, our first President was careful not to set foot in any English lodge after the Revolution began. During and after the Revolution, Washington�s Masonic activity was only in lodges that had �dissevered� from the �mother country.� And the military lodges in which Washington officiated were founded by the French, whose great assistance in military arms, funds, and soldiering is a matter of historic record to the success of our Revolution.

However, Washington�s answer to the question of Illuminati activity in American lodges is indeed interesting. It certainly reveals his knowledge of this European order. We must therefore consider it here, since it also was the concern of Captain William Morgan, whose 1826 book was not only intended to reveal the awful blood oaths of Freemasonry, but also intended to expose Illuminati activity in American lodges.

John M. Roberts, in The Mythology of Secret Societies, states, �The illuminati were the first society to use for political subversion the machinery of secret organization offered by freemasonry�[T]hrough the craft they began to spread.�

According to Salem Kirban in Satan�s Angels Exposed, the Illuminati had already infiltrated fifteen lodges in America long before Washington wrote his Sept. 25 letter. For example, in 1785 the Columbian Lodge of the Order of the Illuminati was established in New York City. Its members included George Clinton, Governor of New York and his nephew DeWitt Clinton, who was destined to be Governor of New York during The Morgan Affair. Another member of the Columbian lodge was Clinton Roosevelt, ancestor of Franklin D. Roosevelt. And Thomas Jefferson was identified with an illuminati lodge in Virginia. According to Professor Charles Elliott Norton (1827-1908), lecturer at Harvard from 1874-1898, the Illuminati were planning to use the USA as a catalyst for their one-world government. If it could be proven that thirteen states could successfully unite under one federal government, all governments of the world could likewise unite under a one-world federation.

But, how was George Washington to know this? Although a Mason he never frequented English lodges, and rarely was active in the reconstituted American Lodges. He certainly was knowledgeable of the existence of the Illuminati, but was obviously ignorant of inroads it had made in our society.

His naivety did not last long. During the summer or fall of 1799, just months before his death, Washington was informed by John Adams that indeed the Illuminati had infiltrated American Freemasonry, and that this order was a danger to our new Republic. Because of his faith in Adams, our first president immediately warned the whole country to beware of all secret societies � not that he believed secret societies were bad, but rather that he recognized how their structure enabled easy penetration by the Illuminati, who had designs for America not in step with his own.

Thomas Jefferson and John Adams later disagreed over the use of American Freemasonry by the Illuminati. In fact, �John Adams�accused Jefferson of using the lodges that he himself had founded, for subversive Illuminati purposes. The three letters of Adams which deal with this problem are in the Wittenburg Square Library in Philadelphia.�

As stated earlier, since the founding of the United Grand Lodge of England in 1717, there has been a struggle between Moderns and Ancients for the internal control of all Lodges. The Moderns were Rosicrucians who reigned from 1717 to 1813. Their prayers in Lodge ended in the Name of Jesus Christ. In 1813, when the Illuminati completed their takeover of American Masonry, they put in power the Ancients, who were deists. Since then it has been forbidden to mention the Name of Jesus Christ in Lodge.

History suggests that from our nation�s birth, Satan has had a plan for America. His plan? Use the United States of America as the catalyst for a United Nations of the World. But the God of the Bible slowed Satan�s plan with three Great Awakenings: The first two are dated 1739-1750 and 1824-1835. The Second Great Awakening took place amidst the Anti-Masonic Movement, which put American Freemasonry to flight for nearly a century.

Three Great Awakenings

So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the West, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him. (Isaiah 59:19)

This Scripture may be a prophecy of the Church in America. Church history records that during the past two centuries, most missionaries and their funding have come �from the west,� which has resulted in our Savior�s �glory [being seen in the east] from the rising of the sun.� To date, no nation but America has accomplished the �great commission� on this large a scale.

In Hebrew, the phrase �lift up a standard� can be translated �put to flight.� God�s Word has always been the standard that put the enemy to flight. �Enemy� can be translated �adversary.� Satan is also translated �adversary.� He is the enemy of the Church who is put to flight by the preaching of the gospel.

In Scripture, when a direction on the compass is given, its reference point is usually Jerusalem. Therefore, the direction �west� carries the idea of �extreme west,� for it can be translated �the region of the evening sun.� West, from the vantage point of Jerusalem, is Europe and finally America.

History records that the �standard� lifted up in the �west� was the gospel of Christ preached by the evangelical Church. History also records that the enemy (Satan) employed the use of western government to openly persecute the Church � first the Roman Empire, then the Holy Roman Empire. Christians fleeing the latter persecution settled America.

When Satan followed the Church to America, he could not persecute Her through government, because our Constitution provided freedom of religion. Hence he went underground in the form of secret societies to infiltrate our government and churches. Eventually he would have the Constitution reinterpreted by a Supreme Court stacked with Masons, which did occur in 1962. That year six of our nine High Court justices ruled that our Constitution �implied� separation of church and state. All six were Masons.

Meanwhile, Isaiah 59:19 was fulfilled in America by the preaching of the gospel during three Great Awakenings.

First Great Awakening

�When the enemy shall come in like a flood��

God first lifted up His standard of evangelism in America in 1739, nine years after the first Masonic Lodge was planted on our soil. For the next decade George Whitefield (1714-1770) became a popular preacher in both England and America. With the Wesley brothers, he worked for revival in the church. His preaching tours in America helped kindle the First Great Awakening.

During that same period, Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), a Congregational minister, became one of the most influential theologians and evangelists in American history. His preaching was an important factor in the Great Awakening in New England. As the most learned scholar of his generation, Edwards became president of a college known today as Princeton University.

So powerful were these revivals that by the time our constitution was written and passed by Congress in 1787, two-thirds of the three million citizens in the United States were professing Christians.

Where Christ�s Standard is Lifted Up

When a democratic nation is dominated by a majority of citizens who are Bible-believing and Spirit-led Christians, pagans work their mystic arts in secret. And so it was in early America following the First Great Awakening. Christians controlled the vote. Therefore, biblical standards were written into our civil laws. As a consequence, illuminated Freemasonry was compelled to commence its anti-Christian program for America more slowly than the 33rd degree Supreme Council desired.

Previous evidence submitted and subsequent evidence will reveal that the Masonic conspiracy took the following three phases: (1) the Constitution of the United States of America was written as a wholly deistic instrument; (2) Masons would hold every political post of importance in the budding federal, state, and local governments; and (3) Freemasonry would take over all media resources. This not only would include the press, but schools and pulpits as well. By 1826, Masons dominated the majority of these positions and were ready to broadcast their successes.

