This post has me thinking heavily about a follow up conversation with a prospect after a meet and greet up in Seattle on Saturday. He had some questions about Masonry as it exists today, compared to the Masonry his Grandfather experienced. We spent a couple hours talking about his search and what was important to him.
He is interested in an intentional Masonic education, like most of the prospects were, yet he feels uncertain on how to choose a Lodge because he cannot experience some of these parts of the Craft before joining. He wants to make the “right” choice, with only the word of our Brothers to guide him. Having to blindly trust that what we share exhibits our core values, Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth. That we are offering a candid and honest perspective of our Lodges, and what they will experience once behind the veil.
He asked how to make sure a Lodge partakes in meaningful ritual, not just repetition for its sake, without ever experiencing it. He asked how to find a Lodge that seeks to elevate the Craft at large, rather than just an individual Lodge experience, without witnessing their efforts. He asked why Lodges seemed to be isolated, competing or opposing each other’s approaches, rather than acting as a network of deeply connected and supportive Brethren he once heard about. He asked how to find a Lodge that embodies the kind of Masonry his Grandfather experienced. All of these were questions he left the meeting with after hearing what each of the Lodges had to offer. Many of the same concerns and questions that I had when I started my journey. Some I still share.
I told him the only thing he could do is make sure to ask questions that would reveal those answers. Try to find a Lodge that felt right to him, like another home. Find Brothers who would make themselves available to him. To recognize that all Lodges have their strengths and weaknesses, and we each have areas of the Craft that we excel in, and areas we can improve.
I think unless we candidly look at the kind of Craft we practice, we do ourselves and our candidates a disservice. Your point is an excellent one. How can we improve if we only look to our environment, rather than our actions for the challenges we experience?
I think it is helpful to potential prospects for us to remind them that while various Lodges all have their own personalities, no Lodge will be able to completely meet their own unique expectations, because the expectations of every man are different from those of every other man.
That because of this, Freemasonic involvement can't really be a passive thing. Rather it has to be an active thing in which every Mason creates within the Lodge what he seeks from the Lodge.
I wholly agree with you here. This is a big part of why I travel.
I shared with him that if he decided to begin his journey and were to find something missing in his Mother Lodge that travel is a great way to meet Brethren, exchange ideas, and gain the parts of the experience that he may feel he is not finding supported or present in his prospective Lodge.
I agree that Masonry should be an active practice. Though not all aspects of a Brothers journey may be desired or accepted by a Lodge.
For example a Brother who might desire to join an active or social Lodge but also desires to round out their esoteric studies, finding others on a similar journey. Or perhaps a Brother might wish to conduct charitable or community focused activities, but finds themselves most comfortable in a philosophical or research oriented Lodge.
Rather than creating disharmony by promoting topics his Brothers may not share an interest in, or becoming disheartened by the lack of support for his additional interests, travel may offer a path toward maintaining harmony in the Lodge, and a fulfilling Masonic journey for that Brother. With the added benefit of strengthened ties with Lodges and Brethren that may desire what his Mother Lodge offers, and the increased potential for cross-visitation or plural membership.
I don't disagree. Travel is a great way to enhance our own Masonic experience, and if we bring back to our own Lodge the best things we find in Lodges we travel too, it is a great way to improve our Lodge as well.
I also believe that it is important to remember that over time our personal Masonic interests might change. If they do, and a different Lodge appeals more strongly, The a moving of one's membership can certainly be worthwhile.
I’m also curious what he considers his Grandfather's experience to consist of. I’d wager what his grandfather experienced is probably not the experience he is seeking.
I am learning more about this prospect each time we speak. It sounds like his Grandfather was a fairly active Brother and Traveler. I know at times we look on the past with rose tinted glasses and this is always a possibility, but I am not certain, as I have never met or spoken with this Brother.
I will say most of those I have met who desire a more active approach to the Craft seem to reference the kind of Masonry that many of us have only read about. The kind of Masonry that we point to when advocating the merits and benefits of Masonry, and what it can be.
The Builders of Brothers, Community, or Society. The Seekers of hidden or esoteric knowledge, searching for answers wherever they might be found. Teachers who are renowned for their preservation of the Craft and all it has to offer, passing the flame from one generation to the next to illuminate the future, preserving that which might otherwise be lost to the sands of time.
We may not ever know or experience the reality of it, but shouldn't we encourage the search or creation of that kind of Freemasonry? Laboring to make it the type of Legacy that will echo through history, like those who passed it down to us? Ensuring that we at least preserve, if not build or grow, the Legacy that we ourselves inherited.
