Although the impact of Freemasonry in LDS Church doctrine is the subject of intense debate, it is known that Joseph Smith Sr., the father of the church's founder and first president, Joseph Smith, became a Freemason in 1816. Joseph Smith likewise became a Freemason in 1842 when the church was headquartered in Nauvoo, Illinois. He and hundreds of his followers – including his first four successors as church president – all became Freemasons. Shortly after becoming a Freemason, Smith introduced the church's temple endowment ceremony, which contained some symbols and language closely paralleling some of the rituals of Freemasonry.