The Complete Story behind the Anti-Masonic Movement

Before the year 1826, nothing slowed the progress of Freemasonry to occupy every seat of political and religious importance in America. By 1826, so confident had the Fraternity become that it began to congratulate itself in broad speeches at their public festivals. That year a Mr. Bainaird (no first name available) announced, �Masonry is exercising its influence in the sacred desk, in the legislative hall, and on the bench of justice.�

Captain William Morgan, who had been practicing the craft of Free-masonry for many years, heard Bainaird�s speech. Morgan, under the command of Freemason Andrew Jackson, had fought the British in the War of 1812. As was the custom of military men in those days, Morgan had joined Freemasonry for protection, and worked his way up the degrees to become a Royal Arch Mason. When he accepted Christ as Savior and Lord of his life, he renounced Freemasonry and demitted from the Lodge. When he heard Mr. Bainaird�s speech, Capt. Morgan was disturbed. Charles Finney writes of Morgan�s opinion of Freemasonry: �He regarded it as highly injurious to the cause of Christ, and as eminently dangerous to the government of our country.�

As was John Adams aware that the Illuminati had infiltrated American Freemasonry, and was planning to take over our government, Morgan was likewise aware. Captain Morgan could not let Mr. Bainaird�s speech stand without revealing these facts. The captain began to voice his intent to publish a book exposing the Illuminati, as well as revealing the Masonic rituals and vile oaths of the first three degrees.

Morgan contracted with a local printer, David C. Miller, who had likewise renounced Freemasonry after salvation. No sooner had the ink dried on the contract than trouble began. Morgan disappeared. His badly decomposed body was found a year later in Oak Orchard Harbor and identified by his wife and dentist. Miller was abducted, but escaped to print the book.

Masonic Oaths and Masonic Partiality were behind the Murder of William Morgan and the subsequent cover-up

On June 13, 1861, the Committee of Correspondence, Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, wrote:

Masonry is as old as government. It constitutes a government in itself. Its origin, principles, organization and administration are to be found in loyalty, obedience, hope charity, love. It is operative everywhere, because its foundation can be laid among mankind wherever mankind exist. Resistance to, or disobedience of any of these principles is not permitted in Masonic sovereignty. Masonry could not exist a moment, it would not have lived longer than languages, races, and empires, if it had tolerated insubordination or rebellion against its authority.

A heavy burden is placed on the shoulders of a Mason when he joins the lodge. He is no longer his own man. He must obey unseen powers set above him, whether he agrees with them or not, or else he pays the penalty with his life. Yet, there is a reward for those who obey � Masonic partiality.

As documented earlier, Masonic partiality means success in this present world. To a soldier it means protection during war. To an applicant it means work. To an employee it means a promotion. To a businessman it means customers and/or a loan. To a politician it means a vote. To a civil servant it means an appointment. To a criminal it means protection from the law.

Simply put, Masonic partiality can get a Mason where he wants to go in life, whether he is honorable or dishonorable. If he fails to obey the rules in this game of partiality, he is not successful. If he blatantly breaks his oath, or disobeys Masonic authority, he meets the most gruesome death � so say the words he pronounces against himself when taking the oaths.

Oaths of the Blue Degrees
(1st three degrees)

First, a Blue Lodge Mason (degrees 1-3) agrees to �ever conceal and never reveal any of the secret arts, parts or points of the hidden mysteries of Ancient Freemasonry.� Second, he promises �to always be ready to obey all Masonic authority set above him, and never cheat, wrong, nor defraud a fellow Mason.� Then he takes the following blood oath:

All this I most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear, with a firm and steadfast resolution, to keep and perform the same without any equivocation, mental reservation or secret evasion of mind whatever, binding myself under a no less penalty than that of having my throat cut across, my tongue torn out by its roots and buried in the rough sands of the sea at low water mark, where the tide ebbs and flows twice in twenty-four hours� [end 1st degree, Entered Apprentice].

�having my breast torn open, my heart plucked out and given as a prey to the beast of the field and the fowls of the air� [end 2nd degree, Fellow Craft].

�having my body severed in twain, my bowels taken from thence and burned to ashes, and the ashes scattered to the four winds of heaven, that no trace or remembrance may be had of so vile and perjured a wretch as I� [end 3rd degree, Master Mason]. �should I ever knowingly violate this my solemn obligation. So help me God, and keep me steadfast in the due performance of the same.

These oaths are crucial to the success of Freemasonry�s conspiracy for world dominion over governments and its planned annihilation of the Church. The Fraternity�s ability to maintain secrecy among its membership has determined its success in the past. Now, to guarantee its success in the future, William Morgan�s blatant disobedience to his Masonic obligation to �ever conceal and never reveal any of the secret arts, parts or points of the hidden mysteries of Ancient Freemasonry� demanded his immediate death.

Morgan�s 9/11 Capture and Subsequent Murder

Sept. 11, 1826, Morgan was abducted. Within 48 hours three Masons murdered him. Twenty-two years later one of the three made a deathbed confession, the details of which can be read in Finney�s book on pages 6-10.

In 1826 and the year following there was a general consensus among Masons that Morgan was indeed killed as penalty for his crimes against the Brotherhood. How or when Morgan was killed, and what Mason or Masons were �honored� with the task, was not known by the majority of lodge brothers. But, like the Niagara River in which he was drowned, rumors flowed endlessly among them. Following are four.

