I would like to ask each of you two questions:

1. Do you believe in Santa Claus?
2. Do your actions demonstrate your belief?

It is not easy to be a leader, who sees the good and the bad.  The bad which can sometimes overshadowed the good because far too often when the Grand Lodge Leader is called it is not good news; it is sometimes because of neglect, despair and apathy on behalf of the membership.

We are a band of brothers united by a lamb skin or white leather apron. Just because you join and travel in Appendant Bodies seeking further light – your foundation must still be in the blue lodge. Brethren, your Fraternity needs your help.

Far too many masons have forgotten that there is a Santa Claus, and that the fraternity has helped Saint Nick since 1616. Christmas is more than one day a year, it is spirit, a state of mind, a willingness to put others first.  Now, I ask that you do not jump the gun and talk about the commercialization of the season and forgetting Christ’s birthday – hear me out.  Perhaps if we remember what a little 8 year old girl named Virginia learned many years ago when she wrote to the New York Sun News newspaper on December 21, 1897 regarding the existence of Santa Claus, many would return to the teaching of masonry.

The newspaper editor responded, “Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, and no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank goodness he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, no, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to bring joy to the heart of childhood.” 
 
The time has come that each of us remembers the true spirit of Christmas. Let us unite as Santa Claus’s helpers to once again spread the good news, help others less fortunate, reach out to our brothers when they stumble, and spread the mortar of brotherly love, relief and truth.

So tonight brethren I would like to say, Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus and sometimes he wears a Red Fez, or an Apron from the Chapter or Council. Sometimes he dawns a Red Cap or kirtle as a Knight Commander of the Court of Honor. Sometimes he is a shining Knight in his Commandery Uniform. Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus and in neighborhoods all around the world he puts on a lamb skin or white leather apron in the service of humanity.

So to all the “Virginia’s” if in the pilgrimage of their future they find themselves surrounded in darkness by skepticism and have loss they way. Remember that there is a Santa Claus and our Father in heaven has told us that one day storms will come, the rains will fall, but in the darkest hour of all: Santa Claus and the true meaning of Christmas will always shine the brightest!
 
With this in mind I wonder what will happen in the coming days when that midnight journey takes place.  Will Santa Claus find you and me spreading relief, joy and cheer to our fellow man?  Let’s all think about that and what it could and should be; if Saint Nicholas witnesses the gift of Christmas in all of us:

Ken Dyer
Grand Master

With the economic recovery taking hold, many market watchers foresee an inevitable steady rise in interest rates.  About three years ago, in an effort to stimulate economic growth, the Federal Reserve began purchasing long-dated government bonds and mortgage-related bonds; thereby, forcing down long-term interest rates – a program known as “quantitative easing (QE)”.  The anticipation of the Fed beginning to taper its bond-buying program has already resulted in a broad-based rise in yields and decline in bond prices.

But the reality is that the Federal Reserve is likely to change policy very slowly and only as they see clear evidence of sustained solid growth.  Some investment advisors believe that job growth would have to improve from its recent monthly pace of approximately 170,000 for the Federal Reserve to curtail its purchases.  With fiscal austerity hitting the economy, including both tax increases and spending cuts, the Fed might not announce a change in the pace of its purchases until the end of 2013.  That means that the recent surge in bond yields might not be sustained.

It is probable that the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note, which stood at 2.93% as of September 11, 2013, to rise further in 2014, although there may be some decreases along the way.  Their target for the end of 2014 is 4.00%.  But even small increases in yield could have an effect on our investment portfolio as well as other assets.  Additional inflation, is what some fixed income strategists, call the “great enemy of bonds,” could also eventually become a concern. 

The following are some steps that we can take to prepare for the potential impact of rising interest rates:

1.  Reallocate.
Based on our specific risk profile, we can potentially reduce some of our bond allocations as part of a short-term (12 – 18 months) tactical strategy in favor of equities.  We can then supplement the resulting reduction in income, or possibly even increase our income, by looking for dividend growth stocks – companies with a solid track record of regularly hiking their dividends.  It’s critical to work closely with our financial advisor, who can suggest an allocation strategy based on our investment profile, risk tolerance, liquidity needs and long and short-term goals.

2.  Shift.
The longer a bond’s duration, the less attractive it will be when interest rates rise.  That’s because it will pay less income than newer bonds pegged to the higher rates, and do so over a longer period of time than shorter-duration bonds.  Therefore, consider shifting the durations of the bonds held in the portfolio – buying those with shorter-term maturities and selectively selling those with terms longer than ten years.

One option is to create a bond ladder – purchasing an assortment of bonds that mature at different intervals.  As each bond matures, proceeds are reinvested in the longest-duration security.  By reinvesting the proceeds at the current interest rate, we build a portfolio that has an increasing yield as rates rise – leading to the potential for higher total returns.  This strategy can potentially be beneficial for those that take advantage of the higher yields that one generally get with longer maturities, without taking an undue amount of interest rate risk.

