Years of MASONRY
in
Freemasonry is a
fraternity. Its membership is restricted to men, but there is no hazing as is
found in some college fraternities. The Masonic Order is a serious group. It
exists to take good men and help them to become better men. Thus, it is not a
reform society. It does not exist to reform criminals, nor would such persons
benefit from its teachings.
Masonry developed
from lodges of operative or stone masons. The Masonry of today is distinguished
from the stone masonry of old by being referred to as "Speculative"
Masonry. Speculative or FREEmasonry does not work
with stone but instead works on the lives of men. Its teachings take the
imagery of carpentry and architecture and use that imagery to teach by symbols
about building a good character.
The oldest Masonic
document, the Regius poem, dates to around 1390 A.D.
We know of no Masonry prior to that date. Somewhere between 1390 and 1717
lodges of operative masons began to accept as members men who did not work in
the building trade. Eventually whole lodges composed of such persons arose,
leading to a transition from lodges being composed of stone masons to lodges
being composed of men from other occupations who gathered and shared a ritual
replete with allusions to carpentry, architecture, and stone masonry.
In 1717, four of
these lodges in
Symbolic, Craft, or
Blue Lodge Masonry has three degrees. The three degrees are, in order: Entered
Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason. In early Speculative Masonry there
was only one degree. Later a two-degree system developed and finally the
three-degree system of today evolved and was firmly in place by around 1760
A.D.
A "degree"
is a drama in which a newcomer to Masonry, the candidate, is made to play a key
part. These dramas have several characteristics and are progressive in nature,
that is, they build on each other. These dramas are enacted with only Masons
being present and are for the purpose of moral instruction. A unique
characteristic of each Masonic degree is an "obligation" taken by the
candidate. The obligation is an oath taken for the purpose of instructing the
candidate in his Masonic duty.
The three degrees
have a biblical basis. Much biblical imagery is used in the ritual of the
degrees. The central biblical image used in Masonic ritual is that of the
building of King Solomon's
Masonry does require
of its adherents a belief in God and in life after death, though it asks no one
to expound upon the particulars of his understanding of those two beliefs.
There is some memory work the candidate must learn after each degree is
conferred upon him. He has a set amount of time to learn the catechism, that
is, a set of questions and answers, and to recite them before the lodge members
at a lodge meeting.
Masonry is not
a religion. There is nothing in Freemasonry to interfere with a man's religious
life. Persons of all faiths and Christian denominations are a part of the
worldwide Masonic fraternity. Religion and politics are two subjects not
allowed to be discussed when a lodge is in session.
Masonry teaches the
importance of helping the less fortunate. It especially stresses care for the
widows and orphans of Masons. Indeed, most Grand Lodges have within their
jurisdiction a home for aged Masons, their wives and widows, and also a home
for Masonic orphans. In the
Masonry asks its
candidates not to tell the details of its ritual to non-Masons. This is not
because Masonry is ashamed of anything. It is because an element of secrecy
serves to heighten interest in Masonic teaching. It is also because most people
would not benefit from being to introduced to Masonic
teachings out of the context of the Masonic degree system.
Why do Masons keep
their rituals a secret? For the same reason that the ancient
stonemasons kept their trade secrets. Their secrecy helped to maintain a
better quality of work. Our secrecy today helps us to make a good man better.
It is difficult to believe that the secrets of Masonry are evil when you
consider the heritage of Masonry that includes a long list of influential
leaders such as Paul Revere, George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Theodore
Roosevelt, Douglas MacArthur, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Stephen F.
Austin and Sam Houston. It is difficult to believe that the secrets of Masonry
are evil when you see so many Masons working as a vital part of every community
to provide better churches, better schools and better governments. It is
difficult to look into the eyes of a little child in a
The influence of
Masonry is like the influence of the home and the influence of the church. It
does not produce perfect human beings. Despite the best efforts of the home
there has never been a perfect child. Despite the best efforts of the church
there has never been a perfect Christian. Despite the best efforts of Masonry
there has never been a perfect Mason. Nevertheless there is a place for all
these in our society. Man's basic nature is such that he needs every good
influence he can get. He needs the powerful influence of a good home. He needs
powerful influence of a dedicated church made up of dedicated believers. The needs the influence of dedicated teachers in the public
schools. But, when it is all said and done, it doesn't hurt to have a
little extra push that comes from civic organizations, from professional
organizations and from fraternal organizations. Masonry has a proud heritage of
165 years of service to the State of
In March 1835 the
first Masonic meeting was held in
Two more
There are now over
130,000 Masons in
There are nominal
one-time fees collected for the conferring of the three degrees. After that a
Mason pays yearly dues to the lodge of which he has become a member. No Mason
is supposed to ask another person to become a Mason. It is up to the individual
man who has an interest in becoming a Mason to ask a Mason he knows for a
petition to join the fraternity.
Source: The Grand
Lodge of Texas web site