Freemasonry's truths are covered with symbolism and its insight with allegory. It is necessary to look behind the fact to see the truth and beyond the symbol to see the reality. This requires thought, study, reflection and an investment of time and effort.
Frederick Schopenhauer once said that philosophy must be understood by experience and thought, not as a mere passive reading or study. This is equally true of Freemasonry. The lectures of each degree of Freemasonry were drafted carefully in the shape of a series of moral principles and divided into sections. They are designed so that each Brother should be well acquainted with each before he be admitted to a higher degree. They were also designed in light of an understanding that knowledge acquired by graduated studies and in detail is a species of wealth which is endurable, and cannot be taken away.
Although the Brethren are urged to practice out of the Lodge the lessons learned therein, often the lessons are not sufficiently emphasized, are insufficiently explained, or are glossed over in the interest of time. Often, the goal is to complete the degrees in a short period of time, rather than to allow a contemplative period to digest the lessons and to interpret the symbols and allegories. The result is often a failure to learn the lessons and thus to put in the ranks some Brothers who do the Craft little credit and who are either ignorant of or indifferent to, even the purposes of the Order. Quick fixes, like fool's gold, are attractive and seemingly valuable until time and study prove them otherwise. Unearned advancement, like undeserved honors, degrades and diminishes.
One reason given for the goal to rush through the degrees is that men today lack the time to take the degrees in the manner used for hundreds of years. However, men make time for things they value. Unhappily, many prospective candidates are not informed that Freemasonry contains the secrets of successful and happy living, that it shows the way to allow the spiritual to overcome the material and thus to improvement, and that it supplies the answer to why we are here. Hence, its value is not readily apparent to them. Moreover, if men do not believe they want to take the time to attend a few meetings in order to receive the degrees in the traditional manner, or to prepare themselves for advancement, they likely would not believe they want to make time to devote to Lodge attendance, Lodge activities, or to discovering the underlying teachings of the symbols and allegories and to thus obtain an understanding of the truths of Freemasonry.
The German philosopher Georg Hegel was once asked to describe philosophy in one sentence, but realizing its depth and complexity, he took forty volumes to do so. He chose not to try to emulate the monk who, when asked to describe Christianity while standing on one foot, said simply - "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
Freemasonry can be described concisely. Some, attempting to do so, might say that it is a way of life, while others that it is dedicated to the regeneration of man and the reformation of human society. Others, in describing it, might quote from ritual and state that Masonry:  
1. is a series of allegories, the mere vehicles of great lessons in morality and philosophy; or
2. has as the basis for its doctrine a firm belief in the existence of God and of the immortality of the soul and for its purpose the practice of the social and moral virtues; or
3. is a progressive moral science taught by degrees; or
4. teaches us to subdue the passions, act upon the square, keep a tongue of good report, maintain secrecy and practice charity.
Such descriptions, however accurate, are superficial. They merely communicate some basic fundamentals or at best an overview. They only obliquely reference a few of Freemasonry's purposes and only sparsely some of its moral and philosophical principles.
Anyone desiring to become useful to the science of Freemasonry and to be able to apply it to enhance his living, cannot be content with a mere exposure to, and a hasty and incomplete understanding of, the externals, but will examine its esoteric secrets with enthusiasm. In doing so he will reap a full share of the blessings, which it is so well calculated to confer on society at large. To do so requires the thought, study and reflection necessary to look beyond the presentation. Without doing so, he will likely remain almost totally ignorant of the true principles of Freemasonry and of how to use them to produce a beautiful and meaningful effect.
We are here to labor for liberation from ignorance, to overcome the base passions, and to breach the bonds of limitation. It is necessary, therefore, to seek to be worthy of our immortal heritage, and to deserve the title of Freemason, not merely to possess it. Our novitiates must be encouraged to invest thought, study and reflection into learning and understanding the principles and lessons of Freemasonry. In doing so they will not only be wiser and happier, but will truly be able, by the influence of the pure principles of Freemasonry, to display the beauties of holiness, to the honor of the Almighty Father of the Universe.

​by Jack R. Levitt, PGM (California)

More than anything else, this is a time for Freemasonry to face reality and to be absolutely honest about the state of the Fraternity. We’ve looked in the ‘rear-view’ mirror long enough. The glory days are behind us -- and not even a miracle will return us to the 1950s and 1960s when many Lodges were holding special meetings in order to accommodate all the new initiates.
In all honesty, we must ask, "Why would a man want to become a Mason today?" There were very good reasons to become a Mason 40 years ago.
Being a Mason brought a man prestige in the community. It set you apart. A member of the Masonic Fraternity was a member of an elite group. This has all changed. Recently a Grand Master talked to two U.S. Senators about becoming Masons. Both turned him down!
What’s the popular view? Simple. People think we’re either dead or dying. Or, worse yet, irrelevant. There was a time when being a Mason put a man in touch with the right people. In many communities, the Masonic Lodge was the key to rubbing shoulders with the decision-makers, the movers and shakers-- the business and civic leaders. Everyone was a Mason. Only in rare instances is this true today.
Forty years ago, being a Mason made a difference in your career. We all remember the so-called "Masonic companies," firms that were filled with Masons from bottom to top. If you wanted to get ahead, you became a Mason.
The same was true if you were a local insurance agent or real estate broker, a barber or a butcher. Being a Mason gave you a network in the community. That’s how your business grew and prospered. In other words, there were power incentives for a man to become a Mason. Masonry conferred upon its members status, prestige and influence.
This is not the way it is today -- at least our sons and their friends are not impressed. When a friend of mine walked into my office and saw Masonic mementos, he said, "Why in the world do you want to be a Mason?"
In spite of the dramatic and far-reaching change in Masonry’s status in American society, there is no reason for despair. Masonry still fits the times -- not withstanding the fact that we have been horribly negligent in communicating the message. As much as in any other period, Freemasonry has a powerful role to play.
Masonry sets forth the values that make life worthwhile. It is clear that the 1990s are a period when there is public recognition that traditional values make a difference. Having "discarded" the importance of basic ethics for the past 25 years, there appears to be a return to the bedrock beliefs that made this country great -- the family, loyalty, hard work, honor and integrity. The basic -- and essential -- virtues.
In his recent book, More Like Us, James Fallows makes the issue crystal clear: "In the long run, a society’s strength depends on the way ordinary people voluntarily behave."
This has been the message of Freemasonry for the past three centuries! And it is just as true today as it was 40 or 200 years ago.
Masonry gives a man a positive picture of what it means to be a man. In a time when numbers are more important than a man’s name, this is a message that makes sense! No group or organization gives recognition to the worth of a man’s life as does Freemasonry. The Masonic message is simple: "You’re important." As Masons, we make one thing clear. "As a man, you have tremendous potential and we’re going to show you how to become the best." Masonry never looks down on a man. Masonry denies that a man is basically "bad." Masonry sees the possibilities in a man and gives him a way to reach for the stars.
Masonry separates a man from the crowd. The most incredible fact about being a Mason is that you can never, never forget that you are one. You can forget your wife’s birthday, but you can’t ever forget that you are a Mason. Show me a group that can make such an indelible impact on a man’s life?
As a Mason, I can never forget that I have a responsibility to live and conduct my business according to the tenets of Freemasonry. I can never be lost in the crowd. For a man to say, "I’m a Mason" sets him apart from other men.
Why, then, with all that we have to offer are we, as a Fraternity, slipping into the darkness of obscurity? Why are we not just fading away, but actually disappearing in an ever increasing rate?
The problem is not Masonry. The problem is not our beliefs or our ideals. The problem is one of leadership. Or, more to the point, our total lack of leadership at every level! For the past several decades, we have been in the midst of a leadership crisis -- and it’s killing us.
Let’s take a look at "Masonic leadership." The major qualification for being a leader in our Fraternity is time. If you can devote the time, you can get to the top. In the same way, leadership in Masonry is viewed as a "reward for good behavior." If you do what you’re told, attend a thousand meetings, and stay in line (in more than one way), you’ll get a jewel hung around your neck.
We even think that "going through the chairs" is "training." As a matter of fact, it is training of sorts. But what does a man learn? One thing that’s important, he learns how to play the game so that by the time he gets to the top he has achieved total ineffectiveness. He is completely useless as a leader!
If we take a closer look how we behave when it comes to leadership, the picture becomes quite clear. To put the matter bluntly, we are experts in putting the emphasis in all the wrong places. In other words, we do it backwards.
Masonry suffers from what I call "The Mussolini Syndrome." Benito Mussolini’s greatest achievement was making the trains run on time in Italy. The nation was in total chaos, but the trains left the station on time -- every time. This is the way we are as Masons. Here are just a few examples.
We are experts in getting meeting notices out -- on time. We meet every deadline. We take pride in such an accomplishment. The fact that no one comes to the meetings because they are so dull and boring doesn’t seem to distress us. We are experts in keeping accurate records. No one in the world can hold a candle to us when it comes to record keeping! We are the best! The fact that the statistics are going down hill at an ever increasing rate doesn’t seem to bother us. The accuracy of the figures is more important than their meaning.
We are experts in making reports. Our reports are always in proper form. We always use just the right words and no one’s name is ever left out. We take inordinate pride in our reports. The fact that 99% of our reports are totally meaningless doesn’t seem to faze us. We ignore the fact that our reports are all form, totally lacking in meaningful content. And then we have the audacity to repeat them year after year! Only the names and dates are changed.
We’re experts in holding ceremonies. Frankly, we’re good at ceremonies. We practice and practice. We aim at perfection. I suppose that’s a noble goal, in a way. What seems to escape us is that there’s no one there to see them. The membership is disappearing and all we’re left with is empty Temples. For some reason, this doesn’t seem to disturb us because we just keep on repeating the same old ceremonies -- all by ourselves.
We’re experts in taking care of our buildings. We are proud of the way we respect our Masonic property. Certainly, taking care of our buildings is better than to allow them to fall into disrepair. But, once again, we always seem to miss the point. Buildings are for activity -- and there’s nothing happening of any significance in our Temples 99% of the time. Again, this doesn’t bother us enough to demand action from our leaders.
We’re expert at putting men on committees. Take a look at the roster on any Masonic organization and you’d think that with so many men involved, mountains could be moved, every name is there. All are neatly printed. All are in proper order. Yet, it doesn’t seem to bother us that our committees are little more than empty shells. They lack talent, skill and ability. For the most part, they have no power or authority. They are to do as they are told. For the most part, they are to do nothing.
If we happen to find a man with talent, we toss a cabletow around his neck to make sure he doesn’t do anything new or different! Or, as we say in the west, we hog tie him. We only want him to repeat what’s been done the last 40 years.
With all this in mind, why doesn’t Masonry get strong, creative leaders -- men who are capable of taking our Fraternity into the 21st century?
The answer is clear: We don’t want strong leaders! We don’t want new ideas. We don’t want interesting programs. We don’t want excitement. We don’t want the boat rocked. Anyone who tries to be "different" by being innovative or creative will have his wings clipped quickly by a group of men with the term "Past" after their names. This is why we have the type of leaders -- at every level -- we do today.
Let’s face it. Our leaders clone themselves by bringing in replacements who are like themselves. Over and over again it happens -- and nothing changes because nothing can change. This is our problem.
A competent man with real leadership potential may love Freemasonry, but he is not going to spend his valuable time "doing what he is told," knocking his head against a brick wall, or going through the motions just to get to the top.
In effect, the Masonic leadership message is clear: Behave yourself. Put in the time. Don’t rock the boat. Do as you’re told. Keep your mouth shut. If you speak, just echo what the "leader" has just said. Don’t come up with new ideas. Bow and scrape. Don’t question anything. And, if you’re a good fellow, you’ll get the Masonic goodies. In other words, we have exactly what we want and what we deserve: a Fraternity of petty and pathetic bureaucrats -- and it’s killing us.
If this is the current leadership situation, what needs to change to meet the challenge of the decade ahead -- and beyond? We need leaders with very specific qualities:
Our leaders must possess imagination. We need leadership standards. We need job descriptions for leadership positions. We need to get down on paper what we expect from those who guide us. What are their goals and objectives? What do they want to accomplish while in office? The membership has a right to know what our leaders are thinking. What are their ideas? Are they just carbon copies of those who have gone before them, or do they possess the abilities necessary to move our Fraternity forward?
Our leaders must be able to bring a sense of excitement to the Fraternity. Frankly, we should get down on our knees every day and thank God for our members. No single group of men puts up with more dull nonsense than do the Masons of America! And then they keep on paying their dues year after year!
Leadership means being able to move men’s hearts, to make them proud of their Masonic membership. Leadership means being able to motivate men to action. It means getting Masons to come out of the closet and demonstrate their enthusiasm for the Fraternity.
Masonic leadership means a willingness to take bold steps. The job today is one of getting Masonry on TV and in the newspapers. It’s being out in front and highly visible. Yet, we seem to think we’re doing something important if we have a booth at a county fair. That’s nothing. We need blimps! If we don’t start thinking big, we’re through.
Our leaders must possess a new vision for our Fraternity. Where do we want Freemasonry to be in the year 2000? How are we going to get there? What must happen to get things moving? How are we going to mobilize the resources so that we make a difference? This is the vision that can put Masonry on the map -- where it belongs.
If a man does not have this kind of vision, if he does not possess the skill to make things happen, then he should not be elevated to a leadership position.
Masonry can once again provide men with status, prestige and influence. 
That’s possible because the times are right. But it will only happen if we have leaders with courage and conviction.
So, what’s my advice? How do we get leaders who can make a difference? Frankly, we need men who are willing to be daring. I recommend this approach:
"If you have a good idea, go ahead and do it because it is much easier to apologize than it is to ask permission."
I realize that such a strategy is subversive, but saving our Fraternity makes it right for the times. In the same way, we must start ignoring the past and start adoring the future. We’ve looked in the ‘rear-view’ mirror long enough.
Finally, we must stop worrying about how important we are and start thinking seriously about what it’s going to take to save Freemasonry. That’s leadership. And that’s setting the pace.