3.  Diversify.
Shifting long-term bond allocations may result in reduced income.  To offset that, you look to certain other types of fixed income.  For example, “high-yield corporate bonds” can be attractive in an environment where the economy is in a solid recovery, since that should make it more likely for companies to meet their debt obligations.  Also consider professionally-managed bond mutual funds, which enable us to invest in several different bonds and debt securities with one selection, or securities with exposure to interest rates, such as Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS).  ‘TIPS’ is a type of government bond that provides protection against inflation, along with twice-yearly interest payments, inflation is always a concern for bondholders because rising prices would threaten the purchasing power of the income that a bond provides.  With ‘TIPS’, the principal value rises with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and your interest payments fluctuate accordingly.  When a ‘TIPS’ matures, you are paid the greater of the adjusted principal or the original principal.

In reality, asset allocation and diversification do not ensure a profit or protect a loss in declining markets.  Nothing does.  Equity securities are subject to stock market fluctuations that occur in response to economic and business developments, which are predictable if you watch for the change in indicators. 

When interest rates go up, bond prices typically drop, and vice versa.  Income from investing in municipal bonds is generally exempt from federal and state taxes for those in the issuing state.  While the interest income is tax exempt, any capital gains distributed are taxable to the investor that is not tax exempt.  Currently we are a 501(3) (c) charity on the Foundation side but not the Fraternity. 

Investments in high-yield bonds (sometimes called “junk bonds”) offer the potential for high yield short term current income and attractive total returns, but it involves certain risks, such as changes in economic conditions or other circumstances, that may adversely affect a ‘junk bond’ issuer’s ability to make principal and interest payments.

Analysts agree that the next rise in interest rates is likely to be gradual over a long period of time.  While we may have some time to consider and develop an investment strategy that makes adjustments to offset the risk that rising interest rates would have on any investments that we may have in bonds, it is important to work with our financial advisor to identify the best strategies to meet our goals.

This is not rocket science; however, we cannot afford to keep doing the same old things the same old way; getting the same old results is no longer an option.  We must make changes and move into the modern age – making informed decisions based on the best information that we can get.  For the future of our scholarship program, we must be “Always Faithful” and continue to “Be A Builder”: failure is not an option.

Ken Dyer
Grand Master

There are two essential lessons that a Worshipful Master or any masonic Leader must remember and apply when serving others. The first lesson is: Everyone does not desire to know what you know. The second is more challenging, to learn and apply: the lesson of your A, B, C’s.

A long time ago, when I was 16 years old and already knew everything there was to know, I was admonished by a wise old man that “A broken clock is right twice a day. You can learn something from anyone, if you will just listen.” It took me 25 years to understand what my Grandfather was trying to tell me, but sadly, he was gone before I could discuss it with him. But today, “I understand and know my A, B, C’s.”

A- All things work together for them that know the LORD
B- B- Believe on the LORD Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved
C- C- Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a right spirit within me
D- D- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
E- E- Each one walking in his uprightness
F- F- For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
G- G- Go ye therefore and teach all nations
H- H- He that hath an ear let him listen what the Spirit said unto the churches
I- I- I am the bread of life
J- J- Jesus sayeth “Suffer the little children to come unto me.”
K- K- Keep me from evil
L- L- Lead me in thy truth, and teach me; for thou art the God of my salvation
M- M- Make thy face to shine upon thy servants: save me for thy mercies sake
N- N- No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
O- O- Open my eyes that I may see
P- P- Pray ye one for another
Q- Q- Quench not the spirit
R- R- Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it Holy
S- S- Stand firm in the Lord
T- T- The grass withers, the flower fades but the word of our God shall stand forever
U- U- Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift my soul
V- V- Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep
W- W- Wait on the LORD, and keep his way
X- X- Except a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone: but if it dies, it brings
Y- Y- Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me
Z- Z- Zacchaeus climbed up into a sycamore tree so that he might be able to see Jesus

Now many years later, the lessons I have gained through listening to another sharing their gift of understanding has stuck with me. Additionally I became aware that to learn, you must listen. Yes everyone does not desire to know what you know, but if we listen to their point of view often they will respond and listen to our point of view. Today we live in the information age and society is more connected, yet we have become a disconnected people. We are disconnected from family and one another. People do not listen today, they are too busy texting, e-mailing, or rushing off to another meeting. Children today are being raised by “Sponge Bob”, “Dora the Explorer” and a host of television shows that do not have the ability to listen.
I believe it is time to become reconnected with each other and listen. Have you ever noticed the great lengths to which people will go when they want to do something? If somebody is determined enough to be somewhere or do something there is nothing on earth that can keep them from being there and doing that particular thing. Tragically we often get in the way of some of life’s greatest blessings. I thank God that I finally learned to listen, because if I had not listened I would have missed a blessing.

