1. Art and Diseño

February 2015
The Small Town Texas Masons EE-magazine
`The Small Town Texas Mason's E-Magazine is not affiliated with any state Grand Lodge or
individual Blue Lodge.
It was created to enlighten, educate and entertain Masons and non-Masons alike and as
title suggests, it does try to feature a small town Texas Masonic Lodge and a story of Texas
Masonic history in each issue.
You may have noticed, the magazine is slowly changing, starting with new covers. I have
almost exhausted the Small town Texas Masonic Lodge histories and pictures that are available
on the internet and the monthly feature stories will become more toward Texas Masonic history
and hero's stories.
Page#
Story
3. San Felipe De Austin, Texas Tex
7a. Joseph Brant - Mohawk, Loyalist, and Freemason
7b. Ancient Evidences
9. Boring Our Members to Death
12. Surviving the Big Ones Tex
13. Masonry Is Like A University
14. The Powerful Myth of Hiram Abiff
15. Travel In Foreign Countries
17. A Short History of the Victorian Lodge Of Research (No. 218)
20. The Volume of the Sacred Law in Multi-Faith Freemasonry
26. Is Freemasonry a Cult or Not?
29. A Masonic Bill of Rights?
31. The Profound Pontifications of Brother John Deacon Tex
36. Letter from Hiram Abiff
37. Black Friday
38. The Canadian Police Degree Team
39. Freemasons on the Goldfields
41. Pleasant Hill Lodge 4th Annual Chili Cook Off and Car Show Tex
Copyright Info. No Copyright - Free To Use — A very sincere effort was made to avoid
using any copyrighted material, without permission or giving credit to the author, in the
creation of this web site. If you discover something that is yours, without giving you due
credit, please let me know and it will be corrected or removed.
This month’s cover like was found by Googling “Small Texas Towns” - Name Unknown.
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San Felipe De Austin, Texas - The Birthplace of
AngloAnglo-American Settlement in Texas
Known as the "Birthplace of Anglo-American
Settlement in Texas", San Felipe de Austin was
named for Stephen F. Austin, who brought his first
Texas colonists here in 1823.
Austin, with the assistance of the Baron de
Bastrop, had been searching for a location to establish
his capital. By October 1823, after briefly considering
a location on the lower Colorado River, it was decided
to establish the capitol beside the Brazos River near
where John McFarland operated a ferry. This site was
chosen because it was on a high, easily defensible
bluff overlooking broad, fertile bottomlands. The
location offered a number of other advantages,
including a central location and sources of fresh water
independent of the Brazos. And, it was near the center
of the Austin colony, which stretched northward from
the Gulf of Mexico as far as the Old San Antonio
Road and extended from the Lavaca River in the west
to the San Jacinto River in the east.
In late 1823 surveyor Seth Ingram set about
defining the boundaries of the five-league expanse of
prairie and woodlands encompassed by the
municipality and platting the town proper. The town's
name, San Felipe de Austin, was proposed by the
towntoplat
For San
de Austin
governor of the Eastern Interior Provinces, Felipe de la1823
Garza,
honor
bothFelipe
the empresario,
(Texas General Land Office Archives)
Austin, and the governor's own patron saint. Although planned on the basis of the prevailing
Mexican town model with a regular grid of avenues and streets dominated by four large plazas,
the settlement soon began to sprawl westward from the Brazos for more than a half mile along
both sides of the Atascosito Road.
As empresario, or land contractor, to the Mexican government, Austin was responsible for the
distribution of almost 6 million acres of land in Texas from his San Felipe land office. His first
contract allowed him to bring 300 families from the United States—a group termed the "Old
300." Four more contacts authorized Austin to settle an additional 1,700 families. These colonial
land grants began the most rapid and significant transformation of population and land use in
Texas history.
By 1828 the community comprised a population of about 200, three general stores, two
taverns, a hotel, a blacksmith shop, and some forty or fifty log cabins. Ten of the inhabitants were
Hispanic, and the rest were of American or European origin; males outnumbered females ten to
one.
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San Felipe, as the town was generally called, was the unquestioned social, economic, and
political center of the Austin colony. Its expanding but unstable population was swelled by large
numbers of immigrants and other transients. Austin built a residence on Bullinger's Creek, a half
mile west of the Brazos, from which he directed the government of his colony for four years
before handing responsibility for the management of most affairs to the Ayuntamiento (the
Spanish term for the council of a municipality) of San Felipe in 1828. The colonial land office
was headquartered in the town, and Austin assumed an active role in its operation.
Located at the Brazos River crossing of the Atascosito Road that connected San Antonio to
Louisiana, San Felipe de Austin soon grew to be the second largest town in colonial Texas. Its
stores offered merchandise imported from the United States, and inns and taverns provided
lodging and meals for residents and travelers. Artisans—blacksmiths, gunsmiths, watchmakers,
hatters, tailors, cobblers, and tinsmiths, and bakers—served the community from their San Felipe
shops.
Regular mail service in the colony was inaugurated in 1826 when Samuel May Williams was
appointed postmaster in San Felipe; with seven separate postal routes converging here, the town
remained the hub of the Texas postal service until the Texas Revolution.
The Texas Gazette One was one
of the earliest newspapers in Texas.
It began publication in San Felipe on
September 25, 1829, under the
editorship of Goodwin B. Cotten.
The Telegraph and Texas Register
published by Gail Borden became
the unofficial journal of the
revolution in San Felipe after it
began on October 10, 1835. Some of
the town's notable early inhabitants
A typical
newspaper and
shopHoratio
of the early
1800s Many
also included Josiah H. Bell, James B. Miller,
Noah Smithwick,
Chriesman.
other significant figures in early Texas history resided temporarily at San Felipe or visited
periodically on business. Several large cotton plantations were established in the bottomlands
near the town during the 1820s, and from the outset San Felipe became a trading center for cotton.
By 1830 John Cummins had constructed a grist and lumber mill near the town. As stock raising
developed in the vicinity, small herds of cattle were driven from the town across the country to
Nacogdoches. San Felipe was located only some eighty miles above the mouth of the Brazos, and
keelboats were used extensively to transport goods between the town and various coastal ports.
Nevertheless, most articles of commerce were carried overland to the coast by wagon until after
the revolution. Unreliable water levels and turbulence during the spring rains discouraged
steamboat traffic on the Brazos as far as San Felipe, and the stream's meanders rendered the water
route to the coast far longer than land routes. However, after 1830 steamboats gradually began to
appear on the lower Brazos, and by 1836 as many as three steamboats plied the waters between
San Felipe and the coast.
Thomas J. Pilgrim started the first school in the town in 1829. It was described by Smithwick
as an "English school," It had an initial enrollment of forty pupils, mostly boys. There were four
schools in the community by 1830. The total enrollment was seventy-seven by then.
Although the settlement was Catholic by law, no priests lived in San Felipe until the arrival of
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Father Michael Muldoon in 1831. Austin tried to discourage the Protestant churches from opening
in San Felipe. So, Protestant worship in the town was confined mainly to occasional open-air
meetings conducted by itinerant ministers. Thomas G. Pilgrim, who was a Baptist deacon from
New York State, organized a Sunday-school at San Felipe, on the Brazos, in 1829. This was the
first Sunday-school ever organized in Texas. the town's first churches were not built until after
the revolution.
Many of the residents and visitors were Freemasons, but
the earliest Masonic meetings in Texas convened in an oak
grove near the town. Austin attempted to organize a Masonic
lodge in 1828, when he and six other Masons met at San
Felipe and petitioned the Grand York Lodge of Mexico for a
charter dispensation. The petition evidently reached Mexico
at the height of a quarrel between the "Yorkinos" and
"Escoceses" (adherents of the Scottish Rite) and disappeared.
The San Felipe Masonic Lodge #239 was not charted until
June 14, 1860.
By 1836 San Felipe was the second largest town in Texas
only San Antonio was larger. Its population in 1835
approached 600, and many more settlers resided nearby
within the boundaries of the municipality. In view of the
significance of the capital in the life of the colony, it was
inevitable that San Felipe should play an important role in
the events of the Texas Revolution. The conventions of 1832
The Stephen F. Austin statue
and 1833 were held in the town, and as the site of the
and obelisk
Consultation of November 3, 1835, San Felipe served as the
capital of the provisional government until the Convention of 1836 met the following March at
Washington-on-the-Brazos.
After the fall of the Alamo, Gen. Sam Houston's army retreated through San Felipe. On March
30, 1836, the small garrison under Moseley Baker remaining at San Felipe to defend the Brazos
crossing ordered the town evacuated and then burned it to the ground to keep it from falling into
the hands of the advancing Mexican army. The terrified residents hastily gathered what few
belongings they could carry before fleeing eastward during the incident known as the Runaway
Scrape.
By May 1836, as news of the Texans' victory at the battle of San Jacinto spread, the old
residents of San Felipe began to return, and a semblance of community life was soon restored
near the original town site. Many of families never returned, and the government of the republic
was unable to resume operation in the town because there wasn’t a building left to use as the
capitol.
The town of San Felipe was incorporated in 1837 and became county seat of the newly
established Austin County. A courthouse was constructed, but the town never recovered it’s status
as an important city. The only other buildings in the settlement by the mid-1840s were six or
seven log houses and a tavern. Then in 1846 a county election made the new community of
Bellville the county seat. January 1848 the county functions were gone from San Felipe.
Although the original inhabitants moved away from the town, they were replaced during the
mid-nineteenth century by an influx of Germans. After the Civil War, freedmen began to take up
Page 5
residence in the community. Czechs moved into the area in the late nineteenth century, as did a
large influx of Mexican immigrants during the early twentieth century; the Mexican influx
resulted from an increase in the employment of Mexican migrant farmworkers in Austin County.
The people of San Felipe turned down an proposal by the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway
in the mid-1870s to route its new Galveston-Brenham spur through their town. However, the
railroad was sold a right-of-way through the western section of the original 22,000-acre municipal
tract.
In the early 1880s many residents and businesses moved from San Felipe to the new
commercial center of Sealy after the Texas Western Narrow Gauge Railway constructed its
Houston-Sealy spur through the vicinity. in 1882, the remaining residents of San Felipe moved
to a new town site along the tracks. Proceeds from the sale of lands within the original five-league
township were invested, and the resulting income enabled the town to function without taxation
and to build a first-rate system of public education.
In 1899 the Texas Western, a minor carrier, abandoned its Houston-Sealy line, and by 1890
the population of San Felipe had declined to 177. It stood at 206 in 1910. In 1947 the town had
305 residents, one business, two churches, a school, and a post office. In 1990 the population was
618. The population was 868 in 2000.
Well into the twentieth century the residents of San Felipe continued to claim the rights of the
original inhabitants to free water, wood, grazing, and burial ground on the common lands of the
municipality. In 1980 more than 700 acres of open land remained in possession of the community.
Most of the original town site on the banks of Bullinger's Creek now lies within the Stephen
F. Austin State Historical Park, which was dedicated in 1928 and donated to the state by the town
of San Felipe in 1940. The Farm Road 1458 bridge, constructed in the late 1940s, spans the
Brazos near the site of the original ferry. The park is in two sections, historical and
recreational. The historical section is near an old ferry crossing of the Brazos River. This area
includes a replica of Austin's dog-run cabin where he conducted business of the first colonists. A
monument sits on the site of the town hall, where the conventions of 1832 and 1833 and the
Consultation of 1835 were held. There are many monuments and historical markers and a
magnificent statue of Stephen F. Austin, "The Father of Texas".
The J.J. Josey Store, built in 1847, has been
restored and is now a museum displaying
merchandise of the pioneer era. The
recreational portion of the park offers picnic,
camping and trailer sites. Also, the park
features a group recreational hall with kitchen
facilities, screened shelters available for use, a
golf course and dining hall. Nature trail and
fishing in the Brazos River.
The park lies just north of San Felipe on
Park Road 38. (Open Saturday & Sunday;
admission fee.)
The J.J. Josey Store
Compiled from Wikipedia, The Handbook
of Texas, Britannica Online Encyclopedia, The Lonestar.net, Austin County.com, The Colonial
Capitals Of Texas.com and the San Felipe de Austin Webpage,
By John “Corky” Daut, P.M. Waller Masonic Lodge #808, Contributing Editor to the Grand
Page 6
Lodge of Texas History Committee.
Joseph Brant - Mohawk, Loyalist, and Freemason
`A Mohawk Indian Chief, made a Freemason "and admitted to
the Third Degree" at London, England, on April 26, 1776. This was
in a Lodge of the Moderns, the Falcon, in Princess Street, Leicester
Fields.
Brother Hawkins records that during the War of American
Independence Brant was in command of some Indian troops on the
British side, by whom Captain McKinsty, of the United States Army,
had been captured. The Indians had tied their prisoner to a tree and
were preparing to torture him, when he made the mystic appeal of a
Freemason in the hour of danger. Brant interposed and rescued his
American brother from his impending fate, took him to Quebec, and
placed him in the hands of some English Freemasons, who returned
him, uninjured, to the American outposts. Clavel has illustrated the
occurrence on page 283 of his Histoire Pittoresque de la FrancMaronnerie Joseph Brant, or Thayendanegea, to use his native name,
was bom on the banks of the Ohio River in 1742 and was educated at A 1776 portrait of Brant by
leading court painter George
Lebanon, Connecticut.
Romney
He was a member of Lodge No. 11 at the Mohawk village, about
a mile and a half from Brantford, and was also affiliated with Barton Lodge No. 10 at Hamilton,
Canada. Brother Robertson, History of Freemasonry in Canada, records (on page 687) that
Brother Brant translated the Gospel of St. Mark into the Mohawk language and this was published
in 1787.
