Many Masonic scholars and historians believe the Masons may have been formed from the remains of The Knights Templar. The Knights Templar were originally a monastic order of the Catholic Church as the guardians of the Temple of Solomon site and the routes used by the pilgrims going to and from the Holy Land. Although all of the Knights took a vow of poverty, the Order itself grew very wealthy. The Order had it's headquarters in France and the King of France grew very jealous because by 1308 the Knights Templar had grown much richer then he was. He made an agreement that if the Pope would discredit the order he would seize all their assets and they would divide the Templar's riches between themselves.

Every known official of the order and many of the individual members were arrested on the night the Pope outlawed the order. They were thrown in prison and all of their property was confiscated. A major problem arose when the kings men couldn't find the reported riches anywhere in France. The King finally resorted to torturing the prisoners, even burning 54 of them alive at the stake trying to discover where the treasure was hidden.

The Pope did the worse thing he could, he excommunicated all Templar anywhere and demanded that they be arrested by the rulers of the country where they were living and they along with all Templar property was to be turned over to the Catholic Church.

The King of England found other things to do and ignored the order. The Pope was furious and demanded that the king arrest the Templar in England under the threat of excommunicating the king himself. Bowing to the threat, the English King ordered the arrest of the Templars. However the order to arrest them stated that every Templars in England would be arrested three 3 days from that date. Strangely enough, none of the Templars were found when the 3 days were up. They had all disappeared. Most had gone to Scotland where the Scottish king told the Pope that he could do what he wanted to in Rome, but not in Scotland.

The Masons publicly "Came out of the closet" so to speak, in 1717. Secret signs, secret passwords, secret handshakes and oaths with severe penalties for revealing the secrets and the identity of brother members wouldn't hardly come from a brand new organization that was making itself "public". But, how about one that had been in hiding for a couple of hundred years under threat of death for being a member???

The intellectual and spiritual foundations of modern democracy, including the American Revolution and the American Constitution, are to be found in large part in the teachings of Jean Jacques Rousseau and in the ideas cemented into the great first Encyclopedia. And it is a fact that most of the authors of that epoch-making Encyclopedia -- Diderot, D'Alembert, Condorcet, the famous Swiss philosopher Helvetius, etc. -- were Freemasons. The envoy to France from the rebellious American colonies, Benjamin Franklin, also was an ardent Freemason. So were George Washington, sixty among his generals, John Hancock and a great many of his co-signers of the Declaration of Independence. Both Washington and Franklin long held the post of Grand Master.

ASTRONAUTS

Aldrin, Edwin E.
Glenn, John H. - First American to orbit the earth in a space craft
Grissom, Virgil - Astronaut

ACTORS - ENTERTAINERS

Autry, Gene - Actor
Borgnine, Ernest - Actor
Fairbanks, Douglas - Silent film actor
Fields, W.C. - Actor
Godfrey, Arthur - Actor
Gable, Clark - Actor
Hardy, Oliver - Actor - Comedian
Hope, Bob - Comedian
Houdini, Harry - Magician
Jolson, Al - Fame as the first 'talking picture' the Jazz Singer
Lincoln, Elmo - First actor to play Tarzan of the Apes (1918)
Lloyd, Harold C. - Entertainer
Mayer, Louis B. - Film producer who merged to form Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Mix, Tom - U.S. Marshal turned actor. Stared in over 400 western films
Ringling Brothers - All 7 brothers and their father were Masons.
Rogers, Roy - American cowboy and screen star
Rogers, Will - Actor
Sellers, Peter - Actor
Skelton, Red - Entertainer
Stratton, Charles "Tom Thumb" - Entertainer
Warner, Jack - Warner Brothers Fame
Wayne, John - Actor
Wyler, William - Director of "Ben Hur"
Zanuck, Darryl F. - Co-founder of 20th Century Productions in 1933
Ziegfeld, Florenz - His Ziegfeld's Follies began in 1907

ARMED SERVICE

Arnold, General Henry "Hap" - Commander of the Army Air Force
Bradley, Omar N. - Military leader
Byrd, Admiral Richard E. - Flew over North Pole
Doolittle, General James - Famous Air Force Pilot
Jones, John Paul - Naval Commander
MacArthur, General Douglas - Commander of Armed Forces in Philillines
Murphy, Audie - Most decorated American Soldier of WWII.
Pershing, John Joseph - Decorated American Soldier
Rickenbacker, Eddie - Great American Air Force Ace
Tirpitz, Alfred Von - German Naval officer responsible for submarine warfare
Travis, Colonel William B. - Alamo