Often when obstacles or difficulties arise excuses are not far behind. Perhaps you or someone you know have made statements like these: “Well, I would read the Bible, but I’m just too busy.” Or, “I would go worship God, but I work six days of the week and I need one day for myself to rest.” What do statements like that actually say? They set the priorities and define what is more important to that person.

Often today we cannot get someone to sit down for five minutes to listen, to share our day, or to attend a church or a civic meeting. It has been projected that in our next general election less than 30% of registered voters will cast their vote. Imagine if like Zacchaeus they had to climb a tree to vote, how many concerned citizens would even attempt the difficulty? A sycamore’s branches are long and strong enough to bear extended weight. The key was Zacchaeus was willing put forth the effort to listen because this was a priority to him at that time.

I would like to challenge each to learn their A, B; C’s and then when the opportunity presents itself share them in your circle of acquaintances. We do not have to look for opportunities to serve. What we do need to do is to listen and grasp the opportunities in our lives. Opportunity for growth occurs through weathering the storms of life and Brethren, storms will always be on the horizon.

Consider the ravens for they neither sow nor reap and have neither a storehouse nor a barn; yet GOD feeds them: how much more are you better off than the birds?

Listening, giving a kind word, and sharing you’re A, B, C’s should remind us of God’s grace. Imagine how connected humanity would be if we would open our hearts and listen. Listening will require us to stop walking away. We may not have to climb a sycamore tree, but we will have to leave our comfort zone. Yes the storms of life assail each one of us, and when we listen to each other we become aware of their circumstances providing us an opportunity to bear one another’s burdens. I cannot promise you that you will always know what to say or how to assist those you meet in this walk of life…but I can promise you that when you pause and listen you will receive as much of a blessing as the one whom you comforted will receive. Because I have the opportunity to share what is going on in my life, I thank GOD for the blessings that I have received through listening to others.
 
When the storms of life come and the wave’s crashing are preventing you from hearing a sparrow sing…and you cannot feel the melody of life…recall from the recess of your heart the lesson of the A, B, C’s. Because I assure you God sees and he is listening, yes there is a secret place full ofgrace. There is a Blessing in every Storm.

Perhaps the lesson of the A, B, C’s can be summed up as follows:
Attitude – Have a positive attitude
Believe – Believe in GOD, Believe in yourself and live your faith
Commitment – Stay the course by remaining faithful to your calling
Lead by example, Leaders influence others by example – Not by authority or position; look in the mirror, examine what you see and change in yourself what needs to be changed before you attempt to influence and lead others.

Be Always Faithful and Be a Builder.

Fraternally,

Ken Dyer
Grand Master

A Certified Financial Planner with Navy Federal Asset Management recently discussed with me, many questions about investments and financial strategies. One frequently asked question over the last 18-years is, “What is the best investment right now?” or “What’s working today?”

This is a basic question that many have, particularly during difficult economic times. During recessions or financial turmoil, markets tend to be more volatile. This may be driven by many factors, but a primary one being “fear.”

It’s easy to look at the negative headlines coupled with deteriorating economic data and conclude that traditional investments are too risky. This, together with record low interest rates on fixed income investments (certificates of deposit, bonds, and fixed annuities), has sent many investors looking for other options. Encouraged by spam email and a barrage of advertisements many believe that there is some “secret” investment that is immune or free from any risk and pays far more than current interest rates.

So, what is working today? You may be surprised to find that it is the same thing that has always worked, every time it’s been tried. This incredible investment strategy has been successfully implemented by hundreds of thousands of investors for many decades in every economic environment. It’s commonly available, but, unfortunately, often overlooked, or worse yet, dismissed as being too difficult, boring, or not in fashion.

And what is this magical investment?  It is a well-diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds, and other asset classes, matched to your individual risk tolerance, time horizon, and investment objectives, and applied with discipline over the long haul. I know, it does not sound very exciting.  You were probably expecting some exotic, “never-before-heard-of” super investment strategy, only used by those “insiders who know the secret.”  Sorry, those investments just do not exist.  So, how do we go about getting this diversified portfolio?

Your advisor can take the time to understand your goals, objectives, how you feel about risk, your time horizon, and any other issues that may be pertinent to your investment strategy.  Next, the advisor will develop a plan designed to take you from where you are now to where you want to go financially, taking the least risk in the shortest time period possible.  Next, the advisor will make investment recommendations, designed with your specific needs in mind. 