- Source: Mackey's Encyclopedia of Freemasonry
Ancient Evidences
From The Builder January 1915
By G. W. Baird P.G.M., District of Columbia
It was the good fortune of the writer to see the great obelisk called Cleopatra's
needle, as it stood at Alexandria and also to witness the "opening of a house" in
Pompeii. The two Monoliths known as Cleopatra's needles had been brought to
Alexandria in the time of the Caesars. They were originally in front of the University
at Heliopolis, that great school where Moses, the law giver, was once a student. How
long they were in Heliopolis no one knows, nor is it known when they were carved
or erected.
One of these magnificent monuments was given to England, and the other to the
United States. The latter was brought to this country by Brother Lieutenant
Commander H. H. Gorringe, U. S. N., the entire expense of which was borne by the late Mr.
Page 7
William H. Vanderbilt, of New York.U. S. N., the entire expense of which was borne by the late
Mr. William H. Vanderbilt, of New York.
When Gorringe lifted the monument, for the purpose of shipping it, he was surprised to find,
under its base, so many symbols which seemed clearly Masonic. The Grand Lodge of Masons in
Egypt, among whom there was a number of Egyptologists and Archaeologists, sent a committee
of its best men, at the request of Gorringe, to examine these emblems and give an opinion. They
were unanimous in the opinion that the emblems were Masonic, and gave the following
definitions. Gorringe had a drawing made, not only to show the emblems and their relative
positions, but for use in replacing them when the shaft should be erected at New York.
A. A polished cube, of syenite.
B. Polished square, of syenite.
C. Rough and irregular block of syenite.
D. Hard lime stone with trowel cemented to its surface.
E. Soft lime stone, very white and entirely from spots.
F. Axis stone, with figures.
G. A marked stone.
H. Corner stone, found under east angle of lower steps.
The block C was believed to be the rough ashler; A the perfect ashler; the square B is very
distinct, and has been so identified with Masonry, in all ages, that its presence added great weight.
The Committee thought the stone, with figures, resembling snakes, was emblematic of
Wisdom. They thought the "axis stone" represented the trestle-board and the marked stone bore
the mark of a Mark Master. The two implements, the trowel and the lead plummet, are emblematic
of Freemasonry; the white stone is the symbol of purity, as we have always understood it.
A French Archaeologist, in New York, was the only person to question the opinion of the
Egyptologists, but as he was not a Mason, Gorringe thought he was not competent to be a judge.
The Obelisk was brought to New York and erected in Central Park, where it now stands. The
corner stone was laid with Masonic ceremonies on the 2d of October, 1880, and the emblems
were replaced exactly as they had been found at Alexandria.
In the National Museum, at Naples, there is an equally
remarkable evidence, which was discovered in the ruins of Pompeii,
in 1896. The writer is indebted to the late Brother S. G. Hilborn,
then a member of Congress from California, for a picture of this
"find" which is here reproduced in a photograph.
It is a mosaic table top, or altar top, which was situated in the
center of a rectangular room, exactly as Masonic Altars have ever
been erected in lodge rooms. The workmanship is excellent, and the
coloring, when the discovery was made, was bright and fresh, but
has probably faded some, as all the Pompeii colors have done. Mural
paintings, so many of which have been found in those ruins, have
all suffered the same fate.
This beautiful mosaic, which is believed to be the top of the altar, shows a large square,Page
above
8
deaths head, with a plumb line from the angle of the square to the middle point of the crown of
the head. From each arm of the square there is suspended a robe; one was scarlet, the other purple,
which are distinctive colors used in the Royal Arch degree. Below the chin of the head is a
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butterfly, beautifully colored, and under the butterfly is a circle, that Masonic emblem of Diety,
without beginning or end.
In addition to this there were found, in the same room, several articles inherent in Blue and
in Royal Arch Masonry, a little urn, which is believed to be the pot of manna, a setting maul, a
trowel, a spade, a small chest, thought to be an imitation of the ark of the covenant, and small
staff, thought to be phallus. These evidences, potent as they are, are confirmed by the inscription
over the door of the house, which is DIOGENE SEN, which means Diogenes the Mason.
The writer gives these facts as to the Pompeii find, as
he received them from Brother Hilborn. We have not been
in Pompeii since 1878, when with General Grant, but the
existence of the altar top may be verified by a visit to the
museum at Naples.
The evidence, to an enthusiast, is convincing; to the
writer they seem every bit as good, maybe better, than the
evidence which Rome has accepted and propagated as to
the Apostolic succession.
NOTE --(See Vibert's "Freemasonry before the existence of Grand Lodges" for a different
viewpoint regarding the Pompeii Mosaic.)
- Source: The Builder January 1915
Boring Our Members To Death
By Christopher Hodapp author of Freemasons for Dummies
The Spirit stood among the graves, and pointed
down to one. He advanced towards it trembling. The
Phantom was exactly as it had been, but he dreaded
that he saw new meaning in its solemn shape.
"Before I draw nearer to that stone to which you
point," said Scrooge, "answer me one question. Are
these the shadows of the things that Will be, or are
they shadows of things that May be, only?"
Still the Ghost pointed downward to the grave
by which it stood.
"Men's courses will foreshadow certain ends, to
which, if persevered in, they must lead," said
Scrooge. "But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what you
show me."
The Spirit was immovable as ever.
-Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Sit down and chat for about ten minutes with an insurance agent, and let him quote you
chapter and verse about the death rate among the World War II generation. Okay, I'll grant
you, there's a certain ghoulish aspect to it. I'm bringing it up because, like Scrooge's portentous
Spectre, Freemasons have spent the last fifteen years pointing an empty sleeve at the grave, and
blaming our declining membership numbers on the four-million Masons who were members
Page 9
during our boom years, who have had the very bad timing to pass on to the Celestial Lodge Above
in record waves over the last dozen or so years.
Once you're sufficiently bored by your insurance guy, give your Grand Secretary a call and
ask him how the numbers compare between the death rate of members every year, versus the
losses from demits and non-payment of dues. Prepare yourself for a shock. In most jurisdictions
in the U.S. and Canada, the losses of members from deaths has been statistically tapering off,
while the losses due to Freemasons walking away from the fraternity have been rising at an
alarming rate. Oh, we're initiating a very healthy dose of new Masons every year all right. But
men whom we have initiated, passed and raised are deciding in increasing numbers to say no
thanks to what their local lodge offers. Masonic membership rolls are still dropping, but not from
natural causes. The truth is, we are boring our members to death.
It has long been understood that the Baby Boom generation didn't join the Masons. As a
result, there is a five-decade difference between the generation of men who kept Freemasonry
alive for us and the men who are now moving into leadership positions throughout the fraternity.
At any other time in the history of Freemasonry, each succeeding generation came along
approximately in twenty-five year intervals, making changes in their lodges, and in Freemasonry
as a whole, to reflect their needs and desires. Masonry has always adapted to serve the societies
in which it resided. Until recently. Now, instead of a twenty-five year adjustment in direction,
Freemasonry is suffering from fifty years of habit and hardening of the arteries.
Not long ago, I visited a lodge that had fallen on hard times - very hard times indeed. At one
time, their rolls held the names of more than 1800 members. Today, they are down to 200. That's
not an unusual state of affairs for a fraternity that artificially swelled in size after World War II,
but for men who see success and failure only in the narrow terms of numerical statistics, it is an
emergency of epic proportions. There were members in that lodge who remember those heady
days like they were yesterday. They remember the degree nights with 150 Masons on the
sidelines. They remember the dances, and the Christmas parties, and the big group trips. They
remember the dinners when the dining hall was packed to the rafters, with their kids running up
and down the room, while some successful member from the civic or business world tried to give
a speech. They look on those days fondly, and are bewildered by the fact that no more than eight
members show up for the average meeting today. They'd had no candidates in four years, and
they literally begged their members to come and participate. No one did.
The men who kept that lodge barely alive tried to do things the way they have been done
when most of them joined a half century ago. The same eight men met for a meager meal before
their monthly meeting. They opened lodge with perfect ritual. They read the minutes and the bills.
There was rarely any business, new or old. They closed and fled the building, and were home by
7:30, before prime-time network programming got started for the night. Over the last five years,
the same eight members have been trading officers' positions, and they just got tired. They were
fed up. So, they decided to merge with another lodge and be done with it.
As with any turning point of this magnitude, all 200-plus members had to be notified of the
meeting. Only twelve cared enough to show up to vote to euthanize their lodge. They had no fight
in them to save their lodge. They wanted to simply slip into the ranks of another, give up their
charter and their 140-year history, and vanish from memory. They had killed their own lodge
with their own failure to embrace any change, and in fact, many of them were enraged that some
brethren from outside of their lodge had come in to try to resurrect them at the eleventh hour and
interfere with their plans for a quiet suicide.
Page 10
They didn't do anything to appeal to new members. But neither were they serving their
existing ones. They weren't broke. These were children of the Depression. They had almost
$200,000 in the bank. So why did they do nothing to interest their aging members? Bus trips to
Branson. $100 cruises to the Caribbean. Casino boat trips. Tours to Masonic sites in Britain. Trips
to the Holy Land. Catered dinners. Sponsored movie nights. Loads of public awards. Medicare
drug program presentations. Estate planning seminars. Computers at lodge to send emails to the
grand kids. Power-chair races in the halls. In short, give their existing members a reason to keep
coming to lodge, to keep enjoying it, to love it.
Neither did they do anything to attract new members. They rent the lodge room in the big
downtown Temple building, so like most tenant/landlord relationships, they figured they didn't
have to put a dime into the place if they didn't own it. That's somebody else's job. Really? If only
they had tried investing in their lodge. Put in new lighting so members could see three feet in
front of them. Upholster the sad looking chairs and benches that have the original leather from
World War I on them. Tear up the worn and moldy carpet and replace it - maybe with one of the
only black and white checked carpets in the U.S. that we talk about in our ritual but almost nobody
seems to have. In short, make it look like something worth coming to. Make it look like something
worth joining.
Then start kicking the members into participating in lodge - not worrying about who was
going to be what officer or memorize which part of the ritual. Actually talk about Freemasonry,
its history, its symbolism, its philosophy. Actively visit other lodges and help with their degrees.
Get members interested in other activities in the building, or volunteering to help some of the
community groups that have been meeting there with greater frequency. We talk a big line about
charity and helping the community, so let's start giving time, and not just checkbook generosity.
And if they still didn't have a full lineup of guys willing to be officers, just sideliners, it wouldn't
matter.
Because, once the place looked like living inhabitants occasionally might be in the place, and
that it was actually a vibrant, active lodge, maybe, just maybe, some of their grandkids might get
interested in Freemasonry, because they were seeing Freemasonry in action, instead of
Freemasonry inaction. The business author James O'Toole says, "People who do not think well
of themselves do not act to change their condition." Even a lodge that only has eight regular
attendees has within its active ranks the resources to wake itself up, to do things that make them
truly happy to be there, and sometimes to even surprise themselves.
Leadership has no age, and there are no limits on imagination. But a lodge has to mean
something to its members. It has to remain part of their lives, every day, every week, every month.
Because once it's more fun, or less hassle, to stay squeezed comfortably in the LaZBoy, curled
up with a remote control, than it is to go to lodge, we have lost them. No one would ever
voluntarily join a memorization club, and no one wants to join the oldest, greatest, most legendary
fraternal organization in the world, only to be sentenced to a lifetime of cold cut sandwiches made
with suspicious meat, generic cola, and monthly meetings of nothing but minute-reading, billpaying and petulant sniveling over why no one comes to meetings anymore. Be honest with
yourself. What rational human being seriously wants to go to the trouble of leaving home to go
and listen to someone spend twenty minutes reporting that nothing happened at last month's
meeting either?
It will be the lodges that provide programming for their active members - whatever their age
may be - that will survive and prosper into the future. But those that stubbornly cling to the notion
Page 11
that lodge is no event, that lodge is just one more meeting to be borne, that lodge is that most
terrible of things, Ordinary - those are the lodges that will literally bore themselves to death.
Those are the lodges that will slip silently away in the night. And the shadows of things that Might
Be will have faded into the concrete Reality of a deserted lodge room.
"Ghost of the Future!" Scrooge exclaimed, "I fear you more than any spectre I have seen. But
as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to live to be another man from what I
was, I am prepared to bear your company, and do it with a thankful heart."
- Source: Knights of the North Masonic Dictionary
more masonic papers articles
www.masonicdictionary.com is © 2008 Stephen Dafoe
Surviving The Big Ones
By John “Corky” Daut
The “Big Ones” for me started with growing up during that period between the Great
Depression and World War II. The “Big Ones” continued with marriage, 4 children, going to the
army, a career, moving to the country and just plain old living for 74 years (Written 12 years ago).
Did you ever wear a pair of Knickers? Wait a minute, if there are any English ladies reading
this, I don’t mean you. I almost forgot that the English ladies use the term knickers as slang name
for underpants. At least I think it’s a slang name. Anyway, I’m talking about boy and men type
knickers.
I’m referring to the kind of pants that boys used to wear when I was a youngun back in the
1930’s. They were also popular with men golfers around that same time. They were often made
of corduroy and the pants legs came down to just below the knees. The pants legs ended with a
wide elastic band or a cloth band that buttoned and held the bottom tight around the leg just below
the knee. They were made a little long so they would puff out a little. And kind of hide the band.
You wore long stockings to cover up your lower legs. The stockings always sagged and got baggy
after wearing them for a few hours and it made your lower legs look something like Big Bird’s
legs or a piece of bamboo with joints every inch or two.