FRONTIERSMEN

Austin, Stephen F. - Father of Texas
Bowie, James - Alamo
Carson, Christopher "Kit" - Frontiersman, scout and explorer
Clark, William - Explorer
Cody, "Buffalo Bill" William - Indian fighter, Wild West Show

HEROS

Bolivar, Simon - "Liberator" of South America
Henry, Patrick - Patriot
Revere, Paul - Famous American San Martin, Jose - "Liberator" of South America

INVENTORS

Desaguliers, John Theophilus - Inventor of the planetarium
Fitch, John - Inventor of the Steamboat
Fleming, Sir Alexander - Invented Penicillin
Gatling, Richard J. - Built the "Gatling Gun"
Guillotin, Joseph Ignace - Inventor of the "Guillotin"
Hoe, Richard M. - Invented the rotory press
Jenner, Edward - Inventor - Vaccination
Lake, Simon - Built first submarine successful in open sea
Montgolfier, Jacques Etienne - Co-developer of the first practical hot-air balloon

LEGAL

Baldwin, Henry - Supreme Court Justice
Black, Hugo L. - Supreme Court Justice
Blair, Jr., John - Supreme Court Justice
Blatchford, Samuel - Supreme Court Justice
Burton, Harold H. - Supreme Court Justice
Byrnes, James F. - Supreme Court Justice
Catton, John - Supreme Court Justice
Clark, Thomas C. - Supreme Court Justice
Clarke, John H. - Supreme Court Justice
Devanter, Willis Van - Supreme Court Justice
Douglas, William O. - Supreme Court Justice
Cushing, William - Supreme Court Justice
Ellsworth, Oliver - Supreme Court Justice
Field, Stephen J. - Supreme Court Justice
Harlan, John M. - Supreme Court Justice
Jackson, Robert H. - Supreme Court Justice
Lamar, Joseph E. - Supreme Court Justice
Marshall, John - Chief Justice U.S. Supreme Court 1801 - 1835
Marshall, Thurgood - Supreme Court Justice
Mathews, Stanley - Supreme Court Justice
Minton, Sherman - Supreme Court Justice
Moody, William H. - Supreme Court Justice
Nelson, Samuel - Supreme Court Justice
Paterson, William - Supreme Court Justice
Pitney, Mahlon - Supreme Court Justice
Reed, Stanley F. - Supreme Court Justice
Richardson, Elliot - Attorney General
Rutledge, Wiley B. - Supreme Court Justice
Stewart, Potter - Supreme Court Justice
Swayne, Noah H. - Supreme Court Justice
Todd, Thomas - Supreme Court Justice
Trimble, Robert - Supreme Court Justice
Vinson, Frederick M. - Supreme Court Justice
Warren, Earl - Supreme Court Justice
Woodbury, Levi - Supreme Court Justice
Woods, William B. - Supreme Court Justice

MUSICIANS - SINGERS

Armstrong, Louis - Jazz Musician
Bassie, William "Count" - Orchestra leader/composer
Berlin, Irving - Entertainer
Clark, Roy - Country Western Star
Cohan, George M. - Broadway star
Cole, Nat 'King' - Great ballad singer
Ellington, Duke - Composer, Arranger and Stylist
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus - Composer
Sibelius, Jean - Composer (Finland)
Smith, John Stafford - Wrote the music that became the US National Anthem.
Sousa, John Philip - Led the U.S. Marine Band from 1880 - 1892
Whiteman, Paul - "King of Jazz"

