What does Freemasonry Offer the World?

What does Freemasonry
Offer the World?

From the Short talk Bulletin Vol. XLIII August, 1965,
published by the Masonic Service Association of the
United States, Washington. D.C
.
Originally a talk given on the 100th Anniversary of Burns Lodge #173, Monticello, Iowa June 15, 1965 by Alphonse Cerza Riverside Lodge #862, Riverside Illinois. P.M. Waubansia Lodge #160, Chicago, Illinois member Illinois Grand Lodge Committee on Masonic Information, F.P.S.

While Freemasonry in its present form has existed less than 300 years, there have always been associations resembling this great Fraternity. Such groups were formed at various times and in many places because man is fundamentally a social creature; he has an inherent need for friendship, love, and association with others.

What is Freemasonry? A brief definition is: an organization of men believing in the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man, using the builder's tools as symbols to teach basic moral truths, thereby impressing upon the minds of its members the cardinal virtues of Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth which they should apply to everyday activities.

If this description seems out of place in the cynical world of today, let us remember that "Man does not live by bread alone." There is a real need for what is derisively called "the old-fashioned virtues."

Last summer Rosco Pound, one of the great men of this country, laid down the working tools of life after ninety-four years of distinguished labor on this earth. Many years ago he made a significant observation: "Masonry has more to offer the twentieth century than the twentieth century has to offer Masonry."

Why did he make this statement?

At the dawn of history man was confronted with many problems: hunger, the elements, disease, and other dangers. But God gave him memory so that he could profit from his experiences; later came the gift of communication which enabled him to pass on his experiences from generation to generation. Over the intervening centuries we have increased our means of producing food, conquered many diseases, and solved most of the problems concerning the practical things of life. Yet with all this progress in technological skills man has not kept up his moral advancement. In spite of all the comforts afforded us in this modern world, we do not find happiness, peace, and tranquility.

As we look around us today, what do we find? Frustrated individuals, unhappy people, everyone demanding more "rights", everyone seeking more "security", a desire for more gadgets, an increase in community problems and undeclared wars in many places. Everyone thinks "BIG" about the production of things, accomplishing a program, or handling community matters.

What can we learn from Freemasonry which will help the modern world?

First, Freemasonry is not a "mass medium". It works with and through the individual member. We do not have group initiations; each member is taken alone and taught the lessons of a good life. Each new member is prepared as an individual; he is the one important person who is initiated, then passed to the higher grades as he acquires proficiency in the tasks at hand. Certain members spend time with him alone so that he may learn the lessons exemplified by the degrees.

In Freemasonry the individual is all important. We consider the individual member the most important thing in the world. Bear in mind that in every community we have plural persons; you cannot have a happy community unless the individuals who form that community are individually happy. Under our form of government the individual is glorified; he is part of the nation's governing body. Unlike other political ideologies which preach that the person is merely a means of serving the government, we as Americans and as Masons say that the government exists to serve the people.

Freemasonry offers to the world today the basic ideal that is being slowly forgotten: that each individual is important and that his personal welfare counts.

Second, Freemasonry is among the agencies which offer the world the principle of the Fatherhood of God. In too many places God is the forgotten element. Many of the prevailing "isms" cast aside the idea of God as old-fashioned, superstitious, an opiate. Freemasonry has God as its sole foundation stone.

Freemasonry does not concern itself with the dogmas, forms of worship, or the theology of any church. A Mason must profess a belief in God and immortality; but Freemasonry does not teach him how God manifests himself to man or how man is reconciled with God. It is true that Freemasonry tries to enrich a member's belief in God by instructing him in the moral law and the hidden secrets of nature and science. It tries to do that for every member.

Freemasonry therefore offers a tolerance for the religious beliefs of all men, to the point that they can meet and pray together in complete harmony. There is only one God, no matter what name we give Him. Freemasonry has for centuries afforded men of all creeds a chance to meet together and to understand each other's belief in the Fatherhood of God. It is the only world-wide organization where there is no political or religious discussion permitted.

Third, Freemasonry also offers the world the principle that follows logically from what has just been said, "The Brotherhood of Man". If we have a common Father, are we all not brothers? Today we hear too little about this ideal.

At every turn we hear of demands for "rights" of one kind or another. How often do we hear of duties or obligations? Freemasonry teaches the duties we owe to others; it teaches obligations that its members owe their families, their communities, and their country. With every "right" there is a corresponding duty or obligation. The world today is emphasizing its demands for "rights", but is conveniently forgetting its corresponding duties. Freemasonry says nothing about "rights", but has much to say about the duties and obligations that each member owes. If all of us do our duty, all will profit; and there is no need to discuss "rights' where men do their duty, because justice will prevail.

