A Brief Explanation

Created and copyrighted by Stephen A. McKim, of Lafayette Indiana, USA
used with permission.

Many times I get asked about Freemasonry. People are under the wrong impression that we are a "secret" society and are forbidden to tell about what we do. This is incorrect. We are not "secret" We have secrets but they are personal and individual. Anyone who has ever been to a Masonic Installation knows that the proceedings are not secret. Anyone is welcome to attend. You hear a lot about the fraternity at the Installations.

Freemasonry is a lifelong study of how to be a better brother among other brothers under the Fatherhood of God. You see you must have a belief in A Supreme Being before you can petition the Lodge. You used to have to ask to be a Mason for we were forbidden to ask anyone to join. Thankfully that restriction has been eased and you may now let it be known that if a man wants to join the Lodge he has only to ask.

Freemasonry as we know it today began in the 1700's but it goes back further than that. Our traditions claim that we are the descendants of the Mysteries of Ancient Egypt and the builders of King Solomon's Temple. Our initiating rituals are based on events that took place at the building of the Temple are are designed to teach us how to build our character to fit us as living stones into God's Temple.

We take the builder's tools and learn lessons from them. Thus we are called "speculative" as opposed to "Operative" Masons.

In the Middle Ages the Masons were able to travel to different communities to work on building the great cathedrals. They were free and not bound to the land. Thus the origin of the term Freemason. They taught their apprentices how to build and they met in Lodges to teach these lessons. You see books were not available so the instruction was "mouth to ear."

Eventually they admitted prominent men of the community into their Lodges and these men became "Accepted" Masons. Eventually these Accepted Masons were the ones who wrote the rituals and turned the fraternity into what it is today.

Of course, there are others who will tell you a different story but this is the one I accept so it is the one you get from me. These Lodges of Accepted Masons met in various places and always with a fine dinner and wine and good fellowship. There were many toasts and the events bonded the men together like no other association has ever done.

The Lodges eventually formed into a Grand Lodge in 1717 and for awhile all was comfortable. Then there was another Grand Lodge formed and they became rivals. By this time there was a system of degrees so that there were levels or "ranks" of membership. There were three basic levels or degrees - Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft and Master Mason. There were other degrees attached to them. The degree of Mark Master was a part of the Fellowcraft Degree and the Holy Order of the Royal Arch completed the Master Mason's Degree. These were separated when the two "rival" grand lodges came together and resolved their differences.

My friend Jerry told me that shortly after the formation of the Grand Lodge there were some 300+ appendent degrees attached to it.

Over time the Lodges spread throughout the world. Each Grand Lodge is sovereign unto itself and has dominion over its own ceremonies and rituals. Iowa's Grand Lodge obtained its charter from Missouri and you can see how the Lodges spread from place to place. With the American Revolutionary War American Grand Lodges also declared independence from the United Grand Lodge of England. We have one Grand Lodge in each state.

The current system has two additional "rites" the York Rite and the Scottish Rite which are co-equal and work together in many ways. In order to join either one of these you must be a Master Mason and have proven proficiency (or in Iowa passed the Master Mason Enlightenment Course) The York Rite has three separate organizations. Chapters of Royal Arch Masons, Councils of Royal and Select Masters and Commanderies of Knights Templar.

The Scottish Rite also has several groups also but effectively operate as one organization. They have 32 degrees that you get when you join and one 33rd which is honorary.

There are a lot of other Masonic Organizations which you can join including some which are not Masonic but which meet in Masonic Temples and include Women and Men. The primary one is the Order of the Eastern Star.

This is a brief explanation. I could say a lot more but to be very honest Desparate Housewives is coming on and I want to watch. As for activities today I read. Newspapers and The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud by Julia Navarro Beautiful day Be Happy. j