Proficiency

I suppose I should post something. I am slowly getting some better. The Kleenex usage has slowed way down. I stayed in the house most of the day but went out to Stompin' Grounds to meet with a new Mason. James got his first degree a couple of weeks ago. He has to meet with me to demonstrate that he understands certain basics before he can go on to the next degree. We call that demonstrating proficiency. Because his Second Degree is scheduled for next Thursday it was important that we take care of this. I haven't mentored someone for a year or so but it is not a difficult job. In fact it is rather fun.

It used to be before you took your second degree you had to memorize a long catechism that basically described everything which you experienced when you took the degree. It included the entire obligation. Then you had to do it all over again for the second and third degrees. And you were supposed to do it from "mouth to ear" and only after you did all of that were you allowed full membership. It was not easy. Some of the older members decry that it is no longer done that way. Now we have three little tests to take and the new member must demonstrate to his mentor that he understands the signs, passes and grips of the degree.

Actually I think that is fine. The material that he studied to get ready for the meeting tells him much more about Masonry than what he previously had to memorize. And it is the interaction between Mentor and Mentee that is important and the discussion we have which gives him the "tools" to visit a Lodge. It is the participation in the meetings and the interactions with his Brothers which "enroll" him in the Lodge and ultimately "make" him a Mason. It is the connections which we make that tie us to one another in unbreakable bonds and help us to understand Masonry. It is the living of our obligations and the tenets of Brotherly love, relief and truth which in the long run are the important components in becoming a member of the greatest fraternal society ever conceived by man.

So that is what I did today. I worked with a Brother and in helping him to find out about Masonry I found out about him and feel closer to him and am proud to call him Brother. (and Oh, by the way, he had done his homework and understood the questions and we had a great discussion) - I hope he enjoyed himself as much as I enjoyed working with him.

Addendum: Just found this on the Utah Scottish Rite Site. They seem to fit as the Signs and Tokens are part of what James and I were studying.

SIGNS AND TOKENS

The signs and tokens of Masonry are of no small value; they speak a universal language, and act as a passport to the attention and support of the initiated in all parts of the world. They cannot be lost so long as the memory retains its power. Let the possessor of them be expatriated, shipwrecked or imprisoned; let him be stripped of everything he has got in the world; still these credentials remain and are available for use as circumstances require.

The great effects, which they have produced, are established by the most incontestable facts of history. They have stayed the uplifted hand of the destroyer; of the tyrant; they have mitigated the horrors of captivity; they have subdued the rancor of malevolence; they have broken down the barriers of political animosity and sectarian alienation.

On the field of battle, in the solitude of the uncultivated forests, or in the busy haunts of the crowded city, they have made men of the most hostile feelings, and the most distant religions, and most diversified conditions, rush to the aid of each other, and feel a social joy and satisfaction that they have been able to afford relief to a brother Mason.

Benjamin Franklin

Thanks for stopping by, ARTYALl Hugs, j