Fourth, Freemasonry evolved from the builder's guilds of the Middle Ages, and therefore the word "work" plays an important part in our philosophy and our ceremonies.

Today, there seems to be too much desire to get something for nothing. We have trading stamps, quiz programs, horse races, and other gambling activities catering to this desire.

Wealth is the result of working with natural resources and creating something useful. Wealth is not something which comes from the government. This may sound like a modern heresy to many of you. All the government does is collect its money from the taxpayers and then distribute it; and the handling charge is enormous!

Our immediate ancestors, the operative masons, were workers with their hands. They built structures of wood and stone. The had an apprentice system to teach young men to work and develop their natural skills. The idea of" work" is woven into the very fabric of Freemasonry. The world today needs to be taught all over again that work is honorable, that work is necessary, and that work makes for happiness.

Freemasonry takes this idea of work from the operative Masons and converts it into a symbol. No longer do Freemasons build structures that are visible, but we build a symbolic structure of character, that house not built with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Our Federal Constitution assures us that we are entitled to the pursuit of happiness. Too many people overlook the word "pursuit" and place the stress on the word "happiness." This great charter of government does not guarantee happiness; that is an individual matter. It merely guarantees the "pursuit"; or to put it in a different way, it offers opportunity to use your God-given skills so that you can work with them and secure happiness. This also is the aim of Freemasonry.

Fifth, Freemasonry offers the world an opportunity for social contacts and the development of friendships.

The feeling of "belonging" is a vital part of every man's being. No one can be an island unto himself. To be happy, we must belong to a family, a community, a country club, or a large number of associations.

Freemasonry is the best group for this purpose because of its glorious past, the great men who have been Masons, the lessons it teaches to its members, and the opportunity it affords to the service of Mankind. The constant bringing together of its members in worthwhile activities helps to promote this feeling of "belonging".

Related to this element is what psychologists call the feeling of importance. In order to be happy each person must feel "important" to someone to something. Freemasonry affords many opportunities for the development of this feeling, not only from the pride of belonging to the greatest fraternal organization in the world, but also from the many, many opportunities to serve as officers, to do charitable work, to visit sick members, etc., all of which gives the member a sense of being important to his fellow members and the organization. Here again we are stressing the importance of the individual rather than the group.

This is one of the intangible, subtle, but necessary elements of Freemasonry in making individuals happy. As it has already been observed, if the individual is happy, the community is happy. If communities are happy, the nation is happy; and if nations are happy, the world will be at peace.

Sixth, Freemasonry offers the world the philosophy of life. The Masonic degrees are designed to teach each member certain basic moral truths. No man ever became a Mason without becoming a better Man. The lessons are taught in a unique manner which makes the principles more effective.

Sometimes we are presented with a pertinent question: if the lessons of Freemasonry are so beneficial, why are they taught behind closed doors? The answer lies in the nature of man himself. That which is open to constant view becomes commonplace and attracts no attention. That which is hidden is sought, is searched for, is attractive and creates interest. The idea is illustrated by the detective story; who dunnit?

Added to this is the fact that all the lessons are taught with symbols. This is an effective teaching method; it causes the student to learn more easily. A moral lesson can be told in a few effective words describing a symbol. With the use of the builder's tools Freemasonry teaches moral lessons. Many Masonic expressions have found their way into everyday conversation. We use the square to illustrate honesty in our dealings with one another: "He's on the square," or "He is a square dealer." Teenagers have a different conception of the word "square" today, but that is a passing phase.

Each candidate for the degrees receives this philosophy of life in a most impressive manner. Suffice it to say here that this Way of Life contains all the lessons or rules adopted by all good men. It covers the Golden Rule. It teaches us that we are our Brother's keeper. It teaches that we can best worship God by rendering service to our fellowmen. We are taught tolerance in all things. We are taught that honesty is the only policy.

It is true that these moral lessons are taught in the schools and in the churches, but the method of teaching used in a Masonic lodge is unique. Furthermore, these lessons can be taught without reference to sectarian creeds or dogmas. Masonic teaching is not restricted by practical considerations such as exist in a political organization. Freedom of thought and expression can be taught and practiced without any reference to the results of the next election. Freemasonry has blended together many of the characteristics of churches, schools, social clubs, and ethical societies; but while resemblances with such organizations can be noted, none is exactly like the great organization the world knows as Freemasonry.