Elias Wilder of Elba, New York, himself not a Mason, said that �two or three weeks before William Morgan was carried from Batavia, I had a conversation with Freemason Cyrus Grout on the subject of Morgan�s attempt to publish the secrets of Masonry. Mr. Grout told me that the Masons had sent to the Grand Lodge of New York for instructions, and when they got word from them there would be something done.� After the abduction of Morgan, Mr. Wilder had another conversation with Cyrus Grout on the subject of what had become of Morgan, and Grout said to him, �Morgan was gone a fishing on the Niagara River of Lake Ontario.�

A Mason by the name of William Terry of Niagara County was told by a fraternity brother that Morgan was �taken and carried away, had been killed, and sunk in Lake Ontario.� Mr. Terry also stated that word came from the New York Grand Lodge that those engaged in the murder of Morgan, if indicted, were �to be kept harmless, and that all expense requisites to pay any fines that might be imposed was to be defrayed by the Grand Lodge; and that the actors in the affair of the abduction of Morgan so acted in obedience to orders coming from Grand Lodge.�

Mason Sylvester R. Hathaway of Niagara County was told by another Mason that �two ruffians had taken him [Morgan] out and cut his throat and tied his body to a rope and stone and threw it into the lake.�

Dr. Samuel Taggart, a Freemason from Byron, New York, told two other Masons, John Southworth and Luther Wilder of the same city, that he would �not be afraid to bet a thousand dollars that Morgan was not in the land of the living; that he had taken a voyage to Lake Ontario without float or boat and would never be seen again by any human being.�

Many decent men of the order of Masons justified the murder of Morgan by saying, �that efforts to learn the fate of Morgan would be useless � that if they had done anything with him, it was no one�s business but their own.�

These quotes are taken from depositions made March 9, 1827 by Justice of the Peace Andrew Dibble of Genesse County, NY. Mr. Dibble was one of several J.P.�s to whom 38 law-abiding citizens took witnesses after forming committees to conduct an independent investigation into the abduction and murder of Morgan.

Citizens of �the land of the free and the home of the brave� were forced to take action, because proper authorities delayed, botched, or hid evidence. To the man, these �proper authorities� were Masons, obeying orders from the Grand Lodge of New York, while disobeying the laws of the land.

Seven citizen committees in as many counties were established to investigate these crimes. For nearly a year they took leave of their jobs and paid their own expenses to return justice to our land. In contrast, Freemasonry used civil servants and public funds to obstruct justice. Upon completion of their investigations, the citizens presented evidence and demanded action.

Masons directly involved in the abduction, murder, and cover-up of these crimes numbered at least 136. They were not all from the same locality, but scattered along 100 miles of countryside. They worked in perfect concert a daring and criminal scheme without incurring the risk of full conviction or punishment. Many were of respectable character, yet their reputation came second to their primary obligation of obeying their diabolical oaths.

All that was necessary to conceal Morgan�s kidnapping and murder was Masonic partiality found in oaths taken in the first three degrees of Freemasonry, as well as oaths taken in Royal Arch and Knights Templar degrees. Oaths in the first three degrees forbid Blue Lodge Masons from divulging criminal acts of brother Masons, with the exception of murder and treason. Royal Arch and Knights Templar oaths forbid Masons from divulging all criminal acts of brother Masons, including murder and treason. Of the Masons involved in the crime, 136 were of the latter degrees.

Evidence against Freemasonry was so compelling that it precipitated a mass exodus from the Lodge. Of 50,000 Masons in America at that time, 45,000 withdrew their membership and renounced their oaths, forcing the closure of 2,000 lodges.

The Crime in more Detail

When William Morgan contracted with printer David C. Miller of Batavia to publish Illustrations of Masonry, the Masonic fraternity went into action to form a conspiracy to stop them. One group of sixty-nine Masons moved against Morgan, while another group of sixty-seven Masons moved against Miller. Their intrigues were carried out in six stages from Aug. 9 through Sept. 20, 1826. Stages 3-6 began Sept. 10 and ended Sept. 20.

1. In New York newspapers published at Canandaigua, Batavia and Black Rock, an anonymous Mason denounced Morgan as an imposter. Although these places were far apart from each other, all were within the limits of the region in which subsequent acts of violence were committed.

2. Masons employed a spy to infiltrate the meeting between Morgan and Miller for the purpose of betraying the manuscripts of the proposed work to the Masonic Lodges in an attempt to frustrate the printing of the book.

3. Masons employed an agent to secretly prepare materials for torching the printing office.

4. Several masons from various locales rendezvoused at the home of a high-degree Mason to plan the forcible seizure of the manuscripts and the destruction of the printing press.

5. Masons abused laws by hunting up small debts or civil offenses with which to carry out harassment suits against Morgan and Miller. Once arrested, these men were in the hands of Masons for easy abduction.

6. By abusing the due processes of the law, the Masonic hierarchy planned the capture and murder both Morgan and Miller. Officers of justice who themselves were Masons, were involved in the conspiracy. Their efforts failed in the case of Miller, but succeeded against Morgan.

The Plot Thickens

On Aug. 9, 1826, a newspaper article was published in Canandaigua, NY exactly as you see copied below. The print was immediately picked up by other newspapers throughout the state, including Spirit of the Times and the People�s Press in Batavia, Morgan�s hometown.

Notice about William Morgan

The article denouncing Captain William Morgan is actually a coded Masonic call-to-arms. And Masons are obligated to obey this notice, because of the following oath: �I promise and swear that I will obey all regular signs, summonses, or tokens given.�

The article is a two-part coded command (one written, one visual). These commands are calling to arms Master Masons and Royal Arch Masons.

Written message: �Brethren and Companions are particularly requested to observe, mark and govern themselves accordingly.

Visual Message: two right hands with index fingers pointing to both the coded problem and the coded command.

Message decoded: Master Masons are called �Brothers.� Royal Arch Masons are known as �Companions.� We shall once again quote the obligations of these two degrees before we decipher the coded message.

During the initiation of the Master Mason, he is told, �You must conceal all the crimes of your brother Masons, except murder and treason, and these only at your own option�.�

The Royal Arch Mason swears, �A companion Royal Arch Mason�s secrets, given me in charge as such, and I knowing him to be such, shall remain as secure and inviolable, in my breast as in his own, murder and treason not excepted.�

The first portion of the written code identifies which degree of Mason is to respond to the call-to-arms. The second portion informs Brothers and Companions �to observe, mark and govern themselves accordingly.�

Observe in context means to �vigilantly observe Morgan�s movements.�

Mark, in Masonic parlance, refers to a �token,� �debt,� or �favor� that must be returned when asked. A favor is returned when a command is obeyed.

Govern means, �to organize a strategy for the capture of William Morgan.�

The command handed down is found in the visual coded message of the �pointing right hands.� A right hand is one of the most important symbols in Freemasonry. It both identifies and commands. It identifies with a particular and peculiar �grip� of a �brother� or �companion,� even in the dark. We read how it commands in Mackey�s Encyclopedia of Freemasonry. �The right hand has in all ages been deemed an important symbol to represent the virtue of fidelity�to an obligation.� In another place we read, �The right hand was naturally used instead of the left, because it was�the instrument by which superiors give commands to those below them.�

The two pointing right hands give a reason and a command: (1) �Morgan is considered a swindler and dangerous man,� meaning �he has broken his oath of silence by exposing Masonic secrets�; and (2) �There are people in this village who would be happy to see this Capt. Morgan,� meaning �Morgan is to be captured and brought before the lodge tribunal.�

Simply stated, Master Masons and Royal Arch Masons were ordered to observe and report the movements of Morgan, plan a strategy for his capture, and when commanded, meet out just punishment to this traitor.