Our Grand Lodge financial advisor can answer these questions and provide us with the information needed to make intelligent investment decisions; however, to diversify – we must eliminate the restrictions in the William’s Digest that prohibits some of the moderate investment opportunities discussed in my recent articles in this series of financial discussions. We must make informed and intelligent choices regarding how and where our Masonic Foundation investments are to be made in the future to grow and yield their greatest earning potential during this depressed period of low interest rates. A diversified approach has over time proven to be the most reliable path toward realization of all long range financial goals.

It is with a great pleasure for me to have the opportunity to reflect upon and address some issues rising within our fraternity regarding various member Masonic organizations.

 In years past I have traveled to many places and have had the honor to meet some of the greatest men I have ever known and this has given me an opportunity to reflect on the significance of Freemasonry in the historic evolution of the societies of the world, thus assisting me in comprehending some of the thinking of current Freemason Leadership.

 I am going to be candid, not meaning to be offensive but with the realization that as we get older and our clocks are running down.  In the limited time left, I hope to stimulate you to think about the direction our Fraternity is going; to think about what we are and to what end we should and can be; and cause us to understand a little more of the world of Freemasonry.  It is my goal to cause you to think.  If I fail to do that then I have wasted your time. 

 I could reiterate to you how great our Fraternity was or even how great it are.  I could rehearse the enormous accomplishments that our brethren in the past have made to this world.  I could review a list of those famous Freemasons whose influence changed the direction of civil societies and what the probable influence the philosophy of Freemasonry had on their lives.  I could do all of this and you could walk away happy, satisfied and content with what has been said. But what value would that be to you?  You have heard all of that before.

 Brethren, we are living in a remarkable age for Freemasonry.  Our craft in general is achieving continuing success, expanding into geographical areas where it has either not existed in the past or where it is reappearing following the fall of oppressive regimes.  Indeed, we are probably growing more rapidly now than at any time in our history. There have been 26 new Grand Lodges consecrated in this millennium and they are attracting some of the more prominent personages in their societies.  It is impressive to observe the quality of these new brothers, along with the attention of government leaders concerning the potential impact of the craft on the development of their societies. And yet, while we are thriving and expanding in some areas of the world we are declining in others, becoming less visible and less influential in society.

 I have been considering some divisive issues in Freemasonry which may be contributing to this decline.  There are numerous factors that are contributing to our increasing failure but the greatest problems facing Freemasonry today are quite different from those which were faced 50 years ago.  The lack of vision in much of present-day leadership is causing us to concentrate more of our effort on mundane exercises of little consequence to the philosophical purpose of Freemasonry.  In so doing we lose the opportunity to make contributions of the magnitudes for which the Fraternity has been known for in past centuries. 
 We have continued to rest on the glory of the past and of what value has that been?  We have lost three quarters of the membership in North America.  We have surrendered our societal influence and where we once were prominent have become almost invisible.

The time is long overdue for us to recognize that our attempts to regain our prominence in society have failed.  We cannot continue to emphasize what we were and accept the responsibility that we assumed when we were given the privilege of becoming Freemasons.  “If you always do what you have always done – you are going to get what you have always got.”  We just cannot keep doing the same things, the same way, looking – wishing – hoping for different results.

We must confront the challenges of the present.  In the past our greatest challenges were external.  Our supreme enemies have historically been oppressive government and religious leaders.  Please note, I said “leaders of governments” and not governments; “leaders of religions” and not religions.  It is the leaders who create the opposition not the governments and not the religions.

It is also significant that the opposition of the leadership of both these entities opposed us for the very same reason, a need to control the minds and bodies of those under their influence. They would deny their people everything that Freemasonry stands for. 

Today however, the greatest threat to the Fraternity’s future lies not from without but from within.  There are far more divisive issues for Freemasonry today existing within the egos of the leadership of the craft than from challenges outside of it.  Neither an oppressive governmental system nor any oppressive religious regime has been able to defeat the philosophy of Freemasonry.  They have tried and they temporarily impacted us but none has destroyed us.  We are now accomplishing what they could never do.   

In much of North America over the past 30 to 35 years we have excised most of the intellectual and philosophical qualities of the craft, eliminating the stimulus to learn and removing the requirements to do so.  Tragically, the result has been an erosion of our image along with a decreasing interest in the Craft.  In doing so, we have surrendered the qualities that made Freemasonry such a unique entity.  Freemasonry was one of the primary enclaves that provided the environment during the “Age of the Enlightenment” that attracted great minds and laid the framework for a democratic society.  The United States of America is an example.

The greatest threats to Freemasonry’s integrity worldwide today have been the impact of appendant bodies interfering with Grand Lodge operation, the spread of irregular forms of Freemasonry and our willingness to accept them.

