American Lodge No. 98 – 150 Years

On 20 November 1860, American Lodge No. 98, A.F.M. of S.C., was chartered. Exactly one hundred and fifty years later on 20 November 2010, American Lodge No. 98 celebrated in fine style.

The event was marked by a Special Communication, an official visit by the Grand Master of Masons of South Carolina, and a double conferral of the Third Degree. Accompanying the Grand Master were the District Deputy Grand Master, a District Deputy Grand Master from a neighboring district, and four past Grand Lodge officers. There were also three sitting Masters of other lodges in the District in attendance. The roll of the charter members was read and, in spirit, all of those Brothers answered up.

The Master and officers of American Lodge No. 98 did a fine job of conferring the Degree in a solemn manner. As memorable as the Third Degree is to any Master Mason, American’s two newest Master Masons have two extra reasons to always remember their special day. In addition to it being on the one hundredth and fiftieth anniversary of their lodge, they were both raised by the Grand Master.

Following the Communication, all enjoyed a very good lunch with many ladies present and the Master’s talk on the history of his lodge – including American’s trials and tribulations during the waning days of the War Between the States when the lodge was burnt to the ground by William Tecumseh Sherman’s troops as his army marched from Savannah, Georgia, for Columbia, South Carolina. Commemorative coins had also been struck to mark the anniversary and were available to those in attendance.

It was a very good day for American Lodge and I am personally proud to have been able to be in attendance.

In photo: GM of Masons of SC, two new MMs, DDGM of SC's 4th District.

Always an Entered Apprentice?1

Every Mason is always an Entered Apprentice in some respects and that is a good thing, but I recently had a sort of “Eureka” moment – one of a series of such moments that I have been having as of late. Are there Masons that have achieved the title of Fellow Craft or Master that – in practice – still remain Entered Apprentices? A Brother recently wrote the following.

Often we hear that, as Masons, we should be good men, of good morals, etc – and that learning is not what makes us Masons. While this may be true – in that being a good man of good morals is the prerequisite for membership – it is not the Alpha and Omega of the Craft! If we look carefully at the Degrees, we will notice that the First Degree discusses the character of the member, but that the Second Degree urges the candidate to focus on learning the liberal arts and sciences. In some rituals this is more explicit than in others, but it's present in every single one. In order to become a Master Mason, one needs to be a Fellow Craft first. By just by being a good man – of good morals – he is merely qualifying himself to be an Entered Apprentice. Many Brethren choose to remain as Entered Apprentice Masons for their entire life and focus strictly on the goodness and the charity. There is nothing wrong with that and I congratulate them on their efforts as I understand that the Craft cannot function without them. Yet, if we want to fulfill our duties as Craftsmen, we need to devote to studying liberal arts and sciences. That includes studying Freemasonry – it being a very important Art and Science – but it does not end there. It is only after we have fulfilled our duties as Fellow Craft Masons that we can strive to become Masters of our Craft. We know what happened to those who tried to obtain the rank of a Master Mason without fulfilling the duties of a Craftsman first and we also know how that story ended. We are all Masons and, as long as we are good man with strong values and morals, that qualifies us to be here - but only as Entered Apprentice Masons. Going further in the Craft requires much more work than just "being."2

I think I will let the above quote exist on its own for now. It says a lot.

1. Inspired by a Brother in Ontario.
2. Written by the same Brother.

2010 Outdoor Degree

The twenty-fourth annual Outdoor Degree with Family Cookout in my District was held yesterday. It was well attended, the weather cooperated perfectly, the food was outstanding, and there are now three new Master Masons – one each from three different lodges – in the District.

The work of the host lodge, officers and members of the other nine lodges, and the officers and members of the Lowcountry Masters and Warden Club did not go unnoticed. It takes much labor to successfully pull off this type of event and all involved are to be commended.

Worth Checking Out

The new blog that I have added to my list of sites to your left is Building Hiram. I recommend that you check it out.

The Secrets of Freemasonry Have Never Been Exposed

Many Internet savvy or research minded Masons might disagree with the opinion expressed in the title of this article. At a time in the past, I would also have disagreed with it. The many exposés – whether they are in books, on television documentary or history related channels, or on the Internet – would seem to give credence to those that have stated and continue to state that all the secrets of Freemasonry are out there for the uninitiated to find. Freemasons have often comforted themselves with the belief that, since there is also so much false information floating around, the profane are not able to determine truth from fiction and, thus, the exposed secrets are still safe.

I have come to the conclusion, however and after some thoughtful guidance from a very small group of learned members of the Craft, that the true secrets of Freemasonry have never been exposed – even to most members of the Fraternity. Note for those not of the Craft that may be reading this, especially the conspiracy theorists: I assure you that these unexposed secrets have nothing to do with world government, control of the banks, aliens, etc.

The real secrets have never leaked out because it is fundamentally impossible for them to be exposed. They must be discovered and such discovery requires an individual Mason to experience what may be described as a radical shift in the way he views things. In the business world, this change is often illustrated with such phrases as “thinking outside of the box” or “paradigm shift.”

It may very well be that the exposed secrets – the rituals and symbols – are actually just smokescreens intended to lead inquiring eavesdroppers in the wrong direction. More importantly, it is entirely possible that the rituals and symbols are intentionally in place to make it very difficult or impossible for Freemasons – the ones not ready to make or not capable of making the change to their personal paradigms – to discover the true secrets. A Mason that has discovered the path to the true secrets is incapable of sharing them with another Mason. He can only provide the guidance on how to discover them and, even then, can only share that guidance with someone that is capable of understanding it. In other words, the other Mason must be willing to and capable of shifting his way of viewing the symbols and ritual.