The Plot to Kidnap and Murder William Morgan
(following pages are actual depositions taken from court records)

On Sunday, Sept. 10, 1826, the Ontario county coroner, Nicholas G. Chesebro, himself the Master of the Lodge at Canandaigua, applied for and obtained from Jeffrey Chipman, justice of the peace, a warrant to arrest Morgan, who lived fifty miles away at Batavia. Morgan�s alleged offense was larceny for neglecting to return a shirt and tie that had been borrowed the previous May. Armed with the warrant, the coroner hired a carriage at the public�s expense to pick up ten Royal Arch Masons along the fifty-mile route. Their names and occupations were: Holloway Hayward � constable; Henry Howard � merchant; Asa Nowlen and James Ganson � innkeepers; John Butterfield � storekeeper; Samuel S. Butler � physician; and finally, Ella G. Smith, Harris Seymour, Moses Roberts, and Joseph Scofield � occupations unknown. All ten men were anxious and willing to share in avenging the insulted majesty of their Masonic law.

On the evening of 9/10, the party stopped at the tavern of James Ganson. They were six miles from Batavia. Before daybreak Monday morning on 9/11, five of the Masons were led by the constable to rent another coach at public expense. They proceeded from Ganson�s Tavern to Batavia. At daybreak they seized Morgan.

Near sunset on 9/11, the Masons arrived back in Canandaigua. The prisoner was immediately taken before the justice of the peace who had issued the warrant. The futility of the complaint was established and Morgan was set free, since the person from whom he had borrowed the shirt and tie had not shown up in court. In fact, this person was unaware of the actions against Morgan and had not sought a prosecution for the so-called offense. The idea originated in the mind of the coroner, who executed the plan by using the law to serve the vindictive purpose of Freemasonry.

Morgan�s release posed a problem for the conspirators. They needed him jailed to give ample time to complete their schemes against him. Out of jail, Morgan could elude them. So, no sooner had the hapless prisoner been released that he found the same coroner tapping him on the shoulder; this time armed with a bogus writ for a debt of two dollars to a tavern keeper of Canandaigua. Without the ability to pay, Morgan was returned to jail.

With Morgan secure, the Masons could concentrate on making arrangements to complete the remainder of their plot. On Tuesday evening of the next day (Sept. 12), the same coroner made his appearance at the jail. After some negotiation, Morgan was once more released. No sooner was he on the street dreaming of escape from these annoyances, when upon a given signal a yellow carriage and gray horses were seen by three witnesses rolling toward the jail in the bright moonlight with extraordinary speed. A few minutes passed. Morgan was seized, gagged, and bound, then thrown into the carriage, which was filled with Masons. Without turning, the carriage sped away. Morgan was now completely in the power of his enemies. With the veil of law removed, the arm of the flesh would now be employed.

Drawing of Morgan�s kidnapping
Life Magazine, Oct. 8, 1956, p. 122.

Life Magazine Drawing of Morgan's Kidnapping

The carriage moved along night and day, over a hundred miles of well-settled country. Fresh horses and carriage drivers were supplied at six different places, with corresponding changes of men guarding Morgan to carry on the conspiracy. With one exception, every individual involved was a Mason bound by secret oaths �to conceal and never reveal the crime of a brother Mason.� The inadvertent exception was Corydon Fox, a last minute carriage driver on one of the routes to Lewiston. Fox was later initiated by unanimous vote of the Masons in Lewiston. Officiating in the ceremony to initiate Fox was a reverend clergyman from Rochester. This clergyman was the only Mason in the carriage with Morgan on the leg from Rochester to Lewiston. The driver of the carriage on that leg was Freemason Jeremiah Brown, a member of the New York state legislature.

It afterward appeared in evidence gathered by citizen investigators that the Buffalo lodge was also involved in the plot, as were the lodges at LeRoy, Bethany, Covington, Lockport, and Rochester. Each lodge contributed manpower, horses, or other preparation made along the route traveled by the party. Nowhere was there delay, hesitation, explanation, or discussion. Everything was carried out in silence, right up to the hour of the evening of Sept. 14, when the prisoner was taken from the carriage at Fort Niagara and lodged in the place originally designed for a powder magazine.

Fort Niagara was an unoccupied military post near the mouth of the Niagara River. During the War of 1812, jurisdiction of the fort had been turned over by the State to the Federal Government. At the end of the war the Federal Government had entrusted the Fort to a Mason. This Mason opened the gates to the conspirators.

On the evening the carriage arrived at Fort Niagara, there was an installation ceremony at the Masonic Lodge �Benevolent� in the neighboring town of Lewiston, at which the arch conspirator, Nicholas G. Chesebro (the coroner), was to be made Grand High Priest. The ceremony was actually a cover for planning the next move against Morgan. An invitation was given to Masons from distant points to come together at the ceremony and consult upon what to do next with this Masonic traitor.

At the �ceremony� several Masons hesitated at the idea of murder. Messengers were dispatched to Rochester for advice. At Rochester they did not proceed hastily, nor adopt their ultimate decision without long and painful reluctance. They earnestly deliberated upon their Masonic obligation. Their final conclusion was that Masonic oaths were binding. Morgan had certainly and essentially violated them. The Masons at Rochester made a unanimous decision that Morgan must die.

In understanding Masonic thought, as well as Masonic common sense � if their obligations are binding, Masons are righteous in their decision to execute Morgan. Hence, it was not a sin, but rather an honor for the eight Masons who volunteered to draw lots to carry out the penalty. Three of the lots were marked. The executioners were not to look at their lots until they arrived home. Those three with marked lots were to rendezvous at a predetermined location and carry out their Masonic duty.

The same clergyman who had accompanied Morgan from Rochester to Lewiston adjourned the meeting in prayer. He blasphemously invoked God�s blessing upon the premeditated violation of His most solemn law � �Thou shalt not kill.�

At midnight Sept. 19, the three executioners took their victim from the fort, rowed him by boat to the middle of the Niagara, fastened weights around his body and pushed him overboard. Twenty-two years later (1848), one of the three confessed on his deathbed the evil deed he had done. That deathbed confession is printed in detail in Finney�s book, pages 6-10.

