GAIN  MORE  LIGHT
IN  MASONRY

What Masonry is:

It is a voluntary association
  of men
It is a system of moral conduct
It is a way of life
It is a fraternal society
It is religious in its character
It teaches the Golden Rule
It seeks to make good men
  better men
It teaches morality through
  symbolism
It uses rites and ceremonies
  to instruct its members
It is based on a firm belief in
  the Fatherhood of God, The
  Brotherhood of Man, and
  the immortality of the Soul.

- From The Grand Lodge of Texas -

What Masonry is not:

It does not solicit members
It is not an insurance or
  benefit society
It is neither a religion nor a
  creed nor a religious order
It is not a charity organization,
  but makes charity a duty
It is not organized for profit
It dictates to no man as to his
  beliefs, either religious
  or secular
It seeks no advantages for its
  member through
  business or politics
It is not a forum for discussion
  of religion, 
  politics or other partisan affairs
It is not a secret society, as it
  does not conceal its existence
  or purposes


CONTENTS

  1. Questions and Answers From The United Grand Lodge of England

  2. A Sad Story, The Disruption Of A Community

  3. The Beginnings Of Modern Freemasonry

  4. The Grand Lodge Of The Republic Of Texas

  5. Nazis and Fascists And the Masonic Lodge

  6. Famous Masons From All Walks Of Life

  7. Consider This, Things To Ponder About Masonry

  8. Dear Dad, A Personal Story

  9. Professional Anti-Masons Attact For Personal Gain

  10. A Christian Mason's Response To An Anti-Mason

  11. A Masonic Word And Phrase Dictionary

    1. Words and Phrases A thru I

    2. Words and Phrases J thru Z

  12. Questions And Answers About Masons And Masonry

    1. Why the Square?

    2. Why do we use the term Worshipful Master?

    3. Is Masonry anti-Christian?

    4. Why is Freemasonry a secret organization?

    5. No, Then Why the Secrecy in Masonry?

    6. Why is Knights Of Columbus a secret organization?

    7. Is Freemasonry a cult?

    8. Why Symbolism?

    9. Why The Holy Saints John

    10. Is Masonry "guilty" of teaching toleration?



2 b 1 ask 1
TO  BE  ONE,  ASK  ONE.

If you would like to know more about the Masonic Lodge, or if you think you would like to become a Mason, you will have to ask a Mason. No one is ever invited to become a Mason.




I am going to start with a very sad story.

About 45 miles west of Houston, Texas, there is a small community named Pine Island. The Pine Island Baptist Church has been there since the late 1800's. The area was settled by and the church was founded by families who left Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi during the troubled times following the Civil War

About 2 months ago (in Nov. 1998) one of the members was to be ordained as a deacon. The preacher found out that the man was a Mason and refused to ordain him. There was a meeting of the congregation and they ordered the preacher to ordain the man.

The preacher refused and that Sunday he preached a hellfire sermon about the devil worshiping Masons. The congregation held another meeting and ask him to please reconsider. He refused and the congregation held a vote. The preacher lost by a large majority and was informed that he was fired.

The preacher had taken this position because he had read a book that said Masons were devil worshipers. It wasn't something he actually found or even interpreted from something in the Bible, but a modern book written by a man with a vendetta against a mason or some particular lodge. He decided to believe the words of an unknown fanatic author over that of the men of his congregation who he had known as righteous, upstanding Christians until he discovered they were Masons.

To me this is a very sad story where everyone looses and there are no winners. The preacher lost a congregation and church where he was generally well liked. His wife lost her neighbors and friends and her projects. His children lost their friends and schoolmates and the stability of their home. The congregation lost a young dynamic preacher that fought for his beliefs (right or wrong). The congregation also lost a few of it's members, even causing a split in a family or two. And, because of the preacher's beliefs, the Masons lost a little standing with a few members. I can think of a lot of ways for a man to prove his foolishness, but taking everything you read in any individual's book as the gospel truth has to be one of the most foolish, Then to condemn a large part of our male population with no other evidence then another modern man's conjectures or desire to get revenge for rejection is unbelievable to me.