We must never accept that any organization appendant to Freemasonry has any influence over the operations of any Grand Lodge. The Grand Lodge is the supreme authority in all jurisdictions and any interference by an appendant body is unacceptable.  The greatest challenges to the success of Freemasonry in Eastern Europe and Africa have been a result of interference by organizations that require Masonic membership for affiliation.  Higher degree numbers does not mean higher status in Freemasonry.  There is no higher degree than the Master Mason’s degree. 

Irregular Freemasonry has been relatively quiescent and has offered little challenge to our success.  Now, however, they are expanding into jurisdictions that have had regular Freemasonry for centuries.  Our concern must be with the Masonic leadership of today being willing to accept and grant recognition to these irregular bodies.
 
Finally, our willingness to tell the world all they want to know about us has had a big impact on those who were attracted by the mystique and the unknown of the craft.  When we take away the mystique we take away a stimulus for many who might have petitioned.  Many of our leaders today feel the need to expose to the public that which we kept concealed or attempted to keep concealed for several hundred years.  This created an aura around us and tended to lift us above other fraternal organizations.

In the past, there has been some debate regarding if the internet would make Grand Lodges obsolete.  Some were of the opinion that it would not make Grand Lodges obsolete but would certainly change Freemasonry’s visible image to the world, and it appears to be doing just that.

We live in a society dominated by a concept of political correctness today, the attitude that everyone should have the same as everyone else regardless of ability, initiative or work ethic.  Freemasonry has bought into that concept with a devastating effect upon the quality of the craft and as quality declines so does our image and our ability to impact the ongoing evolution of civil society.

In the internet our enemies have found a fertile field in which to plant the seeds of doubt as to what is our true purpose and intent.  However, our misinformed membership probably does more harm than do our enemies.  We should never cease being amazed at the misinformation that is offered by some brethren on the web who think they know and by those who have been members for a short period of time – having all the answers, yet never did heard the questions. 

Over the last few years some have been attempting to place Freemasonry into what can be referred to some type of style, based upon operational philosophy.  The structural philosophy of Freemasonry is universal and unalterable but the operational philosophy depends upon the response to the sociological pressures of the environment in which it exists.  To date, some styles that have experienced levels of success but are beginning to fail in both numbers and influence due to the lack of vision and comprehension of Freemasonry’s significance.  With the exception of the Freemasonry in Australia, North American Freemasonry is today leading the way in this failing.

Every style that exists today came from an origin emphasizing an intellectual foundation based upon emphasis on learning and with the philosophical intent to improve the individual man.  It is when we began to lose sight of the real meaning of Freemasonry that we began to observe the failure of its influence.

The more one studies the craft the more impressed you become with how much its presence meant to the development of civilization.  Freemasonry made this world what it is today; made it by taking the best man it could find and improving him.  Consider the results of our early leadership with their long-range vision to produce what we have inherited.  Then today, observe not only the lack of that vision but even of the lack of understanding of the Fraternity’s significance in the world.  It is sad to see our willingness to lower the quality of the membership simply to maintain the quantity.  It is sad to watch our efforts to support programs of a consequence that will never approach those of our past and it is sad to watch those leaders whose abilities will never match the size of their egos seriously damage our potential to influence an image to this world.
 Freemasonry is a unique organization.  It is what made the craft into what it is; the most outstanding and significant organization that the mind of man has ever structured and made this world what it is today.  There has never been an organization that could approach the positive influence that Freemasonry has had on the evolution of civil societies.  This influence was not generated by the quantity of the membership; it was generated by the quality of its members.  It was generated by the wisdom and the long-range vision of its leadership; it was generated by the dedication of the brethren who saw in the philosophy of the craft the opportunity to change the world into something better than it was.  It laid the foundation for democratic thought and provided the environment to stimulate it.

It is time now for us to lay our egos aside and contribute to restoring regular Freemasonry to the prominence it once had.  I well know that no matter how important I may ever think I am to this world, a year after I am dead, the world will ask, Ken who?  And, my brothers the same applies to you.  We each have achieved what we have because we have an ego driving us.  Our legacy will survive us but whether it is a benefit or detriment to the craft will depend far more upon our willingness to limit our ego than to exalt it.

Brethren, Freemasonry remains the most significant organization ever conceived by the mind of man.  The present day leaders of this fraternity have assumed responsibility of perpetuating it.  This heritage is the result of taking one good man at a time and influencing him to become a better man.  After which, that man generated all that we have, all that we are.  But it was not Freemasonry that made this world a better world.  It was that better man that made this world a better world through the philosophical precepts of Freemasonry.  If Freemasonry is not succeeding it is not the fault of Freemasonry, it is a result of its membership failing.  Freemasonry does not fail – we as Freemasons fail. 

