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
