They enjoy being together with men they like and respect. (we'll
look at some of these things later)
FREEMASONRY EXPLAINED - WHAT IS IT?
No one knows just how old freemasonry is because the actual origins
have been lost in time. Probably, it arose from the guilds of stone
masons who built the castles and cathedrals of the Middle Ages.
Possibly, they were influenced by the Knights Templar, a group of
Christian warrior monks formed in 1118 to help protect pilgrims
making trips to the Holy Land.
In 1717, Freemasonry members created a formal organization in
England when the first Grand Lodge was formed. A Grand Lodge is the
administrative body in charge of Freemasonry in some geographical
area. In the United States, there is a Grand Lodge of Freemasonry in
each state and the District of Columbia. In Canada, there is a Grand
Lodge of Freemasonry in each province. Local organizations of
Freemasony are called lodges. There are freemasonry lodges in most
towns, and large cities usually have several. There are about 13,200
lodges in the United States.
WHAT ARE THE MASONS?
Masons are men who have decided they like to feel good about
themselves and others. They care about the future as well as the
past, and do what they can, both alone and with others, to make the
future good for everyone.
Many men over many generations have answered the question, "What are
the Masons?" One of the most eloquent was written by the Reverend
Joseph Fort Newton, an internationally honored minister of the first
half of the 20th Century and Grand Chaplain, Grand Lodge of Iowa,
1911-1913.
FROM BRITAIN TO AMERICA, HOW?
In a time when travel was by horseback and sailing ship, Masonry
spread with amazing speed. By 1731, when Benjamin Franklin joined
the fraternity, there were already several lodges in the Colonies,
and Freemasonry spread rapidly as America expanded west. In addition
to Franklin, many of the Founding Fathers -- men such as George
Washington, Paul Revere, Joseph Warren, and John Hancock -- were
Masons. Masons and Freemasonry played an important part in the
Revolutionary War and an even more important part in the
Constitutional Convention and the debates surrounding the
ratification of the Bill of Rights. Many of those debates were held
in Masonic lodges.
WHAT IS A LODGE?
The word "lodge" means both a group of Freemasonry members meeting
in some place and the room or building in which they meet.
Freemasonry or Masonic buildings are also sometimes called "temples"
because much of the symbolism Freemasonry uses to teach its lessons
comes from the building of King Solomon's Temple in the Holy Land.
The term "lodge" itself comes from the structures which the
stonemasons built against the sides of the cathedrals during
construction. In winter, when building had to stop, they lived in
these lodges and worked at carving stone.
If you've ever watched C-SPAN's coverage of the House of Commons in
London, you'll notice that the layout is about the same. Since
Freemasonry came to America from England, we still use the English
floorplan and English titles for the officers. The Worshipful Master
of the Lodge sits in the East. "Worshipful" is an English term of
respect which means the same thing as "Honorable." He is called the
Master of the lodge for the same reason that the leader of an
orchestra is called the "Concert Master." It's simply an older term
for "Leader." In other organizations, he would be called
"President." The Senior and Junior Wardens are the First and Second
Vice-Presidents. The Deacons are messengers, and the Stewards have
charge of refreshments.
Every lodge has an altar holding a "Volume of the Sacred Law." In
the United States and Canada, that is almost always a Bible.
SO IS FREEMASONRY EDUCATION?
Yes. In a very real sense, education is at the center of
Freemasonry. We have stressed its importance for a very long time.
Back in the Middle Ages, schools were held in the lodges of
stonemasons. You have to know a lot to build a cathedral --
geometry, and structural engineering, and mathematics, just for a
start. And that education was not very widely available. All the
formal schools and colleges trained people for careers in the
church, or in law or medicine. And you had to be a member of the
social upper classes to go to those schools. Stonemasons did not
come from the aristocracy. And so the lodges had to teach the
necessary skills and information. Freemasonry dedication to
education started there.
It has continued. Freemasons started some of the first public
schools in both Europe and America. We supported legislation to make
education universal. In the 1800s Masons as a group lobbied for the
establishment of state-supported education and federal land-grant
colleges. Today we give millions of dollars in scholarships each
year. We encourage our members to give volunteer time to their local
schools, buy classroom supplies for teachers, help with literacy
programs, and do everything they can to help assure that each
person, adult or child, has the best educational opportunities
possible.
And Freemasonry supports continuing education and intellectual
growth for its members, insisting that learning more about many
things is important for anyone who wants to keep mentally alert and
young.
Freemasonry teaches some important principles. There's nothing very
surprising in the list. Freemasonry teaches that:
Since God is the Creator, all men and women are the children of God.
Because of that, all men and women are brothers and sisters,
entitled to dignity, respect for their opinions, and consideration
of their feelings.
Each person must take responsibility for his/her own life and
actions. Neither wealth nor poverty, education nor ignorance, health
nor sickness excuses any person from doing the best he or she can do
or being the best person possible under the circumstances.
No one has the right to tell another person what he or she must
think or believe. Each man and woman has an absolute right to
intellectual, spiritual, economic, and political freedom. This is a
right given by God, not by man. All tyranny, in every form, is
illegitimate.
Each person must learn and practice self-control. Each person must
make sure his spiritual nature triumphs over his animal nature.
Another way to say the same thing is that even when we are tempted
to anger, we must not be violent. Even when we are tempted to
selfishness, we must be charitable. Even when we want to "write
someone off," we must remember that he or she is a human and
entitled to our respect. Even when we want to give up, we must go
on. Even when we are hated, we must return love, or, at a minimum,
we must not hate back. It isn't easy!
Faith must be in the center of our lives. We find that faith in our
houses of worship, not in Freemasonry, but Freemasonry constantly
teaches that a person's faith, whatever it may be, is central to a
good life.
Each person has a responsibly to be a good citizen, obeying the law.
That doesn't mean we can't try to change things, but change must
take place in legal ways.
It is important to work to make this world better for all who live
in it. Freemasonry teaches the importance of doing good, not because
it assures a person's entrance into heaven -- that's a question for
a religion, not a fraternity -- but because we have a duty to all
other men and women to make their lives as fulfilling as they can
be.
Honor and integrity are essential to life. Life without honor and
integrity is without meaning.