To summarize all this in just a few words, let us answer the question in the title as briefly as possible. Freemasonry offers to mankind an emphasis on the importance of the individual, the belief in the brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of God, the concept of the dignity of work and its necessity for the pursuit of happiness, the opportunity to realize one's social aspirations in a morally constructive way, and a philosophy of life which can lead to individual, and therefore community happiness. And the twentieth century really needs what Freemasonry offers.

The new Masons, an Article by the Boston Globle

The new Masons

The centuries-old fraternity, in an effort to remain relevant, is shedding its secrecy in order to attract young members

By Douglas Belkin, Globe Staff  |  October 15, 2006

With his mop of black hair, silver nose ring and double-pierced ear, Nikki Stone, a 31-year-old rock guitarist, looked a bit out of place last weekend as he stood surrounded by serious-looking men in dark suits beneath baronial, 50-foot ceilings at the Masonic Lodge on Tremont Street in Boston.

But Stone, and the dozens of other non-Masons milling about, was a much sought after guest. With their aging membership at a 50-year-ebb and the vitality of their future in doubt, the Masons are trying something new in their august 275-year history: They have started recruiting.

``We're trying to bring the Masons into the 21st century," Jeffrey Hodgdon, grand master of the Masons in Massachusetts said at an open house in Lexington, the same day that Stone visited the Boston lodge. ``If we don't do something, we're going down the tubes."

From the 18th century through the 1990s, the Masons , surrounded by an aura of secrecy and prestige, did not recruit. They didn't need to -- new members came to them. But when the baby boomers started to snub the Masons en masse -- along with nearly every other fraternal organization -- membership dwindled. In Massachusetts, the number of Masons dropped from 130,441 in 1960 to 42,045 last year.

So, two years ago, the Masons nationwide broke with long standing tradition and went public.

In Massachusetts, the recruitment drive has been unique in scope and intensity, said Hodgdon, who has played a key role in the membership drive. The Massachusetts campaign has included open houses and a $800,000 radio and television sales pitch. The spots characterize the fraternity as a cornerstone of civility and heritage in an increasingly uncivil and unstable world.

The result: So far, so good.

``There's definitely a mystique here," said Stone. ``As a guy with a rock 'n' roll back ground, it seems cooler than the Knights of Columbus."

In the past two years, about 3,000 men have joined the Masons in Massachusetts, said Hodgdon, of Lexington, who attended four of the 240 open houses held across the state Oct. 7. It is the most interest shown in the organization in decades. And, at a time when most of the members are in their 50s and 60s, 62 percent of the new members are between 18 and 39, said Robert Huke, a spokesman for the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts.

At the Harvard University lodge in Cambridge, membership has jumped from 125 to about 320 in two years. The average age of new members there is 22.5.

``There's a connection that's being made," said Ryan Johnson, the 31-year-old master of the Harvard lodge. ``People are saying, `You know that organization has been around for a long time. There must be something to it.' "

Masons and sociologists attribute the resurgence to a confluence of factors. Exposure, for starters. But also timing. Fraternal organizations have traditionally expanded during times of war and their immediate aftermath when veterans, used to the camaraderie of other men, look for organizations to bring them together.

There may also be a generational shift at play. For a group raised in cyberspace in an increasingly atomized society, a hunger for connectedness has begun driving younger people back toward fraternities. Especially in the post 9/11 world.

Indeed, the Masons are aiming their sales pitch at young people who came of age around the time of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. A group now between 18 and 27.

``September 11 was a real shaking point," said Johnson, who lives in New York and flies to Boston for monthly meetings. ``That event killed the `me generation' and you had this feeling that you need your friends, you need your family, you need your community, you couldn't do it all alone."

The Massachusetts strategy to recruit originated with Hodgdon, who owns a GM dealership in Arlington and has a keen appreciation for marketing. He organized the effort around the GM sales model. He standardized open houses around the state, had 10,000 askafreemason.org rubber bracelets made, and brought on the Boston Light marketing firm to come up with a pitch.

Last summer, the firm interviewed hundreds of men, ages 21 to 40, in bars across Boston. Among the questions they asked: ``Is there greatness in you?" said Robert Heruska, a partner and the firms creative director.

``We thought maybe half the people we spoke to would say yes, but it was about 99 percent," Heruska said. ``The question really hit a nerve."

The line became the campaign's tag. The commercial presents a Benjamin Franklin impersonator whose voice sounds dipped in earnestness and wisdom.

The pitch plays on the fraternity's long history, stability, and ability to ``make good men great." Franklin's summation: ``Free masonry has been preparing great men since our country's founding."