The ritual and symbols can possibly be described as doorways – sort of like the old “Let’s Make a Deal” game show. The difference is that most Masons never see one or more of the doors. They may see door number one, but not door number two or three. They can not open certain doors because their view of Freemasonry prevents them from even realizing that all three of the doors exist. In the case of profane eavesdroppers, they do not see any of the doors.

This is not to say that many, if not most, Freemasons do not have a gut feeling – a nagging suspicion – that there is something else behind all of the ritual and symbols. I have experienced this feeling myself and have observed others wrestle with the notion that there is something more to a particular symbol, part of the ritual, or a lecture. Most of the time, however, we are not capable of making the leap from a subliminal message to the Eureka moment of discovery. Those that train their minds to make that leap become the adepts and once they discover one of the true secrets they find themselves capable of discovering more of them. They can see all of the doors.

If the day ever comes when all or most Freemasons can discover the true secrets of the Fraternity, that may be the day to start teaching the rest of the world and we can get on with the business of taking over the banks, forming that world government, and introducing our alien friends to the other Earthlings. Until that time arrives, the real secrets of Freemasonry will remain unexposed and safe.

Possible Loophole in the Second Charge of a Free Mason

Studious members of the Craft are familiar with the Charges of a Freemason, extracted from the Ancient records of Lodges beyond Sea, and of those in England, Scotland,and Ireland, for the use of the Lodges in London.* The Second Charge is oft examined and discussed by members of the Fraternity as it pointedly touches on a Mason’s role in civil society. It also calls the actions of famous Masons of the past into examination – the American Revolution offering an obvious example. The Second Charge reads as follows.

II. Of the CIVIL MAGISTRATES supreme and subordinate.

A Mason is a peaceable Subject to the Civil Powers, wherever he resides or works, and is never to be concern'd in Plots and Conspiracies against the Peace and Welfare of the Nation, nor to behave himself undutifully to inferior Magistrates; for as Masonry hath been always injured by War, Bloodshed, and Confusion, so ancient Kings and Princes have been much dispos'd to encourage the Craftsmen, because of their Peaceableness and Loyalty, whereby they practically answer'd the Cavils of their Adversaries, and promoted the Honour of the Fraternity, who ever flourish'd in Times of Peace. So that if a Brother should be a Rebel against the State he is not to be countenanc'd in his Rebellion, however he may be pitied as an unhappy Man; and, if convicted of no other Crime though the loyal Brotherhood must and ought to disown his Rebellion, and give no Umbrage or Ground of political Jealousy to the Government for the time being; they cannot expel him from the Lodge, and his Relation to it remains indefeasible.*

On its surface, the Second Charge is rather specific. A Free Mason is not to plot or conspire against his nation. However, how would the likes of Brothers Benjamin Franklin and George Washington – the Charges having been around for some time by the beginning of the American Revolution – reconcile themselves to the possibility that they could honor the Second Charge and be involved in a revolution against Britain, which was their nation? It is possible that there is a loophole in the Charge and it is further possible that the American Masons who involved themselves in “plots and conspiracies” against Britain may have recognized it or have at least used it to justify their actions.

That possible loophole is contained in the second phrase of the first sentence. A Mason “is never to be concern'd in Plots and Conspiracies against the Peace and Welfare of the Nation.” “Peace” and “Welfare” are key words in that phrase and are unlikely to be there by accident or by whim. If a Free Mason honestly believes that his nation – as ruled by the “Government for the time being” – is not enjoying peace or faring well, he may possibly and reasonably conclude that he is no longer bound by the terms of the Second Charge.

Of course, an individual Mason probably should not walk down the slippery slope of unilaterally determining that his nation is not peaceful or faring well. Suffice it to say that such a conclusion would require multitudes of the citizenship, regardless of their Masonic affiliation. In addition, the beginning of a revolution necessarily means that another government has been formed even if not recognized as legitimate by the longer existing civil powers. It could then be reasonably argued that a Mason gets to decide on which government he is going to apply the terms of the Second Charge if he was not involved in the formation of the revolution and was, therefore, not concerned with the “peace and welfare” clause of the Charge.

* Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon, The Charges of a Free-Mason. http://www.freemasonry.bcy.ca/history/anderson/charges.html (Accessed September 20, 2010). Cross checked with Ahiman Rezon of South Carolina. Lexington, S.C., 2007, pp. 458-460. The Charges – six in all – were adopted by the Grand Lodge of England on 25 March 1722.

Should All Good Men Be Made Masons? – Revisited

Read this first: A Commentary: Should All Good Men Be Made Masons?

The theme of my above referenced commentary seems to run throughout the history of Freemasonry and I keep discovering it in my various readings. On 11 December 1894, the then Grand Master of Masons in South Carolina – Most Worshipful Brother Stiles P. Dendy, addressed the Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free Masons of South Carolina.

“I regard the non-affiliate, in most instances, as a parasite on the body of Masonry,” he said, “and is generally one who is wanting in appreciation of the true nature and purpose of the Order, and when admitted finds himself out of harmony with the whole trend of its teachings, or one who has sought admission from unworthy and improper motives….” What was to be the solution to the “bane of Masonry in the present age”? Bro. Dendy suggested that the Lodges take a more critical look at applicants for admission, “a more searching inquiry, not only as to the physical qualifications and moral fitness, but also as to the intellectual capacity of candidates to apprehend and appreciate the sublime teachings and mysteries of Free Masonry.” 1

1. Source: Cornwell, Ross & Willis, Samuel M. A History of Freemasonry in South Carolina; The Years 1860 - 1919. The Grand Lodge of Ancient Free Masons of South Carolina, 1979.