That such a tragedy could be executed in a land that guarantees freedom of speech, security of life and liberty; that it could enlist citizens of good reputation from so many quarters; that it could secure the cooperation of legislators, judges, sheriffs, constables, coroners, clergymen, generals, physicians, and lawyers; that with impunity it could involve all these possibilities and more, turned the current of popular indignation from the guilty individuals toward the Masonic institution itself. Thus, the Anti-Masonic Movement turned into a political movement, which opposed all secret societies at the polls.

Freemasonry, instead of repenting of its diabolical murder of William Morgan, has since reinforced its devilish obligations by reminding Masons of what happened to Morgan when he broke his Masonic oath. From the Masonic Hand Book we read:

When a brother reveals any of our great secrets; whenever, for instance, he tells anything about Boaz, or Tubalcain, or Jachin, or that awful Mah-hah-bone [a blasphemous name representing Jesus Christ], or even whenever a minister prays in the name of Christ in any of our assemblies, you must always hold yourself in readiness, if called upon, to cut his throat from ear to ear, pull out his tongue by the roots, and bury his body at the bottom of some lake or pond.

Of course, all this must be done in secret, as it was in the case of that man Morgan, for both law and civilization are opposed to such barbarous crimes, but then, you know you must live up to your obligation, and so long as you have sworn to do it, by being very strict and obedient in the matter, you�ll be free from sin.

The Plot to Kidnap and murder David C. Miller

While coroner Nicholas Chesebro led one group of sixty-nine Masons in deliberating the fate of Morgan, constable Jesse French led another group of sixty-seven Masons in an attempted destruction of Miller�s print shop, as well as the kidnapping and planned murder of Miller. Like Morgan, Miller was a Mason, albeit only an Entered Apprentice (1st degree). Yet, the attitude of Masons toward Miller was the same as that toward the high-degree Morgan. Miller must also be killed. Following are some quotes of Masons concerning the fate of Miller:

In Buffalo a politician said he was astonished Miller had been permitted to go so far in printing the book; that if he should come to Buffalo, there were twenty Masons willing to take his life in less than half an hour.

In Leroy a physician and former sheriff of the county declared at a public table, �The book should be suppressed, if it cost everyone of us our lives.�

In Batavia a Mason holding a respectable office declared, �Miller�s office will not stand there long.� Two Batavia justices of the peace (both Masons), left town on the day Miller�s print shop was to be leveled. As they boarded the stage, one justice turned to a citizen and said in the presence of the other justice, �I should not be surprised if when I return to Batavia I find Miller�s office leveled with the ground.� The citizen asked, �Do you two think such proceedings against Miller right?� The second justice answered with a smirk, �If you found a man abusing your marriage bed, would you have recourse to the law, or take a club and beat his brains out?�

The conspiracy against Miller actually began before the conspiracy against Morgan. In the early summer of 1826, rumors began to spread in the town of Batavia that Miller, a newspaper publisher in town, was planning to print Morgan�s book. The rumor excited no one but Masons, who avowed that the suppression of the work was determined at all costs.

Their first attack was an attempt to bankrupt Miller. A large number of subscribers to his paper suddenly withdrew their subscriptions, followed by numerous lawsuits against Miller to enforce the payment of small debts. The collection of these debts was done in a manner so as to embarrass Miller.

This failing, Freemasonry�s second attempt was to infiltrate his business and steal the manuscript to Morgan�s book. The Mason selected for the task was well known for his skill in deception. His name was Daniel Johns, a Knights Templar who lived about fifty miles from Batavia.

About the middle of August, Mr. Johns appeared in Batavia and lodged at one of the public houses. The next morning he presented himself before Miller, proposing that he assist the printer in the publication of the book, offering to advance any sum of money that might be needed in the venture. Johns was accepted and received into Miller�s confidence. Within days Johns absconded with the manuscript.

Miller, a shrewd man himself, had prepared for such an occasion. When contracting with Capt. Morgan, he had the captain write four copies of the manuscript. Two were to remain at the captain�s home � one visible and one hidden in a straw mattress. Two were to be held at Miller�s office, one visible and the other likewise hidden. Johns absconded only with the visible copy.

When Miller proceeded to print Morgan�s book, only then did the Masons learn that there was another manuscript. They supposed it to be hidden either at Morgan�s house, or at the printing office, and made plans to get it.

One Saturday evening in August, when Captain Morgan was away, three Masons (Johnson Goodwill, Daniel H. Dana, and Thomas McCully) were sent to the Captain�s home to find the manuscript. As Mrs. Morgan opened the door, Goodwill and Dana, without permission or ceremony, brushed her aside and proceeded upstairs to rummage among the trunks, boxes, drawers and every other place where it was probable the manuscript might be found. McCully remained downstairs to keep Mrs. Morgan from sounding an alarm. They left without the papers, unaware they were hidden in the straw mattress.

Upon hearing of the unwelcome intrusion on Mrs. Morgan, Miller anticipated the Masons might attack his office, so he set up a fortification. When the Masons learned of the printer�s defense, they planned to burn the building to the ground, capture Miller and kill him along with Morgan.

Miller�s office was in a wooden building. Occupying the ground floor was a family of ten. Upstairs was the print shop, with sleeping quarters for six employees. The reckless determination of the Lodge to burn out Miller gave no concern for these sixteen souls, nor for the villagers, for had the fire made much headway, a considerable portion of the town would have been consumed.

The arsonist was Freemason Richard Howard of Buffalo, a bookbinder by trade. Howard�s plan was to implicate John Mann, a blacksmith from Buffalo, by having him purchase the ingredients to torch Miller�s office. The blacksmith declined, so Howard purchased a keg of turpentine himself, which purchase later tied him to the crime.

Howard took a late stage to Batavia and arrived in the city on Sunday night, 9/10, the evening before Morgan�s 9/11 capture. Howard immediately went to Miller�s office, splashed turpentine on the siding directly under the stairs leading to the printing apartment above, then soaked cotton balls and straw with turpentine and scattered them around the foundation.

Anticipating trouble, Miller had earlier set a watch on the print shop. Almost immediately after the flame was lit it was discovered and quickly extinguished. Howard was chased by one of the lookouts and barely escaped. When he was later implicated in the crime, he never stood trial, for he mysteriously disappeared. It was believed he had been spirited out of the country by Freemasons and lived the rest of his life in a foreign land, leaving behind his wife and children.