I was just looking through the November/December 2002 issue of “Reminisce” magazine
and on the inside page is a picture that was taken in 1932 with about 39 newsboys standing side
by side, grinning at the camera. It looks almost like a class picture except there was a large
assortment of sizes and ages. Four of the seven young boys in the front row are wearing knickers
and three of them have legs that look like Big Bird.
I’m sure you don’t remember newsboys either, but back then many young boys delivered a
newspaper route to make some spending money. Actually, many of them in the thirties did it
because the families desperately needed it to supplement the families income.
The newspaper distributor would drop off a couple of bundles of newspapers at a central point
like beside a fire station or church just after school was out. Five or six newsboys would be there
and roll or fold their papers. Most boys rolled the newspapers in a tight roll, then wrap a piece of
string around the roll four or five times, cut it and roll the string down a half inch or so to tangle
it a little. Some of them especially those with thinner papers would fold them so the last flap
tucked into the first ones. The rolled papers were put in a large canvas bag with a
shoulder strap. The boy would then hang the bag over his shoulder and walk his route, Page 12
throwing a rolled paper or sailing a folded one like a Frisbee up on the porch at each subscriber’s
house. Some of the bigger or stronger boys worked larger routes and carried a bag of newspapers
on both shoulders. Those whose parents could afford a bicycle would have a rack built over the
rear fender that held a newspaper bag hanging on each side of the rear wheel.
In the magazine story, Ruth wrote that her husband, Harold had a route when he was eight
years old. She said that he was paid one cent per paper after he personally collected the money
that was due from each customer once a week.
I’m not sure what the pay was in Houston, but my friend Billy had a Houston Press (the old
1930’s and 40’s daily paper) route. The Press also had a system where you got fined if you got a
complaint from a customer. I remember when Billy resigned as a carrier. The distributor claimed
that Billy didn’t have any money coming and that he owed the paper thirty five cents.
“Reminisce” www.reimanpub.com is a advertisement free magazine that is filled with
pictures and stories about life in the first part of the 1900’s. We also subscribe to “Good Old
Days” www.whitebirches.com which is similar, but has lots of advertisements. You see, that’s
what old folks do. We sit around and reminisce about how good life was in the good old days. Of
course we conveniently forget the hard parts of living in the good old days, like living on
cornbread and pinto beans just about every day or even just cornmeal mush and milk. And,
sticking pieces of cardboard in our shoes every morning so the sidewalks didn’t wear holes in our
socks through the holes that are already worn through our shoe soles. And, waiting until your
other pair of overalls or your other dress (as the case may be) got dry so you could change clothes.
You know, I can’t hardly believe I just wrote a whole column about knickers without getting
of the subject like I usually do.
Masonry Is Like A University
University
From The Lodge Tawhiri 166, of New Zealand, November 2014 newsletter.
This article first appeared in the “Californian Freemason’, September 2014 issue.
You have long realized that being a Freemason means you are engaged on a learning process.
But has it ever occurred to you that Freemasonry has similarities to a University?
The people of the time of King Solomon’s Temple still believed that the world was flat. They
could not have understood either the terrestrial or the celestial globes, but the Masonic symbolism
to the new Fellow Craft is clear.
He is progressing from and “old” understanding of reality to a “new” understanding. The
“old” is represented by the ancient pillars and the “new” by the globes.
In the rest of the degree, he will be introduced to the function of knowledge itself, represented
by the winding staircase.
Taken together, the meaning is that in order to progress in Masonry he must accept that he
will leave behind old understandings and embark on a journey into new and fresh understandings.
Freemasonry will become his “university of knowledge” not because it has all the answers
for him, but because it has all the questions for him.
The questing mind is a salient characteristic of Masonry and the globes atop the ancient pillars
in King Solomon’s Temple are a symbol of that quest.
This is the way in which a Masonic lodge is thought of as a university.
Properly understood, a university does not provide a completed education. Its true function
is to open the doors of knowledge so that a lifelong commitment to learning results.
Page 13
In a similar way, the Fellow Craft degree is intended to open the doors of learning about
Masonry.
The degree is not intended to teach everything there is to know about Freemasonry. It is
instead to teach him that he should have a lifetime commitment to learning.
The Powerful Myth of Hiram Abiff
Author Bro Roger Marjoribanks – England
Brethren, let us consider for a moment the legend of Hiram Abiff as told in our 3rd Degree
ceremony, remembering that what we have is not the Hiram of Biblical history but a powerfully
mythical figure designed to illustrate dramatically an important Masonic lesson - the supreme
importance of fidelity. Hiram, although faced with the imminent prospect of death, replies firmly that
“he would rather suffer death than betray the sacred trust reposed in him.” He is duly murdered,
having clothed the well-known saying “death before dishonour” in flesh and blood. Whether the story
was a revival in the 1720s of an old dramatic tale of our ancient operative brethren or invented out
of whole cloth cannot now be determined for certain; but the lesson imparted is both dramatic and
clear - that secrecy and fidelity to one’s brethren are supreme Masonic virtues. Thus the instructions
contained in the Charge to the Initiate are reinforced.
There is a further mystery in this story: if, as Hiram is made to say, the secret of a Master Mason
is known to “but three in the world” - King Solomon, King Hiram and himself - how can his death
cause Solomon to say later that as a result “the secrets of a Master Mason were lost”; surely there
were still two people who knew them? This just might be an oversight by the story-teller; the only
satisfactory answer I have come across is that it was not so much the secrets themselves that were
lost but any legitimate method of communicating them, which required the co-operation of the three
Masters, rather as such communication in our chapters requires. Just as a triangle is a perfectly rigid
figure when complete, but swings uselessly when one is removed, so it is envisaged is the case with
the secrets of a Master Mason.
Finally, brethren, a new-made Master Mason may well ask why he is being fobbed off with mere
“substituted secrets,” when it is well known that the three degrees of the Craft form a complete whole.
This section is quite deliberately introduced, and is clearly integral to the ceremony. Some may say
that exaltation to the Holy Royal Arch is required for completion, but a fairly recent ruling destroys
that comforting illusion. Otherwise, differing explanations have been given, notably by Rev.
N.B.Barker-Cryer and Julian Rees1. I should not presume to choose between various choices, though
my personal preference is for Rees’s suggestion that the genuine secrets of a Master Mason are to be
found within the Mason’s heart as he progresses in Masonic spirituality.
Whatever our interpretation of the problems raised by the story of Hiram, there can surely be no
doubt that the new-made Master Mason has a right for his mentors within the lodge to confront these
difficulties - very genuine ones for an intelligent brother - with him, in the hope that for him the light
may shine in the darkness. course.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Saturday morning I got up early, quietly dressed, made my lunch,
Grabbed the dog, and slipped quietly into the garage.
I hooked up the boat up to the truck, and proceeded to back out into a Torrential downpour.
Page 14
The wind was blowing 50 mph, so I pulled back into the garage, turned on the radio, and
discovered that the weather would be bad all day.
I went back into the house, quietly undressed, and slipped back into bed. I cuddled up to my
wife's back, now with a different anticipation, and whispered, 'The weather out there is terrible.'
My loving wife of 10 years replied, 'Can you believe my stupid husband is out fishing in
that?'
And then the fight started...
Season Pass
On the first day of college, the Dean addresses the students, pointing out some of the rules:
"The women's dormitory will be out-of-bounds for all male students, and the men's dormitory to
the female students. Anybody caught breaking this rule will be fined $20 for the first offense."
He continued, "Anybody caught breaking this rule a second time will be fined $60. Being
caught a third time will cost you a fine of $180. Are there any questions?"
At this point, a male student in the crowd inquires, "How much for a season pass?"
Travel In Foreign Countries
By Morris Budkofsky, P.G.M. Grand Lodge of Connecticut
In the ritualistic work of the third degree, we hear the words seeing the temple about to be
completed, and being desirous of receiving the secrets of a Master Mason, whereby we could
travel in foreign countries.
Speculative Master Masons over the years have taken the words from our ritual traveling in
foreign countries and have interpreted its hidden and spiritual significance as referring to the
actual travel of Operative Master Masons, for upon completion of the temple, they found they
must journey into the surrounding provinces where they could practice their craft.
In an ever increasing mobile society today, many of our brethren were also quick to associate
themselves with the ritualistic lines whereby we could travel in foreign countries, which leads us
to the precautions one must take before leaving his Grand Jurisdiction.
Confucius said, If language is not used rightly, then what is said is not what is meant. If what
is said is not what is meant, then that which ought to be done is left undone; if it re-mains undone,
morals and art will be corrupted, justice will go awry; and if justice goes awry, the people will
stand about in helpless confusion .
A Master Mason desiring to travel to a foreign country who thinks that he might like to visit
a Masonic Lodge should and must make himself cognizant
of the terms, REGULARITY, RECOGNITION AND JURISDIC-TION as they apply to
Freemasonry.
REGULARITY - Constituted, appointed or conducted in a proper manner.
RECOGNITION - The act of recognizing or the state of being recognized.
JURISDICTION - Lawful right to exercise authority, over those things for which such
authority may be exercised.
WHAT IS A MASONIC GRAND LODGE?
Page 15
A Grand Lodge is the governing body of Freemasonry within a certain domain in the United
States, for governing Freemasonry in each State in our Union and the District of Columbia.
Hawaiian Lodges are under the Grand Jurisdiction of California. A Grand Lodge of Masons has
as its presiding officer the Grand Master and the legislation of the Grand Lodge is binding upon
all Freemasons and upon all Masonic Lodges under its jurisdiction.
WHAT IS A RECOGNIZED MASONIC GRAND LODGE?
The fifty Grand Lodges of the United States have various conceptions of regularity. Thus, the
Grand Lodge in State A is satisfied that the Grand Lodge of Foreign Country X meets the
conditions of regularity, while the Grand Lodge of State B is not satisfied that the Grand Lodge
of Foreign Country X conforms to all the conditions of regularity requirements of the Grand
Lodge of State B. Thus, a Grand Lodge of a foreign country may be regular Freemasonry to the
Grand Lodge of one State and clandestine or irregular by another.
AM I ALLOWED TO VISIT IN A MASONIC LODGE ANYWHERE ON THIS
EARTH?
No .... you promised and swore that you would stand to and abide by all the laws, rules and
regulations of your Grand Lodge. Those laws provide that you can visit in the lodges which are
under the jurisdiction of Grand Lodges which your Grand Lodge recognizes as regular. All
regular United States
Grand Lodges are in fraternal relations with each other. If your travels extend beyond this
nation, and you wish to visit lodges in foreign countries, ascertain either from your Proceedings
(published each year by all Grand Lodges), or by correspondence with your Grand Secretary as
to their regularity with your Grand Jurisdiction. There is a chart titled Foreign Grand Lodges
Recognized By The Fifty Grand Lodges of The United States. (This chart may be obtained
through the Masonic Service Association of The United States, Silver Spring, Maryland 209104785.)
A Master Mason planning on visiting another jurisdiction either foreign or within the limits
of these United States, unless personally known, which in Masonic language is defined as having
sat in Lodge with, and who may have to apply for examination for admission to a Lodge, should
be in possession of a current dues card and a certificate of membership showing his name, lodge
name, number of his lodge (if it has such) and which should bear his own signature in the margin.
Each such card bears the seal of the Lodge and the signature of the Secretary. On the reverse side
is the Grand Secretary’s certification as to the regularity of the Lodge.
Foreign Countries do not necessarily mean to us the various geographical and political
divisions of the old world. Foreign countries could be, to a Master Mason, the same as a symbol;
like most symbols, they can have more than one interpretation. However, unlike many symbols,
none of them are very difficult to trace or understand.
Each year is published a paperback book titled List of Lodges – Masonic available from
Pantagraph Printing & Stationery Co., P.O. Box 1406,
Bloomington, IL 61702-1406 ($5.50 postpaid) which is made possible through Grand Lodges
who distribute the books to their constituent lodges and to the Grand Secretaries who correct the
list of their lodges and recognitions each year. These Grand Lodges do not want any lists in the
book except those they recognize, with the exceptions given at the end of the list of subordinate
lodges.
Page 16
Included are the dates of their annual meetings, the names and addresses of the cur-rent Grand
Masters, Grand Secretaries, the names and locations of each of their subsidiary lodges, as well as
other pertinent information regarding each of their respective Grand Lodges.
As an adjunct to the Conference of Grand Masters of Masons in North America there is a
Commission On Information For Recognition as a facility to gather, collate and from time to time
revise information on Grand Lodges in other lands, as a service to the Conference of Grand
Masters of Masons in North America.
The Commission neither advises nor recommends that recognition be given to any Grand
Lodge, but merely indicates whether or not it considers that a Grand Lodge in question satisfies
the conditions of regularity, according to the adopted Standards of Recognition.
Standards adopted for use by The Commission on Information for Recognition in
accumulating facts.
1. LEGITIMACY OF ORIGIN
That the Grand Lodge requesting recognition has been lawfully formed by at least three just
and duly constituted Lodges, or that it has been legally recognized by a Grand Lodge in fraternal
relation with the Grand Lodge from whom recognition has been requested.
That such Grand Lodge must be under the tongue of good repute for an adequate number of
years before such fraternal recognition is extended. An existence for such a period as satisfies the
Grand Lodge whose recognition is sought, during which time the highest standards of the Craft
have been practiced by the applicant Grand Lodge, may cure what would otherwise be considered
illegitimacy of origin.
11. TERRITORIAL SOVEREIGNTY
That it is an independent, self-governing organization, having Masonic authority within the
governmental territory over which it assumes jurisdiction - whether Country, Province, State or
other political subdivision; or else shares such exclusive territorial jurisdiction with another
Grand Lodge by mutual consent and/or treaty.
111. ANCIENT LANDMARKS
That it subscribes fundamentally, ritualistically and in all its relations to the Ancient
Landmarks, Customs and Usages of the Craft. This requires adherence to the following.
