Theos-Talk Archives (September 1997 Message tl00001)

>It is reported in HPB's biographies that during her travels in 1855 in the
>US, she travelled to Salt Lake City to meet the Mormons. In a recent
>coverage of Mormons in Time/Newsweek, (commemorating the travel of Mormons
>from Illinois to Salt Lake City) one of the things that I noticed was their
>belief in the second coming of Christ.
>
>In Key to Theosophy, HPB mentions about coming of Messenger from the Great
>White Lodge and I am wondering whether there was some connection between
>what she knew or was told by her Guardian and her trip to Salt Lake City and
>their belief in second coming. One thing worth noting was that the founder
>of Mormons was not a scholar or a PhD, just a common man (who was 
>assasinated).

Hello Doss,

Joseph Smith had been a Mason and a lot of the early occult influence on 
HPB was in the library of Prince Dolgorukii, as Paul has documented. 
There is a lot of estoeric Masonry in both systems and there are reports 
of HPB discussing esoteric Masonry with startled Masons of high degree. 
I'm sure that given her gift of gab she would have been able to talk 
knowingly with the Mormons about their own Masonically-derived system.

Whether the particular point you mentioned is a point of historical 
contact with Mormonism I couldn't say, as the theme of the messenger from 
heaven is not original to either HPB or the Mormons. It could have been 
derived from a number of shared or independent sources, including 
Christianity as well as theurgical Neo-Platonism and other traditions; or 
by independent spiritual experience.

Are there any less ambiguous matches between the Mormon system and her 
writings? I ask this not in a challenging way. You've raised a very 
interesting and legitimate issue that I don't recall encountering before.

--
Tim Maroney    tim@maroney.org    http://www.maroney.org