The hidden cipher in The Davinci Code front and back jacket includes the words istherenohelpforthewidowsson. This seems to be a allusion to Masons, Mormons, and likely plot points of his upcoming novel The Solomon Key.
Many people believe that at Carthage jail Joseph Smith went to the window and attempted to utter the Masonic distress cry of "O Lord My God! Is there no help for the widow's son?". With the idea that any Mason's in the group would be compelled to help him. He managed to say "O Lord my God!" before he was shot and either fell or lept from the window.
The words are also the title of an address by the president of the Mormon History Association discussing the connection between the LDS temple ceremony and masonry given to the MHA. Talk is listed below.
IS THERE NO HELP FOR THE WIDOW'S SON?
Presidential Address
Delivered At The Mormon History Association Convention
April 20, 1974
by
Dr. Reed C. Durham, Jr.
Someone has said that a historical convention like this - all of these papers that we have heard - are like a pair of steer horns, with a point here and a point there and a lot of bull in between; and in my case, a lot of "Bull Durham."
One thing we won't have to put up with though is the wind blowing - just hot air. And I know the disadvantage that we are placed in, with the dimness of the room, the delightful meal that we have partaken of, and all the applause that we have had all night long - the papers, the busy day - but I hope you will bear with me and we will see what happens.
One historian, who has spent at least 25 years exploring the topic of Mormonism and Masonry, finally concluded that any person who ventured into this area of study was something of a "foolhardy nitwit." So mote it be! Still, I am convinced that in the study of Masonry lies a pivotal key to future understanding Joseph Smith and the Church. Therefore, regardless of the possible incriminations and stigma that might ensue, I should like, in this paper, to interpose some unorthodox findings and fancies upon the more traditional and canonical propaganda of the faith.
In the subject of Mormonism and Masonry, there is still much that is "new under the sun." To begin with, Masonry in the Church had its origin prior to the time Joseph Smith became a Mason. Nauvoo was not its genesis. It commenced in Joseph's home when his older brother became a mason. Hyrum received the first degrees of Masonry in Mount Moriah Lodge No. 112 of Palmyra, New York, at about the same time that Joseph was being initiated into the presence of God and angels and was being entrusted with the sacred gold plates.
Masonic influence on Joseph was further highlighted when the heated anti-Masonic crusades flared up in western New York. His milieu was ripe with things Masonic. Pro-Mason and anti-Mason, the influence was unavoidable from both sources.
Capt. William Morgan was so contemporary with Joseph Smith, both as to time and geography, that it would be difficult to deny the probability of their acquaintance. In fact, Dr. Rob Morris, an American Masonic biographer of William Morgan, wrote that Morgan "had been a half way convert of Joe Smith, the Mormon, and had learned from him to see visions and dreams." Whether or not it was true that Joseph Smith personally knew Morgan during his lifetime, everyone in that area, including Joseph, had heard about Morgan's disappearance and supposed martyrdom, causing most people to take sides on the Masonic issue. Joseph was no exception. He was one of the committee of 10 men who signed their signatures to an impassioned plea which was printed in the rabidly anti-Masonic newspaper, the Seneca Farmer and Waterloo Advertiser.
The committee begged anyone with an ounce of Christian humanitarian concern to come forward and offer assistance to Morgan's unfortunate wife. The many parallels found between early Mormonism and the Masonry of that day are substantial: conferences, councils, priesthood, temples, anointing with oil, the issuance of licenses, certificates for identifying legitimate fellow workers, elders, high priests, and even the Book of the Law.
By the end of 1832, Joseph Smith had welcomed new brethren, along with their influences, into the Church. Men such as W. W. Phelps, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Newel K. Whitney, each of whom had been deeply involved in Masonry, from one side or the other, before their entrance into the Church.