1. Monotheism - An unalterable and continuing belief in God.
2. The Volume of The Sacred Law an essential part of the furniture of the
Lodge.
3. Prohibition of the discussion of Religion and Politics.
Addendum to this article: if you wish to read more about the various Grand Lodges of the
US and the world check out these two web pages put together by Brother Paul M. Bessel,
Executive Secretary of the Masonic Leadership Center.
Recognition
Standards
of
Grand
Lodges
or
other
Masonic
Groups
http://bessel.org/masrec/recstand.htm
All Masonic Grand Lodges in the World - except those in the United States
http://www.bessel.org/gls.htm
Wayne Anderson, FCF, MPS - Alle Menschen werden Brueder - 2B1 ASK1
Page 17
A Short History of the Victorian Lodge
Of Research (No. 218)
Thanks to Past Master Brendan Kyne of Gordon Lodge 99 and the Victorian Lodge of Research
(218) in Melbourne, Australia
Sequendo Lampada Disco – I learn by following the light.
English Quatuor Coronati Lodge of Masonic Research was founded in
January 1886 and quickly developed a positive reputation throughout much of
the Masonic world with the annual transactions allowing Freemasons to share in
this research without actually attending the London meetings of the Lodge. The
success of Quatuor Coronati Lodge provided a template for imitation with other
Research Lodges being formed in Masonic jurisdictions throughout the world.
In October 1911 in Melbourne, Australia, the (Victorian) Lodge of Research (218) was
consecrated. VW Bro Graeme Love stated in the Lodge’s Centennial History booklet that, “…yet
it still has the distinction of being the sixth oldest continuous Lodge of Research in the world…”
The Lodge of Research was founded with a view to providing a forum for examining and
discussions aspects of Freemasonry with membership initially restricted to Installed Masters.
Due to the high predominance of Grand Lodge officers associated with the founding of the Lodge,
one of the first recommendations adopted by the Lodge was that, “…all members of the Lodge
should appear in ordinary lodge regalia…”
Although one of the stated aims for founding the Lodge was to assist in the promulgation of
a standard ritual and ceremonial, the papers presented during the first year of the Lodge (1912)
covered many of the topics still presented in Masonic forums today, i.e. The Symbolism of
Freemasonry, The Masonic Apron, Landmarks and the Point within the Circle. The first paper
presented to the Lodge was entitled, “A Visit to the Site of the Holy Temple” by the foundation
JW Rev. A.T. Holden (GM UGLV 1912-14), a first-hand description of the sites of Jerusalem in
the early 1900’s as seen through the eyes of a Methodist Minister.
For its third year of operation, 1914, the Lodge of Research used a quite unique approach for
the year’s lecture program with the papers for each month designated one of the seven liberal arts
and sciences. Over the ensuing years a large number of papers presented in the Lodge were of
the more contemplative/speculative nature of Masonic “research”, e.g. great lights in
Freemasonry, or the mysteries of Freemasonry, with the point within the circle getting a regular
outing. Fortunately there was, and still is, enough papers presented that are genuine primary
source research papers to maintain a sensible balance and to live up to the ideal of a lodge of
research.
Many of the lectures over the years reflect the tenor of the time, for example a paper in August
1917 entitled “Some Thoughts on the War”, or in June 1923 a lecture on “Socialism from a
Masonic Standpoint”. Reflective of the 1920’s and early 1930’s art deco obsession with all things
ancient Egyptian a paper was presented to Lodge of Research in March 1931 on “The Temple at
Karnak”.
However in 1936 we can see that original aim of the promulgation of a standard ritual and
ceremonial still at play in the Lodge of Research, for the then worshipful master of the Victorian
Lodge of Research, VW Bro. G. B. Leith was instrumental in pushing for a change to the ritual
Page 18
The
then current in the Victorian jurisdiction. Up to that time the lay-out of the lodge for the third
degree ceremony was undertaken by the Tyler during a special call-off. Due to Bro Leith’s
intervention, that function is now performed in all Victorian lodges by the lodge deacons – a
change for the better perhaps because if performed well and with due solemnity it sets the right
atmosphere for the ensuing ceremony.
However the work of the Victorian Lodge of Research was not always appreciated, for
example at a Conference of Secretaries 26th Sept 1928 it was moved that lodges in Victoria have:
"…at least one night a year be set apart for a lecture on some aspect of Freemasonry..." The
response from V.W. Bro. F. C. Beck, (United Press Lodge, No. 281), was that his experience was
not altogether in favor of lectures, and he had known cases where, when a lecture was announced
to be delivered, there was a falling off in the attendance. He believed that the Brethren were not
tired of Degree work. The witnessing of Degree work each night was always refreshing, just the
same as listening to the same clergyman Sunday after Sunday. (Laughter) He would not like to
see lectures made a compulsory addition to the work in the Lodges. There was the Lodge of
Research, which met in Melbourne, and lectures were regularly delivered in that Lodge, but it
would be somewhat surprising to find out how many Brethren attended those lectures.
In August 1987 a pillar of the Lodge, the late VWBro Graeme Love, published the first
monthly “Thoughts For The Enquiring Mason” (TFTEM). This one page TFTEM has continued
to be sent out every month to Lodge and Correspondence Circle members with the summons and
minutes and is meant to provide a brief piece of Masonic knowledge or present material designed
to stimulate thought and discussion.
Not long after its founding, Quatuor Coronati Lodge of Masonic Research established a
Correspondence Circle to reach the growing worldwide research community and enable these
Freemasons to read the papers presented in the QC Lodge, and to submit papers themselves. It
was not until October 1990 the Victorian Lodge of Research established its own correspondence
circle and to date it has had over 900 members in 52 countries. Since 1990, Correspondence
Circle members of the Victorian Lodge of Research have presented papers in the Lodge and/or
had their papers published in the Lodges annual transactions – in fact a short paper on “The
Tyler’s Vesture and Implement of His Office” by a long standing member of our C.C. from Nova
Scotia, Lorne Urquhart, will be appearing in the 2014 edition of the Lodge’s transactions.
After a couple of years of planning the Victorian Lodge of Research in 2008 introduced a
Certificate of Masonic Studies course for all Master Masons in the Victorian Constitution. It is
an eight module course, with the first 4 modules covering some of the history of Freemasonry
and one in particular focusing on the history of Freemasonry in the State of Victoria. The other
4 modules deal with legends, symbolism, tenets, principles, aims and Freemasonry’s relationship
with religion. Each module has required reading to be undertaken before a monthly tutorial
session to discuss the topic, after which a short written response, of at least 500 words, to a few
questions is required. Some of the papers written by Certificate students have been of such a high
standard that they have been printed as Miscellanea in the Lodges annual transactions.
The course has gradually built a solid reputation and since 2012 a total of 62 students have
completed the course and there are currently another couple of dozen keen students undertaking
the course. The value and usefulness of the course has been recognized at the highest levels and
successful students can now have their course certificate presented to them by the Grand Master
at the Quarterly Communications of Grand Lodge.
Page 19
The Victorian Lodge of Research for a brief period offered a Diploma in Masonic Studies
course but in 2012 that course was put in abeyance due to issues of academic standards and course
content. Instead the Victorian Lodge of Research now offers interested Master Masons a
Research Certificate option that gives interested brethren the opportunity to write their planned
research paper under the guidance and tutelage of an experience member of the Lodge. One aim
of the program is to foster and to encourage further masonic studies by those students who have
completed the Lodge’s Certificate in Masonic Studies course.
The Victorian Lodge of Research appoints each student-brother a research mentor to assist
him with the development of his paper. This research mentor will ensure that the student keeps
to the specified timetables and will assist with resources and assessment of drafts. Naturally the
research paper must have some relevance or connection to Freemasonry, so that it contributes to
our common stock of masonic knowledge and understanding.
Each Certificate of Masonic Research paper is to be of 10,000 to 15,000 words in length and
the student has to adhere to the following key research milestones:J 1 Month - Develop initial proposal and synopsis
J 2-3 Months – present bibliography of references
J 6 Month – present first draft of approximately 6,000 to 8,000 words
J 8-10 Months – present second draft of approximately 10,000 words
J 12 Month – present first full draft
J 14-16 months – submit final draft of research paper
All papers above a pass are considered for presentation in the Lodge and publication in the
annual Lodge transactions. Papers that are of a high standard will be considered for the WBro
Sandy Kahn Award for Masonic Research, which has a cash prize component.
The Victorian Lodge of Research continues to present an annual Lecture program that seeks
to cover the key areas of Masonic research, the historical, symbolic and spiritual, whilst
maintaining an appropriate balance between these competing streams. The accompanying
proposed Lecture program for 2015 is testimony of the success of this endeavor. However the
Victorian Lodge of Research has also deliberately placed itself in the Masonic education sphere,
through the courses it currently offers, with the aims of capturing that initial enthusiasm of the
keen master mason, cultivating the next generation of Masonic researchers and keeping the Lodge
relevant to the modern Freemasonry.
The Lodge has successfully trailed a closed-group Victorian Lodge of Research Facebook
page, which now has over 200 members interacting and commenting in real time on the material
posted by the Lodge. The Lodge continues to position itself to be a vibrant force for research
and Masonic education in the 21st century with projects to digitize past lectures and transactions
well underway. For our September 2014 meeting we were addressed by Samantha Farby the
Manager of Collections at the United Grand Lodge of Victorian, who spoke on the efforts to
preserve and conserve the heritage and archives of Freemasonry Victoria. Our first speaker for
the Lodge’s 2015 program is the current director of the Ballarat Heritage Services, Dr Dot
Wickham, who recently published an excellent book on the history and development of
Freemasonry in the goldfield town of Ballarat and its environs.
The Victorian Lodge of Research recently celebrated its 100 years of existence and with the
Lodge’s current keen dedicated team, and exciting options for masons to learn more about their
Freemasonry, it is hoped the Lodge will continue for many more years to come.
Page 20
The Volume of the Sacred Law in MultiMulti-Faith Freemasonry
By Excellent Companion C.D. Pattni P.J.G.D., S.L.G.Ch.R.
[Paper first delivered at St. George’s Royal Arch Chapter Nº 5 on Thursday 23rd May 2002]
"In August 1938 The United Grand Lodge of England issued a statement entitled "The Aims
and Relationships of the Craft" and laid down the basicprinciples of Freemasonry. This statement
was issued in agreement with theother two Grand Lodges of Scotland and Ireland. This statement
was again accepted and affirmed by the United Grand Lodge of England on the 7th September
1949. In this document it is stated:
The first condition of admission into, and membership of, the Order is the belief in the
Supreme Being. This is essential and admits of no compromise.
The Bible, referred to by Freemasons as the Volume of the Sacred Law [VSL], is always open
in Lodges. Every Candidate is required to take his Obligation on that book or on the Volume
which is held by his particular creed to impart sanctity of oath or promise taken upon it.
Having taken the great and solemn obligation of a Freemason, the candidate is restored to the
blessing of material light. He is then told that we acknowledge "three great, though emblematical,
lights in Freemasonry. They are the Volume of the Sacred Law, the Square and the Compasses."
Thus the first, and the most important, revelation to the Candidate in Freemasonry is to the
greatest of all lights, "The Volume of the Sacred Law."
There is no doubt that in early days admission into Freemasonry was restricted to Christians.
However, even though the practice of Freemasonry was restricted to Christians, except in some
cases, the early references to the Volume of the Sacred Law is to the book ('librum') and not to
the Holy Bible. Thus the Grand Lodge MS no. 1 dated 1583 mentions that the candidate is offered
the 'book' on which to take his oath. It does not specify the 'book'. The William Watson MS
mentions that an oath "must be sworn upon a book". There is a further reference in the Sloane
MS 3329 of c. 1700 which mentions that the actual oath finishes with "so help you God and by
the Contents of this book. So he kisses the book ….."
It is very likely that in the 14th and 15th centuries the 'Holy Book' or the 'book' would have
been the book of the Four Gospels, as the whole Bible was not in common use until the late 16th
century. The Papal Bulls of 1738 and 1751 forbade Roman Catholics from joining the Craft.
Because of these Papal Bulls there were very few Catholic members of the Craft.
After the formation of the Premier Grand Lodge of England in 1717 the Order was made
more open to members of other nations and other religions provided they subscribed to the ancient
charges. The "Ancient Charges" were reproduced in the Books of Constitutions. Charge 1 has
always been referring to "God and Religion". This Charge in 1756 read "But though in ancient
times Masons were charged in every country to be of the religion of that country or nation,
whatever it was, yet it is now thought more expedient only to oblige them to that religion in which
all men agree, leaving their particular opinions to themselves."
The Union of the two Grand Lodges in 1813 provided a perfect opportunity to 6revise many
of the rules and regulations as well as controversial references to religious matters in the craft
ritual. References to the Christian faithwere avoided or removed. The Lodge of Reconciliation as
well as the members of the United Grand Lodge of England did take into account various faiths
prevalent in various parts of the Empire at the time. The article in the Ancient Charges said " Let
Page 21
a man's religion or mode of worship be what it may, he is not excluded from the order, provided
he believe in the glorious architect of heaven and earth, and practises the sacred duties of
morality".
In India the Province of Bengal most notoriously prohibited the initiation of any Asiatic
without the personal approval of the Provincial Grand Master.
(Provincial Grand Lodge By-Law no. 55). I will not go into the history of Freemasonry in
India here. It is sufficient to note here that the first Indian Freemason was the Nawab of Carnatic
in 1775. The next one according to historians was made in 1812 and another two were initiated,
one in 1834 and the other in 1836. The doors of Freemasonry were opened to all Indians after the
1860's. Particular difficulties were raised about obligations of a Hindu candidate. This was mainly
due to misunderstanding of the Hindu religion by the Europeans in those days.