POLITICIANS

Abbott, Sir John J.C. - Prime Minister of Canada 1891-92
Bennett, Viscount R.B. - Prime Minister of Canada 1930-35
Borden, Sir Robert L. - Prime Minister of Canada 1911-1920
Bowell, Sir Mackenzie - Prime Minister of Canada 1894-96
Buchanan, James - President of the U.S.
Burnett, David G. - 1st President of the Republic of Texas
Churchill, Winston - British Leader
Clinton, DeWitt - Governor and founder of Public School System (NY)
Diefenbaker, John G. - Prime Minister of Canada 1957-63 Dole, Robert - US Senator
Ford, Gerald R. - President of the U.S.
Franklin, Benjamin - 1 of 13 Masonic signers of Constitution of the U.S.
Garfield, James A. - President of the U.S.
Hancock, John - 1of 9 Masonic signers of Declaration of Independance
Harding, Warren G. - President of the U.S.
Houston, Sam - 2nd & 4th President of the Republic of Texas
Jackson, Andrew - President of the U.S.
Johnson, Andrew - President of the U.S.
Jones, Anson - 5th President of the Republic of Texas
Juarez, Benito - President of Mexico
Lamar, Mirabeau B. - 3rd President of the Republic of Texas, Father of Texas Education
MacDonald, Sir John A. - Prime Minister of Canada 1867-73 & 1878-91
McKinley, William - President of the U.S.
Monroe, James - President of the U.S.
Nunn, Sam - U.S. Senator
Polk, James Knox - President of the U.S.
Roosevelt, Franklin D. - President of the U.S.
Roosevelt, Theodore - President of the U.S.
Taft, William Howard - President of the U.S.
Truman, Harry S. - President of the U.S.
Wallace, Governor George C. - Presidential Candidate who was nearly assasinated
Washington, George - President of US, 1st

ROYALTY

Duke of Kent
Duke of Windsor.
Edward VII - King of England
Edward VIII - King of England
George VI - King of England during W.W. II

SPORTS

Cobb, Ty - Baseball Player
Combs, Earle Bryan - Baseball Hall of Fame
Dempsey, Jack - Sports
Hornsby, Rogers - An original member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
Kemp, Jack - Quarterback Buffalo Bills, Congressman
Naismith, James - Inventor of Basketball
Palmer, Arnold - Golf Pro
Robinson, Sugar Ray - American Boxer
Webb, Matthew - First man to swim the English Channel (1875)

OUTSTANDING BUSINES MEN

Balfour, Lloyd - Jewelry
Bell, Lawrence - Bell Aircraft Corp.
Citroen, Andre - French Engineer and motor car manufacturer
Chrysler, Walter P. - Automotive fame
Colt, Samuel - Firearms inventor
Dow, William H. - Dow Chemical Co.
Drake, Edwin L - American Pioneer of the Oil industry
Faber, Eberhard - Head of the famous Eberhard Fabor Pencil Company
Ford, Henry - Pioneer Automobile Manufacturer
Gillett, King C. - Gillett Razor Co.
Maytag, Fredrick - Maytag
Hilton, Charles C. - American Hotelier
Hoban, James - Architect for the U.S. Captial
Lipton, Sir Thomas - Tea
Thomas, Dave - Founder of Wendys Restaurant

OUTSTANDING MEN

Bartholdi, Frederic A. - Designed the Statue of Liberty
Baylor, Robert E. B. - Founder Baylor University
Beard, Daniel Carter - Founder Boy Scouts
Borglum, Gutzon & Lincoln - Father and Son who carved Mt. Rushmore
Brant, Joseph - Chief of the Mohawks 1742 - 1807
BuBois, W.E.B. - Educator/scholar
Calvo, Father Francisco - Catholic Priest who started Freemasonry in Costa Rica 1865
Dunant, Jean Henri - Founder of the Red Cross
Ervin Jr, Samual J. - Headed "Watergate" committee
Fisher, Geoffrey - Archbishop of Canterbury 1945 - 1961
Grock - Swiss Circus Clown
Hedges, Cornelius - "Father" of Yellowstone National Park
Henson, Josiah - Inspired the novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin"
Hoover, J. Edgar - Director of FBI
Jones, Melvin - One of the founders of the Lions International
Jackson, Reverend Jesse - Minister
Lafayette, Marquis de - Supporter of Amerian Freedom
Land, Frank S. - Founder Order of DeMolay
Lewis, Meriwether - Explorer
Lindbergh, Charles - Aviator
Livingston, Robert - Co-Negotiator for purchase of Louisiana Territory
Marshall, James W. - Discovered Gold at Sutter's Mill California 1848
Mayo, Dr. William and Charles - Began Mayo Clinic
Menninger, Karl A. - Psychiatrist famous for treating mental illness
Mesmer, Franz Anton - practiced Mesmerism which led to Hypnotism
Michelson, Albert Abraham - Successfully measured the speed of light in 1882
New, Harry S. - Postmaster General who established Airmail
Newton, Joseph Fort - Christian Minister
Olds, Ransom E. - American automobile pioneer
Otis, James - Famous for "Taxations without Representation is Tyranny"
Papst, Charles F. - Coined the term "Athletes Foot"
Peale, Norman Vincent - Founder of "Guidepost"
Peary, Robert E. - First man to reach the North Pole (1909)
Penny, James C. - Retailer
Poinsett, Joel R. - U.S. Minister to Mexico who developed the flower: Poinsettia
Pullman, George - Built first sleeping car on train.
Sarnoff, David - Father of T.V.
Schoonover, George - Founder of "The Builder"
Stanford, Leland - Drove the gold spike linking the intercontinetal railroad Stanford, Leland - Railroads & Stanford University
Still, Andrew T. - American Physician who devised treatment of Osteopathy
Teets, John W. - Chairman and President of Dial Corporation
Thomas, Lowell - Brought Lawrence of Arabia to public notice
Wadlow, Robert Pershing - Tallest human on record being almost 9 feet tall

