SHORT TALK BULLETIN - Vol.VIII April, 1930 No.4

     "To preserve the reputation of the Fraternity unsullied must be your  
 constant care." 
     Every Master Mason is charged with that great duty.   
 Obviously it means the reputation of the Fraternity before the non- 
 Masonic world.  That reputation is one of the greatest assets of  
 Freemasonry; indeed, only by our reputation do we live and grow,  
 since Masons are forbidden to proselyte.  No real Mason ever asks a  
 profane to join the Order; the man must seek the Light; not the Light  
 seeking the man. 
     The reputation of Masonry in the world is that of an Order in which  
 men bind themselves to secrecy; practice charity and brotherhood; do  
 good without self advertising; choose wisely among our petitioners;  
 work a gentle influence upon themselves and their fellows towards  
 right conduct, clean thinking and fine citizenship. 
     Freemasonry has certain contacts with the public; for instance, her  
 Masonic Homes are public in the sense that they stand as monuments to  
 Masonic Charity for all the world to see.  The world at large  
 observes us in funeral processions, burying our dead with reverence,  
 honor and ceremonies strange to profane eyes.  It watches our Grand  
 Lodges lay the corner stones of public buildings, pouring the ancient  
 sacrifices of corn, wine and oil; dedicating and consecrating (if it  
 is a church) the building to its uses.  It sees us occasionally  
 attend Divine services in a body.  It can obtain beautiful books  
 about Freemasonry, from which it can learn of the fundamental  
 principles which underlie the Order. 
     But "the secrets of Freemasonry are safely lodged in the repository  
 of faithful breasts." 
     Some Masons consider certain matters as "secrets" which are not so,  
 in fact, even though they are not the subject of common talk or vain  
 boast.  It is no "secret" that Freemasonry teaches and inculcates, in  
 so far as her power lies, those principles of law, order, morals,  
 citizenship, fear and love of God which make for the highest type of  
 manhood. 
     The non-secret teachings of the three degrees are briefly as follows: 
 In the Entered Apprentice Degree the initiate is taught the necessity  
 of a belief in God; of charity towards all mankind, and especially a  
 brother Mason; of secrecy; of the meaning of brotherly love; the  
 reasons for relief; the greatness of truth; the advantages of  
 temperance; the value of fortitude; the part played in Masonic life  
 by prudence and the equality of strict justice. 
 He is charged to inculcate the three great duties; to be reverent  
 before God, to pray to Him for help, to venerate Him as the source of  
 all that is good.  He is exhorted to practice the Golden Rule and to  
 avoid excesses of all kinds.  He is admonished to be quiet and  
 peaceable, not to countenance disloyalty and rebellion, to be true  
 and just to government and country and to be cheerful under its laws.   
 He is charged to come often to lodge but not to neglect his business,  
 not to argue about Freemasonry with the ignorant but to learn Masonry  
 from Masons, and once again, to be secret.  Finally he is urged to  
 present only such candidates as he is sure will agree to all that he  
 has agreed to. 
     In the Fellowcraft Degree he argues that he will be secret regarding  
 that which must be kept secret; that he will obey the by-laws of his  
 own lodge; and the laws, rules, regulations and edicts of his Grand  
 Lodge; to answer proper summons; is again reminded of his duty as a  
 Mason in charity and relief.  He agrees that a good Mason is an  
 honest and upright man.  He is taught the importance of the seventh  
 day and the advantages of learning in general are placed before him,  
 with especial reference to the science of geometry.  Emphasis is  
 again placed upon a reverent attitude before Deity. 
 Then he is charged with the need for balanced judgment; is exhorted  
 to study the seven liberal arts and is shown that geometry is not  
 only a mathematical and Masonic science, but also a moral one.   
 Regular behavior is impressed upon him, as well as "the practice of  
 all commendable virtues." 
     In the Master Mason Degree all that has gone before is again  
 emphasized, and many additional duties and responsibilities are laid  
 upon the initiate.  Science, secrecy, fidelity to trust, courage,  
 resignation and sacrifice are taught in the great drama.  His  
 obligations are extended; his brotherly relations with his fellows  
 are more clearly and strictly defined.  Her is taught the need for  
 willing service; that prayer is not only for the petitioner; that he  
 must be worthy of confidence; that his strength is not only for  
 himself but for his falling brother; that wisdom in not only for the  
 possessor but should be shared; that a brother has the right to know  
 of approaching disaster. 
     He is charged to set a good example; to guard others, as well as  
 himself from a breach of fidelity; he must preserve the ancient  
 Landmarks and he must not countenance any changes in our established  
 customs.  Secrecy is again emphasized; the dignity of the character  
 of a Master Mason is to be upheld; the faith and confidence of his  
 fellows is put before him as the reward for fidelity and faith. 
 Reducing these great teachings to the least possible number of words  
 and avoiding duplications produces the following list of those  
 matters which a Mason is taught, and to which he promises, either  
 actually or by implication, complete agreement.  On these rest the  
 reputation of the Fraternity. 
 Belief in God 
 Charity 
 Secrecy 
 Brotherly Love 
 Relief 
 Truth 
 Temperance 
 Fortitude 
 Prudence 
 Justice 
 Reverence 
 Prayer 
 Veneration 
 Golden Rule 
 Peaceableness 
 Good Citizenship 
 Obedience to Masonic Authority 
 Honesty 
 Observance of the Sabbath 
 Education 
 Judgment 
 Fidelity to Trust 
 Courage 
 Resignation 
 Self Sacrifice 
 Service to Others 
 Trustworthiness to Confidence 
 Sharing Strength and Wisdom 
 Setting a Good Example 
 Preservation of the Ancient Landmarks 
 Faith 
 Dignity 