By this time it was agreed that The Bible is regarded as the Volume of the Sacred Law. By
the late 18th Century more and more Masons came to regard the Holy Bible as the only Volume
of the Sacred Law. This belief became so firm that even today in ordinary English or Scottish
Lodges any reference to the Volume of the Sacred Law is immediately taken as reference to the
Holy Bible. In Scottish Lodges the office of the Bearer of the Sacred Law is termed as the "Bible
Bearer". Most Masons in this country do not have any idea about other faiths and sometimes show
gross ignorance about beliefs of other members of the Lodge and about their Volumes of the
Sacred Law.
Members of other faiths did not raise any objections to The Declaration of Aims and
Relationships of the Craft made in 1949. It was assumed that the people of other faiths concur
with the present situation. Although the above Declaration of the United Grand Lodge was to
remove any doubt as to the administration of the obligation of a mason, it did not declare or
confirm that other Volumes on which the Candidate takes his obligation, such as the Bhagvad
Gita, the Quran or the Sacred Books of other faiths, should be regarded as the Volumes of the
Sacred Law. In this country the practice has evolved, that when any candidate, or the Master Elect
of the Lodge, who is not of Christian faith, is being initiated or being obligated, to arrange for the
Volume of the Sacred Law of his faith to be placed on the Pedestal.
Let us examine the practice in countries where Lodges have members of more than one faith.
In India the Lodges, under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of India, and those under
English Constitution, arrange to keep five Volumes of the Sacred Law opened at the same time.
The Volumes are opened side by side and are placed separately on the pedestal. The Volumes are
the Holy Bible, the Bhagvad Gita, the Quran, the Granth, and the Zend Avesta. The Square and
Compasses are placed on all the Volumes or on the Volume to which the WM owes allegiance,
except on Installation nights when they will be placed on the Volume on which the Master-Elect
will take his obligation. Candidates for Initiation, Passing and Raising will take their obligation
on the Volume of their Faith.
Similarly in the Singapore Lodge, under the English Constitution, four different Volumes of
the Sacred Law are opened on the pedestal at any one time. It should be noted that the Volume of
the Sacred Law on which the Candidate takes his obligation should be so arranged that he should
be easily able to recognise it and read it at the appropriate time.
East Africa will be celebrating the Centenary of Freemasonry in the District in 2003. Here a
Lodge called the Orient Lodge no.3703 was formed in 1914 to admit Asians. At the first meeting
of the Lodge five Asian candidates were initiated into Freemasonry. The membership in the
District has since been of multifaiths. The Holy Bible is regarded as the Volume of the Sacred
Page 22
Law but is always accompanied by the Holy Book of the candidate or the Master Elect and both
are laid open on the pedestal side by side. As a matter of interest I was initiated in the Orient
Lodge no. 3703 in August 1960 and am still a subscribing member of the Lodge.
In Lodges under the Grand Lodge of Turkey, it is imperative that three Volumes of the Sacred
Law are opened on the WM.'s Pedestal. The Quran, the Old and the New Testaments, with Square
and Compasses on each of them or on the Book of the WM.'s faith.
In England, so far most English freemasons have been either Christians or Jews. Both of them
have been happy to accept the Holy Bible as the Volume of the Sacred Law. However, in modern
times the situation is changing fast. Thirty or forty years ago it was an isolated incident when a
person other than a Christian or a Jew sought membership of a Lodge. With the growth of a multi
ethnic population in Britain and particularly with the arrival of East African Asians the situation
has changed. Many Lodges do have members of different faiths. On occasions the candidate is
not aware of the procedure and neither the proposer nor the seconder has made any attempt to
ascertainfrom the candidate the appropriate Volume of the Sacred Law on which he would take
his obligation. In such cases the candidate ends up taking an obligation on the Holy Bible to which
he does not subscribe. I have tried to explain to the Lodges and the members which Holy Books
are relevant to which faith. It is proper that English freemasons should understand that we now
live in a multifaith society and therefore there is a need to make themselves familiar with other
faiths and their respective Volumes of the Sacred Law.
As in most Lodges the members are familiar with its members being either Christians or Jews,
I would like to remind you that although most of the Jewish fraternity would be content to take
an obligation on the Holy Bible which contains Old and New Testaments, it should be noted that
the correct Volume of the Sacred Law for Jewish brethren is the collection of writings known as
the Torah. The proper book should be in Hebrew and not in English. Most of the Christian
freemasons think that all the Hebrew writings are contained in the Old Testament of the Bible.
This is not so. For this reason it is better to have a Torah in Hebrew for a devout and practising
Jew as the only Volume of the Sacred Law. The oath taken on the Old Testament whichcontains
the chapters from Genesis to Malachi is regarded as second best by devout and practising
brethren, but it is good enough for the liberal members of the faith. Also a Jewish candidate stands
covered during his obligation and does not kneel. It has also been pointed out that an Orthodox
Jew would affirm and will not take an obligation in present form.
The Papal Bulls of the late 18th century forbade Roman Catholics from joining freemasonry.
They are, however, now permitted to join the Craft.
Again the Holy Bible, normally used in our Lodges is not the correct Bible for them. For a
Roman Catholic the whole Bible is one which contains the Old and the New Testaments together
with certain additional writing which are referred to as the "Apocrypha". A devout Catholic would
be very pleased if the D.C. or his proposer or seconder took a little trouble to get the right Holy
Book.
For a Hindu candidate the Volume of the Sacred Law is the Rig Veda. The first and most
ancient of the four Vedas. However today Bhagvad Gita (the Celestial Song) is regarded by all
Hindus as their Book of the Sacred Law.
The Bhagvad Gita is given in form of dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna and consists
of only 701 verses. The Bhagvad Gita is the cream and essence of all Vedic teachings. It explains
to us in an unambiguous and succinct manner the deep and sacred principles of the sacred science
of the SELF. After imparting the knowledge of the human body and the Cosmos, it acquaints
Page 23
every human being with the most perfect and complete knowledge of the self. Perhaps you would
remember the Charge in the third degree which mentions "that most interesting of all human
studies, the knowledge of yourself".
Muslim candidates take their obligation on the Quran. It comprises 114 Suras or Steps.
Muslims believe that it is the word of Almighty God as revealed to Prophet Mohammed
(b.c.570AD in Mecca) by Archangel Gabriel. The scriptures of the Quran preach monotheism,
strict obedience to God and His Word or the Quran. There are many parallels to the Old and New
testaments in the Quran.
It acknowledges that Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Jesus were Prophets or Messengers of God. In
the Quran they are called Ebrahim, Ishmael, Musa and Issa. However, the Quran proclaims that
there is but one God and Mohammed is His prophet. Allah revealed His will and word to
Mohammed only. The Holy Quran which is being used as the Volume of the Sacred Law should
be with the original Arabic text. There are many English versions these days but the version
regarded Holy is the one with the Arabic text.
The "Guru Granth Sahib" is the Holy Book of the Sikhs. It contains the teachings of the
founder of the Sikh faith Guru Nanak and other Gurus. It was compiled by Guru Arjun Dev, the
fifth of the nine Gurus of the Sikhs in the 17th century. It centres on the philosophy that the holy
"word" or "name" is the most sacred and it should always be repeated to oneself. Guru Granth
Sahib is highly revered by the Sikhs. If the Granth Sahib is opened in any room then one can only
enter the room with his or her head covered. The Granth Sahib is always veiled unless it is being
recited or read by a +'Gnani' (a devotee). There are very few translations in English of the full
Granth and most of the candidates are content to take an obligation on the abridged version
of the Holy Book called the "Gutka". It is important to note that all three faiths do not approve
sealing the obligation by kissing the Volume of the Sacred Law. Kissing the book would be a
sign of disrespect. Instead it should always be touched with the forehead, signifying the
Candidate's obedience to the divine teachings and his submission to the obligation as a divine
command, binding on him so long as he shall live.
The next one is the Zoroastrian faith of Parsee or Persian candidates. Parsee is the derivation
of Persian. Parsees fled Persia during their religious persecution in the 16th Century. They came
to India where they were received with open arms. They made their home in India. They were the
first community to adopt the western life and culture. They were highly educated. It is worth
noting here that in 1843 Maneckji Cursetji was initiated in a French Lodge, because he was not
accepted by any of the English Lodges in India. He later applied to join a Scottish Lodge. His
application was turned down. As a result, a new Lodge called the Lodge of Rising Star of
Western India, was consecrated in December 1843 with Robert Burns as the first Master. The
Lodge is still going strong. I visited the Lodge in 1962. The members are still all Parsees. Also
so far only one Indian has ever occupied an elected office in the United Grand Lodge of England.
In 1830 W. Bro. Cama, a Parsee was elected as the Treasurer by the Grand Lodge of England.
The Volume of the Sacred Law of Parsees is called the Zend Avesta. It is a collection of traditional
teachings originating from the 6th to the 4th century BC. The teachings relate to the existence,
power and strength of Ahuramazda - the Lord of the whole Universe. The English translation of
the Zend Avesta is hard to come by and if there is a Parsee Candidate he should be requested to
obtain a copy which is Sacred to him.
Buddhism is another faith widely practised in the East. In recent years there have been many
British people who have embraced this faith. There is a Buddhist temple in Richmond, where it
Page 24
will be easier to find an approved version their Sacred Book which is called the "Tripitaka" (or
the Cannons). There are two branches of Buddhism, the Hinayana and the Mahayana. The
followers of the Hinayana Branch (those of Lower Teachings) do not acknowledge and do not
believe in the existence of a Supreme Being. Therefore they are not considered eligible to be
made masons. On the other hand, the followers of Mahayana Branch (those of Higher Teachings)
do profess a belief in the Supreme Being and as such are eligible for admission to our Order.
Having considered various Volumes of the Sacred Law used in various parts of the world
either under the English, Scottish or Irish Constitutions, let us consider how the Volume of the
Sacred Law should be placed on the WM.'s pedestal. It would be appropriate for Lodges where
there are members besides those of Christian and Jewish faiths to display the Volumes of other
faith with the same respect and reverence as the Bible on the WM.'s pedestal. At times there is
not enough room on the Pedestal. In such cases it would be appropriate to replace the Holy Bible
with the Volume on which the Master Elect or the candidate is going to take his obligation. On
completion, the selected Volume of the Sacred Law can remain on the pedestal for the rest of the
meeting or be replaced with the Holy Bible.
As already stated, Jewish candidates do not kneel but stand with their heads covered. Hindus,
Muslims and Sikhs kneel but do not kiss the book to affirm their obligation. They should seal it
by touching the Volume of the Sacred Law with their foreheads. However, this is ignored in most
Lodges because often the brethren are not familiar with the rules governing the reverence given
to particular Holy Books.
Finally, I would like to appeal to the members of the Craft that they should show respect and
reverence to the most important symbol in the Lodge. In so many Lodges, changing the position
of the Square and Compasses is done very casually from the left side of the WM. The proper way
is to come to the front of the pedestal, give a court bow and then attend to the Square and
Compasses. The same procedure should be used at the opening and closing of the Lodge. One
should never ever place one Volume of the Sacred Law over another, either in part or in full. The
WM should also never put any papers on the Volume of the Sacred Law. These are signs of total
disrespect for the Sacred Writings.
Before I close, I would like to mention that Scottish Lodges have been more tolerant and have
been ready to accept the Sacred Volumes of other faith and thus admit members of non Christian
faiths to the Order. In most Scottish Lodges overseas, Freemasonry among the natives came much
sooner than in other Constitutions. The position in America is mixed. Some Grand Lodges in
America adhere to the principle that the faith and belief of a man should be no bar to his admission
into Freemasonry as long as he admits his belief in a Supreme Being. Other American Grand
Lodges do not permit the use of other Holy Books as the Volume of the Sacred Law and thus
would not permit admission of non-Christians into a Lodge. In 1979, the Grand Lodge of
California, rejected a law that would have allowed candidates to choose the Book of their own
faith on which to take the Obligation of a Mason. On the other hand the Grand Lodges of Kansas
and Ohio, do accept candidates of other faiths and would permit them to take the Obligation on
the Holy Book of their faith.
Finally, except for the brief reference to the American Grand Lodges, other constitutions,
particularly the Scottish and the Irish have not been covered in detail. They have played an
important part in the development of Freemasonry in the Overseas territories particularly amongst
the natives of those countries. Hopefully someone will undertake a detailed and comprehensive
study of the subject at some future date."
Page 25
Acknowledgements:
Gould's History of Freemasonry.
Freemasons' Guide and Compendium by B.E. Jones
Ars Quarter Coronati. Vols. 90, 97,106 etc
The Craft in the East by Haffner.
Also note that every Jurisdiction varies in what the VSL is 'acceptable'. It is best to refer to
your Grand Lodge's Book of Constitutions or inquire with your Grand Secretary & confer with
the prospective candidate about the 'custom' & regulations.
Wayne Anderson, FCF, MPS
Alle Menschen werden Brueder
2B1 ASK1
++++++++++++++++++++++
A man goes to see the Rabbi. "Rabbi, something terrible is happening and I have to talk to
you about it."
The Rabbi asked, "What's wrong?"
The man replied, "My wife is poisoning me."
The Rabbi, very surprised by this, asks, "How can that be?"
The man then pleads, "I'm telling you, I'm certain she's poisoning me, what I should do?"
The Rabbi then offers, "Tell you what. Let me talk to her, I'll see what I can find out and I'll
let you know."
A week later the Rabbi calls the man and says, "Well, I spoke to your wife. I spoke to her on
the phone for three hours. You want my advice?"
The man said yes and the Rabbi replied, "Take the poison."
