THE VALUE OF FREEMASONRY
by Bro Duanne E. Anderson
Grand Orator, Grand Lodge of
Minnesota
ADDRESS OF THE GRAND ORATOR
DUANE E. ANDERSON, DULUTH, MINNESOTA
April 7, 1995
Grand Master, Grand Officers and Members of Grand Lodge, Distinguished Guests,
Brethren, Ladies and Friends:
Freemasonry is older than recorded history, and has over two and one-half
million followers in this country alone, has contributed immeasurably to the
establishment and growth of our nation and has brought peace and happiness to
countless millions, yet stands virtually unknown, unrecognized and
unappreciated by many years, even by SOME of our own members. There are
many
things about our fraternity that are quite unique. There are many things about
it that have been imitated by others. Yet, our organization has some weaknesses
that need to be strengthened. Let us pause to take a closer look.
First, Freemasonry is very old. We cannot establish its age. We know that it
is older than our other institutions our state, our nation, our churches and
many religious groups, our schools, our homes, our businesses, our social
clubs, and even our democratic way of life. It was present when each of these
institutions was established in this country and made a definite contribution
to each. Without the influence of our gentle craft, at a key time in the
history of the world, it is doubtful that we would enjoy the blessings of many
of these institutions today.
Without Freemasonry it is doubtful there would have been a United States of
America. It was Freemasonry which poured its teachings into the hearts of
faithful patriots who wrote the Declaration of Independence and formulated the
Bill of Rights for our new Constitution. A Freemason led the continental army
to victory and became the first President of this republic. Brother George
Washington took his oath of office upon a Masonic Bible when he became
President. And again, he acted in the capacity of a Master Mason when he laid
the cornerstone of our nation's capital according to ancient Masonic
ceremonies. Another Freemason, Benjamin Franklin, led the establishment of our
foreign policy, and based it on time-honored Masonic principles of brotherly
love, relief and truth, principles that continued to guide our country when it
gave help, aid, and assistance to other nations of the world, especially during
and after two world wars.
Freemasonry is, and always has been, a true friend and ally of the free
church, even though some perceived it to be a threat to religion. During the
middle-ages, Freemasonry supplied architects and builders for the great
cathedrals, and down through the centuries loved, protected and taught from the
Holy Bible. The fraternity has provided light in order to help understand the
Holy Scriptures, and by doing so, has given to many men a deeper understanding
of sermons, hymns, and church liturgy. Some have accused our fraternity of
being a competitor of the church, yet Freemasonry claims no creed, no dogma, no
doctrine except that of the Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of God. It
has taught men how to teach and to lead other men. It has produced great men of
the cloth like Rev. Norman Vincent Peale, Rev. Joseph Fort Newton, and Rev.
Forrest Delos Haggard. Our great fraternity teaches a man the true value of
himself and his fellow man.
Freemasonry's contributions to the establishment, maintenance, and defense of
our free public school system are well known to us all. Through the years many
of our members have served unselfishly on school boards and in other capacities
for public education.
Members of our fraternity have felt the lashes of persecution and suffering
under the Fascists in Italy and Spain, the Naziıs in Germany, the Communist
dictatorships of the former Soviet Bloc countries, and the radical
fundamentalists in Iran. They have suffered in the fiery pyres of the
Inquisition with great martyrs for the cause of freedom, like Jacques DeMolay
and the Templars. We were attacked with church documents - encyclicals, edicts,
and bulls - beginning in the 18th Century because some feared our purpose. We
endured the AntiMasonic era of the early nineteenth century in America. Our
Brethren have suffered under the ruthless hands of tyrants in all ages and in
all nations, wherever they have lived, including our Prince Hall Brethren who
have felt, and still feel, the pangs of racism in our great, yet imperfect
country. In some countries of the world today, men are still confined to
prison, their only crime being that they belong to our Masonic Fraternity.
Freemasonry has been falsely accused of being a political organization, yet we
do not permit the discussion of partisan politics at our lodge communications.
We do not permit our members to use the good name of the fraternity in their
political campaigns. During the Civil War, a war where brother fought brother
and father fought son, Freemasonry remained a "House Undivided" and supplied
cement of brotherly love and affection which aided the states to come back
together after that terrible event. Our fraternity never supported any
political party, but has always defended the right of every man to belong to
the party of his own choice.