​A presentation of John R. Graham, 33º, consultant in public relations and fund raising to the Northern Jurisdiction Scottish Rite and other Masonic Bodies, at a 1993 Scottish Rite regional work shops. The written word is not as effective as he, a former minister, who really fires up an audience. You will like some parts and not like other parts —but please— think about it. Reprinted from the Southern California Research Lodge Papers, by Kena Computer Club, the home of Hiram’s Oasis, the Masonic Computerized Bulletin Board, 703-938-4990. For further information write: Kena Computer Club, PO Box 456, Merrifield, VA 22116.

You are preparing to become a Freemason.

How are you preparing? You have the ambition to put upon your breast a tiny pin, representing the Square and Compasses; an ambition to be known as a Master Mason; an ambition to join the great Fraternity of which, perhaps, your father was a member; an ambition to be one of that large brotherhood of which you may have heard so much and of which you know so little.

So you asked a friend, whom you knew to be a Freemason, how to proceed. He gave you a petition to fill out and sign. You were asked to declare your belief in God, and probably your friend explained to you that "God" here means the Supreme Architect of the Universe, call Him by what name you will. He may be to you God or Jehovah or Adonai or Buddha or Allah . . . it makes no difference to Freemasons by what Name you call Him, so there is within you the humble acknowledgement that you are a creature of His, and that He reigns over the heavens and the earth.

It is all very simple; the other questions are of a practical and mundane character, and give you no hint of what a degree may be, in what sort of a ceremony of initiation you will participate, what kind of a fraternity Freemasonry is.
And so there was no hint given you in the paper you signed as to what sort of preparation you should make to become a Freemason. Freemasonry jealously guards her reputation, which is of humility and self-effacement as well as of secrecy and good works.

Freemasonry does not advertise herself. While her contacts with the world are numerous and commonplace, she works so silently, so quietly, that the world knows little of her labors. You seldom hear Freemasonry discussed in public, and references to Freemasonry in the literature of all countries are so cunningly concealed, that you, and all others not members of the Craft, have almost nothing to guide you as to what you should do to and for yourself before you take your Entered Apprentice Degree.
But if you seek, you shall find, in Freemasonry as well as elsewhere. if the friend to whom you went for your petition is a well informed Freemason -- and not all good Freemasons are as well informed, or as articulate about what they know, as you might like -- he will tell you certain things. in case he cannot or will not speak, some of those things are set down here.
You asked a friend to take your petition into his lodge. His lodge is his Masonic home. Around it cluster all those happy memories, all those beautiful thoughts, all those heart-searching experiences, which go with the word "home." You asked him, therefore, to pay you the complement of taking you into one of the sacred places of his life; in the hope that it will be, and the implied promise that if admitted it shall be, to you one of the sacred places of your life.

You asked not a stranger, but a friend, for this. And his first reply was to direct you to express yourself as to your belief in God.
It does not take a very clever man to see that with such a beginning -- the call of friendship, the sacredness of home, and the belief in God -- Freemasonry is not a joke, not a foolish fun organization, not a club of "good fellows"; not an organization to join as one would a Board of Trade, for business purposes. it is obvious to any one who thinks, that Freemasonry must be dignified, beautiful, impressive, that it must have a real meaning, a real part to play in a man's life.

Therefore, Brother-to-be, make your preparations to become a Freemason as you would prepare for any other great and ennobling experience of life.
When your petition was signed and delivered, the matter was out of your hands. The lodge assigned a committee to ascertain if you are worthy, from their standpoint, to be of the lodge. Your name was voted on, in due time. You were elected. Now you are notified to present yourself at the West Gate for initiation.
When you go, go clean in mind, in body and in heart.

Take from your mind and cast away forever all thought that there is a "lodge goat" awaiting you, or that your friends are going to "have fun with you." There are fun-loving organizations which cast aside solemnity and spend most of their evenings in laughter and play. But in a Master Mason's lodge, never! There is not a word spoken, an action performed, which can hurt your dignity or your feelings; there is no torture, physical or mental, to degrade you or Freemasonry. There is no "horse play" or other unhappiness awaiting you.
What is done with you has a meaning; the part you play is symbolic, and intended to make a "deep and lasting impression on your mind" of truths, the full understanding of which make you a better man. Put all fear from your mind; remember that is among friends you go, and that the first question they asked you was of your belief in a common Father; men do not start thus who begin to play a joke.

Go clean in body, as you would go clean to a christening or a baptism. nor resent this instruction here; there is intended no insinuation that you are not always clean. but go made clean expressly for this ceremony; though you have but just come from the bath for the evening, go once more and bathe with the thought that you are preparing now for a great step, that the water which laves your body is also, symbolically, cleansing your mind and your heart. Put on your freshest linen, and let its spotlessness be symbolic of that spotlessness your thoughts should have. For if you neglect these things you will be sorry, afterwards; what Freemasonry does to you is done to you, not your brethren that will be, and Freemasonry will mean more to you as you approach her Altar humbly and purified.

Finally, Brother-to-be, go with a humble and contrite heart. If it is in your power to do so, put from your heart all evil. If you have an enemy, make an effort to forgive him before you enter the portals of the Temple. If you have don a sin, do your best to honestly regret it before you pass through the West Gate. if you have wronged any one, make up your mind to right the wrong; you will be the happier man later in the evening if you do. And just before you leave your home, go alone in a quiet room, and, all unashamed, get upon your knees before that God in whom you believe, and ask His blessing upon what you are about to do. pray humbly for the wit to understand what you are about to hear. Ask that it may be given to you to be a good Freemason, to be a brother to others who will be brothers to you, a real workman in the quarry, erecting to Him a Temple not made with hands.
​
So shall you become an Entered Apprentice with the greatest benefit to your brethren, and real joy to yourself.