The Masons evolved in England in the early 18th century from a guild of builders. The first lodge was chartered in America in Boston in 1733 and became closely associated with the ideals of Enlightenment and then the American Revolution through men like George Washington, Paul Revere, and Franklin.

Between 1870 and 1920 -- when 300 fraternal organizations were started in the United States -- the Masons' popularity soared, dipped during the Great Depression, then grew again after World War II, eventually hitting a high point in 1963 with more than 4 million members, said historian Steven C. Bullock, a professor of history at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the author of ``Revolutionary Brotherhood," that examines the historical significance of the group.

The decline among the Masons parallels the drop in most service clubs and civic organizations. In Robert Putnam's 2000 book ``Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community," he writes that the number of Americans attending club meetings has fallen off by 58 percent in a generation. Two-parent working families and a wider array of ways to spend free time fueled the decline.

Indeed, by 2005, membership in the Masons nationwide had fallen from more than 4 million in 1963 to about 1.6 million and the average age had climbed to 62, said Bullock.

To reverse the trend, the Masons lowered the age of membership from 21 to 18 and began to dip into the realm of recruitment.

``More than anything this is an awareness campaign," said Huke. ``Our standards remain the same."

Johnson, whose great-grandfather was a Mason, answered an ad in a college newspaper to join the group when he was in graduate school and began to ask his friends.

Word spread quickly. Meetings that used to attract eight or 10 Masons to the Harvard lodge now regularly pull in 150, Johnson said. The sense that the Masons offer a principled cornerstone in an age of slipping standards hit a nerve.

``We never had to endure hunger or a Great Depression or disease or anything like that so we're comfortable with life materially," said Robert Bolcone, of Gloucester, a 23-year-old student at Harvard Medical School who joined last year. ``I think my generation is searching for something more, something greater,"

Harvard-affiliated Masons like Bolcone said they appreciated the formality of the ritual in an age when the rest of their lives is so informal. The lodge is one of the few places where young men can actively seek out older mentors. And the teachings, through centuries old parables and metaphors, resonate.

Tom Sander, a professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government who studies civic engagement, said the uptick fits a larger pattern. Twenty-somethings who came of age around the time of the Sept. 11 attacks are searching for something larger than themselves.

``They see their fate as intertwined with the fate of others in a way the generation before them did not," he said. ``The generation before them believed that if you earned enough money you could insulate yourself from the fears of society. . . . This generation is much more likely to seek out community."

Stone, the rock 'n' roller, offered a less idealistic reason for joining, as old as any other. This fall he hopes to open a bar in Malden. ``It never hurts to network," he said. ``It could be good for business."

Douglas Belkin can be reached at dbelkin@globe.com  

How Long Do We Have?

Sent to me by a friend;

Read and Think....??
                 How Long Do We Have?

    About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new
constitutionin 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the
University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the                                                                            Athenian Republic some2,000 years earlier:

 "A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist                                                                    as a permanent form of government.  A democracy will continue to exist up
until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves  generous
gifts from the public treasury.  From that moment on, the majority
always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public
treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due
to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship."

 "The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginnin of history,                                             has been about 200 years.  During those 200 years, those
nations always progressed through the following sequence:

     1. From bondage to spiritual faith;
     2. From spiritual faith to great courage;
     3. From courage to liberty;
     4. From liberty to abundance;
     5. From abundance to complacency;
     6. From complacency to apathy;
     7. From apathy to dependence;
     8. From dependence back into bondage"

    Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul,
    Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning the
    2000 Presidential election:

     Population of counties won by: Gore: 127 million; Bush: 143 million
     Square miles of land won by: Gore: 580,000; Bush: 2,427,000
     States won by: Gore: 19; Bush: 29
     Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by: Gore: 13.2;
     Bush: 2.1

    Professor Olson adds:  "In aggregate, the map of the territory Bush won
    was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of this great country.
    Gore's territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in
    government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government
    welfare..."

    Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the
    "complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of
   democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having
    reached the "governmental dependency" phase.

    If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million criminal
    invaders called illegals and they vote, then goodbye to the USA in
    fewer than five years.

    Pass this along to help everyone realize just how much is at stake,
    knowing that apathy is the greatest danger to our freedom.

Muslims, terrorist and the USA. A different spin on Iraq war.

(see http://www.nazis.testimony.co.uk/7-a.htm )

and look him up. http://www.af.mil/bios/alpha.asp?alpha=C

THE PROMISED LAND