Interesting thing about Anti's--they will go on and on about similarities, yet completely ignore all the differences.
Most important point - The endowment is one thing and the ritual is another. The ritual has changed, will continue to change, as it is adapted to fit the needs of the children of God. What is important is the endowment itself.
Joseph Smith was a Third Degree Master Mason; in fact, he was raised at sight. His father and brother were masons too. Free Masonry is not a religion. It's the worlds oldest fraternity. Their rituals are not an "apostate version of the temple ceremony" either. Free Masonry was around before the Church was restored. The first reference found to Freemasonry is in 975 in York, England. But Masonry as we know it today really takes root in the Enlightenment of the early 18th century.
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