Author: Carl H. Claudy 
​An essay printed in 1925 by the Committee on Masonic Education and Service of the Grand Lodge of Texas A.F.&A.M. and mentioned in the Short Talk Bulletin "Truly Prepared" (May, 1926)

An experience in freemasonry usually upsetting to the newly-raised brother is his first visit to a lodge in another jurisdiction than his own. Having carefully been taught a certain ritual, in all probability with positive emphasis upon the necessity of being “letter perfect,” he learns with a distinct shock that the ritual in other States differs from his own, and these differ each from the other.
If he converses with those “well informed brethren who will always be as ready to give as you will be to receive instruction” he is more than apt to be met with a puzzled, “I don’t know, I’m sure, just why they are different from us, but of course. ours is correct.”
The riddle becomes much plainer as the neophyte studies Masonic history - but, alas, many never open a Masonic book! Yet divergences in ritual cannot be understood without some historical background. It is necessary to understand, for instance, that Freemasonry came to this country, some time prior to 1731, at a time when English ritual was in a process of formation. We did not receive our Masonry from one central source. but from several; nor did we obtain it as a whole. Several different localities, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia) received Freemasonry from across the sea and from them our forms and ceremonies radiated to other sections. The schism in the first Grand Lodge in England (1753) resulted in two Grand Lodges; the “Ancients” (the younger, schismatic body) and the “Moderns”” (the older. original Grand Lodge). Each had its own ritual; our rituals sometimes lean to one, sometimes to the other, and often to both. Literal ritualism is comparatively a modern matter; and “mouth to ear” in the early days meant nothing more than giving of information, not transmitting it in a set form of words. Most of our Grand Lodges have been formed by a union of particular Lodges, many of which received each its ritual from a different source, with the result that the ritual finally adopted is a combination of several. And finally, Grand Lodges have not infrequently changed, added to and taken from their own rituals, either as matter of legislation or by the easier course (in early days) of adopting with little or no question the variations suggested by positive minded ritualists, Grand Lecturers, Custodians of the Work, ritual committees and so on. Some of these, unfortunately, had little or no Masonic background, and changed and altered, added and subtracted with no better reason than “this seems much better to us!”
Certain fundamentalists are to all intents and purposes the same in every one of our forty-nine Grand Jurisdictions. All American Lodges have a Master and two Wardens, a Secretary and Treasurer, an Alter with the V.S.L. and the other Great Lights, three degrees; unanimous ballot required; make Masons only of men; have the same Substitute Word given in the same way; are tiled; have a ceremony of opening and closing. To some extent all dramatize and exemplify the Master’s Degree, although the amount of drama and exemplification differs widely.
But beyond these and a few other simple essentials are wide variations. Aprons are worn one way in one degree in one Jurisdiction and another way in the same degree in another. Some Jurisdictions have more officers in a Lodge than others. In some Jurisdictions Lodges open and close on the Master Mason’s degree; others on the First degree; others only in the degree which it to be “worked.” Lesser Lights are grouped closely about the Altar, in the stations of the Master and Wardens. In some Lodges the I.P.M. (immediate Past Master) plays an important part, as in England. Other Lodges know him not Some Lodges have Inner Guards and two Masters of Ceremonies - others will have none of these.
Dividing, lettering, syllabling are almost as various in practice as the Jurisdictions. Obligations show certain close similarities in some requirements; but what is a part of the obligation in one jurisdiction may be merely an admonition in another, and “vice versa.”
Discovering all this (and much more) the thoughtful initiate is apt to wonder why it is deemed so important that he memorize his own particular “work” so closely; when he travels he finds that what he knows as familiar words and forms and phrases are strange to the Lodges he visits. Not is this the place to ague for purity of the ritual as taught. There are good and sufficient reasons why we should hand on to our sons and their sons the ritual as we received it - if only to preserve without further alteration and change that which was formed by the fathers. Suffice it that while uniformity in work within a Jurisdiction is fairly well established as good American Masonic practice, it is not universal. there are several “workings” for instance, permitted in English Lodges, and even in some American Jurisdictions (“vide” Connecticut) not all Lodges use the same ritual. The reasons for all this are so involved, complex, and cover such a long period; that a complete understanding is difficult even for the student willing to read the enormous amount of history and authority which may make it plain. Briefly, and in general, the matter becomes clearer if we visualize our sources of ritual.
We received our Masonry from:
The Mother Grand Lodge of England 1717-1753
The Grand Lodge of the “Ancients” 1753-1813
The Grand Lodge of the “Moderns” 1753-1813
The United Grand Lodge 1813 and on -
The Grand Lodge of Ireland 1724- and on -
The Grand Lodge of Scotland 1736 and on -
and From the Pre-Grand Lodge era of Lodges of England, Ireland and (or) Scotland.
Unfortunately for the historian, this list does not signify six or seven different but “pure” forms. The ritual of the original Grand Lodge changed as it flowed, through many years after 1717. The Grand Lodges of “Ancients” and “Moderns both made alterations in ritual so that rival members of each body found it impossible to make themselves known Masonically in the other. Ireland and Scotland were, and are, as different as Pennsylvania and California. From pre-Grand Lodges members came to this country to form themselves into Lodges without Warrant or Charter (as was the custom in early days). A dozen men, bringing “what they remembered of the” ritual they heard when “made,” to form a Lodge, would naturally include in their ritual a little of one original source, some phrases from another beginning, a paragraph from a third wellspring, and so on.
The Mother Grand Lodge ritual (1717 to 1753) was not the ritual of the United Grand Lodge which came into existence in 1813, when the two parts of the original Mother Grand Lodge (“Ancients” and “Moderns”) again came together. The United Grand Lodge, or Grand Lodge of Reconciliation, formed its ritual from the best of the divergent rituals of the “Ancients” and the “Moderns.”
Thus, Lodges in this country which received ritual, in any and all states of purity or impurity, from either of these several sources, would differ decidedly each from the other.
Come we now to the spread of Masonry in the thirteen colonies, and later, through the forty-eight states, territories, and the District of Columbia. To write even one paragraph of Masonic history of ritual in so many subdivisions would make this Bulletin unreadably long. But a few high lights may be noted.
From our primary American sources of ritual, in one way or another all other American Grand Jurisdictions, in part at least, received their “work;” Massachusetts, which at first sent forth what must have been at least an approximation of the work of the original Mother Grand Lodge, though her ritual today is derived from both “Moderns” and “Ancients;” Pennsylvania and Virginia, both giving forth individual variants of a combination of “Modern” and “Ancient,” and North Carolina, almost purely “Modern.”
In 1915 Dean Roscoe Pound showed how various were the next groups of States which received their rituals from the first four American sources. He developed that Maine derived from Massachusetts since the fusion; Vermont derived from the Grand Lodge of “Ancients” in Massachusetts before the fusion; Ohio derived from Massachusetts, from Connecticut, a strictly “Modern” Jurisdiction, and from Pennsylvania; Indiana derived from Ohio and Kentucky, which later represents Virginia after the fusion, Michigan derived from the “Ancient” Grand Lodge of Canada and from New York, which since the Revolution was a Strictly “Ancient” Jurisdiction; Kentucky derived from Virginia; Tennessee derived from North Carolina, a purely “Modern” Jurisdiction; Alabama derived from North Carolina, from South Carolina and from Tennessee, thus representing Virginia and North Carolina; Louisiana derived from South Carolina, from Pennsylvania and from France; Florida derived from Georgia and from South Carolina; Missouri derived from Pennsylvania and from Tennessee, representing therefore, the fusion in Pennsylvania and the “Modern Masonry” of North Carolina; Illinois derived from Kentucky and so represents Virginia; and the District of Columbia derived Maryland (a fusion of “Modern Masonry from Massachusetts and from England direct, with the “Ancient Masonry” from Pennsylvania), and from Virginia.
The further west we go, the more we find a mixture of sources, complicated rather than simplified by such matters as the splitting of the Grand Lodge of Dakota into the Grand Lodge the of South Dakota and North Dakota, when these two States were formed, and the formation of the Grand Lodge of California, which drew its work from many different sources. California Lodge No.13, of the District of Columbia, was formed for the purpose of carrying Masonry to the Golden Gate at the time of the gold rush. That Lodge is now No.1 on the California Grand Lodge Register. But California’s ritual is not more similar to the District of Columbia working than that of any other State, since the District Lodge was but one of several which formed the Grand Lodge of California.
There have been certain unifying influences; the Baltimore Convention of 1843, the conclusions of which were adopted in whole or in part by several American Grand Jurisdictions, and the work of Bob Morris and his conservators, which, despite its chilly reception by many Grand Jurisdictions, undoubtedly left its impression on American ritual. A third unifying influence has been the tremendous impress made on almost all American Jurisdictions by Thomas Smith Webb, and Jeremy Cross, plainly evident in the exoteric paragraphs printed in many State Monitors or Manuals. A fourth has been the honest desire and strenuous efforts of many Grand Lodges through District Deputies, Grand Lecturers, Schools of Instruction and similar machinery, to preserve what they have in its supposedly ancient perfection. But by the time these latter were in operation, ritual was more or less fixed. Because of the reverence of the average Mason for what he is taught, and his fierce resentment of any material change in that which he learns, rituals and degree forms, ceremonies and practices, usages and customs continue to be what he believes them to have been “from time immemorial” even when sober fact shows that they have an antiquity of (in all probability) less than two hundred years.
For the benefit of those Masons to whom divergence of ritual is not the less distressing thing, but that it is understandable, it may be said that most authorities agree that it is really not a matter of great moment. All over the world Freemasonry teaches the same truths, offers the same spiritual comfort, creates and continues the same fraternal bond. In “non essentials, variety; in essentials, unity” might have been written of Masonry. It matters little how we wear the apron in a given degree - so be it that it is worn with honor. The method of giving a sign or a pass matters much less than that what we do is done with understanding.
While Freemasonry continues to observe and revere those few Landmarks which are undisputed everywhere - those which Joseph Fort Newton says are “The Fatherhood of God, the Brotherhood of Man, and the hope of Life Everlasting,” it becomes of less moment that different men, in different times, in different localities, have found more than one way to phrase and to teach the ancient verities of the old, old Craft.

​Author Unknown

THE DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE PROBLEM-LODGES CAN HELP!
by Worshipful Brother Lawrence J. Chisholm, Executive Director, National Masonic Foundation for Prevention of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Among Children
This STB is the third in a series of the Masonic Response to the devastating problem of drug and alcohol abuse among children. (See 5-87 and 1-89 STB). This Short Talk is specifically aimed at what individual lodges can do! However before undertaking any program please check with your Grand Lodge to see what may he doing on within your Grand Jurisdiction and what program your lodge could undertake that would best fit into an overall program within your state. We need to work together! Editor
Freemasonry embodies the values that are needed to combat our nation's drug and alcohol abuse problem--belief in God, patriotic support for our country, and a full appreciation of and respect for others from all walks of life. It is only natural that Freemasons should feel the impulse to do something to help with youthful drug and alcohol abuse. There is probably no one in this country who isn't aware of our nation's drug and alcohol abuse problem. There have been countless programs launched to address the problem in a variety of ways. From Nancy Reagan 's "Just Say No" public awareness campaign, to local community treatment centers, to the solid community relations work of cops on the beat, there are many efforts already underway to stem the tide of drug and alcohol abuse. There are many things a Blue Lodge can do. However, a good idea and the best intentions are not always enough to increase awareness, raise money, or get participation in drug and alcohol abuse prevention. There are practical hurdles that must be overcome for a Blue Lodge's efforts to be successful. Here's a checklist of some of the questions that should be asked and answered before embarking on a drug and alcohol abuse prevention related effort.