An Interesting Footnote;
The preacher informed the church that he was due to receive 2 months pay if he was fired. Almost all of the congregation was opposed to making the payment and stated that he would never get an extra 2 months pay from their church. Three members of the church stood up and tried to convince the other members that the money was really owed and should be paid. After the congregation refused to pay the extra money, the 3 men made up the full amount from "their own pockets" and gave the preacher the money. The preacher took the 2 months pay without hesitation even though it was made up by 3 well known Masons.

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The Beginnings Of The
Present Day Masonic Lodge

Some of the less critically-minded Masons like to trace the origins of the Order back to ancient Egypt. But in its present form, Freemasonry originated in England, probably in the sixteenth Century, while the first Grand Lodge was founded in London in 1717 and the regulations, by-laws and constitutions of Masonry were laid down in what is known as Anderson's Constitutions in 1722-23. The spiritual elements underlying these precepts were decidedly "advanced" for their time, emphasizing as they did tolerance for other men's religions and the brotherhood of all human beings.

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.

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Nazis And Fascists And The Masonic Lodge

Nazi and Fascist publications leave no doubt of their belief that all evil in the world, from the high mortality rate among the dinner guests of the Borgias down to the Versailles Treaty, has been the work of Freemasons, alone or with the help of Israel. In "Mein Kampf", Hitler merges his twin phobias:
"The general pacifistic paralyzation of the national instinct of self-preservation, introduced into the circles of the so-called `intelligentsia' by Freemasonry, is transmitted to the great masses, but above all to the bourgeoisie, by the activity of the great press, which today is always Jewish."

In 1917, as one of their acts, the Bolsheviks dissolved all lodges in Russia. In 1919, when Bela Kun proclaimed the dictatorship of the proletariat in Hungary, one of his first decrees ordered the dissolution of Masonic lodges. In 1925, Spain's first dictator of this generation, General Primo de Rivera, ordered the abolition of Freemasonry in his country.Benito Mussolini went about the same business more methodically. Having established his regime, Il Duce proceeded step by step to exterminate the lodges and the influence of Italian Freemasonry. In the summer of 1925 Mussolini got around to dissolving Italian Freemasonry. The Nazis acted more swiftly. Immediately on Hitler's rise to power, the ten Grand Lodges of Germany were dissolved. Many among the prominent dignitaries and members of the Order were sent to concentration camps.

Why does this implacable and fanatic hatred of the Order obsess the totalitarian mind? The answer is in the whole history and temper of Freemasonry. For more than two centuries its leaders have been consistently on the side of political freedom and human dignity, reaping a harvest of persecution at the hands of tyrants.

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A Few Famous Masons

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

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Consider The Following Points

  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 feels 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.

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    Please read the following Letter