Freemasonry can never be fully understood by someone who has not himself knelt where Hiram knelt.  An outsider, however diligent their work is, without the benefit of actually undergoing the various degrees that take us on our own individual path of inner reflection that is the Craft, only sees the shadow cast by the fraternal influence and not what Freemasonry actually is itself.  One must join, study, reflect, and grow in knowledge to truly understand what Freemasonry and the Fraternity are. 
I hope these comments will influence you to pause and consider our responsibility not only to Freemasonry but to the Brethren who gave this heritage to a world that desperately needs it.  We need to get our egos out of the way and learn to “improvise, adapt and overcome.”  Be Always Faithful and be Builders.

Kenneth Dyer
Grand Master

There are essentially three groups of men who make up the ranks of our Masonic craft.  The first group is that group who joins the Fraternity for all the wrong reasons.  They believe that their personal (financial) standing will somehow be improved by lodge membership…they are seeking personal, physical benefit only.

There is a second group who joins for all the right reasons.  These make their application for admission by having a favorable opinion of our institution, and a sincere desire for knowledge.  They are well read in the rituals, assist in the spread of Masonic knowledge, and actively research and read concerning the fraternity.  Often these men are given elevated positions in the order; however their personal quest is not for position, but rather for knowledge. 

There is a third group of men who make up our ranks…not as bad as the first, but far from the high standards of the second.  This is the group, unfortunately, that comprises the bulk of the body of our order.  These men may have joined with the best of intentions, but have long been satisfied with the level of knowledge conveyed to them in the three degrees of the blue lodge.  While they may have joined some appendant bodies, their quest was one of position and elevated standing rather that one of increased knowledge.  Some in our fraternity have risen to its highest levels, perhaps wear an exalted emblem on their regalia, and yet do not know – much less practice – the teachings of our order.  Their relationship to Masonry is one of personal recognition, position, and degree rather than of knowledge, application, and service.  We will often see these members at our regular meetings, participating in fund-raising activities, and being active in lodge discussions.  Often these members may in fact know the general work of the lodge in its opening, business, and closing procedures, and there are even some who give the lectures in the different degrees of the Masonic organizations that they belong to, and yet they have no true knowledge of the teachings of Freemasonry, and they certainly do not exhibit those teachings in their lives.

When someone asks you why they should join the Masons, what do you say to them?  Do you tell them that the Masons are charitable organizations with lodges all around the world that they are joining an age-old institution that it is an organization that makes good men better.  There is much we can tell a prospective member if we have the knowledge to do so.  A Mason’s ability to effectively relate these and other reasons for joining Masonry is dependent entirely on the personal level of knowledge of that member.  A well-read and knowledgeable mason is better prepared to present our craft to the general public than the Mason who has never been interested enough in the work and teachings of the craft to advance their own knowledge.

Freemasonry can never be fully understood by someone who has not himself knelt where Hiram knelt.  An outsider, however diligent their work, without the benefit of actually undergoing the various degrees that take us on our own individual path of inner reflection that is the Craft, only sees the shadow cast by the fraternal influence and not what Freemasonry actually is itself.

One of the teachings within the fraternity is that “the unexamined life is not worth living.”  We should, all of us, be in the constant process of evaluating our lives – defining our relationships.  I challenge each of us to a rededication of our efforts concerning our personal knowledge of our craft, so that when the next person asks us about our fraternity, we will have an answer that will cause him to want to join and to engage in a process of life-long learning about the teachings of the Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons. 

We should always remember to be “Always Faithful” – be a Builder and that failure is not an option.

Kenneth E. Dyer
Grand Master

In the wake of the financial crisis five years ago in 2008, many people understandably shifted away from equities. In a “flight to safety,” they switched to U.S. Treasury securities and other fixed-income holdings and watched helplessly as interest rates fell-off to almost nothing. Recently, as the economy began to show signs of some recovery, the stock market rose to fresh highs. But many investors still remain reluctant to return to equities, concerned about taking on more risk.

Waiting on the sidelines can be risky, also. In recent months, interest rates have risen slightly from recent lows and some investors now believe they will continue to rise gradually, although unevenly, as rising rates hurt bond values, equities may well be poised to continue their upward turn.

There’s more to it than that, though. Equities have an essential role to play in most portfolios. “We believe virtually all investors need some exposure to stocks,” says Cheryl Rowan, senior U.S. Equity Portfolio strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research and co-head of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Investment Strategy. “We believe that, historically, there is no better asset than equities to build wealth over the long term. The key is to include them in your portfolio in a smart, risk-managed way.”

Setting and Gauging Your Goals
The principal question isn’t whether to buy stocks or even what stocks to own, but rather what you want to accomplish, in both the short and long term. “There are lots of potential ways to grow wealth,” Rowan says. “You need to start by reflecting on how you want to get there.”