- Where does the program fit in with what else is going on in the community?
- Is there or has there already been a similar effort that failed? Why?
- Is there another charitable organization or government agency or non-profit social service organization which might consider the proposed program to be a duplication?
- Whose cooperation would be beneficial or necessary to the success of the program?
- What budget might be needed for the program? Where will the money come from?
- How much time and what kind of time (i.e., evenings, weekends, days) will the program require?
- How should the program be run--i.e. would one Brother, or a Masonic family member or group, be most appropriately in charge of most of the project, or should there be a sizeable committee? Should the working group or committee include other representatives from the community?
- How should the program be publicized? What newspapers, television stations and radio stations should be contacted? Who will write news releases?

To get a sense for the importance of these questions, consider some of the observations of R.W. William V. Quackenbush, Second Queens (NY) Masonic District, who, after marching in a "Just Say No to Drugs" Parade, thought a poster contest in the public schools in his area would be a great way to help convince kids to stay away from drugs and alcohol. According to Brother Quackenbush, the following points are important to running a successful poster or essay contest:

- The brother who takes on this project should be retired, or otherwise have free time available, in view of the fact that schools are most easily visited during the day.
- There must be a budget. Decide on prizes and miscellaneous operating expenses and then solicit funds. Usually, each school should be allotted the same amount.
- Meet with the district director of Drug and Alcohol Abuse (or, if none available, with the school principal) and get their support of the poster program.
- Prizes--U.S. Savings Bonds, plaques or something for the school's use (athletic equipment, musical keyboard, etc.). Remember that clothing as gifts presents size problems.
- Get appropriate local government officials to attend the award presentation ceremonies.
- Take pictures and prepare appropriate captions. If local newspapers do not cover the awards ceremony, take the pictures to them. Media coverage is very important.
- Posters can be displayed in banks, community centers, etc.
- Funds left over could be given to the kindergarten classes for a party.
What kinds of programs can a Blue Lodge sponsor to help with the drug and alcohol abuse problem? Here are some ideas. Many of the programs listed below have already been sponsored by Grand Lodges. Many can be done on a smaller scale by Blue Lodges or Blue Lodges can work with their Grand Lodges in support of these kinds of programs.
- Poster contest in the public schools (See above.)
- Essay contest in the public schools on a drug and alcohol abuse prevention Theme-Bandera Lodge No. 1123 in Bandera, Texas awarded a computer to each of two winners-a fifth grader and an eighth grader--as part of the contest it sponsors each March during Public Schools Week.
- Computers teaching about drug and alcohol abuse prevention--The Wisconsin Grand Lodge makes computer programs available to its Blue Lodges at a nominal cost. Students answer a series of questions. Once the questions are completed, the student earns the reward of playing a follow-up computer game. The computer programs were originally developed with the assistance of the Grand Lodge of Kansas.
- Make lodge facilities available for 12 step meetings! (Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Al-Anon, etc.)--Several U.S. Blue Lodges have made this their major program emphasis and have built warm relationships with people in the community who are part of the solution rather than part of the problem.
- Bumper stickers, for the cars of Blue Lodge members and family, to give evidence of Freemasonry's support--An attractive Masonic bumper sticker is available from the National Masonic Foundation at nominal cost.
- "Masonic Model" Training Video--Available from the Foundation at nominal cost, shows a "Masonic Model" trained team in action. Also available is a 5-minute "Message to the Brethren" from Brother Ernie Borgnine, useful for initiating a Lodge discussion of the problem of drug and alcohol abuse.
- Prepare and distribute literature and audio visual materials to Brethren, friends, and the community--American Canadian Grand Lodge has an active information-distribution campaign which includes incorporating drug and alcohol education into Masonic Youth programs; distributing four pamphlets-"Just Between You and Me, Brother", "For the Good of the Order", "Three Dangerous Words", and "Thought You'd Like To Know"--which contain discussions of the effects of alcoholism on adolescents and others, recognizing and preventing substance abuse in the family, and where to get help. (Sample copies of these pamphlets are available from the National Masonic Foundation.)
Grand Lodge of Utah distributed a tape, "How to Talk to Your Kids About Growing Up Without Drugs and Alcohol" and has sponsored, in cooperation with U.S. West Telephone, in-school talks by Ken Muhle, a recovering substance abuser who is a U.S. West employee.
- Tap the talents of the Brethren to provide a focus for a substance abuse prevention message--"Rob the Drummer", a Connecticut Brother who interweaves his considerable drumming skills with an anti-drug message for school children, has been the centerpiece of programs in schools.
In-school programs of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts feature a mascot--"Little No! No!"--which is featured on T-shirts and buttons distributed to elementary school children.
- Sponsor road races, walkathons, or similar athletic events--The Rhode Island Grand Lodge holds an annual 5-mile "Race for Drug Free Youth". Blue Lodges provide a wide range of support--fruit and juice for the runners, a public address system, first aid stations, sign painting, attendants to park cars, clowns for entertainment, messengers, T-shirt designs, race brochures, etc.
- Support existing programs in your community--Grand Lodge of Montana supports the "Center for Adolescent Development" with funds, use of lodge halls for meetings and workshops, assistance and leadership with community fund drives, and volunteer work by Brethren trained to be Community Coordinators. It also supports the Montana Teen Institute and Teens in Partnership with scholarships for high school students to attend their summer camps. Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania provides financial support for the Maternal Addiction Project at the St. Francis Medical Center in Pittsburgh and the Gateway Rehabilitation Center, and numerous "Masonic Model" training sessions for Pennsylvania educators. Grand Lodges of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and others support DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), a nationwide program featuring school presentations by specially trained police officers. New York Grand Lodge worked with State officials to create a complete Drug-Free School Zones program.
- Dinners, shows order of Eastern Star of Michigan kicked off its "Because We Care" campaign with a Dinner Show featuring professional magic and comedy acts. Funds from this and the Annual "Family Christmas Session" were contributed to South Central Michigan Substance Abuse and to the National Foundation.
- Organize or participate in a parade highlighting Blue Lodge involvement in Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention--Warren G. Harding Lodge #260 in the State of Washington paraded its message before 30,000 spectators in a "Viking Fest Parade". The National Masonic Foundation has copies of an excellent Blue Lodge report from Warren G. Harding #260 describing the role such an individual Blue Lodge can play in making an effective presentation.
For a set of publications describing these and other Masonic programs that are fighting the drug abuse battle, contact the National Masonic Foundation. If you have, or have an idea for, a program, let us know at the National Masonic Foundation, 1629 K St., NW, Suite 606, Washington, DC 20006.

"To relieve the distressed is a duty incumbent on all, but particularly on Masons, who are linked together by an indissoluble chain of sincere affection. To soothe the unhappy, to sympathize with their misfortunes, to compassionate their miseries and restore peace to their troubled minds is the great aim we have in view. On this basis we form our friendships and establish our connections." A careful reading of these sentences used in many Masonic Monitors is the only guide any Master Mason, no matter how inexperienced, really needs to point the way to Masonic Charity.
Yet, charity as practiced by the Fraternity is not well understood by many Masons and almost invariably misunderstood by the profane world. Masonry is not, "Perse," a benevolent organization. It is not formed for the purpose of mutual relief from pecuniary distress, and its finances are neither gathered nor managed with that end in view. For those who wish fraternal insurance, a sick benefit organization, or a fraternal provisions for old age, there are many orders, run with wisdom and excellent in execution.
Masonry is something much greater; it ministers to a man's heart and mind rather than to his body. True Fraternal affection and pity for the unfortunate lead Masons to take care of their dependents, to establish homes for their aged and infirm, to give to the needy and to relieve the distressed. All lodges spend money for charity; in many lodges it is the largest item of expense.
But the greatest charity which Freemasonry provides for its members is charity of thought; the greatest relief it can render is relief of the spirit.
The individual brother, newly raised, is often perturbed as to where his individual Masonic Benefactions should begin and end. Oddly enough, his geographic situation has much to do with the answer he must make. In the larger centers he will find a Masonic Board of Review, the business of which it is to relieve the distress of worthy Master Masons, their widows and orphans when the case is beyond the jurisdiction of an individual lodge. Thus, a stranger in a large city, in need of Masonic assistance, should not try to obtain it from an individual Mason or lodge, but from the organization maintained by Masons for that purpose. The individual Mason, solicited for help by one claiming to be a Mason, can do no better or more wisely than to refer such an appeal to the Board for action.
If this seems colder than the degrees seem to teach, reflect that all Masonic actions may have two angles; and that open-handed relief given by the individual Masons in good faith to a Masonic impostor, ridicules the Fraternity and nullifies its efforts. And, alas, there "Are" Masonic impostors; men without heart or conscience who are either renegade Masons in fact, or who fraudulently have obtained a Masonic card and pretend to a knowledge of Masonry they do not have, all for the purpose of living by their wits off the good will of real masons.
It is better that the individual Mason contribute to the upkeep of a rascal, than, that he refuse a worthy appeal. In localities where there is no Board of Relief to investigate, satisfy yourself of your applicant's character and honor as best you may, and then give according to your means.
Luckily for us all, our charity is highly organized and well administered. Few organizations can get more actual relief than our Fraternity for the money expended. Masonic Homes are institutions where relief is given the aged and infirm, the orphan and the widow; these, our guests, are not recipients of charity, but of the affectionate care which all brethren give to those they love. These homes are wonderful institutions, but they are not compelled to ask individual contributions from lodge members; they take their chief support from regular appropriations made from dues or fees, or both.
It is charity of thought and act rather than charity of money and material things that demands a Masons attention. Here the field is as wide as the world and activities have no limit. The most common opportunity given to us all is that of visiting the sick. Only a brother who has been ill, especially if in a hospital or in a strange city who, because of their common brotherhood, has received visits from men he has not previously met, truly understands the beneficial effects of such examples of Masonic charity. Doctors tell that such visits have often done more than all their medicines; there is nothing more heartening to a man, feeble and ill, than the thought that someone cares.
Another charity which we can all extend is that of faith. When our brother fails in business; when our brother is accused of some offense; when our brother is criticized; when our brother is in any trouble whatever; the helping hand extended, the words "My Brother, I believe in you, I am with you," mean much . . . Oh, so much. And they cost . . . just nothing at all!
And the most beautiful charity of all . . . charity of opinion! This we can all give in large measure, pressed down and running over, thirteen to the dozen! Let us not be judges of our brother! Let us not try to make ourselves the keepers of his conscience. Let us, indeed, "in the most friendly manner remind him of his faults," but let us first be very sure that our own houses are not of glass. Let us speak no ill of a brother; let us keep our critical thoughts to ourselves. Let us remember that as we judge him, so must we be judged; that the Fraternity and its reputation do not depend upon what we think of him, but what the world thinks of us!
So shall we offer the truest Masonic charity, and some day find that it comes back to us many fold.
In each of the great majority of Grand Lodge Jurisdictions there is a Masonic Home, to which the Fraternity invites as its beloved guests those Masons, Mason's widows, dependents and children who are not otherwise protected from need or sorrow.
Guests of a Masonic home are no more objects of charity than is the mother who blesses by her presence the home you support; or the father or grandfather whose place at your fireside, left vacant, could never be filled. For these, our well beloved brethren and their loved ones, we delight to care, to make their lives easy and happy, to relieve their distress, not as "Charity," but as a grateful and devoted service we render to those we love, and those dear to those we love, "Because" we love them!
You, as a Master Mason, contribute to the support of your Masonic home. A certain proportion of the dues you pay to your lodge is set aside for the maintenance and support of that Masonic Home. And you may . . . many Master Masons do . . . feel that your duty ends when you pay that which your By-Laws demand of you.
But there is nothing easier in this world than "Check-Benevolence." It requires neither care, nor attention, nor time, nor effort to write a check. Any one can do it who has a bank account!
But he who gives "Time and Service" gives mightily. Your Masonic Home probably is not in need of your services; it has its own paid staff, and needs no outside assistance, so far as routine duties are concerned. But no one can pay another to do for that Home what you can do - visit it!
Don't say, "I live too far away." In miles you may live too far away to go often in person; it will pay you to go once, at least, to see for yourself the outward and visible expression of the "Brotherly Aid" which is here practiced in its most beautiful form. Nor do you live to far away to write a letter now and then, to some Master Mason who lives in that Home.
"But, I don't know him!"
Make it your business to know him! You and he have knelt at the same Altar. You have taken the same obligation. You belong to the same Order. You are brothers. Do you "Need" an introduction?
Send him a line! Send him a magazine. Send him a newspaper. Send him a clipping, a joke, a verse; it doesn't matter much what you send; the point is that you must take a real personal interest in your brother, who is too old to work, too ill to labor, too handicapped in some way to make his way unaided. Masonry puts its strong right arm under his feeble body and helps him over the rough places. He has borne the heat and burden of the day; you are young and strong. You would spring forward with much joy to help an old man across a crowded and dangerous street. Well, here are old men crossing the crowded Street of Life and the helping hand of a younger brother is a comfort and protection.
Man may not live by bread alone. Give these, our guests, the best of food, the finest of care, the most comfortable of homes, and they cannot go happily down the hill to their Journey's End if we withhold that touch of affectionate brotherhood which can only personally be given.
Do not think that Masonry neglects her guests. Lodges frequently arrange and conduct entertainment, or religious service, or plan an outing. But necessarily these are all impersonal. What you can do is give the "Personal Touch."
And then . . . the children! For there are many children in Masonic Homes; little ones whose Master Mason Father has answered the Last Call, whose Mother cannot undertake their support, or who may have "No Mother." You don't need to be told what to do for children - "Or Do You?"
The widow of a Master Mason of a certain lodge fought a game fight as long as she could; then asked for help. The lodge saw that she and her little daughter became guests of the Home. The lodge looked after them well, too; the daughter had a business education as soon as she was old enough. A little group of men used to meet after lodge for a midnight lunch; they were the bone and sinew of the lodge. And every man put a coin in a cup when he paid his check, and on birthdays and at Christmas time the result of that coin-cup went to the little girl for her very own - to purchase those things which even the best of Homes does not buy. And there was many an extra contribution to her happiness; wives of lodge members took her to the theater and the concert and the lecture; lodge members took her and her mother for automobile rides; there was always a subscription to a magazine being paid by some one . . . for these were the dear ones of a Master Mason of that lodge.
And that lodge is no different, and no better, and has no finer men, than your lodge, than any lodge!
Your Masonic Home is "Your" Home, if you need it. It is also your home in the sense that you are a host. Those who live there are your guests. Make them happy! It costs so little, it means so much, it takes so little time, and makes so much for Brotherhood.
There was once a Son who taught the world of the Fatherhood of God. And He Said, "Inasmuch as ye do it unto the least of these . . . !"