Freemasonry takes no stand in matters of religion or politics. Yet, whenever
men of the past have felt the need to throw off the yoke of oppression, whether
political, intellectual, or spiritual, and demanded their unalienable rights,
they have found a true friend in the Masonic Fraternity.
Freemasonry is a great charitable institution -- giving away some $1.4 million
each day. We have taken the old traditional ideal of a personal, private,
Masonic charity of orphanages, homes for the aged, hospitals, educational and
healing foundations for our own members and dependents, and turned it into a
major, public institution of philanthropy, aimed primarily at crippled children
and burn victims, literacy, sight improvement, and medical research. All this
would testify eloquently to the unselfish character of Freemasonry's vast
charitable endeavors. It's difficult to think of any area of human benevolence
in which Freemasonry is not at work.
In spite of the frequent persecution and false accusations, Freemasonry is not
bitter; it does not hate nor seek vengeance. On the contrary, charity, truth
and loving kindness have become our watchwords. "Peace and harmony should be
the strength and support of all societies, but more especially of ours." Our
fraternity throws around each other the broad mantle of Masonic charity. As the
historian and author of Born in Blood, John Robinson, said: "Freemasonry is
probably the only organization in the world which ever truly exercised that
great Christian virtue of ³turning the other cheek." It wasnıt long after John
made that statement when he decided to become a Freemason himself.
Lack of attendance at communications, apathy, disinterestedness, and being
dropped for non-payment of dues, however, are all sadly occurring in our
fraternity. It is disappointing when many of our own members do not appreciate
or take advantage of what our fraternity has to offer, or when they fail to
live by its teachings, and by doing so, they fail to attract many good men to
its doors.
There is also a tendency on the part of some to lower the moral and spiritual
requirements of men who would join us. I am against this. If we do not maintain
high standards, we will not attract men of the highest caliber. Men who join
only for the social aspects and are not interested in character development,
education, charity, and other more noble purposes, will not remain with us very
long -- I suspect that much of the problem of non payment of dues falls into
this category. We should study this problem, find out if such is the case, and,
if so, look well to the ballot box in the future.
We must remember that, as an organization, we are always just one generation
of men away from extinction. The men who will ultimately make Freemasonry
survive and thrive are not yet Freemasons, and we must meet these future
brethren on their terms. This is something which, in the past, Freemasonry has
always done quite well. But today, we either have to think like they do, or put
these men in leadership positions. They will not think like us. They cannot
assimilate today's culture using our rules. However, they can organize their
needs around our values. They have already told us their needs. We know their
expectations of the organizations which they will join. They want fraternity,
fellowship, community attachment, charitable causes, family involvement, and
opportunities for leadership. Freemasonry can and must meet these needs.
When John Robinson was in Minnesota, he said something very profound. He
talked about our membership problem and said, "Freemasonry grew by men having
sons who became Masons. And then they had grandsons who became Masons." He said
you wouldn't have a membership problem at all if the sons of Masons became
Masons, and the grandsons of Masons became Masons. If you cannot convince your
son sleeping in the room next to you that this fraternity is worth being in,
how do you ever expect to convince the guy down the street who doesn't even
know you?
And so from him has come, I think, some wisdom that we need to think about.
We are somebody's impression of Freemasonry, and that somebody may well be our
son or a grandson or a nephew, or some other close male relative. Have you
lived your life according to the tenets of this fraternity to the extent that
this young man can see in you what we really are? If he cannot see it, there
are only two reasons why: it was not there in the first place, or you have not
helped him to understand the benefits of this fraternity in your own life.
When a young man comes up to his father, uncle, grandfather, or even a friend,
who is a Mason and says "Why should I be a Mason?" The usual response is to
say things about fellowship, our illustrious history, famous Freemasons, or our
charities. But I believe this fraternity has many additional benefits to offer
a young man which, for some reason, we rarely seem to tell him. We need to tell
him there arenıt many other places in the world where you can get the practical
training which Freemasonry offers: training in public speaking, conducting a
meeting, budgeting, planning, social, organizational, and leadership skills,
intellectual discipline and activity, practical experience in psychology, etc.