    To; Mr Wheeler Neil Daut
    C/O The Celestial Lodge

    Dear Dad,
    December 1, 1993

          I haven't talked to you in a long time. Let's see, it was on the 18 day of April 1982,the day before you died. I'm not sure if this way will work, but it's the only way I know that may work. I can only hope that you can read this letter over my shoulder as I type and know what I would love to tell you in person. Not an awful lot has changed in the 11 years since you passed on, except we are all older. There has been one major event in my life however that I wanted to share with you.
    I have finally learned the fundamental secret of Freemasonary. If the teachings of Christ had never reached these shores, living up to the Masonic teachings would be the best way to get to heaven.
          Do you remember how excited you were when you became a Freemason way back in the 1940's? I still do. Your enthusiasm for attending lodge meetings always let mom and I know how much you enjoyed your lodge and the fellowship of your brother Masons .
          I remember how excited you were when you were raised to the Master Mason's degree and how you rushed home that night with your white lambskin apron. Somehow, the idea of being excited about something for you to be buried with, escaped me at that time.       I remember how excited you were when you went into the Scottish Rite and came home to tell us that you were now a 32nd. degree Mason . You bought a 32nd. degree ring and wore it with pride. You even bought the 2 volume set of Mackey's Revised Encyclopedia of Freemasonry to learn more about the craft.
          I guess I always knew that you wanted me to become a Mason , but somehow I always fought against the idea. People (non Masons ) always told me, "Hey, if you're one of them Masons , you got it made. You can really go up in the world, get promotions and everything." Somehow that always turned me off. I guess I was young and had ideals. I wanted to get ahead on my own, without someone giving it to me.
          In 1960, in the first job I had with the City of Houston, a new supervisor (a Mason ) reassigned me to work in his office and used my expertise about the department and my abilities to revise the operation of the department. After the work was finished and he had the credit for the increased efficiency, I was reassigned back to the streets and the supervisor brought the only Mason in the department to work on the inside. It not only hurt, but it proved to me that "those people" were right.
          By 1974, I had long since transferred to a different department and been promoted first to a foreman, then to the supervisor over 90% of the department. My supervisor, a Mason , had promoted me over the other Masons in the department. This changed my views on Masonry and I filled out a petition for the Mysteries of Freemasonry that year. As you probably know, for various reasons (including money) I kept delaying and never turned it in.
          After your oldest grandson, John Neil became a Mason , I could see the same excitement in his eyes that I used to see with you. His eyes seamed to ask, why aren't you a Mason dad? The answer was simple. Hey, I'm in sixty four years old, and it's to late for me to start something like that. But, I was still interested and read a number of books including "Born In Blood" by John J. Robinson. That book came after yor time. John is a history writer,widely respected in his field, specializing in Medieval Britain and the Crusades.and a non-Mason. He later wrote another book where after 5 years of research at an advanced age, he became a Mason, " A Pilgrim's Path". I was very impressed by what I read.
          Sometime afterward your youngest granddaughter, Becky, got married, In a conversation one day, I ask her husband Pete why he hadn't ever became a Mason . His answer was simple, "No one ever ask me to join".
          I did know enough to know that he would never be ask. For some reason I took it upon myself to convince him that he should think about becoming a Mason. That's when he pulled the big one on me. "I will if you'll go in with me," he said.
          What better way could I help my daughter and her husband through life then by saying OK . . .       John was overjoyed when I ask him to get petitions for Pete and I. I know now that you would have been also, if I had ask you.
          Anyway, that's what I wanted you to know, I was raised to a Master Mason in the Cedar Bayou Lodge #321 in December, 3 months before my 65 birthday. Then the next July, I went through the Scottish Rite and received the 32nd. degree. Not to long after that, I was initiated into the Shrine. And, not to long after that, I had a duel membership and was also in the Humble Lodge #979 close to home.
          I have to admit that when I started learning the work as an Entered Apprentice, it was just a bunch of words that I had to learn to get through the degrees. By the time I begin learning the master's work, it happened to me. Somehow, as we progressed, the words grew into sober-minded concepts and those concepts evolved into an inspiration for a new outlook on life.
          Now I wish it could have been at the Cade Rothwell lodge, with you, those many years ago, but somehow I think maybe you know that.

    Your Son and Belated Brother in masonry

    John


    The above letter is my story and it is one that came from the heart.


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    Many malicious stories

    have been told against the Masons over the last couple of hundred years. 98% of these "Professional Anti-Masons" such as Pat Robertson (Whose father was a dedicated Mason) and Dr. James L. Holly, who are preaching the evils of Masonry have never been Masons and do not know anything about the Masonic Lodge from personal experence. The term, "Professional" means that they sell Anti-Masonic books and pamphlets for profit. What better motive could they have for condemning the Masonic Lodge then to increase the sales of their inflammatory written books and booklets, thereby increasing their profits.