Short Talk Bulletin Jan 1925 Vol. 3

The hypothesis which seeks to trace a connection between Gnosticism and Freemasonry, and perhaps even an origin of the latter from the former, has been repeatedly advanced, and is therefore worthy of consideration.
The latest instance is in a work of Mr. C. W. King, published in 1864 under the title The Gnostics and their.Remains, Ancient and Medieval.
Mr. King is not a Freemason, and, like all the writers non-Masonic, such as Barnell, Robison, De Quincey, and a host of others, who have attempted to discuss the history and character of Freemasonry, he has shown a vast amount of ignorance. In fact, these self-constituted critics, when treating of subjects with which they are not and can not be familiar, remind one of the busybodies of Plautus, of whom he has said that, while pretending to know everything, they in fact know nothing-" Qui omnia se simulant scise nec quicquam sciunt. "
Very justly has Mr. Hughan called this work of King's, so far as its Masonic theories are concerned, one of an " unmasonic and unhistoric character." But King, it must be admitted, was not the first writer who sought to trace Freemasonry to a Gnostic origin. In a pamphlet published in 1725, a copy of which has been preserved in the Bodleian Library, among the manuscripts of Dn Rawlinson, and which bears the title of Two Letters to a Friend. The First concerning the Society of Free-masons. The second giving an Account of the Most Ancient Order of Gormogons, etc., we find, in the first letter, on the Freemasons, the following passage:
" But now, Sir, to draw towards a conclusion; and to give my opinion seriously, concerning these prodigious Virtuosi ;-My belief is, that if they fall under any denomination at all, or belong to any sect of men, which has hitherto appeared in the world, they may be ranked among the Gnostics, who took their original from Simon Magus; these were a set of men, which ridiculed not only Christianity, but even rational morality; teaching that they should be saved by their capacious knowledge and understanding of no mortal man could tell what. They babbled of an amazing intelligence they had, from nobody knows whence. They amused and puzzled the hair-brained, unwary crowd with superstitious interpretations of extravagant talismanic characters and abstruse significations of uncommon Cabalistic words; which exactly agrees with the proceedings of our modern Freemasons."
Although the intrinsic value of this pamphlet was not such as to have preserved it from the literary tomb which would have consigned it to oblivion, had not the zeal of an antiquary preserved a single copy as a relic, yet the notion of some relation of Freemasonry to Gnosticism was not in later years altogether abandoned.
Hutchinson says that "under our present profession of Masonry, we allege our morality was originally deduced from the school of Pythagoras, and that the Basilidian system of religion furnished us with some tenets, principles, and hieroglyphics." Basilides, the founder of the sect which bears his name, was the most eminent of the Egyptian Gnostics.
About the time of the fabrication of the High Degrees on the continent of Europe, a variety of opinions of the origin of Masonry -many of them absurd-sprang up among Masonic scholars. Among these theorists, there were not a few who traced the Order to the early Christians, because they found it, as they supposed, among the Gnostics, and especially its most important sect, the Basilidians. Some German and French writers have also maintained the hypothesis of a connection, more or less intimate, between the Gnostics and the Masons.
I do not know that any German writer has positively asserted the existence of this connection. But the doctrine has, at times, been alluded to without any absolute disclaimer of a belief in its truth.
Thus Carl Michaeler, the author of a Treatise on the Pheonician Mysteries, has written some observations on the subject in an article published by him in 1784, in the Vienna Journale fur Freimaurer, on the analogy between the Christianity of the early times and Freemasonry. In this essay he adverts to the theory of the Gnostic origin of Freemasonry. He is, however, very guarded in his deductions, and says conditionally that, if there is any connection between the two, it must be traced to the Gnosticism of Clement of Alexandria, and on which simply as a school of philosophy and history it may have been founded, while the differences between the two now existing must be attributed to changes of human conception in the intervening centuries.
But, in fact, the Gnosticism of Clement was something entirely different from that of Basilides, to whom Hutchinson and King attribute the origin of our symbols, and whom Clement vigorously opposed in his works. It was what he himself calls it, "a true Gnostic or Christian philosophy on the bads of faith." It was that higher knowledge, or more perfect state of Christian faith, to which St. Paul is supposed to allude when he says, in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, that he made known to those who were perfect a higher wisdom.
Reghellini speaks more positively, and says that the symbols and doctrines of the Ophites, who were a Gnostic sect, passed over into Europe, having been adapted by the Crusaders, the Rosicrucians, and the Templars, and finally reached the Masons.'
Finally, I may refer to the Leland MS., the author of which distinctly brought this doctrine to the public view, by asserting that the Masons were acquainted with the " facultys of Abrac," by which expression he alludes to the most prominent and distinctive of the Gnostic symbols. That the fabricator of this spurious document should thus have intimated the existence of a connection between Gnosticism and Freemasonry would lead us to infer that the idea of such a connection was not wholly unfamiliar to the Masonic mind at that period-an inference which will be strengthened by the passage already quoted from the pamphlet in the Rawlinson collection, which was published about a quarter of a century before.
But before we can enter into a proper discussion of this important question, it will be expedient for the sake of the general reader that something should be said of the Gnostics and of the philosophical and religious system which they professed.
I propose, therefore, very briefly to reply to the questions, What is Gnosticism, and Who were the Gnostics ?
Scarcely had the light of Christianity dawned upon the world before a multitude of heresies sprang up to disturb the new religion. Among these Gnosticism holds the most important position. the title of the sect is derived from the Greek word gnosis, "wisdom or knowledge," and -was adopted in a spirit of ostentation, to intimate that the disciples of the sect were in possession of a higher degree of spiritual wisdom than was attainable by those who had not been initiated into their mysteries.
At so early a period did the heresy of Gnosticism arise in the Christian Church, that we find the Apostle Paul warning the converts to the new faith of the innovations on the pure doctrine of Christ, and telling his disciple Timothy to avoid "profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science, falsely so called." The translators of the authorized version have so rendered the passage. But, in view of the greater light that has since their day been thrown upon the religious history and spirit of the apostolic age, and the real nature of the Gnostic element which disturbed it, we may better preserve the true sense of the original Greek by rendering it "oppositions of the false gnosis."
There were then two kinds of Gnosis, or Gnosticism-the true and the false, a distinction which St. Paul himself makes in a passage in his Epistle to the Corinthians, in which he speaks of the wisdom which he communicated to the perfect, in contradistinction to the wisdom of the world.
Of this true Gnosticism, Clement declared himself to be a follower. With it and Freemasonry there can be no connection, except that rnodified one admitted by Michaeler, which relates only to the investigation of philosophical and historical truth. The false Gnosis to which the Apostle refers is the Gnosticism which is the subject of our present inquiry.
When John the Baptist was preaching in the Wilderness, and for some time before, there were many old philosophical and religious systems which, emanating from the East, all partook of the mystical character peculiar to the Oriental mind. These various systems were, then, in consequence of the increased communication of different nations which followed the conquests of Alexander of Macedon, beginning to approximate each other. The disciples of Plato were acquiring some of the doctrines of the Eastern Magi, and these in turn were becoming more or less imbued with the philosophy of Greece. The traditions of India, Persia, Egypt, Chaldea, Judea, Greece, and Rome were commingling in one mass, and forming out of the conglomeration a mystical philosophy and religion which partook of the elements of all the ingredients out of which it was composed and yet contained within its bosom a mysticism which was peculiar to itself.
This new system was Gnosticism, which derived its leading doctrines from Plato, from the Zend-Avesta, the Cabala, the Vedas, and the hieroglyphs of Egypt. It taught as articles of fakth the existence of a Supreme Being, invisible, inaccessible, and incomprehensible, who was the creator of a spiritual world consisting of divine intelligences called aeons, emanating from him, and of matter which was eternal, the source of evil and the antagonist of the Supreme Being.
One of these aeons, the lowest of all called the Demiurge, created the world out of matter, which, though eternal, was inert and formless.
The Supreme Father, or First Principle of all things, had dwelt from all eternity in a pleroma or fullness of inaccessible light, and hence he was called Bythos, or the Abyss, to denote the unfathomable nature of his perfections. "This Being," says Dr. Burton, in his able exposition of the Gnostic system, in the Bam o Lectures ures, by an operation purely mental, or by acting upon himself, produced two other beings of different sexes, from whom by a series of descents, more or less numerous according to different schemes, several pairs of beings were formed, who were called aeons, from the periods of their existance before time was, or emanations from the mode of their production. These successive aeons or emanations appear to have been inferior each to the preceding; and their existence was indispensable to the Gnostic scheme, that they might account for the creation of the world, without making God the author of evil. These aeons lived through countless ages with their first Father. But the system of emanations seems to have resembled that of concentric circles, and they gradually deteriorated as they approached nearer and nearer to the extremity of the pleroma. Beyond this pleroma was matter, inert and powerless, though co-eternal with the Supreme God, and like him without beginning. At length one of the aeons (the Demiurge) passed the limits of the pleroma, and, meeting with matter, created the world after the form and model of an ideal world, which existed in the plemora or the mind of the Supreme God."
It is not necessary to enter into a minute recapitulation of the other points of doctrine which were evolved out of these three. It is sufficient to say that the old Gnosticism was not an original system, but was really a cosmogony, a religion and a philosophy which was made up of portions of the older Grecian and Oriental systems, including the Platonism of the Greeks, the Parsism of the Persians, and the Cabala of the Jews.
The advent of Christianity found this old Gnosticism prevailing in Asia and in Egypt. Some of its disciples became converts to the new religion, but brought with them into its fold many of the mystical views of their Gnostic philosophy and sought to apply them to the pure and simple doctrines of the Gospel.