The first thing you learn in Freemasonry is that the fraternity expects
something of you. It's astounding how often in this world absolutely nothing is
expected of you. Our fraternity expects a new member to do something almost
immediately, Freemasonry expects him to use his mind -- first to memorize, to
think, and later to understand. To begin with, the memorization of ritual is a
priceless discipline whose value we too often overlook. The newly made Entered
Apprentice quickly learns that he is required to commit a small portion of the
ritual to memory before he is allowed to continue. Every time we reduce or
eliminate memorization of a portion of our ritual, we send out a wrong signal,
especially to the young man -- we don't place much value on what we teach in
the lodge!
Some urge Freemasonry to reduce the memory requirements, shorten the degrees,
change the obligations, and tamper with numerous other traditions of our craft
that have served us so well for more than two hundred and fifty years. I am
very concerned about our "rush to judgement" relative to these issues. We
should give each of them serious thought. In our haste, we may do more damage
than good. We need a complete and thorough discussion of all possible
ramifications of such changes, a discussion outside the crowded and severely
limited time constraints of the Grand Lodge.
I personally didnıt realize how priceless the skill of memorization was until
I came into Freemasonry. It's amazing the difference in my own life as a result
of my having to learn ritual. Your mind is like any other muscle -- it gets
flabby and weak if you donıt use it! Memorization of ritual is good exercise
for the mind. The oral presentation of ritual also helps you develop and polish
your speaking skills which will be useful throughout your life. The two most
important skills for any college student to develop are writing and speaking.
Most students work hard on the writing, but few do so on the speaking. There is
a reason. It's fear!
The most common fear among people is not a fear of high places, or a fear of
small enclosures, or of some wild animal, of a dreaded disease, or a fear of a
dangerous storm; the most common fear is a fear of speaking before others --
people are terrified to speak before large groups, especially in public. Now,
the average person on the street, not being a Mason, is not aware of the
incredible ability of our minds to memorize and learn vast quantities of
information. Doctors and lawyers know this. They went to medical and law school
-- they had to memorize anatomy, legal cases, etc. Memorization of ritual for
lodge is hard work, but it gives you a sense of how powerful the human mind can
be. If you discipline your mind and if you discipline your time, you can learn
a tremendous amount before you have to make a presentation.
Freemasonry teaches you first how to speak before a small group with relative
comfort in small stages. You do not have to do the ritual of the craft until
you have learned it well and are ready to do it. When you stand before your
brethren for the first time, you have three things going for you.
First, you know word-for-word what you are going to say before you ever get
there, so you're not quite so nervous. Second, you know that you know it,
because you've worn a hole in your carpet at home while learning it, and your
wife and dog each know you know it because they learned it right along with
you. They're just not saying anything. And third, when you look out at that
audience, just as I do now, you see nothing but men who have your best
interests at heart, men who silently are cheering you along, who want you to do
well, who in your mistakes will only see a reflection of the mistakes they
made, who will encourage you and support you and help you until you get it
right. And when you get it right, they will pat you on the back and
congratulate you. And when you get it right you'll know there is no better
feeling anywhere.
So, at first you learn to stand up in front of a small group of people and
repeat things that youıve memorized; soon, youıre comfortable with that and
before you know it, you stand up at a stated meeting and speak your mind,
articulate your opinion, volunteer to give a talk; before you know it youıre
giving speeches all over the place, youıre Grand Orator; the possibilities are
endless!
If you are fortunate enough to be appointed as a line-officer in your lodge,
you will learn to serve other men for a higher purpose in life. As Master you
are taught to get the best out of your officers. Think what kind of an employee
you can be, if you learn to serve the higher purpose of your job than just the
salary. Think what kind of an employer you can be to get the best out of your
employees.
Freemasonry is a university for the practical needs of life, and no one else
teaches these needs as well or as consistently as we do. This is a fraternity
where men develop talents and skills and a professional acumen not taught in
school or college. These are qualities of great value in the world. So I
encourage you to think about what Freemasonry offers you in practical terms
when you talk to that young man.
I think we often underestimate our new members. When they enter the lodge,
they are like a blank slate so far as Freemasonry is concerned. They donıt know
much about the craft and they want to learn. Itıs up to us to teach them, to
foster the love of knowledge which brought them here to find out why it meant
so much to their father or great uncle to be a Mason. Itıs up to us to
encourage that natural curiosity.