    The only people in the world who know the truth about Masonry are men who have worked their way through the degrees. This means that every one of those men swore 3 oaths to God with their right hand on the Bible that they would never reveal anything learned in the lodge.

    WHAT DOES REVEALING ANY "FACTS" AFTER SWEARING OATHS BEFORE GOD THREE TIMES SAY FOR THEIR CHARACTER AND THE VALUE OF THEIR WORDS.
    In truth, many of the so called "experts" were rejected by the thorough character screening that all applicants must pass or were voted against by enough members of the lodge who had reason to reject him. A large part of this harassment is a form of revenge for this rejection. Then there is another group who went through 1 or more of the Masonic degrees and later dropped out because of some imagined slight by a member or members of the lodge.

    Think about this, if the Masons really had evil intentions, why would they require 3 recommendations from men of the lodge (that are thoroughly checked), 5 character references from friends and neighbors (that are thoroughly checked), and a vote of every member present before anyone petitioning for membership is allowed to join the lodge. If the Masonic Lodge really had evil intentions, wouldn't they be better served by recruiting less scrupulous people.???

    To point out Dr. Holly's mentality, here is an excerpt from one of his letters.

    "Ninety nine percent of Masons have no concept about what they are involved in . . . They see it as a good ol' boy way of doing charitable works and getting away from the wife awhile, but they don't see how anti-Christian it is."
    Does this mean that 99 out of every 100 Church going Mason who are trying to do good works and live up to the Christian faith are wrong and God will say "Sorry, you have to go to Hell for living and doing like I instructed you to."

    I guess we would have to compare the 1 evil Mason out of the 100 to the 1 crooked preacher out of 100 who gets on the radio or TV and swindles the poor and elderly, out of a percentage of their Social Security and pension checks, in the name of God, to maintain their mansions, limousines and extravagant life style. Using Dr. Holly's reasoning, all supporters of that media preacher's faith are doing the devil's work no matter how good they were in life.


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    Did you know that at times during the "War Between The States" brotherhood was often more important then bloodshed.
    Masons from both sides sometime called a truce and stopped fighting long enough to join together and bury a fallen Masonic Brother???



    Q: Why the Square?

    A: In China the implements of architecture were used in a system of moral philosophy at a very early date. Mencius, who wrote about 300 B.C., said: "A master Mason, in teaching his apprentices, makes use of the compasses and the square.

    Ye who are engaged in the pursuit of Wisdom, must also make use of the compasses and the square."

    In a book called Great Learning, 500 B.C., we find that "A man should abstain from doing unto others what he would not they should do unto him; and this is called the principle of acting on the square."

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    Q: Why do we use the term Worshipful Master?

    A: The title "worshipful" has absolutely nothing to do with any person being "worshipped". It is from an ancient title long in use in England, and it was always clearly understood to mean "respected" or "honorable". As all of us were taught in the military, you are not saluting the man when you salute an officer, you are saluting the man's rank. If your understanding was that the word meant "someone deserving of religious worship", then rest assured that was never the meaning of the word. It's like a Judge. He may not be an honorable man, but you still use the term "Your Honor" in addressing him (Another ancient English title).

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    Q: Is Masonry anti-Christian?

    .A: No. Masonry is not anti any religion. This charge is raised by some anti-Masonic writers. Quoting Matthew 12:30 ("He that is not with me, is against me; and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth abroad."), they claim that, since Masonry does not require its members to be Christian, we are actively anti-Christian.

    First of all, a reading of the entire passage makes it quite clear that Jesus was answering the Pharisees who were criticizing Him; it is not a passage which relates to the present discussion at all. Most people wouldn't agree that there are only two positions in the world-Christian and anti-Christian. The government of the United States, the city library, even the natural gas company, all serve and employ non-Christians and Christians alike-but no reasonable person would say that they were, therefore, "anti-Christian". Masonry encourages its members in their individual faiths. Masons do not oppose any faith

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    Q: Why Is Freemasonry A Secret Organization?