Thus it happened that the name of Gnosticism was applied to a great variety of schools, differing from each other in their interpretations of the Christian faith, and yet having one common principle of unity-that they placed themselves in opposition to the conceptions of Christianity as it was generally received by its disciples. And this was because they deemed it insufficient to afford any germs of absolute truth, and therefore they claimed for themselves the possession of an amount of knowledge higher than that of ordinary believers.
"They seldom pretended," says the Rev. Dr. Wing, "to demonstrate the principles on which their systems were founded by historical evidence or logical reasonings, since they rather boasted that these were discovered by the intuitional powers of more highly endowed minds, and that the materials thus obtained, whether through faith or divine revelation, were then worked up into a scientific form, according to each one's natural power and culture. Their aim was to construct, not merely a theory of redemption, but of the universe-a cosmogony. No subject was beyond their investigations. Whatever God could reveal to the finite intellect they looked upon as within their range. What to others seemed only speculative ideas, were by. them hypostatized or personified into real beings or historical facts. It was in this way that they constructed systems of speculation on subjects entirely beyond the range of human knowledge, which startle us by their boldness and their apparent consciousness of reality."
Such was the Gnosticism whose various sects intruded with their mystical notions and their allegorical interpretations into the Church, before Christianity had been well established. Although denounced by St. Paul as " vain babblers," they increased in strength and gave rise to many heresies which lasted until the 4th century.
The most important of these sects, and the one from which the moderns have derived most of their views of what Christian Gnosticism is, was established in the 2d century by Basilides, the chief of the Egyptian Gnostics.
The doctrine of Basilides and the Basilidians was a further development of the original Gnostic system. It was more particularly distinguished by its adoption from Pythagoras of the doctrine of numbers and its use and interpretation of the word Abraxas-that word the meaning of which, according to the Leland MS., so greatly puzzled the learned Mr. Locke.
In the system of Basilides the Supreme God was incomprehensible, non-existent, and ineffable. Unfolded from his perfection were seven attributes or personified powers, namely, Mind, Reason, Thought, Wisdom, Power, Holiness, and Peace. Seven was a sacred number, and these seven powers referred to the seven days of the week. Basilides also supposed that there were seven similar beings in every stage or region of the spiritual world, and that these regions were three hundred and sixty-five in number, thus corresponding to the days in the solar year. These three hundred and sixty-five regions were so many heavenly mansions between the earth and the empyrean, and be supposed the existence of an equal number of angels. The number three hundred and sixty-five was in the Basilidian system one of sacred import. Hence he fabricated the word A B R A X A S, because the Greek letters of which it is composed have the numerical value, when added together, of exactly three hundred and sixty-five. The learned German theologian, Bellerman thinks that he has found the derivation in the Captu, or old Egyptian language, where the words abrah, signifying "word," and sadsch, signifying "blessed," "holy," or "adorable," and therefore abrahsadsch Hellenized into Abraxas, would denote "the holy, blessed, or adorable Word," thus approximating to the spirit of the Jewish Cabalists in their similar use of a Holy Name.
Whether the word was thus derived or was invented by Basilides on account of the numerical value of its letters, is uncertain. lie, however, applied it in his system as the name of the Supreme God. This word Abraxas, like the Tetragrammaton of the Jews, became one of great importance to the sect of Basilidians. Their reverence for it gave origin to what are called "abraxas gems."
These are gems, plates, or tablets of metal, which have been discovered principally in Egypt, but have also been found in France and Spain. They are inscribed with the word Abraxas and an image supposed to designate the Basilidian god. Some of them have on them Jewish words, such as Jehovah or Adonai, and others contain Persian, Egyptian, or Grecian symbols.
Montfaucon, who has treated the subject of " abraxas gems " elaborately, divides them into seven classes. 1. Those inscribed with the head of a cock as a symbol of the sun. 2. Those having the head of a lion, to denote the heat of the sun, and the word Mithras. 3. Those having the image of the Egyptian god Sera is. 4. Those having the images of sphinxes, apes, and other animals. 5. Those having human figures with the words Iao, Sabaoth, Adonai, etc. 6. Those having inscriptions without figures. 7. Those having monstrous forms.
From these gems we have derived our knowledge of the Gnostic or Basilidian symbols, which are said to have furnished ideas to the builders of the Middle Ages in their decorative art, and which Mr. King and some other writers have supposed to have been transmitted to the Freemasons.
The principal of these Gnostic symbols is that of the Supreme God, Abraxas. This is represented as a human figure with the head of a cock, the legs being two serpents. He brandishes a sword in one hand (sometimes a whip) and a shield in the other.
The serpent is also a very common symbol, having sometimes the head of a cock and sometimes that of a lion or of a hawk.
Other symbols, known to be of a purely Gnostic or rather Basilidian origin, from the accompanying inscription, Abraxas, or Iao, or both, are Horus, or the Sun, seated on a lotus flower, which is supported by a double lamp, composed of two phallic images conjoined at their bases; the dog ; the raven ; the tancross surmounted by a human head; the Egyptian god, Anubis, and Father Nilus, in a bending posture and holding in his hand the double, phallic lamp of Horus. This last symbol is curious because the word Heilos, like Mithras, which is also a Gnostic symbol, and Abraxas, expresses, in the value of the Greek letters of which it is composed, the number three hundred and sixty-five.
All these symbols, it will be seen, make some reference to the sun, ether as the representative of the Supreme God or as the source of light, and it might lead to the supposition that in the later Gnosticism, as in the Mithraic Mysteries, there was an allusion to sunworship, which was one of the earliest and most extensively dill used of the primitive religions. Evidently in both the Gnostic and the Mithraic symbolism the sun plays a very important part.
While the architects or builders of the Middle Ages may have borrowed and probably did borrow, some suggestions from the Gnostics in carrying out the symbolism of their art, it is not probable, from their ecclesiastical organization and their religious character, that they would be more than mere suggestions. Certainly they would not have been accepted by these orthodox Christians with anything of their real Gnostic interpretation.
We may apply to the use of Gnostic symbols by the mediaeval architects the remarks made by Mr. Paley on the subject of the adoption of certain Pagan symbols by the same builders. Their Gnostic origin was a mere accident. They were employed not as the symbolism of any Gnostic doctrine, but in the spirit of Christianity, and " the Church, in perfecting their development, stamped them with a purer and sublimer character." On a comparison of these Gnostic symbols with those of Ancient Craft or Speculative Masonry, I fail to find any reason to subscribe to the opinion of Hutchinson, that " the Basilidian system of religion furnished Freemasonry with some tenets, principles, and hieroglyphics." As Freemasons we will have to repudiate the tenets and principles" of the sect which was condemned by Clement and by Irenaeus; and as to its " hieroglyphics," by which is meant its symbols, we will look in vain for their counterpart or any approximation to them in the system of Speculative Masonry.
That the Masons at a very early period exhibited a tendency to the doctrine of sacred numbers, which has since been largely developed in the Masonry of the modern High Degrees, is true, but this symbolism was derived directly from the teachings of Pythagoras, with which the founders of the primitive rituals were familiar.
That the sun and the moon are briefly referred to in our rituals and may be deemed in some sort Masonic symbols, is also true, but the use made of this symbolism, and the interpretation of it, very clearly prove that it has not been derived from a Gnostic source.
The doctrine of the metempsychosis, which was. taught by the Basilidians, is another marked point which would widely separate Freemasonry from Gnosticism, the dogma of the resurrection being almost the foundation-stone on which the whole religious philosophy of the former is erected.
Mr. King, in his work on the Gnostics, to which allusion has already been made, seeks to trace the connection between Freemasonry and Gnosticism through a line of argument which only goes to prove his absolute and perhaps his pardonable ignorance of Masonic history. It requires a careful research, which must be stimulated by a connection with the Order, to enable a scholar to avoid the errors into which he has fallen.
"The foregoing considerations," he says, " seem to afford a rational explanation of the manner in which the genuine Gnostic symbols (whether still retaining any mystic meaning or kept as mere lifeless forms, let the Order declare) have come down to these times, still paraded as things holy and of deep significance. Treasured up amongst the dark sectaries of the Lebanon and the Sofis of Persia, communicated to the Templars, and transmitted to their heirs, the Brethren of the Rosy Cross, they have kept up an unbroken existence."
In the line of history which Mr. King has here pursued, he has presented a mere jumble of non-consecutive events which it would be impossible to disentangle. He has evidently confounded the old Rosicrucians with the more modern Rose Croix, while the only connection between the two is to be found in the apparent similarity of name. If he meant the former, he has failed to show a relation between them and the Freemasons; if the latter, he was wholly ignorant that there is not a Gnostic symbol in their system, which is .wholly constructed out of an ecclesiastical symbolism. Such inconsequential assertions need no refutation.
Finally he says that " Thus those symbols, in their origin, embodying the highest mysteries of Indian theosophy, afterward eagerly embraced by the subtle genius of the Alexandrian Greeks, and combined by them with the hidden wisdom of Egypt, in whose captivating and profound doctrines the few bright spirits of the Middle Ages sought a refuge from the childish fables then constituting orthodoxy, engendered by monkery upon the primal Buddhistic stock; these sacred symbols exist even now, but serve merely for the insignia of what at best is but a charitable, probably nothing more in its present form than a convivial institution."
These last lines indicate the precise amount of knowledge that he possesses of the character and the design of Freemasonry. It is to be regretted that he had not sought to explain the singular anomaly that "what at best is but a charitable, and probably nothing more than a convivial institution " has been made the depository of the symbols of an abstruse theosophy. Benevolent societies and convivial clubs do not, as a rule, meddle with matters of such high import.
But to this uncritical essay there need be no reply. When anyone shall distinctly point out and enumerate the Gnostic symbols that made a part of the pure and simple symbolism of the primitive Speculative Masons, it will be time enough to seek the way in which they came there.
For the present we need not undergo the needless labor of searching for that which we are sure can not be found.