Freemasonry also honors the value of labor. We are a building craft, builders
of menıs character. Our central personage is our Ancient Grand Master Hiram
Abif, the chief architect and master builder of Solomonıs Temple, who taught us
to yield up our life rather than forfeit our integrity. Hiram symbolizes that
respect the craft has for labor.
Freemasonryıs purpose, like that of a true university, is to teach you to want
to learn. If we can do that, if we can instill in your mind a curiosity, a
sense of wonder, a sense of the depth of human knowledge, then we have
accomplished our purpose. We want to make you curious. Because, if youıre
curious and if you follow that curiosity, if you follow the rivers of thought
to their source, indeed you will be a Mason who has done the labor of Masonry.
I think one of the most exciting things going on in the fraternity today is
what the Grand Lodge of Minnesota is doing for its members -- the development
of the Masonic Light Program, the addition of Lodge and Grand Lodge Education
Officers, the Grand Lodge Bookstore, the LEO Fall Conferences, Minnesota
Masonic computer networking, etc. Minnesota no longer simply gives lip-service
to education in Masonry. Our Grand Master Rod Larson and Grand Lodge Education
Officer Terry Tilton both especially deserve a lot of the credit. They have
worked hard and long, and they will leave a tremendous legacy when they step
down; their leadership, enthusiasm, energy, knowledge, and friendship have been
an inspiration! They made us all realize just how important Masonic Education
really is. Their impact in Masonic Education will be felt throughout Minnesota
for years to come.
The teachings of Freemasonry can do much to help win the battle which now
rages to conquer the hearts and minds of young people. Each of us, as
individuals, must set an example and practice out of the lodge those great
moral and social virtues that are inculcated in the lodge. Too many members see
in Freemasonry only the beautiful jewelry, pomp and pageantry, prestige and
prominence, instead of the service and sacrifice, humility and prayer, light
and wisdom. We must serve as exemplars for our fellow man if we ever hope to
win that battle.
Our fraternity guides us to a better knowledge of God, ourselves, and our
fellow man; guides us away from ignorance, fanaticism, intolerance, and
bigotry; and guides us to the side of a needy Brother in distress and to the
defense of Truth. Freemasonry admonishes us to provide for the needs of widows
and orphans; to visit the graveside of a fallen Brother; it directs us upward,
never downward; toward light, never darkness; toward love, never hate.
In the Holy Bible, the Mason's trestleboard of life, we read both in the Old
and New Testaments that we all are creations of God - the children of God. In
Freemasonry, Brotherhood is one of our basic tenets. With us, Brotherhood is an
activity which involves three types of reaching, each in a different direction.
First, we reach downward with helping hands to lift and support a faltering
brother. Second, we reach out on the level to extend the hand of fellowship,
and welcome a friend and brother to join us in worthy endeavors and
accomplishments that will make this world a better place in which to live, and
thus benefit all humankind. Our third reach is upward. Masons should ever
remember that when the strength and wisdom of man fails, there is an
inexhaustible supply above yielded to us through the power of prayer. In our
moments of weakness, stumbling, and confusion, we reach toward the heavens for
the strength to rise, and the wisdom to go forward along the path of
righteousness.
Let me quote from the New Testament:
He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even
until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none
occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness,
and walketh in darkness and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness
hath blinded his eyes.... If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he
is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he
love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he
who loveth God love his brother also.
I JOHN, 2:9-11; 4:20-21
The Golden Rule is the rule of Brotherhood. It has been committed to memory by
countless generations. It has been recited in school, in the pulpit, and in the
forum. However, evil will continue to grow and violence continue to spread
across our land, while ignorance, fanaticism, intolerance, and bigotry take
control of peopleıs lives, unless we learn to apply the lessons of universal
Brotherhood. Here of all places, in America, we, as Freemasons, should do
everything in our power to eliminate racial prejudice. May that effort spread
around the world and bring Unity and Brotherhood to all mankind. The poet, and
brother Mason, Edwin Markham, put it this way:
"THE CREST AND CROWNING OF ALL GOOD,
LIFE'S FINAL STAR, IS BROTHERHOOD;
FOR IT WILL BRING AGAIN TO EARTH
HER LONG-LOST POESY AND MIRTH;
WILL SEND NEW LIGHT ON EVERY FACE,
A KINGLY POWER UPON THE RACE.
AND TILL IT COMES, WE MEN ARE SLAVES,
AND TRAVEL DOWNWARD TO THE DUST OF GRAVES.
