LOST, Masonry, Magic and Mormonism - The Uncanny Connections by Dogen Abiff

In each one of the three degrees of Freemasonry, the initiate (referred to all throughout the ceremony as "the Candidate") is led, blindfolded, to the altar in the center of the room where a light shines down upon the Bible, which is referred to as "The Great Light of Freemasonry." The candidate is asked what he desires, and he is to respond, "light." This is where he then takes an solemn oath to keep secret or protect the mysteries of the brotherhood, and is made a mason. This reminded me a lot of the last ep, obvs.

Jacob's mother pronounces some words and offers the cup for Jacob to drink, but it must be of his own free will to drink it. This is symbolic of the sacrifice of Christ, which was likened to the drinking of a bitter cup (John 26:39-42) which he had to make the choice to do. We in Mormonism now partake of a cup every Sunday (used to be wine, now it's water, the important thing isn't the fluid so much as the cup), after ritual words are spoken blessing the contents of it, like Jacob's mom did.

In fact, both the cup and the dagger have ancient magical significance and are represented (if you've ever read the Da Vinci Code) in the symbols of the interlocking triangles of the "Star of David," a.k.a. the Seal of Solomon, a.k.a. the Blade and Chalice, a.k.a. the Compass and the Square, extremely important symbols to every culture that has ever existed and most certainly to Mormons and Masons.

Associating MiB to the dagger and Jacob to the cup can be no coincidence, and if it is then it is a pretty crazy-ass coincidence but I doubt it. The two sides of this ancient "union of opposites" represent the opposing forces in this universe which must exist if the trial and eventual true and just judgment of human life is to take place. Heaven and earth, good and evil, spiritual and physical, man and woman, all of these constants must co-exist if their counter-principle is to exist, and vice versa. This is explained in the book of mormon as follows:

"For it must needs be, that there is an aopposition in all things. If not so, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility."

I mention the trial of human life, which is also a big part of Lost. The island seems to be a microchasm for the universe. In the book of Abraham, a Mormon book of scripture, a council is described wherein the fate of all the billions of spirits living in the pre-existence is decided, which takes place after the creation of all of our spirits but before the creation of the earth...

Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the aintelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the bnoble and great ones;
And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast achosen before thou wast born.
And there stood aone among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and bwe will make an earth whereon these may cdwell;
And we will aprove them herewith, to see if they will bdo all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
And they who akeep their first bestate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second cestate shall have dglory added upon their heads for ever and ever.

It also bears mentioning that in Mormon doctrine, Christ and Lucifer were brothers in the pre-existence (which goes without saying since theoretically we were all brothers and sisters, but still). Here is where it talks about that...

"And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me.
And the Lord said: I will send the first. And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him."

The temple is an extremely important place for Mormons and Masons, and both have many legends that revolve around temples. Mormons believe that it is in the temple that one receives all the powers that will one day turn that person into a god. Masons seem to believe the same (as this is more or less what the ancient mystical Jewish tradition of Kabbalah implies), but they do not believe that such a functioning temple exists today. They focus on the temple of King Solomon, and its master Hyrum Abiff, who was brutally murdered by a guy named Sayid. Just kidding, but he was murdered and this is what their ritual is based around (the finding and execution of his murderers).

I'm sure everyone who's ever been to Sunday school caught the reference to the "Light of Christ" which according to John 1:9, "That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."

The similarities between Lost and Mormonism, Masonry, and basically every religion and philosophy on earth are undending, and cannot all be numbered here. I suppose in the Universe of Lost, these ways of thinking have all been influenced by the island. Anyway, I just want to say that hatred gon' hate, but the mythology parts of the show have been superbly executed (pacing could have been a bit better i suppose) and good job darlton!