Author: Albert Mackey 

“Freemasonry regards no man for his worldly wealth or honors.” In her lodges all men meet on the level. That she should provide elaborate and ceremonious honors in many forms for those who love and labor for the Craft is one of he delightful inconsistences of the Order!
These orders are of several kinds - ceremonious, as in the receptions; salutary from the brethren to the Worshipful Master and to the Grand Master; titular when the brother honored receives the permanent right to the use of a Masonic title, usually accompanied by certain rights and privileges, and symbolic, when the recipient is presented with a decoration, emblem or other device to be worn upon proper occasions.
Highest of the salutary honors are the Grand honors; usually given upon four occasions; the visit to the lodge of a Grand Master, or a Deputy Grand Master acting for him; installations of Grand Masters and Worshipful Masters, the dedication of a Masonic Hall or Temple and the constitution of a new lodge. Their manner is esoteric and therefore cannot be described here.
Any who have read a history of the manners and customs of ancient Rome will at once see a resemblance between the prescribed form of both our private and public Grand Honors, and the carefully restricted and formal methods of laudation and applause practiced in those days.
In this modern era, applause by clapping the hands is common to the theater, the concert hall and the lecture room; such applause as is given at a baseball or football game would be considered ill-bred in a theater. In ancient Rome applause was even more particularly formal. Three kinds of laudation with the hands were prescribed to express various degrees of enthusiasm. “Bombi” was given by striking the cupped hands gently and frequently, a crowd thus produced a humming sound. “Imbrices” was similar to our usual applause, hands struck smartly palm to palm; while “Testae” was produced by hitting the palm of the left hand with the fingers of the right hand grouped to a point, producing a hollow sound (when done by many) something like that made by hitting a hollow vessel.
Freemasonry’s private Grand Honors given at corner-stone layings and funerals - crossing the arms on the breast, raising them over the head and dropping them to the sides - have evidently the same classical origin. The three motions are repeated three times; there is thus a succession of nine blows, as hands strike shoulders, strike each other overhead and strike thighs. This feature makes intelligible the phrase occasionally used “giving honors of three times three.” (There are different honors for this in Nevada.)
It is unnecessary (and illegal) to dwell upon the familiar salutes to the Master in the lodge room, since every Mason who can enter a lodge must know their origin and allusions. Suffice it to say here that when offered to a Worshipful Master, they but emphasize the respect and veneration which the Craft pays to the Oriental Chair, looking to its occupant for wisdom, guidance and counsel. Happy the brother in the East who deserves all the respect shown his office.
Conferring honorary membership in a lodge or Grand Lodge is a method of honoring a brother the greater, as its bestowal is rare. It is more common on the continent than in England or the United States. Some lodges provide in the their By-Laws for a definite number of honorary memberships, which cannot be exceeded without the trouble and inconvenience of an amendment. Other lodges refuse to consider thus honoring a brother. In a few instances honorary members pay dues. The lodge honoring them thus puts them on a parity with its own members in everything but the right to ballot on petitions and in elections, and the right to hold office. In some lodges honorary membership carries with it the privilege of the floor (under the pleasure of the Master); in others, it is a mere gesture and carries no inherent rights.
The gift of life membership by a lodge to one of its own members is an honor, indeed. By so doing the lodge says to the recipient:
“You are so beloved among us; your services to us and to the Craft have been so great that we desire to relieve you from the payment of dues for the rest of your life.” Life Memberships, as honors, are often presented in the form of a “Good Standing Card” made of gold, suitably engraved.
Inasmuch as financial experience has demonstrated that disposing of life memberships by purchase is often an unwise policy for lodges which give life memberships but rarely. When really earned by some outstanding service to a lodge, or to Masonry, life membership is among the most distinguished honor which can be conferred upon a brother.
It is the custom in most lodges to honor the retiring Worshipful Master with a jewel of the office he is then assuming, the honorable and honored station of Past Master. The jewel of the Past Master in the United States is universally the compasses (“compass” in six jurisdictions!) open sixty degrees upon an arc of the fourth part of a circle, and the legs of the compasses inclosing the sun. In England the Past Master’s jewel was formerly the square on a quadrant, but is now a square from which is suspended the 47th problem of Euclid.
Not all lodges give their Past Masters jewels as they become Past Masters. Failure to do so usually comes either from a lack of understanding that “Past Master” is something more than a mere empty title, or by finances too modest to stand the strain.
“Past Master” is not only a name given to the brother who has served his lodge in the East, when he makes way for his successor in office, but is also an honorary degree which all newly elected Masters must receive before they can legally be installed. The Past Master’s degree is given in the Chapter of Capitular Masonry, or in an Emergent Lodge of Past Masters called for that purpose. This requirement is very old - certainly as old, or older than the Mother Grand Lodge - and is universal in England and the United States.
Whether the degree is conferred in a Chapter or an Emergent Lodge of Past Masters, the recipient (who thus becomes a “virtual Past Master” before he is actually installed as Worshipful Master) is taught many esoteric lessons regarding his conduct while in the Oriental Chair. Past Masters are usually members of Grand Lodge, but, according to the most eminent Masonic authorities, not by inherent right but by the local regulations of their own Grand Lodge. In some Grand Lodges Past Masters have individual votes; in others they have only a fraction of a vote; all the Past Masters from any one lodge being given one whole vote between them.
The fact that a Past Master must receive that degree before he became an Installed Master, and that he is a member of Grand Lodge is evidence that the title is not empty. As it confers privileges, it also requires the performance of duties. The honor is in the state; the jewel is but the expression of the lodge’s appreciation of that honor. To most brethren their Past Masters’ jewel is their “Master’s Wages” to be cherished as, perhaps, the greatest honor which can ever be given them.
An additional honor usually accorded Past Masters is a special word of welcome extended by the Worshipful Master, who may, and often does, invite them to seats in the East. This is a courtesy entirely under the Worshipful master’s control. It is not required that he invite his predecessors to sit with him; neither is he forbidden to invite anyone in the lodge to sit in the East.
Another honor the Worshipful Master has wholly in his discretion is offering the gavel to a distinguished visitor. Usually this is reserved for the Grand Master or the Deputy Grand Master acting in his place, who are received with the lodge standing. In tendering such a distinguished visitor the Gavel the Worshipful Master says in effect: “In full knowledge of your wisdom I trust you to preside over my lodge.” The recipient of such an honor usually receives the gavel, seats the lodge, and returns it immediately to the Master. What to do with the brother who has served his lodge in some one capacity for so many years that he can neither successfully carry the burden longer nor decline the honor of re-election or appointment, has troubled many a Master. Borrowing the title Emeritus from the classic custom of universities may solve the problem.
Emeritus comes from the latin word “emerere,” meaning “to be greatly deserving.” The Secretary, Treasurer or Tiler who has served for a generation and now wishes to retire, may be appointed or elected “Treasurer Emeritus”, “Secretary Emeritus”, “Tiler Emeritus,” etc.
Such an honor says in effect: “You have served so long and so well that we cannot dispense with your services or your experience, but we wish you to enjoy them without burdening you with the cares of office. Therefore we give you the title and the honor and relieve you of the labor.” If salaried officers are retired with the title Emeritus, continuing their salary for life makes the honor practical. Receptions in lodges differ in different Jurisdictions, but all such honors express respect and veneration. Thus a Grand Master may be received by the Marshall, the Deacons and the Stewards. Escorted to the East, the Worshipful Master receives him, accords him the Grand Honors (Private or Public as is the case) and tenders the gavel. Less distinguished Grand Lodge officers may be received with the Marshall and Deacons only, Marshall and Stewards only, Marshall only, or with the lodge standing, without any escort. It is wise to adhere strictly to the form of reception prescribed by local regulations and never to offer such honors to any brethren not specified by regulations as entitled to them. To use them promiscuously is to lessen their dignity and their effectiveness.
If election as Worshipful Master is the greatest honor which a lodge may confer upon a brother, election to the “foot of the line” or appointment to any office in the line under the discretion of the Master, is less an honor by but a few degrees, since it is usual, though not invariable, that the brother who begins at the bottom ends at the top. Whatever his future career may be, at least either lodge or Master has said to the brother who thus takes service in the official family of his lodge: “We trust you; wee believe in you; we expect that you will demonstrate that we are right when we say we think in time you will be worthy to be Master of this lodge.”
Selection for membership on either of the four most important committees a Master may appoint; upon charity or upon trials, is a great honor. For these committees the Master naturally selects only brethren of wisdom, experience, knowledge and an unselfish willingness to serve.
Masonry honors her dead. Masonic funeral services conducted over the remains of a deceased brother show his surviving relatives and friends that we are mindful of his worth. As such, the ceremonies we conduct at the grave are an honor and should be so considered. Occasionally arises the problem of the active, hard-working brother, who has done much for the lodge, but who has never held an office, or who, if a Past Master, has received his jewel. Brethren become lodge instructors; serve for years upon the finance committee, are selected Lodge Trustees or whose advise and counsel is so valued that it is frequently sought. After long service of this kind a lodge may desire to express its affection in some concrete way.
The presentation Apron is one very pretty solution of this problem. Presentation Aprons may be obtained from Masonic regalia supply houses with any degree of elaboration and at any cost desired. They are particularly effective for bestowal upon brethren who have served more than one year as Master. It detracts from, not adds to, the value of a Past Master’s Jewel to present any brother with two or more of them! The presentation apron with the Past Master’s Emblem worked in gold embroidery upon it, is a graceful honor which can be worn in the Mother Lodge, or in lodges visited, and is cherished by all who receive it.
Every brother is familiar with the solemn words with which an Entered Apprentice receives his lambskin or white leather apron - “More Honorable Than the Star and Garter, or any other order - .” An honor, indeed, but sometimes less appreciated than it deserves because it is given to so many; given, indeed, to all who are permitted to knock upon the West Gate.
This honor differs from a Past Master’s jewel, or other permanent honors which Freemasonry may bestow, in this vital particular; it is given before the performance. Others come as a recognition of labor done and a Master’s Wages earned. The apron may become a great and distinguished honor, or it may be “merely a piece of white lambskin.” Which it will become is wholly in the power of the recipient to say.
When worthily worn, only one grant from Freemasonry may exceed it in value - the honor of being raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason. Here, too, the honor comes before the work. But if the work is done, if the wages are earned, if the newly made brother does indeed live according to the precepts of the Fraternity, then at long last, even if he has received the jewel of a Past Master - he will agree, and his brethren will unite in saying that there is no honor which Freemasonry can give to any man that is greater than that which lies in the simple words: “He is a true Master Mason.”