That includes factors such as when you will need money for some particular objectives and the personal risk tolerance. Saving for college tuition, for example, is different from accumulating assets for retirement—even if both are equally important. Because college comes within several years, you may not want to take much risk with those assets, though you still need them to grow. This is an example of our goals to provide scholarship funding now and the need to grow the investment income for future educational withdrawals. For those long term portions, we might consider mature companies with fairly stable earnings that may provide consistent, modest growth. “They’re not as exciting as some other companies, but that’s not their job,” Rowan says. “They provide stable revenues and earnings, and their stock prices tend to be less variable.”

And while security is also important for sustained interest income, the longer time frame gives you an opportunity to push for above-average returns. You might devote a portion of the stock allocation to more aggressive, concentrated holdings, keeping the rest of that portfolio well balanced and diversified.

Staying Diversified
Especially with higher-risk holdings, it’s important to manage risks appropriately, Rowan says. “One way to do that is to include stocks of companies that are not highly correlated with one another.” Rowan further explains, “You don’t want all of the stocks or funds in a portfolio to be affected by the same economic and market dynamics. When everything is going up together, you’ll be very happy, but then there will be a day when you will be very sad.”  To put it another way – do not put all your eggs in the same basket.”

Rowan notes that some investment sectors, seemingly distinct from each other, can in fact be tied to similar market conditions. As an example, take financial stocks and the consumer discretionary sector. They seem completely different, but they are both dependent on the supply and price of credit. Rowan says, “When interest rates rise, it has a negative for both sectors.”

Achieving broad diversification may well require venturing into areas of the market that are unfamiliar to you. Industrials and energy are two sectors largely unknown to most investors. “If you talk about a big discount retailer, everyone understands what it is, what it does and how it makes money,” Rowan says. “Getting a handle on companies that make roller bearings or aircraft engines can be more challenging.”

Protecting Yourself
Keeping a portfolio well diversified also means not abandoning bonds, even with the current low market yields. “It pays to have some high-quality fixed-income securities, because that will protect you from any surprises that might lie ahead,” says Marty Mauro, a fixed-income strategist and co-head of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Investment Strategy.

In addition, managing a portfolio risk means revisiting your strategy frequently—probably at least twice a year, and maybe more often. Doing so can help you make sure your overall asset allocation, as well as your specific equity and bond holdings, are still aligned with the specific established goals. As Rowan observes, “When markets turn volatile, allocations need to be adjusted. In reviewing the holdings, look at how prices in the market may have affected the weighting of various assets in a portfolio.”

Say, for instance, that you have a higher-risk security accounting for 3% of your original portfolio. If it grows quickly, it could soon make up as much as 8% or 9% of the total holdings, creating an imbalance – and increasing the risk – if the security suddenly begins to lose value. You might consider paring back such an investment like this, selling all or part of it when prices are relatively high and using the proceeds to bolster the portfolio in other ways.

Another reason to review the strategy regularly is to confirm that it’s still lined in achieving the established goals. As you move closer to specific goals or events, you may want to be more conservatively invested. And because some end goals change, just as economic markets do, tell your financial advisor about any significant changes in your situation or your financial objectives. That way, you can make sure that your money is always working towards what matters most to you – allowing you to concentrate on the aspects of the financial plan that can be controlled.

When you have your goals clearly stated and design a portfolio to achieve those goals, it’s much easier to stay focused.  We can get through these lean times with a good strategic plan for the Mississippi Masonic Foundation’s investments to continue to support our scholarship program.

However, there must be changes made in the Williams Digest of Laws that remove restrictions preventing our financial advisor from making such diversified investments that can increase the earnings of the scholarship investment portfolio that have been discussed in this article.  We must be builders.

Always Faithful,
Kenneth Dyer
Grand Master

If professional financial advice was sought on Monday, May 1, 1967 – a day on which the S&P 500 closed at 94 and 9.4 million shares of stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) – comparable statistics for May 1, 2013 – the S&P 500 closed at 1,583 on the NYSE with a volume of 3.5 billion shares.  Those numbers alone suggest a very important thing about today’s investment market.

Before sharing some really important things learned in those 46 years, one must remember that these observations are views developed by investors and nothing that follows proves anything about the future.  Proof of the future is beyond man’s competence.  For example: I cannot prove that the sun will come up tomorrow, much less if you or myself will be here to see it, if it does come up.  Although information and data indicates that there is a very high probably that it will come up again tomorrow.  With that said:

1.    The single most astonishing thing over this period has been the sheer magnitude and volume of economic progress.  The U.S. Gross Domestic Product since 1943 has increased about six-fold.  That means the value of manufactured goods and services produced – after subtracting for inflation – is six times what it was in 1943. The S&P 500 has risen close to 17 times more – dividends have grown even more – and the return of the S&P 500 with dividends compounded, has been about 9.6% over the last 46 years.  Yet during this time, we have had wars, recessions, savage bear markets, natural disasters, assassinations, a presidential impeachment, financial crises, geopolitical turmoil, oil embargos and catastrophic terrorism – one seemingly intractable crisis after another.  However, stock prices are higher than they have ever been and so are the dividends.  First thing learned here – invest.