    A: The real reason, one that every Mason discovers and Non-Masons do not want to hear, is that Freemasonry is not a secret organization.

    If the Masonic Lodge was really a secret organization, no one but the Masons would know that it even existed. Every Masonic Lodge has a sign on the outside of the building that states the time and day of the meetings. Many Lodges also have a sign at the city limits advertising the time and location of the meetings and many run an ad in the local newspaper. Many Lodges also have the meetings advertised in the newspapers. The Grand Lodge of Texas even sponsored the "This Old House" program on public television. So much for being a so called "Secret Organization".

    Do Masonic Lodges have secrets? NO they do not. Do Masons tell what goes on during their their meetings and ceremonies? No, they do not

    Don't those last 2 statements form a contradiction? No they do not, because descriptions, words, grips and signs have been published in various books for the past 250 years. They can be repeated by anyone who takes the trouble to do some research. How can something be a secret when anyone may know it.

    Reading a cook book reveals all of the "secrets" of cooking, but you have to actually cook the recipe to taste the food. By the same token, a person has to be prepared in order to grasp their meaning, to see their significance, to hear their message.

    Much is made, by Non-Masons, of "Secret Oaths" to keep the secrets of Masonry when a man is initiated. Silence, not secret is what the Entered Apprentice actually promises to observe. What secrets does he know ? .... none ! So it is not keeping secrets that matters, but only being able to keep silent.

    Almost any man who desires to "Learn the teachings of Masonry" is welcomed. If he is of good moral character and believes in God, all he has to do is ask a mason for a petition to become a Mason. No one asks you to go any further then you want to go.

    The real, so called "Secret" teachings of Masonry should have been learned from your mother's knee when you were a small child.

    First, Love Your God

    Second, Love Your Country

    Third, Love Your Brothers


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    Q: Now It's only fair to ask, Is The Knights Of
          Columbus A "Secret Organization"?

    A: Quote From The Knights Of Columbus
          Web Site
    "Let's clear up some misconceptions as well: We are not a secret society. Certain induction ceremonies are kept confidential in order to preserve the beauty and dignity of the lessons taught - namely - charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism."

    (That same exact statement, word for word, could be painted on the front of every Masonic Lodge Hall in the U.S.A. Golly gee, now I wonder if the Knights of Columbus is a religious cult)


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    Q: Is Masonry A Cult?

    A: Recently I was talking to a man who told me that he had been seriously thinking about becoming a Mason. Before he committed himself however, he decided to ask a couple of men he had met at his new church what they thought about the Masonic Lodge. One of the men quickly answered, "Well, I know they are a cult."

    I was somewhat annoyed by this statement, but smiled and said, "Well, everyone is entitled to their own opinion". Now, here is a man who has known all his life that his brother, father, grandfather, great grandfather and many assorted uncles and cousins are and were Masons and good upright Christian men. His brother is even an ordained preacher, but he put his trust in a couple of men he has known about 6 months.

    I thought about it for a long time and finally decided to look up the word "Cult" in the dictionary. The American Heritage Dictionary states "Cult; 1. A system or community of religious worship and ritual. 2. a. Obsessive devotion to a person or ideal. b. A group of persons sharing such devotion."

    Although Masonry is not a religion and does not endorse or reject any religion and I am not obsessive, I am devoted to the major Masonic teachings of "Love your brother." "Love your country." and "Love your God." so maybe definition number 2a. fits me.

    At the same time, the man I am speaking of is deeply involved in his church which is "a system or community of religious worship" as in definition number 1. In fact, it seems to me that the term "a system or community of religious worship" would describe most churches.

    Like so many curse words in the English language that are proper everyday words and only curses when that is the intent assigned to it's usage, maybe "Cult" is in the same category.

    I would like to make it clear that this particular column is my own private thoughts on the subject and not an opinion or teaching of the Masonic Lodge or The Grand Lodge of Texas. Corky.