Is Freemasonry a Cult or Not?
Ed Halpaus, FPS
(Excerpted from the original article)
From the Davy Crockett Lodge #1225 November 2001 Newsletter
There are times when a Mason might be approached by a well-meaning friend or relative, or
a clergyman, and be asked if he knew that Freemasonry is a cult. There have been times when
Masons have been approached by a well prepared anti-Mason who actually tells the Mason that
Freemasonry is a cult and that if he is really a Christian he would at least drop out of the fraternity.
Part of the problem about charges against Freemasonry come about because the anti-Masons write
books and booklets, and speak as though they are knowledgeable about Freemasonry, which our
friends and relatives, when they hear what is said or written, tend to believe, because they think
the speaker or author knows what he or she is talking about, and that they are telling the truth. As
a result sometimes our friends and relatives will repeat these charges and ask or tell us about
Freemasonry being a cult. [Unless the Mason is an active Masonic student he might be stumped
when this type of question is sprung on him all of a sudden. In fact the Anti-Masons count on
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that: They like to see a Mason ambushed, so to speak, and they encourage the believing friends
and relatives to be prepared when they begin a conversation with a Mason about his Fraternity.
In the book “The Lodge” Chapter 7 is titled “How to Witness to the Lodge Member;” there
is even a practice dialog to teach them what to say, and what to ask and how to do it. They are to
be prepared and not to allow the Mason to be prepared.] A couple of the things our relatives and
acquaintances don’t realize is that the anti-Masons are not as truthful as they might think, and
also that the anti-Masons won’t be satisfied unless and until Freemasonry ceases to exist. That
should be a cautionary note to all Freemasons; since this is the goal of the anti-Masons we should
expect that we will need to deal with the false charges of the anti-Masons of the world for the rest
of our lives.
The book I just mentioned, which was written by an anti-Mason, is for the purpose of
instructing the average Christian about how to conduct a conversation with a Mason, and to lead
him in becoming a former Mason. It has some quotes from Morals and Dogma, but the quotes are
in the form of inaccurate quotes by the use of proof-texting. To cite one example, the author on
page 19 makes a case that Freemasonry is a religion by proof-texting Brother Albert Pike’s
writings, found on page 231 of Morals and Dogma: [if you have a copy of Morals and Dogma
you should look the text up in your copy and check it out for yourself.] “Every Masonic Lodge is
a temple of religion; for here are inculcated disinterestedness, affection, toleration, devotedness,
patriotism, truth, a generous sympathy with those who suffer and morn, pity for the fallen, mercy
for the erring, relief for those in want, Faith, Hope, and Charity. Here we meet as brethren to
know and love each other. Here we greet each other gladly, are lenient to each other’s faults,
regardful of each other’s feelings, ready to relieve each other’s wants. This is the true religion
revealed to the ancient patriarchs; which Masonry has taught for many centuries, and which it
will continue to teach as long as time endures. If unworthy passions, or selfish, bitter, or
revengeful feelings, contempt, dislike, hatred, enter here, they are intruders and not welcome,
strangers uninvited, and not guests.”
I hope you have read the above first buy reading only the portion used in the book, The
Lodge,‟ and then read it again including the red underlined words, which are all the
word Brother Pike used in his book; when you do you will see the distortion used by the antiMason. The entire paragraph, as Brother Pike wrote it, would, it seems to me, be something every
Mason in every Lodge should read and learn from; maybe then we would have less contention in
many of our Lodges.
The anti-Mason always likes to point to Morals and Dogma, and sometimes, saying that it is
the authoritative book on Freemasonry and that Albert Pike is the authoritative Masonic writer;
but that’s not true, (Brother Albert Pike wrote about his own opinions relative to Freemasonry
only,) but if it were true, the anti-Masons should note a couple of things in Morals and Dogma.
One example is in the preface, where it says in part; “Everyone is entirely free to reject and dissent
from whatsoever herein may seem to him to be untrue or unsound.” Not every Mason has or
wants to read Morals and Dogma, but everyone who does is expected to accept or reject it based
on his own logic and intelligence.
Another thing the anti-Mason shouldn’t overlook is on page 161, (161M,) where Brother Pike
wrote: “Masonry is not a religion. He who makes of it a religious belief, falsifies and denaturalizes
it. The Brahmin, the Jew, the Mohammadom, the Catholic, the Protestant, each professing his
peculiar religion, sanctioned by the laws, by time, and by climate, must needs retain it, and cannot
Page 27
have two religions, for the social and sacred laws adapted to the usages, manners, and prejudices
of particular countries, are the work of men.”
Something else the anti-Masons like to say is that Albert Pike was not a Christian, but on
Page 134U of Morals and Dogma Brother Pike wrote: “Speak kindly of your erring brother! God
pities him: Christ has died for him. Providence waits for him; and heaven’s spirits are ready to
welcome him back with joy. Let your voice be in unison with all those powers that God is using
for his recovery.” Does that sound like a man who tells Masons to worship a Masonic god? Does
that sound like a man who was not religious, or not a Christian?
Is Freemasonry a cult? No! Not in any way shape or form! Remember Freemasonry can stand
up to examination and scrutiny of what it is and what it stands for; it is the unfounded and unsound
charges leveled against it by the anti-Masons that can’t stand up to examination by an objective
researcher looking for the truth. Should we be concerned with the tactics and statements the antiMasons use against Freemasonry, or should we just chalk it up to uniformed and ineffectual
people just trying to make money off of slamming Freemasonry?
Every Mason will need to answer that for himself, but as for me I don’t think we can afford
to ignore the damage the anti-Masons intend to do to our Fraternity. I also think all we need to do
is to look at the history of anti-Masons throughout the world and the history of Freemasonry here
in the United States; when we do we will see where Freemasons have been persecuted, jailed and
executed, and we will see that here in the U.S., and other parts of the free world, that our
membership has been in a steady decline.
When it comes to pressure being applied by a Mason’s family in some way, or by his church,
it is possible that something is going to give: It could be he will be on the outs with his family
members over his Masonic Membership, or it could be he would switch to a more Masonic
friendly house of worship, or he might even stop being friends with those who try to convert him
from being a Mason: But I think it is more likely he is likely to yield to the pressures of family,
friends, and clergy, and then we will wonder why we have another brother who stopped showing
up at Lodge functions, and eventually wonder why he requested a demit, or stopped paying his
dues, so that the Lodge had to remove him from membership.
Pagetheir
28
Education is the answer: By providing good solid honest information to Masons,
families, friends, and clergy, we can combat the falsehoods told about us by the anti-Masons, as
well as those well-meaning people who hear and believe what the anti-Masons speak and write
about. There are more Masons than anti-Masons, but there are more non-Masons than Masons
and, in my opinion, there are not enough Masons who are sufficiently educated in Freemasonry
so that they can talk with confidence about what Masonry is and accurately speak the truth about
false charges and claims.
We need knowledgeable Masons who can tell all who are interested about Freemasonry, what
it is, what it isn’t, and what it stands for. I would recommend that Masons read the books and
booklets that the Mohammadon anti-Masons write and publish, so that you know what they are
saying about Freemasonry.
But when you do, be objective and don’t get upset. You then have the opportunity to study
and research to find out for yourself what the truth is. Masons are seekers of truth, and we need
to provide the truth to the people the anti-Masons are trying to influence; this is best done by
interested Masons being well versed in what the anti-Masons are saying and doing as well as
being well versed in what Freemasonry really is and what it stands for. Go ahead and investigate
Page 28
Freemasonry; it can stand up to investigation and inquiry; the false charges of the anti-Masons
can’t.
A Masonic Bill of Rights
Editor’s Note; This piece, by Brother Tim Bryce was reprinted with permission from Brother
Greg Stewart‘s FreemasonInformation.com website. If you have any thoughts on the subject
please visit the FreemasonInformation.com website.
This is a cross post from the main site at FreemasonInformation.com from Br. Tim Bryce.
A Masonic Bill of Rights
By Tim Bryce
When you enter the Masonic fraternity you tend to take a lot for granted. For example, that
your Lodge will operate like other nonprofit institutions you are familiar with or the general laws
and rules of the country and state where you reside. Interestingly, it doesn't and, instead, marches
to its own unique drummer. Aside from the obligations you take as a Mason, you are really not
cognizant of the mechanisms of the fraternity or what you are entitled to. This caused me a couple
of years ago to start seeking a "Bill of Rights" for the individual Mason. Remarkably, you don't
find very much in this regards. There is of course the Ancient Landmarks of Freemasonry, but
this is more geared towards the administration of the Grand Lodge system. Masonic law differs
from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but it too primarily addresses the workings of the Grand Lodge.
But finding a listing of the fundamental rights we should all enjoy as individual Master Masons
is another matter altogether. To this end, I have assembled an initial list of rights. I began by
examining the U.S. Bill of Rights as well as other comparable documents. I then reviewed drafts
of my proposed rights with other Masons whom I respect.
Below is my final draft of the rights all Master Masons in good standing should enjoy.
1. Freedom of speech - the right for recognized Master Masons to assemble and
discuss subjects pertaining to the fraternity in general, and the right of recognized Master
Masons belonging to a specific jurisdiction to assemble and discuss subjects pertaining to
their governing Masonic body. This includes the drafting and debating of legislation
pertaining to the Master Mason's Craft Lodge and governing Masonic body. Such discourse
should be done respectfully and not violate Masonic obligations.
2. Universal treatment - the right to be treated with equal courtesy and dignity as
other members of the Lodge, whether at home or as a visitor, with friendship, morality, and
brotherly love. This includes being treated fairly, honestly, respectfully, and helpfully by
Masonic brothers and act as such in return; to offer wise counsel to Brothers when needed,
and accept such in return; and to promote trust and cooperation between brothers. To avoid
discussions in Lodge regarding religion and politics which may disrupt the harmony of the
Lodge. Master Masons respect the opinions and dignity of the individual.
3. Freedom of information - the right to be made aware of the actions and activities
of the governing Masonic body of which the Master Mason belongs. This includes full
disclosure of financial accounting, the rules and regulations under which the Masonic body
operates, all records pertaining to the individual Mason (his own records), the names and
Page 29
contact information of Lodge brothers, and a report on the general administration of the
Masonic body.
4. Freedom to participate - the right to attend all recognized Masonic meetings and
related functions while adhering to proper Masonic decorum. To volunteer time and service
in support of the Lodge, the community, and the world at large.
5. Fair trial - In all Masonic prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a
speedy, fair and impartial trial, open to all recognized Master Masons, and judged by a
jury of his Masonic peers. The accused will be informed of the nature and cause of the
accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process
for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
6. Right to vote - the right to vote and ballot on all pertinent issues related to the
Master Mason's Craft Lodge and governing Masonic body.
7. Right to representation - the right to expect the elected officers of the Craft Lodge
to represent the collective interests of its membership, and that the elected officers of the
governing Masonic body to represent the collective interests of the Craft Lodges. In no event
are the elected officers of the Craft Lodge to usurp the rights or misrepresent the Master
Mason, and in no event are the elected officers of the governing Masonic body to usurp the
rights or misrepresent the Craft Lodges.
8. Right to seek further light - the right for a Master Mason to seek out and investigate
the secrets, history, and workings of the Masonic Order and to share such knowledge with
recognized Master Masons.
I have been over this list numerous times and have been very sensitive to the wording.
Nonetheless, I am sure there is an omission I have undoubtedly overlooked or something
requiring clarification or improvement. Consequently, I see this "Masonic Bill of Rights" as a
work in progress and would welcome your suggestions for improving it.
This list alone should make for some interesting food for thought, particularly for our younger
Brethren as they embark on their Masonic career.
Keep the Faith.
NOTE: The opinions expressed in this essay are my own and do not necessarily represent the
views or opinions of any Grand Masonic jurisdiction or any other Masonic related body.
As with all of my Masonic articles herein, please feel free to reuse them in Masonic
publications or re-post them on Masonic web sites (except Florida). When doing so, please add
the following:
Article reprinted with permission of the author and www.FreemasonInformation.com
Please forward me a copy of the publication when it is produced.
To receive notices of Tim's writings, subscribe to his Discussion Group.
You can also "tune in" to Bro. Tim's audio podcasts at the "Lodgeroom International" (UK):
http://podcast.lodgeroominternational.com/
Also be sure to check out Tim's "Pet Peeve of the Week" (non-Masonic related) at:
http://www.phmainstreet.com/timbryce.htm
Copyright © 2008 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.
Freemason Information | Masonic My Space
Page 30
Masonic Discussion
Freemasonry | Freemason | Masonic | Tim Bryce | Bill of Rights
Posted by Greg Stewart at 12:27 AM
++++++++++++++++++++
"Do you know why you are requested to raise your right hand when taking an oath? In ancient
times people born in slavery were branded on the palm of the right hand and were not entitled to
the privilege of taking an oath. The right hand was raised to show the administering official
whether or not the palm was branded. If not marked, the person was freeborn and eligible to take
an oath."
South Dakota Masonic Messenger, Feb. 1975
Extracted from the Southern California Research Lodge - 'Fraternal Review', May 2004
The Profound Pontifications of Brother John Deacon
Editor’s Note; Sometime, when I’m working 4 or 5 issues ahead, I get tired of waiting for Chris Williams to
write a new John Deacon story and visit some of his old newsletters. I found this one in his January 2011 issue
and after I stopped laughing I couldn’t wait to copy it for this issue.
I have to tell you that he has a knack of interrupting me at the most inopportune times. “What
the heck are you talking about,” you say? I am talking about Brother John Deacon, that’s what.