Failing in their attempt to burn out Miller, the Masons planned to take the print shop by force, level the building, destroy the printing press, capture Miller and kill him. The Lodge at Batavia informed the Lodge at Buffalo that Tuesday, Sept. 12 would be the perfect day, since the two local justices of the peace were scheduled to stand as witnesses before a justice of the peace in a neighboring town. The only official left in Batavia was the sheriff, and he was one of them.

Meanwhile, on September 9/11 Captain William Morgan failed to return home to his 23-year-old wife and two small children. Early Tuesday morning, September 12, Mrs. Morgan sent for Sheriff William R. Thompson to inquire of her husband�s whereabouts. The sheriff informed her that Morgan had been arrested for stealing a shirt and tie, that he believed it was a pretense to spirit him out of town and kill him. Mrs. Morgan, knowledgeable of the manuscript hidden in the straw mattress, offered to give it up in return for the release of her husband. The sheriff accepted and took the manuscript to a Mason named George Ketchum, who in turn took the papers to the Masons in Rochester. Morgan, however, was not released.

At about high noon that same day, while the sheriff was visiting with Mrs. Morgan over her husband�s fate, and while the two justices of the peace were officiating in a neighboring village, a crowd of sixty-seven men suddenly appeared from all directions in the little town of Batavia. Nearly all were carrying clubs or sticks newly cut. So as not to be recognized, each dressed alike. Leading them was constable Jesse French.

French selected six of the ruffians and together went to Miller�s office, and in a rude and violent manner arrested him under the pretense of having a warrant. They carried Miller to a neighboring village where he was illegally confined in a Masonic Lodge room, assaulted and threatened with the fate of Morgan. By the assistance of friends and his own intrepidity, Miller escaped. Meanwhile, the citizens at Batavia, hearing of Miller�s capture, surrounded his office with weapons in hand. Gradually, the crowd of Masons disbursed.

Citizen Investigators

These outrages extended over six counties. In this alarming emergency, the agents of government were paralyzed. The public institutions and provisions for the preservation of tranquility and the repression of crime seemed worthless. Therefore, in a move unprecedented in our nation�s history, and in defiance of the most malignant, persevering, and ingenious counteraction by Freemasons, the citizens of New York took the matter into their own hands. At great expense of their own time and money, they suspended their private concerns and gave themselves up to all the labors of a complicated investigation. At every turn they met obstruction to justice. They could obtain no involuntary testimony; they received no assistance from public office; and in their travels their lives were endangered. Still they went on fearlessly and successfully � inquiring cautiously but persistently into all the circumstances of these most revolting crimes. Their sole purpose was to obtain enough evidence to be effective for the judicial exposure and punishment of the offenders. Yet, all the while their motives were venomously slandered and their conduct belied in the Masonic-controlled press. Such tenacity on the part of these citizens is indicative of the safety, and prophetic of the perpetuity of our free institutions.

In the end the citizen investigators uncovered enough evidence to bring charges against individual Masons and the Masonic Institution as a whole. However, the sheriffs in all the counties in which these deeds of violence against Morgan had been committed, whose duty it was under the laws of New York to select and summon the grand juries, were all Freemasons. Several had themselves been party to the crime. Hence, they did not hesitate to make use of their power as officers of justice to screen the criminals from conviction. The jurors were most of them Masons, with some of them participants in the crimes into which it became their civil duty to inquire.

Five years were consumed in attempting to obtain a legal conviction of the various offenders, but to no avail. Some of the suspected persons indeed stood trial. But it was a mockery of justice, for the secret obligation prevailed in the jury box. Consequently, they were one and all rescued in the moment of their utmost need. Others vanished from the scene and eluded pursuit even to the farthest limits of the United States. The Masonic coroner, the one most guilty of perpetuating these offenses, was tracked to a Lodge in New York City. From there the citizen investigators discovered that Masons in that city secreted him aboard a vessel below the harbor and sent him to a foreign land, leaving his wife and children behind.

Important witnesses were carried off at the moment their evidence was indispensable, and placed beyond the jurisdiction of the State. Those who were called to testify, and actually sat on the stand, stood doggedly mute. Others placed themselves entirely under the guidance of legal advisers employed to protect them from incriminating themselves. All the while, distant Lodges responded favorably to the call for aid in the defense of their accused brethren by forwarding sums of money for their legal liabilities.

The sixty-nine Masons who actually participated in the abduction and murder of Captain William Morgan gradually dropped out of sight. So well hidden were they that it was the belief of all who were knowledgeable of these events that they lived and died outside of the United States, secure from every danger of legal punishment. Twenty-two years after the fact, one of the three who actually murdered Morgan made a deathbed confession, which is printed in detail in Finney�s book on pp. 6-10.

Persons engaged in these outrages were either Royal Arch Masons at the time of their crimes, or made so shortly after. As such, they were obligated by oath to conceal and never reveal the crimes of brother Masons, treason and murder not excepted. Should they disobey, they knew the consequences. Hence, Masons called as witnesses perjured themselves. Others were excused from testifying by alleging they would incriminate themselves. And yet, all those who were guilty of participating in the offenses were praised by the Fraternity as heroes of fidelity to their duty, and victims to the prejudices of their fellow citizens. To their dying day, they were still retained as worthy and cherished members of their beloved Fraternity.

One faithful and able state officer, whose lawful duty was to investigate these offences, officially reported on the proceedings in which he had been in charge:

Difficulties that never occurred in any other prosecution have been met at every step. Witnesses have been secreted: they have been sent off into Canada, and into different states of the Union. They have been apprised of process being issued to compel their attendance, and have been thereby enabled to evade its service. In one instance, after a party implicated had been arrested and brought into this state, he was decoyed from the custody of the individual having him in charge, and finally escaped. These occurrences have been so numerous and various as to forbid the belief that they are the result of individual effort alone; and they have evinced the concert of so many agents as to indicate an extensive combination to screen from punishment those charged with a participation in the offences upon William Morgan.

The irony of all ironies is that shortly following the ransacking of Mrs. Morgan�s house by three Masons, and the murder of her husband by three other Masons, benevolent Freemasonry came to her financial aid. James Ganson, who was directly involved with the abduction of her husband, visited Mrs. Morgan, assuring her that the Lodge was making arrangements for her support, that she would be well-provided for, that her children would be sent to school as soon as they were old enough.