Masonic Talk Sept. 1930
Author: Unknown

In the ritual of the modern day Masonic Degrees, the building of King Solomon's Temple plays an important role. It has also fascinated the Biblical scholar and the archaeologist in their attempts to prove the existence of the Temple and the Bible story of King Solomon. All through history this subject has produced an air of mystery which seems to defy a positive solution.
The Masonic scholar, willing to spend the time and effort, can spend hours of research on almost any one of the many features of King Solomon's Temple and still end on a note of mystery admitting that the subject is incomplete and more research is needed. An example to illustrate this point is the reference in the Second Degree which refers to the winding staircase, which we are led to believe existed in King Solomon's Temple. Although there is but one reference to the winding staircase in Masonic ritual, it has been made the central feature of the Second Degree which every Fellowcraft Mason must symbolically ascend in order to make his advancement in the degree. As all Masons will recall, the reference is made "to advance through a porch, by a flight of winding stairs to the middle chamber, there to receive his wages." The details very clearly give a winding staircase leading from the porch way entrance up through the Temple Sanctuary to the upper floors. This reference contains a number of specific and positive statements which we are apparently asked to accept as facts. They are (1) that there was a winding staircase in King Solomon's Temple; 92) that it was approached through an entrance from the porch way; and (3) that the workmen on the building ascended these stairs to receive their wages in the middle chamber. The serious researcher will find that writers of the Charges and ritual of the craft were apparently more interested in the dramatic effect on the candidate than they were on historical accuracy. Biblical scholars and archaeologists differ widely as to the interpretation placed both on historical and the archaeological evidence dealing with King Solomon's Temple and in particular, with the passages dealing with the staircase, but it's fairly safe to say that neither the Biblical scholar nor the archaeologists would support the specific statements made in the Masonic ritual of the Second Degree.
As of today, the only historical evidence relative to the building of Solomon's Temple is found in three different books of the Old Testament and in the writings of Josephus. Of these writings, it is generally accepted that the version in the First Book of Kings is both the oldest and most reliable description we have of the Temple. Our interest here is the mention of the winding staircase. The passages relevant to the winding staircase are found in Chapter 6 of the Authorized Version, which is probably the one used by the ritualists who composed the Lecture on the Second Degree.
First Kings, Chapter 6, Verse 1: "And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zip, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord."
Verse 5: "And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle; and he made chambers round about."
Verse 7: "And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither; so that there was neither hammer nor ax nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building."
Verse 8: "The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house; and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber and out of the middle into the third."
The description above clearly states that there were winding stairs, but an examination of the text finds inconsistencies in the passages themselves and serious discrepancies are noticed between our Masonic ritual and the scriptures above. An example is in Verse 8 which places the entrance door for the middle chamber in the right side of the building. It continues by stating that the stairway went from the door to the middle chamber and on up to the third chamber. No mention is made to an entrance on the ground floor.
The second Bible reference is in Chronicles, Book II, Chapter 3, Verses 1-9. The description, which parallels the Kings version, omits all references to the chambers except for Verse 9 which states: "And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold..." It is widely accepted that the "upper chambers" in Chronicles are the "Side chambers" mentioned in Kings. Notice that there is no mention of a winding staircase.
The third description is found in the Book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel came from a priestly family and some researchers think could have lived at a time which would have enabled him to have seen Solomon's Temple first hand. However, at the time of his writing, the Temple had been destroyed by the Babylonians.
The parallel passages of the above quoted from Kings and Chronicles are to be found in the 41st Chapter of Ezekiel, but differs from the other two.
Ezekiel, Chapter 41, Verse 6: "And the side chambers were three, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which was of the house for the side chambers around about, that they might have hold, but they had not hold in the wall of the house."
Verse 7: 1 "And there was an enlarging, and a winding about still upward to the said chambers; for the winding about of the house went still upward round about the house; therefore, the breadth of the house was still upward, and so increased from the lowest chamber to the highest by the midst." It would appear that what Ezekiel was trying to say is that the chambers themselves wound about the house in long galleries. By "wound about" does he mean encircle? He makes no reference to a staircase. There are other differences noted in the three versions of the Old Testament.
Our Masonic view was probably taken from the translation of the Authorized Version of the Old Testament, which contained many mistranslations in the relevant passages. The translators themselves were aware of the difficulties, for attached to their manuscripts are numerous marginal notes and questions. Biblical Hebrew text often presents difficulties in translation and some cases impossible to a point of where one can only surmise at the true meaning.
Prof. Robert H. Pfeiffer of Harvard University and Boston University in "An Introduction to the Old Testament" writes: "The third element in Solomon's magnificence consisted of his buildings, primarily on Zion in Jerusalem, but elsewhere. The account in Chapter 6, Verses 1-9 is one of the most difficult sections in the Old Testament. First, owing to scribes who failed to understand architectural terms and the obscure descriptions of the original author, neither an architect nor a clear writer, the text has been greatly corrupted. Secondly, the account has endured successive additions and revisions."
The first difficulty comes from the Hebrew text of Verse 8 in which one word is defective. The word appears as "Lullim" and then translated to English as "Winding Stairs. ' Scholars point out that if the word is really "Lullim" it appears nowhere else in the Old Testament, but an associated word "Lulin" appears in several passages of the Jewish code known as the "Mishna" and later called the "Talmud."
One reference reads: "there were Lulin in the upper chamber opening into the Holy of Holies, by which the workmen were let down in baskets, so that they should not feed their eyes on the Holy of Holies." Most translators translate this word to mean "opening" while others translate the word as "Trap-doors." The Jewish Encyclopedia, Volume 12, pp. 85,92 says that the word "Lullin" refers to "trapdoors" but gives no supporting evidenced to the meaning.
The second difficulty from the Hebrew text comes from the original word "Tichonah" translated as "middle" in our phrase from Kings, Verse 8, "the door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house." The meaning of the word "Tichonah" is uncertain, but most modern translators refer to it as the "lowest~' instead of "middle." This seems to make more sense.
Dr. James Moffat in his translation of the Bible in 1924 entitled "A New Translation of the Bible" translated Verse 8 in Kings this way: "The entrance into the lower side rooms was on the south side of the Temple; you climbed to the middle row, and from the middle to the top row, through trap doors."
In 1965, another translation came out in an English Edition of the "Jewish Bible" with Verse 8: "The entrance to the lower story was at the right hand corner of the Temple and access to the middle story above was by trap doors and so from the middle story to the third." There is no reference to winding stairs.
If the Temple had a winding staircase, as a few scholars still think, it was probably in the side walls and served the side chambers built into the thickness of the walls from the first and second levels. These side chambers were used while the Temple was being built for the purpose of paying the workmen their wages. Later, they were used as store-houses or treasury rooms of the Temple into which the treasures and gifts to the Temple were placed.
As mentioned at the beginning of this paper, the other source of information about King Solomon's Temple is in the writings of Josephus, a Jewish historian. He mentions Solomon's Temple in several of his works, but the main references are in his history of the Jewish people called "The Antiquities of the Jews." One relevant passage quoted from Wriston's translation, Book VIII, Chapter 3: "The King also had a fine contrivance for an ascent to the upper room over the Temple, and that was by steps in the thickness of its wall; for it had no large door on the east end, as the lower house had, but the entrances were by the sides, through very small doors."
Apart from Josephus and the Bible, we have no other literary source to turn to for information. Unfortunately, there is no evidence in Jerusalem to which we might gain a knowledge of this subject, for successive conquerors made a thorough job of the destruction of the Temple and not one part remains standing and nothing has been uncovered by archaeologists. Regardless of whether there was a winding staircase, a trap-door or just an opening to the different compartments of the Temple, the mystery still remains, and will continue to fascinate both the biblical scholar and the archaeologist and be of particular interest to the Freemason.
References: Books of The Old Testament, Standard Work-Grand Lodge of Illinois; The Mystery of the Winding Staircase by A. L. Shane; and A New Translation of the Bible by Dr. James Moffat.