WRITERS

Burns, Robert - The National Poet of Scotland
Casanova - Italian Adventurer, writer and entertainer
Clemens, Samuel L. - Mark Twain - writer
Collodi, Carlo - Writer of Pinocchio
Doyle, Sir Author Conan - Writer - Sherlock Holmes
Gibbon, Edward - Writer - Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Gilbert, Sir William S. - Was the librettis for "Pirates of Penzance"
Gray, Harold Lincoln - Creator of "Little Orphan Annie"
Key, Francis Scott - Wrote U.S. National Anthem
Kipling, Rudyard - Writer
Pushkin, Aleksander - Russian Poet
Salten, Felix - Creator of Bambi
Scott, Sir Walter - Writer
Swift, Johathan - Wrote Gulliver's Travels
Voltaire - French writer and philosopher
Wallace, Lewis - Wrote "Ben Hur"
Washington, Booker T. - Educator and author

1. The first requirement for becoming Mason is a belief in God

   There is a Supreme Being
   Who created the Universe,
   Who has established and revealed a moral law,
   And to Whom we must give account
   in a life after this.

2. If you don't believe in God then your Masonic oath means nothing

3. I wonder how the devil would feel about (his suposed to be followers) taking an oath to God on the Bible

4. The Bible teaches us that the devil is always among us trying to recruit as many followers as posable. But, no one will ever ask you to become a Mason.

5. Masonic Secrets. There are fewer secrets to Freemasonry than most non-members imagine; even many Masons are not entirely clear on what is and is not secret in Masonry. The moral principles of Masonry are the same as those taught you in Sunday school or at your mother's knee (sometimes over it!); it is only the exact procedures and words by which those principles are taught in Masonry that are secret, for it is the knowledge of those that distinguishes a Mason from those who are not members. To be entitled to the fellowship peculiar to the Lodge, a Mason must be able to identify himself, and these secrets provide the means for doing so.

6. My daughter went to the Shrine Hospital for 18 years, sometime 3 or 4 days a week, She had countless operations, braces, special shoes, walkers and crutches. In all that time, we were never ask for a single dime or for our insurance policy. This was long before I became a Mason . If you think Masons are evil, visit the Shrine Crippled Children's hospital in Houston, The Scottish Rite Hospital For Crippled Children in Dallas and the Shrine Burn Hospital in Galveston and see the thousands of children and burn victims being helped with out any request for payment. Whats that? You didn't know that all Shriners have to be a Mason first and for as long as they are a Shriner.

7. Now for a really good one, many preachers use the above fact as evidence that Masons are trying to get to heaven by good works. Why would devil worshipers work so hard trying to get into to heaven???

8. Masonary is not a religion, it teaches a way of life that was embraced by men such as, Presidents George Washington, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, James Munroe, Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Warren G. Harding, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and Gerald Ford. It also includes many who lost likeThomas E. Dewey, Alf Landon, Hubert H. Humphrey, Robert Dole, George McGovern, Barry Goldwater, Estes Kefauver, George Wallace, Earl Warren, and John Sparkman as well as Wendell Wilke and Adlai Stevenson. Even heros like Patrick Henry, Nathan Hale, and John Paul Jones. In other countries where true democracy is not a reality, even Royalty belongs to the Order. Both King George VI and the Duke of Kent are Freemasons; so is the Duke of Windsor. His grandfather, Edward VII, was the chief of British Masonry, and he was succeeded in the post by the aged Duke of Connaught. King Gustav V heads the Freemasons of Sweden.

9. The United States, the greatest country in the world, was founded, formed and governed by these men.