Pam had gone out shopping with her friend and since I was alone with about four hours to kill I
thought I would sneak a little nap. Just as my head hit the pillow …. the phone rang. I thought
about not even looking at the caller ID and then when I did, I really thought about not answering
it but I didn’t want to regret it later…. like I wouldn’t anyway. So I answered and immediately
regretted it. At first I was a little confused because I heard grunting noises in the background and
without telling you what I thought was going on I will tell you that I almost hung up right then.
“Brother Chris” he finally shouted huffing and puffing into the phone. Hold on a second.”
“John, what are you doing,” I yelled back. As I listened it sounded like he was in some kind
of a scuffle or something. Just as I was about to hang up again he came back on and abruptly
asked, “What are you doing right now?”
“Well, I was going to take a nap,” I answered. But after what I heard the last thirty seconds I
don’t think I could sleep if I wanted to.”
“Oh cut it out,” he growled. “Why don’t you come down here and help me.”
“Are you kidding,” I said? “I am not driving five hours to see you on a Saturday afternoon.”
“I’m not asking you to,” he growled. “I am down here at the Stock Show and Rodeo and I
need your help.”
I was instantly confused….which is nothing new. I knew our Rodeo was going on but John
lived a long way from here so I asked, “You mean our Rodeo?” That got him to sputtering and
spitting like he swallowed something the wrong way,
“Gol durnitt Brother Chris, you are wasting my time here. I am hanging on to a huge ol hog
that’s dang near as big as I am and I need your help.”
I have to tell you that many pictures ran through my mind on my way down to the Rodeo
Grounds and none were pleasant. When I got there it took me a while to locate John. He was in
the swine barn and to my surprise he was actually in the middle of the show ring judging hogs.
He never ceases to amaze me and once again I was. When he saw me he waved me down to the
gate where I met him. He told me that he was glad I was there and he needed help with a problem
Page 31
child, “Follow me,” he said. He proceeded to tell me that he was a swine judge at stock shows
and had been doing that for many years and also showed some of his hogs. I followed him to
another barn way back in a far corner where he stopped in front of a trailer that had been backed
into the door. Inside was the biggest hog I think I have ever seen. He looked up at me and gave a
little grunt and just stared at John. “I don’t think he likes you much, John,” I said.
“No kidding,” John replied sarcastically. “I have been trying to get this here “pain in the rear”
hog out of this trailer into a pen for the last two hours. I have used up all the boys here and now
they won’t help me. This hog is just mean. I know you spent time around livestock on the ranch
and you were my last hope.”
“John,” I said. “I am confused. This is a show barn. This is where they show livestock. This
hog don’t look like he wants to be showed.”
“Oh he’s ok Brother Chris. He just gets an attitude every once in a while. Once I get him out
of this trailer and into a pen he’ll be alright.”
“Yeah, right,” I said skeptically.”He looks like he has more than an attitude.” I had never
done much with hogs… mostly just horses and cattle but no hogs. I really wasn’t looking forward
to this but I helped John fix up a makeshift chute that would head him into that pen once we or
rather “if” we got him out of the trailer. Before we entered the trailer I suggested to John that we
just use a come–a- long and pull him out. That got me a nasty look so I called Pam and told her I
loved her and followed John into the trailer. I knew that one of the ways you “guide” a hog was
to grab his tail and kind of steer him the way you want him to go so I decided I was going to
handle that end of him. John eased up to the big guy who started to grunt faster the closer John
got. John approached him like a Sumo Wrestler ready to clinch. What happened next, no one
could have predicted. I want you to know, dear reader that a six hundred and fifty pound hog can
move pretty quick when he wants to. Well just as John was reaching down to try to get him to
stand up he shot to his feet and headed for the trailer gate at a high rate of speed grunting and
squealing as he went. John dove and grabbed him around the neck like a bull dogger and I dang
near missed grabbing his tail on the way by.
That crazy hog shot out the back of that trailer at a full run squealing louder than ever with
John hanging on for dear life and me… well, let’s just say it was hard to steer him while I was
bouncing off the sides of the fencing on either side of the chute and it was all I could do just to
hang on. Everything was a blur and I could hear yelling and yes even some cheering as we were
dragged… yes dragged across that barn by that devils spawn excuse for a hog.
Yup I was mad as he-- and when we got stopped, if we ever did, I was going to make ham
and eggs out of him and then I was going to deal with my Brother John for bringing me down
here in the first place.
Well it seemed like twenty minutes had passed but it couldn’t have been more than forty five
seconds at the most as fast as he was running, and then I bounced off a fence post as he passed
through the gate into his pen. Then as quick as it started… it ended. I just laid there for a few
seconds catching my breath and when I looked up I saw that unholy monster laying down as calm
and as peaceful as anything. To my left was John who had released his death grip from that hogs
neck and rolled over on his back breathing hard. I pushed myself up to my knees and realized that
my arms were scratched and rubbed raw from that seventy five yard dragging across the swine
barn and the front of my pants was filled up with a mixture of dirt, hay and pig manure. All the
buttons on the front of my shirt had been rubbed off and if that wasn’t enough I had lost one shoe
and my hat somewhere along the way.
Page 32
As I finally got to my feet I was aware of the noise around us and when I looked around I saw
a bunch of people gathered around the pen Some were clapping and some were hootin and hollerin
but most were just downright laughing at us. I shook my head and cleared some of the cobwebs
out just as John stood up. He looked around with a sheepish grin on his face and turned to me. He
started to say something just as my anger surfaced again and I charged that mean mound of pork
with the full intent on doing major damage. I really don’t know what I thought I was going to do
to that huge blob of blubber but I was so mad I was going to do something. I launched myself at
him as John tried to catch me. I landed hard on top of him and started punching and kicking as
hard as I could.
After a few seconds I looked up to see him just calmly looking at me. I was totally out of
breath and I just laid there on top of him sucking in big gulps of air. Finally John came over and
picked me up and carried me out of the pen and closed the gate. People were still talking about
our warp speed trip from trailer to pen and one old timer stopped laughing long enough to ask us
if we could get his hogs out of his trailer. He stepped back quickly when he saw the look in my
eyes and John reached out and grabbed me.
“Come on Brother Chris,” John said quickly. “Let’s go clean up a bit.”
I was completely unprepared for the person that was looking back at me from the mirror.
There was no doubt I was going to be plenty sore tomorrow. We washed up as much as we could
and John offered to buy me some good old Rodeo food. Right outside the swine barn was a Texas
BBQ stand where he bought four BBQ beef sandwiches and a half a rack of pork ribs. I thought
we were going to sit and eat but I was wrong. He grabbed the food and walked (with everyone
we passed staring at us) over to a little stand that was selling roasted corn on the cob where he
bought three ears which he added to the BBQ and continued on a ways farther where he bought
two roasted turkey legs. After handing them to me he crossed to the other side of the pathway to
a funnel cake stand for three cakes with cinnamon and then next door to a drink stand where he
talked them into selling him a gallon of tea. There was almost too much stuff to carry as we started
to hunt for a place to sit and eat. Finally we found an empty picnic table a sat and dug in. It was
all I could do to eat one of the BBQ sandwiches and an ear of corn. I don’t know what it is about
Rodeo food but it just tastes sooooooooo good. I sat there patiently while John ate everything
else. Apparently Rodeo food was to his liking as well. As I sat there I could feel all the bumps
and bruises starting to hurt and all of a sudden I felt like violating a couple of obligations with
respect to the big guy sitting across from me. Heck I was going to take a nap and now I was beat
up severely and it was all his fault. All because of a stupid hog!!
I said, “John, before I get so sore that I can’t walk, is there anything you want to talk about
to put in the newsletter this month?”
“Yup”, he replied. “I sure do. There is something I have been running around in my head for
a while that I need to talk about. I want to talk to you about a goat.”
“A goat? What do you mean a goat? I just got through with you and a hog. I don’t want to
have anything to do with a goat. I am sick of animals right now, just stop it,” I said.
He just shook his head sympathetically, gave me a sad look, and continued on. “You know
Brother Chris, I travel around the State a bit and I sometimes get to see degrees being done by
other Lodges and heck sometimes I get to work in some of those degrees. When all the Brothers
are out in the fellowship hall eating and socializing before the degree there is always one or more
of the Brothers warning the new Candidate to “watch out for the goat”. When I hear that I just
shake my head in sadness. Can you picture this? Here is a man who doesn’t know what is going
Page 33
to happen to him who is most assuredly a little nervous who has been made to listen to a
mandatory reading from the monitor which among other things asks him to open his heart and
mind and receive the “light” that is going to be offered to him in his initiation. He is also told that
there is no horseplay and that the degree is very solemn and serious. Heck everyone worries when
they have to go through an “initiation” that they will be made to do something demeaning or be
made fun of and to hear that everything is serious and without any games is a comfort to that
candidate. And then someone walks up to him and asks him if he brought food for the goat and
his stress level goes up. And when he is going through his degree and we want and need him to
listen and absorb the words and lessons presented, he instead is thinking about a dang goat.”
“I know what you are talking about Brother John. I have seen it myself. I don’t think the
Brothers that do it mean it to be mean but it has the same effect.”
“You durn right it’s mean. You know we don’t ride goats or have anything to do with goats
in any of the degrees. Do you know that the goat or “riding the goat” was started by anti-Masons
to ridicule the Craft?” I must have had a surprised look on my face because he said, “It’s true. I
read that there were men in England who had been rejected for membership in the Fraternity that
made up stories about Freemasons “raising the devil and riding on his goat”. Even though it was
completely false it was told over and over by anti-Masons and it really hurt our Fraternity. I also
read that early Masons referred to the supreme being as the “God of all Things” Once again those
enemies of Masonry used the first letters of those words to spell GOAT and claimed it was proof
positive of their claims.”
“And then we have Brothers who are ignorant of the real meaning of the “Masonic Goat” who
think it’s funny to have a little fun with the candidate by making him think there really is a goat.
I think if these Brothers knew what they were doing to Masonry by continuing this they might
think about not doing it at all. Then he pulled a folded note out of his pocket and slid it across the
table to me saying, “Look at what I found in a book that is an anti-Masonic book.” I unfolded it
and there was a picture of a goat on its hind legs with a sinister look on his face and a poem called
“When father rode the goat. I decided to print it:
When Father Rode The Goat
He’s resting on the couch to-day!
The house is full of arnica
And practicing his signs
And mystery profound;
The hailing signal, working grip,
We do not dare to run about
other monkeyshines;
Or make the slightest sound;
He mutters passwords 'neath his breath,
We leave the big piano shut
And other things he'll quote
And do not strike a note;
They surely had an evening’s work
The doctor’s been here seven times
Since father rode the goat.
When father rode the goat.
He has a gorgeous uniform,
He joined the lodge a week ago
All gold and red and blue;
Got in at 4 a.m.
A bat with plunges and yellow braid,
And sixteen brethren brought him home
And golden badges too.
Though he says he brought them.
But, somehow, when we mention it,
His wrist WAS sprained and one big rip,
He wears a look so grim
Had rent his Sunday coat —
We wonder if he rode the goat
There must have been a lively time
Or if the goat rode him.
When father rode the goat.
Page 34
“Well that’s a cute little poem Brother John,” I said. “But when you think about it, it really is
pretty offensive to Masons or should be.”
“Exactly my point Brother,” he said. “Here we have had people bashing Masonry who have
no clue what we do or who we are (and who don’t really care) who just wanted to tear down our
Fraternity because of jealousy, or fear, or maybe even anger and the worst part is that our own
Brethren have perpetuated this ridiculous story by using it as a hazing tool.”
I just nodded and he got real quiet and got a sort of pained look on his face. I said, “I didn’t
realize it bothered you as much as it does.”
He looked at me kinda funny and said, “As much as it aggravates me I was just realizing that
my whole body has just tightened up and the pain is tremendous and I don’t think I can even stand
up much less walk.”
“I don’t understand Brother John. I’m the one who got hurt the worse. I was being dragged
you were riding.”
“Riding, my foot,” he muttered. I was bouncing around like a rag doll on top of that monster.”
“Well I don’t remember seeing you as I had my own problems to worry about,” I said
laughing.
“You do look like you’ve been rode hard and put up wet.” He pointed to my shirt and started
chuckling, “At least I’ve still got my clothes on.” By then we were both laughing. I think the
people walking by thought we were intoxicated. Not only were we laughing at each other’s
appearance we looked like 100 year old men trying to get up and walk. I had to help John up and
he almost fell twice which for some reason that I can’t explain both of us thought was pretty
funny. We must have been a sorry sight walking back to the barn very, very slowly… trying to
hold each other up. I left him at the barn leaning against his hog pen. I told him good bye and
shuffled as best as I could towards the parking lot trying not to think badly of him.
I got just about to the barn door and a thought came to mind. I turned and called to John and
asked, “Hey John what is your hog’s name anyway?” He got a real goofy look on his face, shook
his head and said, “You are not going to believe this but his name is Jubalum.” I just laughed and
turned away. What a perfect name for that mean old hog. I hope I can walk tomorrow. Ya’ll have
a good month.
++++++++++++++++++++
Simple Home Remedies (???)
From: Brother Jack Zylks
1. Avoid cutting yourself when slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold the
vegetables while you chop.
2. You can avoid arguments with the females about not lifting the toilet seat by using the
sink.
3. For high blood pressure sufferers ~ simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus
reducing the pressure on your veins. Remember to use a timer.
4. A mouse trap placed on top of your alarm clock will prevent you from rolling over and
going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.
5. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives. Then you'll be afraid to cough.
6. You need only two tools in life - WD-40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and should,
use the WD-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.
7. If you can't fix it with a hammer, it must be an electrical problem.
Page 35
Letter from Hiram Abiff
Editor’s Note; Well in the last month’s issue we discovered that not only is Hiram Abiff’s ghost still
active. And,he can also correspond with W.B. Damien. A big thank you Damien for sharing your mail.