     If "every" Freemason lived up to "all" these teachings, what an  
 Utopia the world would be! 
 But what is remarkable is not how many Masons fail, but how many  
 succeed!  That they do succeed is evidenced by the reputation of the  
 Fraternity in Non-Masonic circles.  Were Masons as a class false to  
 their teachings, lax in their conduct, forsworn as to their  
 obligations; Freemasonry would not posses the fair reputation she  
 has: 
     "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy  
 soul and with every mind.  This is the first and great commandment.   
 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as  
 thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the  
 prophets." 
     If the Man of Galilee was content to reduce "all the law" to fifty- 
 three words, surely Freemasonry might formulate an equally short  
 statement of her aims and purposes.  But while "all the law" may be  
 put into a few words, many thousand words of New Testament are needed  
 to explain the teachings of Christianity. 
     Men learn by repetition.  They absorb that which is told to them, and  
 retold, and told once more.  Freemasonry but follows the ancient  
 manner of teaching when she iterates and reiterates the duties of a  
 Mason towards his God, his neighbor and himself.  But because  
 Freemasonry teaches by repetition, her detailed reiteration makes  
 possible many ways in which a Mason may offend.  If he does not  
 actively break a rule, he may fail as a Mason merely by a negative  
 attitude.  To fail to do good is not necessarily to do evil, but  
 neither is a failure to work mischief necessarily a doing of good  
 works!  It is expected of men that they will fail, otherwise they are  
 not men, but Gods!  If no man ever failed, Freemasonry would be  
 unnecessary.  When a building is completed, the workmen depart.  When  
 the House Not Made With Hands is perfectly erected, the Craft is no  
 more use.  
     It is one thing to fail in any Masonic duty; it is another to fail so  
 publicly that the reputation of the Fraternity is hurt - that  
 reputation of which we are taught that its preservation is of vital  
 importance.  Occasionally, more’s the pity, it is necessary for a  
 Masonic organization to take practical steps in regard to some  
 brother who has failed to live up to the Masonic teachings.  Masons  
 are only men who have solemnly agreed to do certain things; sometimes  
 they are foresworn.  Sometimes our committees do not do their work  
 aright and we are given cracked stones to work upon.  Sometimes a  
 good man changes as he grows older, and even the sweet and gentle  
 influence of the Craft cannot hold him in the straight and narrow  
 way. 
     The lodge in which someone holds membership may well be advised to do  
 little rather than much.  There are times when something must be  
 done; when the reputation of which we think so much is hurt by  
 failure to do.  Then we have all the misery and pain of a Masonic  
 trial; the sad washing of dirty linen in the lodge; the grief of  
 seeing our good and great Order dragged to some extent into public  
 notice; when ever a Mason receives the worst Masonic penalty -  
 expulsion, or Masonic death - the world at large usually hears of it. 
 Few are the Masons who have no friends!  Hence a Masonic trial is  
 very apt to create tense feelings in a lodge, if not worse, and the  
 harmony which is "the strength and support of all well regulated  
 institutions" is made into a discord. 

     However, it cannot always be helped! - "But in a great many cases it  
 can be helped!" 

     It is human to want to "get even."  Our brother wrongs us; it is only  
 natural to wish him taken before the bar of lodge opinion, and,  
 perhaps, punish him for his infraction of his obligation.  Brethren  
 often see no further than the immediate present; the immediate wrong  
 doing; the immediate lodge trial and its results.  A word of wise  
 caution may make him look further.  No man, unless suffering wrong of  
 the most grievous character, but may be caused to stop and think by  
 reminding him of the many obligations and duties he assumed when he,  
 too, became a Mason.  Let all such be asked, gently, kindly,  
 considerately but pointedly - "will this action you propose benefit  
 you as much as it will injure the lodge and the Fraternity?  Will the  
 results, inevitably to some extent public, do more harm to that  
 reputation which we cherish than they will good to you?  Is it not  
 possible that our erring brother may be brought to make amends by  
 less drastic means than the sad lodge trial? 
     Let no brother retort "but it should not become public!"  Agreed, a  
 lodge trial should never be a public matter.  But while we hold our  
 own Mystic Tie, and the cord of secrecy is tight about our lips, we  
 do not hold relations and friends in the same manner.  John Smith is  
 tried and suspended, perhaps expelled.  He no longer goes to lodge.   
 People want to know why.  In self defense he says what he can - but  
 what can he say?  Inevitably the result of the trial becomes public.   
 Then we suffer. 
     At times it is necessary to stand pain to get rid of a cancer.  But  
 the best surgeon does not use a knife until all other means fail.   
 That lodge, that Master and those brethren who seek to compose  
 differences, win the erring back to the path their feet should never  
 have left, do a real service to their lodge, to their offended  
 brother, to their erring brother and to the Fraternity whose  
 reputation "should be our constant care." 
     To whisper good counsel in the ear of an erring brother is sound  
 Masonic teaching.  To prevent tarnishing the reputation of the  
 Fraternity we must not only endeavor to live up to the high level of  
 our teachings, but strive to help our brethren do likewise.  The best  
 way, the brotherly way, the way of Freemasonry is by kindly caution,  
 the friendly word of admonition, the hand stretched out to assist and  
 save the worthy falling brother. 
     Only when these fail - and never then until after thinking first of  
 the Order, next of the lodge and last of self - should we go to the  
 court of last resort, prefer charges, have a trial and do ourselves  
 the injury which comes always from the knife of publicity in the body  
 of our Ancient Craft.  
     Freemasonry - so we truly believe - is one of God’s bright tools for  
 shaping of the rough ashlars which we are. 
 "LET US STRIVE TO KEEP IT BRIGHT!"