After Freemasonry determined how Mrs. Morgan and her children were to be cared for, they appointed Thomas McCully to deliver the message. McCully, you recall, was one of the three Masons who had earlier bullied their way into her house, ransacking it in their attempt to find the manuscript to her husband�s book. Now benevolent McCully informs Mrs. Morgan, �Freemasonry has raised support for your family, and has provided board for you and your children at a public tavern in the village.� The tavern was the same where her husband had been detained after his arrest.

Six months after the murder of her husband, Henry Brown of Batavia, who was Grand Commander of the Knights Templar at LeRoy, New York, called on Mrs. Morgan and handed her a bag containing silver dollars that had been collected from the various Lodges throughout the state.

Her distress of mind and unprotected situation did not sway her to bow to their hypocritical benevolence. Without hesitation she said, �I shall accept no assistance from the Masons.� Several years later Mrs. Morgan was provided for when she became the first wife of former Freemason Joseph Smith � founder of Mormonism.

During �The Morgan Affair,� the ends of justice were defeated by the oath of Freemasonry, which came in conflict with the duty to society and to God, and succeeded in setting it aside. Gradually, the opposition to Masonry became more and more political and the Anti-Masonic Party was formed.

�The Morgan Affair� triggers the Second Great Awakening

At the turn of the 19th century, a quarter century before these Masonic atrocities, Almighty God had once again set up His standard in America to put the Masonic enemy to flight and bring revival to our land. Men, such as Francis Asbury, the first bishop of the Methodist Church in America, with Peter Cartwright, Timothy Dwight, and Lyman Beecher, led the way to the Second Great Awakening. The most eminent figure and symbol of this awakening was former Mason Charles G. Finney (1792-1875), who, after becoming a Christian in 1824, renounced his affiliation with the Lodge and two years later began preaching, bringing great revival to the Eastern States. His meetings were characterized by deep and open mourning over sin. After Morgan�s murder Finney included repentance from Masonry wherever he went, resulting in thousands of Masons renouncing their oaths after receiving Christ as Savior. Because of these experiences, it has been agreed by many that Finney wrote the textbook on revival.

Recall Christ�s promise to the evangelical Philadelphia Church, �Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.� (Rev. 3:9).

This promise suggests the submission of a �synagogue of Satan� to the preaching of the evangelical church. Such submission can only be God-sent and God-controlled, causing the synagogue of Satan (those who say they are Jews and are not), to bow in shame before the work of evangelism.

What group during the Second Great Awakening might be identified as the synagogue of Satan? The answer comes from three sources: (1) Masonic authorities; (2) Holy Scripture; and (3) theologians.

Our first Masonic authority is 33rd degree Albert Pike, the most important figure of 19th century Masonry. Before joining the Lodge in 1850, Pike was first a member of the Illuminati, which had infiltrated Freemasonry four decades before �The Morgan Affair.� In his 1871 Masonic publication, Morals and Dogma, Pike documents that rituals in the Scottish Rite (degrees 4-33) were acquired from the Jewish Cabala (also Kabalah or Kabala):

All truly dogmatic religions have issued from the Kabalah and return to it: everything scientific and grand in the religious dreams of all the illuminati�is borrowed from the Kabalah; all Masonic associations owe to it their secrets and their symbols.

The Kabalah alone consecrates the alliance of the Universal Reason and the Divine Word; it establishes, by the counterpoises of two forces apparently opposite, the eternal balance of being; it alone reconciles Reason with Faith, Power with Liberty, Science with Mystery; it has the keys of the Present, the Past, and the Future.

Masonry is a search after Light. That search leads us directly back, as you see, to the Kabalah. In that ancient and little understood medley of absurdity and philosophy, the Initiate will find the source of many doctrines; and may in time come to understand the Hermetic philosophers, the Alchemists, all the Anti-papal Thinkers of the Middle Ages�.

Thus was a second Bible born, unknown to, or rather uncomprehended by, the Christians�.

Since the Scottish Rite rituals come from the Jewish Cabala, the Scottish Rite is known as the Jewish Rite of Freemasonry. Because of this, the second Masonic authority, 33rd degree Albert G. Mackey explains the Jewish character of Gentile Masons in Mackey�s Encyclopedia of Freemasonry:

�Each Lodge is and must be a symbol of the Jewish Temple; each Master in the chair representing the Jewish King; and every Freemason a personation of the Jewish Workman.�

If gentile initiates, who make up the bulk of membership in the Scottish Rite, claim to be Jews and clearly are not, does this not support the first portion of the three-source equation, that the Masonic Lodge is a counterfeit synagogue?

Source two of the three-source equation prompts the question, �Is this counterfeit synagogue a satanic order?� The answer is found in Scripture, the source of our second confirmation. Jesus Christ, speaking in Matthew 5:33-37, informs us from where sworn oaths come:

Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God�s throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

In Greek, the word �evil� can be translated �the devil.� Therefore, the taking of oaths, according to Jesus Christ, comes from the devil, or Satan.

James, the brother of Jesus, wrote in James 5:12 �But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and you nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.�

In Greek, the word �condemnation� can also be translated �deceit� or �hypocrisy.� It comes from a primitive root word, which means, �to be covertly placed in an inferior position.� Fairly translated, Christians who take Masonic oaths are hypocrites, who permit themselves to be deceived.

Conclusion: If Masonry requires the taking of oaths, which it does, then according to Scripture these oaths are of Satan. And if Masonry claims to pattern its lodges after the Jewish temple, which it does, then there can be little doubt that Masonic Lodges qualify as synagogues of Satan.