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    Q: Why The Holy Saints John

    A: There have been several stories and theories relating to the connection between Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist and the Masonic Fraternity. There is no question that the two are patron saints of Masonry, but some of the stories concerning them are as frivolous as those claiming that Noah, Moses and King Solomon were Freemasons and those claiming that the first Masonic lodge was located in Jerusalem.

    In 1737, the Grand Orator of the Grand Lodge of France, Chevalier Ramsey, made a speech ascribing origin of Freemasonry to an order of crusading knights who had fought so valiantly for possession the Holy Land, saying that, "Some times after, this order was united with that of the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, for which reason in all countries our lodges are called lodges of Saint John." Many Masons believed Ramsey, but no evidence has ever been found to substantiate his claim.

    What is felt to be closest to the truth is this. Centuries ago, the early Christian churches adopted the pagan customs of celebrating the summer and winter solstices. These celebrations were dedicated Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist and took place on June 24 and December 27, respectively. In later years, as building guilds and other associations were formed, the civil and religious authorities required each chartered body to name one or more patron saints and to observe that saint's day as a holiday. By the sixteenth century, the Masonic guilds, like the churches, were associating themselves with both Saints John. This probably explains where the idea got started that both had been members of the fraternity.

    The bottom line is this. The two saints are eminent patrons of Masonry because we have preserved and continued the ancient customs of observing the summer and winter solstices and the naming of patron saints. An interesting question is why don't we dedicate our lodges to Saint Thomas, the patron saint of Architecture? In England, lodges are dedicated to King Solomon.

    Finally, modem Masons should keep in mind that the connection with the Saints John is entirely symbolic and not meant to be historic.

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    Q: Why the Secrecy in Masonry?

    A: Can you think of anything said in a lodge room recently that could not have been said in public without doing harm to Masonry? Is there any need for secrecy today?

    When the concepts that have become Masonic concepts first emerged, the people were uneducated and lived in a society in which order was necessary to preserve life. The Mysteries which we have inherited were clothed in ceremony and ritual, and their deep meanings were restricted to the intellectual class. Secrecy was needed so that the ignorant would not pervert the lessons and knowledge of these Mysteries to the detriment of society. Such knowledge in the hands of men motivated by false and petty reasons would have been dangerous to order and therefore to life. Such organizations as the Essene Order, the Dionysian Mysteries, the Delphic Mysteries, the Pythagoreans, early Christians, Knights Templar, Rosicrucians and finally Masonry, were meant to be places of learning and investigation into the philosophical and scientific vanguard so that society could progress. Their secrecy was never for the purpose of evil.

    When our Order was organized into a public institution, it was hoped that three things would occur: (1) greater access could be made of the intellectuals of that day; (2) the general good of society could be improved; and (3) men of caliber and integrity could oversee the dispersal of the knowledge for the good of all. Free thought and discussion can occur in an organization where no revelation is made of its discussions to the public. Peace and harmony does not mean an absence of disagreement; it merely means a willingness to continue to love in disagreement. It was in such a careful atmosphere that the Boston Tea Party was planned and where Madison forged the Bill of Rights. In such an atmosphere, Benjamin Franklin developed his concepts, and his brilliance was recognized.

    Consider the value of such an atmosphere. Both radical and conservative decisions could be arrived at without fear of preliminary discussion leaking out. The brethren could agree and disagree without lasting bitterness. The Master, acting as moderator, could insure that all is done in a gentlemanly way, without rancour. The Brethren could find even higher truths together that would aid all of society, and those truths could be released in the most beneficial of ways.

    Unfortunately, little like that occurs today. The business of most lodges could be revealed without threat to the lodge or to society. And, in light of today's intense anti-Masonic criticism, many feel that this is the way it should be. But, perhaps we should preserve at least a modicum of secrecy in order to maintain an atmosphere of freedom of discussion in our lodge meetings and never completely open them to the profane. That kind of secrecy is one of the many things that makes Masonry unique.

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