COME, CLEAR THE WAY, THEN CLEAR THE WAY:
BLIND CREEDS AND KINGS HAVE HAD THEIR DAY.
BREAK THE DEAD BRANCHES FROM THE PATH;
OUR HOPE IS IN THE AFTERMATH,
OUR HOPE IS IN HEROIC MEN,
STAR-LED TO BUILD THE WORLD AGAIN.
TO THIS EVENT THE AGES RAN:
MAKE WAY FOR BROTHERHOOD
MAKE WAY FOR MAN!"
I think that one of the most exciting and positive things
that's happening in
worldwide Freemasonry today is the formal, mutual recognition that is taking
place between our organization and the Prince Hall organization. Our Prince
Hall brethren have had an illustrious history of achievement. When our country
expanded westward, an outstanding record was established by the- "Buffalo
Soldiers, many of whom were Prince Hall Freemasons and several of whom received
our nationıs highest honor, the congressional medal of honor. They were
associated with Prince Hall military lodges chartered out of Fort Leavenworth
in Kansas or similar such early military centers. Before and during the Civil
War Prince Hall Freemasons helped establish, run, and maintain the ³underground
railroad² which helped thousands, of slaves reach a life of freedom. During the
last four decades, local and national leadership in the civil rights movement
also involved Prince Hall Freemasons, men like former Supreme Court Justice
Thurgood Marshall who once headed the NAACP, Presidential candidate Jesse
Jackson, Mayor Andrew Young of Atlanta, Rev. Ralph Abernathy of the Southern
Leadership Conference, and former Mayor Harold Washington of Chicago.
It is significant that our legendary hero, Hiram Abif, inspected the work on
the Temple every day at noon, or high-twelve, when the harsh light most clearly
revealed defects and weaknesses in the structure. It is even more significant
that he did not hesitate to draw designs on the trestle board to remove defects
and to improve and strengthen the building. We of Minnesota Masonry today are
about to remove a serious defect in our own structure which will improve and
strengthen our philosophical Brotherhood, a defect which should have been taken
care of years ago, a defect which never should have been allowed. It is now
high-twelve for our Brotherhood of Freemasonry as it continually is for every
human institution. How proud I'll be when our Grand Lodge reaches out, on the
level, to extend our hand of fellowship and welcome our Prince Hall brethren
and friends to join with us in the great mission of making this a better world
in which to live.
The fundamental teachings, in both of our organizations, rest upon the most
basic of all truths. Every man, before he is allowed to participate in the
rights and privileges of our fraternity, must profess his faith in God the
Father Almighty, the Grand Architect and Master Builder of the Universe. All
Freemasons share a common belief in the Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood
of God. They believe in the dignity and worth of the individual, in his
God-ordained right to achieve his destiny through his own effort. They are
pledged to uphold the time-honored institutions of honesty, integrity, and
forthrightness and are strong supporters of the fundamental principles of
physical, intellectual, moral, political, and religious freedom for all our
citizens.
Freemasonry may well be called the science of self-improvement. Her plan is
simple. Begin with a man, just one man at a time, as good a man as possible,
one that is respected in his community, lives according to the laws of the
land. Then Freemasonry shows that man, again and again, how he can become
better -- not better than his fellow man, but better than himself. By making
better men, we build a better community, a better nation, and a better world.
" YOUR TASK -- TO BUILD A BETTER WORLD,"
GOD SAID,
AND I ANSWERED, "HOW? THE WORLD IS SUCH A
LARGE, VAST PLACE, AND SO COMPLICATED NOW, AND I SO SMALL AND USELESS AM, THERE
IS NOTHING I CAN DO."
BUT GOD IN ALL HIS WISDOM SAID, "JUST
BUILD A BETTER YOU.'"
The outside world knows but little of the teachings of Freemasonry, and
virtually nothing of what transpires behind our tiled doors. That world will
judge Freemasonry by the men who are known to be Freemasons. If the world sees
that Freemasons are men of kindly hearts and helpful deeds and are men who have
been weighed in the balances and found not wanting; if the world sees we are
men of reverence and faith, who, with our trust in God, seek to discharge every
obligation, and to have a conscience void of offense toward God and man; then,
and only then, may we be sure that the world will honor Freemasonry.
SO MOTE IT BE!
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