2.    The world does not seem to end with each of these man-made disasters, although it gives that indication from time to time. A legendary investor by the name of John Templeton coined the phrase, “It’s different this time.”  When we are going through a crisis that seems to have no historical context – the 9-11 terrorist attacks for example or the global financial collapse of 2008 – it is human to fear that the end is near.  However, as always, good companies have reacted rationally to the challenges which seem to be without precedent, taking steps to ride out the storm and lead the way back; developing new products and entering new markets.  There always seem to be tried and true ways good companies prosper during these stormy periods.  We need to invest in the resilience of good companies – the second thing learned here.
 
3.    Sometimes it seems that progress is slowing down, when in fact it keeps speeding up.  For instance: the computer imbedded in someone’s iPhone 5 is a “million times smaller”, a million time cheaper and is a thousand times more powerful than the old gigantic IBM mainframes back in the mid 1960’s.  That is a “billion fold” increase in computing power per dollar in the last 46 years; however, how many investors got in on the “ground floor” investing in that new technology?  Today, the markets are entering an era of ‘cloud computing,’ 3D printing, and molecular engineering.  As Al Jolson once said, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”  Third thing learned is not to close your eyes to solid progressive investment opportunities.

4.    Forty-five (45) years ago, the economic life on our planet was basically in North America, Europe and Japan.  The rest of the world was relatively inconsequential economically.  Russia and China were militarized dungeons, and India was the epitome of socialism; however, today some of these along with Brazil, South Korea, Indonesia and Mexico are the growth engines of the world.  For example, in 2004 General Motors sold ten (10) cars in the U.S. for every car it sold in China – today that projected ratio is one to one.  American investors do not seem able to look past their own fiscal woes to see where the significant growth and investment opportunities lie.  Fourth thing learned here is not to over-look additional investment opportunities because we have never done it that way before.

5.    In World War II, the Allies burned seven (7) billion barrels of oil; of which six (6) billion came from production in the United States.  By the late 1950’s, we began to lose our energy independence and by the 1970’s – OPEC was able to hold us hostage, inflating the price of oil at will.  With new procedural revolutions of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, America is projected to potentially become the world’s largest oil producing nation by 2020.  It has been discovered that we are sitting on hundred years’ supply of shale gas and U.S. natural gas can cost a third to half what it does in Europe and Asia. Some manufacturing jobs that shipped overseas a couple of decades ago because of cheap labor are already returning home. Fifth thing learned, be skeptical of the concept of peak oil prices and supportive of our country’s energy future; take investment opportunities in areas that we have never done before.

6.    Finally, investment advice in one sentence: “pessimists have always figured out a way to be really wrong – optimists have kept figuring out ways to be right”.  Sixth thing learned, have a strategic plan that includes investments; do not keep doing the same things that do not achieve your goals.

We must identify and remove items from our Digest of Laws that are restrictive to earning potentials of our investments in today’s economic markets. You are asked to become knowledgeable of the needs and the reasons to make changes to improve the Fraternity’s investment opportunities thus increasing earnings.

Fraternally,
Ken Dyer, Grand Master

It is axiomatic, in the 24-hour cycle of financial “news” from a staggering variety of cable and web-based sources, that all of us get immeasurably more financial information and opinions than we can possibly process.  Almost unconsciously, then, we may tend to home in on news and commentary that are consistent with the conclusions to which we are already temperamentally inclined.  So the question becomes: what, if any, are the beliefs (or the biases) that are dictating what gets through to us?  In so many words, how are we selecting our news or information?  And is it clear to us – what that selection process is doing to our financial planning and investing decisions?

Most often, if we are honest with ourselves, we will find that we are consistently selecting what we most want to be told: that the “news” has been broken down, for us, into a process of bias confirmation.  In other words: we keep doing the same old things we have always done and we wonder why we get what we have always got.

As any personal investor, our most important long term goals should allow us to be able to draw a sustaining income from those investments for the balance of a life time and then be passed on to the following generations to keep growing even as we withdraw from it.  We must change or eliminate the restrictions to our investment options. 

Our investment perspective should therefore be measured in long term planning, for possibly decades at a time and our portfolio be driven not by the “news or information regarding doom and gloom” but by our established goals. 

Given those goals and the timeline to reach them, we should be most influenced in our investment decision making by long-term economic and historical market data; although pass performance over time does not guarantee future success, it is by far the best indicator in which prediction of the most probable productive return on investments can be achieved.