Source three of the three-source equation comes from two theologians. In 1961 the Roman Curia, the supreme government of the Vatican, published The Plot Against The Church, a book in which Catholics were warned that Scottish Rite Freemasonry is the synagogue of Satan spoken of by Jesus Christ, and that its agents were planning to infiltrate the Catholic Church during Vatican II. This book also states that Pope Clement XII declared in 1738 that the Masonic lodge is �the synagogue of Satan.�

The second theologian is former 33rd degree Mason Dr. Jonathan Blanchard, preaching companion with Finney, and president of Wheaton College in mid-1800s. Following Morgan�s example of exposing the Blue Lodge degrees, Blanchard exposed all 33 degrees of Freemasonry in a two-volume work entitled, Scottish Rite Masonry Illustrated. In that work he stated, �Every lodge is a Synagogue of Satan and its ritual is Sorcery.�

Royal Arch Ritual Dedication of Solomon's Temple Re-Enacted

Dedication of Solomon�s Temple is re-enacted by Brooklyn Royal Arch Masons, Orient Chapter 138. This ritual, never before photographed, is part of a ceremony awarding Most Excellent Master degree to prospective Royal Arch Masons. High Priest of Jews (center) kneels before cherubim-decorated Ark of the Covenant flanked by members of the Jewish tribes. King Solomon stands before Bible (background) surrounded by princes, workmen and court attendants. Life Magazine, p. 105, Oct. 8, 1956

Rev. 2:9 and 3:9
�them of the synagogue of Satan,
which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie.�

Jesus said to the evangelical Philadelphia Church (which some Bible scholars believe is headquartered in America), �Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.�

In Greek, the phrase �worship before thy feet,� can be translated, �to prostrate oneself in homage.� Did Freemasonry submit to the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ following the Morgan Affair? Did Masons come and worship before the feet of evangelicals? Charles G. Finney gives the answer, which can be read in more detail on page 179 in his book:

Before the publishing of Morgan�s book, the Baptist denomination�had been greatly carried away by Freemasonry. A large proportion of its eldership and membership were Freemasons. A considerable number of ministers and members of other branches of the Christian Church had also fallen into the snare. The murder of Wm. Morgan and the publication of Masonry�broke upon the churches�like a clap of thunder from a clear sky. The facts were such, the revelations were so clear, that the Baptist denomination backed down, and took the lead in renouncing and denouncing the institution. Their elders and associated churches, almost universally, passed resolutions disfellowshipping adhering Masons� Now it is worthy of all consideration and remembrance, that God set the seal of His approbation [approval] upon the action taken by those churches at that time, by pouring out His Spirit upon them.

Great revivals immediately followed�In 1830 the greatest revival spread over this [land] that had ever been known in this or any other country.

As you shall read in Finney�s book, when God�s Word was delivered, Masons by the thousands rushed to the altars, repented and bowed before the feet of evangelicals and worshipped God. This may have been in fulfillment of Christ�s prophecy to the Philadelphia Church in America: �Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan�to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.� (Rev. 3:9).

As a result of these revivals, great conventions were called by thousands of repentant Masons, who made public confessions of their relation to the institution, and openly renounced Freemasonry. The proceedings of these conventions, part of which you have just read, were published everywhere, and Masons attending the conventions returned home and made public their Masonic oaths.

As revival swept the northern states, so ashamed were Masons of their institution that Freemasonry was almost universally renounced. Of the 50,000 Masons in America in 1826, a total of 45,000 had by 1830 turned their backs on the Lodge, resulting in the suspension of 2,000 lodges.

This was the America visited in 1831 by French statesman, Alexis de Tocqueville, who afterwards returned to France and reported, �It was there [in the Churches] as I listened to the soul-elevating principle of the Gospel of Christ, as they fell from Sabbath to Sabbath upon the masses of the people, that I learned why America was great and free�. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.�

America was good in those days because repentance and salvation was preached during two Great Awakenings (1739-1750 and 1824-1835). As a result, tens of thousands of sinners responded, including 45,000 Masons.

Civil War � Retaliation of Freemasonry

Freemasonry, however, was not dead. Of the original 50,000 Masons in our land prior to the Morgan Affair, the remaining 5,000 went underground to plan a strategy for Freemasonry�s comeback. The result was Civil War!

As documented earlier, Masonic partiality means success in this present world. To a soldier it means protection during war. In the Masonic book entitled, 10,000 Famous Freemasons, Freemason William Denslow informs us of Freemasonry�s comeback during our Civil War:

�By 1860 New York had 432 lodges and 25,000 members, 10,000 more than before the Morgan Affair. In 1861, the year the Civil War began, the nationwide count of Freemasons had grown to 200,000. During the war over a hundred military lodges were formed. By the end of the war, there were 500,000 Masons throughout America.�

Vol. 3 of Scarlet and the Beast documents Freemasonry�s total complicity with planning our Civil War. Among evidence presented is the Fraternity�s offer of its Lodges as military recruitment centers for the express purpose of increasing Masonic membership devastated by the �Morgan Affair.� Scarlet and the Beast and the Finney book can both be ordered from the Order Page on the left side of our web page at www.scarletandthebeast.com.

Third Great Awakening

Almighty God is never taken by surprise. He preempted our Civil War by nearly three years with the Third Great Awakening of 1857. This Awakening was triggered with a prayer meeting in New York City. Within a year evangelism swept the Northeast. After our Civil War evangelism continued, resulting in the greatest missionary movement this world has ever known.

A survey conducted in 1975 by the Christian and Missionary Alliance, and reported at its annual Council that same year, states that "The greatest missionary movement of all time has been sustained by the United States of America, whose churches have either traditionally sent or supported 95 percent of the world's missionaries."

Truly in America was headquartered the prophetic Philadelphia Church. But alas, since the end of WWII, America has lost its goodness, and Christians have turned lukewarm toward our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

This was the plan of Freemasonry. The EPILOG of Finney�s book, entitled �Freemasonry�s Retaliation Against the Church,� documents that in 1889 a world council of Masons met in Paris, France to plan a strategy to weaken the Church in America. Their plan was to turn the Church �materialistic.� Thirteen years later, in the year 1913, Freemasonry was ready to infiltrate the Church. The date set was exactly 100 years after the 1826 Morgan Affair. During the month of January 1926, Freemasonry gave the order for every Mason in America to join a local church and �liberalize it, modernize it and render it aggressive and efficient� for Masonic use.

For more FREE reading on the result of Freemasonry�s 1926 infiltration of America�s churches, visit our website at www.scarletandthebeast.com. There you will discover the heartrending accounts of four Pastors who experienced the terrorist wrath of Freemasons in their churches when these men of God preached Jesus Christ as the only way to salvation.

Meanwhile, live righteously, witness constantly, and pray hard until

THE END

Morgan Monument, Batavia New York
This monument still stands today over the grave of Captain William Morgan in a cemetery in Batavia, NY

To order the two books,
Scarlet and the Beast, vol. 3, by John Daniel

&

The Character, Claims and Practical Workings of Freemasonry,
by Rev. Charles G. Finney

Go to www.scarletandthebeast.com


Further Reading:

Craftyness - Obelisks, Statutes & Plots: The 'Master' Planned Community