Dear Worshipful Brother Damien
‫ אחוה ברכות טקסט‬or should I say fraternal greetings.
I would not normally respond to, and hereby dignify a letter such as the one that you published
from one of the three Ruffians, Jubelum, in your last Newsletter. However, it deals inadequately
with arguably the most important topic in Freemasonry, the reason why I was murdered.
I can ignore his hitherto undocumented comments about my management style and
personality traits: what are his credentials for such comment? I was held in sufficiently high
esteem to be made a Grand Master and look at what I achieved in the building of the Temple
despite all my alleged failings and “help” from people like the Ruffians.
He fails to demonstrate in his letter remorse for his cowardly actions when he and his two
fellow armed Ruffians set upon me while I was alone and attacked me. As I recall unarmed.
Perhaps he has been talking to St Peter at the Pearly Gate and thinks that he has said enough to
have his sins forgiven. I do not know how long he can stay in the Vestibule.
He fails to acknowledge the masonic importance of what he failed to achieve. They had no
right to what they demanded. I will not go further as some of your brethren have not as jet
travelled this far in their masonic journey. As a seeming minority seems to argue in your society
today, curiosity is not the same as public interest.
He does not like the way I write. He has a simple solution: do not read it. He advocates in
writing being “Clear and forthright” and “straight shooting”. Some regard this approach as close
to lecturing whereas allegorical writing allows a complex issue to the explained in simple terms.
Because of its lack of definition it can promote readers more widely on an issue. It is a
perfectly legitimate way to communicate ideas and is used extensively in our Torah and other
Sacred Volumes. One wonders if this Ruffian is himself not resorting to using the allegory of me,
Hiram Abiff in making a comment about the way you practice Freemasonry today.
He did not mention it but he probably does not like subliminal writing either where
underneath the words being read there is another meaning – perhaps he is just plain dumb.
Then he gives advice on how we should treat and support the Grand Master, factionalism and
all of that. What a hypocrite! He had a faction; the Ruffians. And how can you be less supportive
of a Grand Master than to murder the Chief Architect before the Temple was completed?
I really do not have time to go through the rest of his letter and see what I can make of it, if
anything.
I think that your editor needs a closer look at any further material submitted by Jubelum.
Shalom Aleichem
‫חיר‬
‫גדולה לשכה מעל‬
Black Friday
From The Beacon - Central District Masonic Newsletter – Alberta, Canada
Page 36
There are several theories why Friday the 13th is an ominous day. There is no consensus
among scholars as to the real reason, but one origin involves the Order of the Knights Templar,
and their Grand Master, Jacques de Molay. Friday, October 13 1307.
Philip IV, (1268-1314) king of France, was a handsome man who gained the nickname 'Le
Bel', which means 'The Handsome' , 'The Beautiful' or 'The Fair', a truly ironic epithet for a king
of Gothic mercilessness.
Because of Philip's constant financial problems, the relationship between Paris and Rome had
degenerated. Philip had exhausted all the usual methods for balancing the books: he had stolen
property, he had devalued his currency, and he had arrested all the Jews and the Lombards, thus
destroying the money-lending infrastructure in France. As a last resort, he even tried to tax the
church. Pope Boniface VIII, in retaliation for France's new fiscal arrangements, issued a dictum
forbidding the taxation of the clergy.
In retaliation to this, Philip closed French borders to the exportation of gold bullion, cutting
off Rome's transalpine money supply. Furthermore, he arrested the Bishop of Pamiers (1301),
whom he had long sought to remove for political purposes. Leading the sortie was Guillaume de
Nogaret, who proved to be a ruthless master of disinformation who could make even a bishop
look sinful. His sinister talents were to be put to good use later. Guillaume de Nogaret was no
lover of the church, since both his parents had been burned at the stake by the church in the
Albigensian Crusade. The Bishop of Pamiers was duly charged with blasphemy, sorcery, and
fornication, in what would become a common pattern.
Accordingly, the Pope issued a bull condemning the arrest, and revoked some of Philip's
papal privileges ‘Unam Sanctum’ 1302. Philip burned his copy of the bull in public. The Pope
deliv-ered a stinging sermon filled with ominous warnings that the church was a creature with
one head, not a monster with two.
Philip the Fair had Guillaume de Nogaret press charges in absentia against the Pope himself,
alleging blasphemy, sorcery, and sodomy. Naturally, the Pope excommunicated Philip. The Pope
compared the French to dogs and hinted that they lacked souls. His nuncios leaked a ru-mor that
the Pontiff might well excommunicate the entire country.
The peasants were stirred by such threats and Philip quickly grasped that revolution was a
bet-ter future to them than excommunication. He acted fast, dispatching a force under Guillaume
de Nogaret to a villa just outside Rome where the Pope was staying. He placed the eighty-sixyear-old pontiff under house arrest. The local nobility managed to save the Pope, but a month
later Boniface passed away (1303). Some allege he succumbed to shock at the outrage of be(Continued on page 11)
The Beacon - Central District Masonic Newsletter December 2014 page 11 The Beacon Central District Masonic Newsletter December 2014 page 11
ing the first Vicar of Christ to be kidnapped; other sources say that he beat his head against a
wall until he died.
Pope Benedict XI succeeded to the Papacy, accused Guillaume de Nogaret of crimes against
the Church. It is rumoured that Guillaume de Nogaret, (Philip's councilor), then poisoned the
Pope. Afterwards, Philip succeeded in having Clement V elected, who annulled Boniface's bulls
and took up residence at Avignon, France. Philip, with the Papacy now in his pocket, re-turned
to his economic problems. He applied for membership in the Order of the Knights Tem-plar. The
Page 37
permanent knights of the Paris Temple may have suspected that his intentions were less than
pious and did something almost unspeakable, they blackballed the King!
The following year, the Pope wrote to the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, Jacques de
Molay, inviting him to come to Paris from their castle on Cyprus. The Pope said the reason being was to consult on matters of great importance to their Order. De Molay set out accompanied
by sixty knights and a baggage train of mules laden with gold and jewels. It was all too clear that
the Knights Templar order was far wealthier than the Crown. Around this time Philip was more
desperate than ever to solve his ruinous state finances, so he devalued the currency. Open
rebellion broke out in the streets. Rioters threatened to kill him. He fled to the Temple in Paris
and begged the Knights for protection. It was all too humiliating.
Philip then arranged an impressive police action. Prior to Fri. October 13, 1307, he sent a set
of sealed orders to every bailiff, seneschal, deputy and officer in his kingdom. The functionar-ies
were forbidden under penalty of death to open the papers before the night of Oct.12th. The
following morning, obeying their secret instructions, armies of officers went to work. By sundown nearly all the Knights Templar throughout France were in jails. After being tortured into
making false confessions, 54 would be burned at the stake.
The initial charges brought against the Knights Templar were vague, but dire: "A bitter thing,
a lamentable thing, a thing horrible to think of and terrible to hear, a detestable crime, an execrable evil, an abominable act, a repulsive disgrace, a thing almost inhuman, indeed alien to all
humanity, has, thanks to the reports of several trustworthy persons, reached our ear, smiting us
grievously and causing us to tremble with the utmost horror."
What followed was so foul, according to folklore, that Templar sympathizers cursed the day
itself, condemning it as evil. And thus Friday the 13th has borne the mark of Cain ever since.
De Molay and his three principle associates were kept prisoners and tortured over the next
four years. On Friday, March 11th, 1314 they were brought out, at which time they recanted their
forced confessions. This infuriated Phillip who then ordered that they be slowly burned at the
stake. If you wish a quick death then you make a smoky fire, however, if you wish a slow painful
death you make it a hot smokeless fire. It is said that De Molay stated that God would avenge
their death. Within the year both King and Pope died.
The Canadian Police Degree Team
This is the first in a series of specialty Degree Team stories from W. Bro. Dwight D. Seals
from Camden Lodge #159 - Camden, Ohio
Throughout the 125-year history of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police the Masonic Brothers
within the Force would travel great distances to come together as a Degree Team to raise fellow
RCMP members to the Third Degree of Masonry. In 1996 the Master of Saskatoon Central Lodge,
a serving member of the RCMP, was asked to form an RCMP Degree Team to conduct a Third
Degree in Las Vegas, Nevada. Since that first visit to the United States this team has received
invitations to conduct Raisings in various Lodges in Canada and has been invited back twice to
Las Vegas by Day Light Lodge and also to Laughlin, Nevada.
Twice the team has conducted Raisings on the magnificent stage of the Shrine Auditorium in
Los Angeles as guests of Al Malaikah Shrine Temple.
Page 38
In 2003 they performed their ritual at the beautiful Oakland Scottish Rite Convention Center,
Oakland, California, sponsored by the Oakland Scottish Rite and Aahmes Shrine.
In 2004 they accepted an invitation to visit the Northern Highlands of Scotland from Fort
William Lodge No. 43. This lodge is located in Fort William, Scotland and was chartered in 1743.
The Degree Team performs the work of the Grand Lodge of Saskatchewan, Ancient Free and
Accepted Masons, and receives dispensation from the Grand Lodge holding jurisdiction over the
candidate being raised.
In many instances the team members have paid their own personal travel and out-of-pocket
expenses to take part in the degrees. On other occasions Shrine Temples and Potentates, as well
as other Masonic Organizations and Lodges have extended invitations to the team and have
financially sponsored the team’s fraternal visits making the team’s visit the high point of their
Masonic or Shrine year.
As well as providing a spectacular display of our ancient rituals, the Degree Team promotes
the Fraternal Brotherhood of Masonry and act as good-will ambassadors from Canada.
The team is arranging its schedule for the next few years and would welcome your invitation
to perform anywhere in the Masonic world.
This Masonic Did U Know list is strictly voluntary. If you received this message in error or
you wish to be removed, please reply to the author only and you will be removed, no questions
asked. If you know of a Brother who would like to be added to our list, reply to author with the
Brother's e mail address and it will be added immediately.
May We Meet Upon The _|_ Act By The ! And Part Upon The |_
W. Bro. Dwight D. Seals - Camden Lodge #159 = Camden, Ohio
Freemasons on the Goldfields
From the "Thoughts For The Enquiring Mason" By W. Bro. Brendan Kyne
– by Dorothy Wickham - Extract on Lodge fees in Late 1800’s
An often heard maxim regarding Victorian Freemasonry in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s
was that it was a fairly elitist organisation. As Thornton writes in “The History of Freemasonry
in Victoria”, “During this period [1880’s] an increasing number of well qualified Englishmen
were taking up residence in Victoria…and masonry was beginning to show signs of becoming an
avenue in which to display class distinction [with]…qualifications and embargoes which were
considered to be essential to keep the menial class out of Freemasonry…” (pp. 165-166)
Dorothy Wickham in her book “Freemasons on the Goldfields” indeed highlights how
Freemasonry in Victorian in the 1800’s, through the use of high dues and fees, was primarily
restricted to the well-heeled gentleman.
“The fees and dress code of the amalgamated Lodges [1867 – Yarrowee Lodge] were
relatively expensive ensuring clientele of a certain professional or social status. The annual
subscription was set at two guineas, joining and raising fees set at one guinea and fees for
initiation, passing and raising set at seven guineas. The installation banquet took place on St John
the Baptist’s Day and each member paid an extra ten shillings.
Page 39
An officer not attending at the proper time of meeting was fined twenty shillings, a
considerable sum. The early lodge fees were also expensive being one
guinea for joining and five shillings subscription every month to be
paid in advance in 1856 for the Victorian Lodge. In addition every
candidate had to pay seven guineas for initiation, passing and raising
(the three degrees). By 1872 Creswick Lodge member voted to reduce
the fees from seven guineas to five guineas for initiation, one guinea
for joining and two shillings and six pence for monthly subscriptions.
The level of fees set by
different lodges could be an indication of the class of men
who joined the lodges. It reflected wealth and prosperity
of members who could afford to join. Those who were
members of more than one lodge obviously had more
disposable income, so that money brought status even
within the Masonic fraternity.
Men who joined the lodge had to be able bodied and
of good morals. This law was treated quite seriously. In October 1918 the Grand Secretary
replied to a query from Sebastopol Lodge. “I am in receipt of your letter as to a candidate who
has lost a foot and asking if he can be received into Freemasonry. In reply I have to say that the
rule is that no candidate is to be accepted who is unable to receive, practice and impart freely and
without artificial or other aid, is all that is required by the ritual and the word of the several
degree”.
At the Creswick Havilah Lodge in 1872, “…the members voted to reduce the fees and these
were lowered from £7.70.0 to £5.5.0 for initiation, £1.0.0 for joining, and two shillings and six
pence for monthly dues. The fees were still quite substantial considering many tradesmen
received little more than £5.5.0 per fortnight, so, in terms of an average wage in the year 2010,
this meant a payment of around $1000 for initiation…”
Reference: - Freemasons on the Goldfields – Ballarat & District 1853-2013 by Dorothy
Wickham
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Founder: VWBro G.LOVE
Editor/Compiler: WBro Brendan Kyne (Comments and contributions to [email protected])
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A man and a woman were asleep like two innocent babies. Suddenly, at 3 o'clock in the morning, a
loud noise came from outside.
The woman, bewildered, jumped up from the bed and yelled at the man 'Holy crap. That must be my
husband!' So the man jumped out of the bed; scared and naked jumped out the window. He smashed
himself on the ground, ran through a thorn bush and to his car as fast as he could go.
A few minutes later he returned and went up to the bedroom and screamed at the woman, 'I AM your
husband!'
The woman yelled back, 'Yeah, then why were you running?'
And then the fight started.....
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