Oh, I certainly agree on your sentiments about what masonry used to be. I just don’t think it has been that way for at least 150 years. Hence why I don’t think he would want to experience what has been masonry in his grandfathers time, as for most lodges, none of what you’re referring to happened. It’s been only, I’d guess, since the 90s that we are seeing glimmers of it returning.
Whether or not his Grandfather ever experienced it, or if it was just the fond recollections of a Brother reminiscing on his experiences, I think it is worth trying to re-establish. I hope that through our efforts and collaboration we might one day be able to make it what it once was, or was purported to be. Ashlar by Ashlar.
I wrote the 90s because I thought the Masonic Restoration Foundation was started in 1992. I should have double checked, it was founded in 2001. That was my reference point, so yeah, a decade is good. Thanks!
Aha, I see your reasoning. Mine was fully personal, based not so much on my own Lodge, but on the neighboring Lodges I was visiting, as well as the Grand Lodge officers and deputies of the time. Then listening to the stories from the “Old-timers” and my own recollections.
Fortunately, I joined a Lodge that had for its members older WWII vets that knew me since I was in my early teens or earlier, so they knew me and my personality and coached me accordingly. I honestly don’t know if I would have been active in this Craft had I joined one of the neighboring Lodges back in ’96.
While there is always room for improvement in any case and in any situation, I truly believe that our Fraternity is in a much better position than it was 30 years ago.
I think that the first great degradation of Craft Freemasonry came about in response to the Morgan Affair and the American Anti-Masonic movement. 1826.
While I'm in full agreement with Bros. Clayton and Glenn here that Freemasonry on the whole is better, in all the ways that truly matter today than it was decades ago, it is of course possible that this fellow's grandfather did live an extraordinary Masonic experience.
I've known, and know guys who had that back in the bad old days.
Because ultimately, we all curate our own experience. We can do 'good Freemasonry' even if most of those around us are not. It is a personal journey, our Brothers are our companions along that journey, but ultimately we must take each step ourselves.
That was my initial thought as well. Freemasonry on the whole, at least in my little corner of the world is leaps and bounds better today than it was some decades ago.
I can't help but remember the time of awful 'meals;' Goat jokes, seemingly by the dozens, delivered to each man just prior to his EA Degree; a belief that the best ritual was not only letter perfect, but delivered as quickly as humanly possible; absolutely zero guarding of the West Gate; intentionally lessened Proficiency standards; seemingly every 'Masonic' discussion focused on membership levels.
By every important standard I can think of, Freemasonry is vastly improved in 2025.
Thanks in large part to Brothers who started writing about ways to improve the experience, Andrew Hammer and Chris Hodapp are two examples of this, but there were others. And ordinary Brothers putting those ideas into practice, slowly, from Lodge to Lodge.
"... but surely Freemasonry can offer a more valuable experience than a television show or video game."
Surely Freemasonry can, but just as surely it frequently doesn't. I'm happy to say that my Lodge has been very intentional about determing what kind of experience the Brothers want and then delivering it. Of course there are other Lodges that do this but the Fraternity as a whole is inconsistent.
Whether our Rosicucian forebear likes it or not, when we're inconsistent we lose to external forces. And they're not imagined, they're very real and society reacts differently to external forces today, 110 years after he imparted his wisdom. I don't beileve the external forces will become less compelling in years to come, so it's incumbent on each Lodge to accept these forces as a reality and figure out its competitive strategy,
>>>Surely Freemasonry can, but just as surely it frequently doesn't.
Agreed. But, we can address that shortcoming.
>>>they're not imagined
I don't disagree, these external forces do exist. And I imagine that the quote's author didn't really believe such things to be truly imaginary either. My hunch is that he chose that framing as a rhetorical device.
I see his larger message as a warning to not allow those things such power in our minds that they overwhelm our feeling of need to consider where improvement might be necessary on our end.
This post has me thinking heavily about a follow up conversation with a prospect after a meet and greet up in Seattle on Saturday. He had some questions about Masonry as it exists today, compared to the Masonry his Grandfather experienced. We spent a couple hours talking about his search and what was important to him.
He is interested in an intentional Masonic education, like most of the prospects were, yet he feels uncertain on how to choose a Lodge because he cannot experience some of these parts of the Craft before joining. He wants to make the “right” choice, with only the word of our Brothers to guide him. Having to blindly trust that what we share exhibits our core values, Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth. That we are offering a candid and honest perspective of our Lodges, and what they will experience once behind the veil.
He asked how to make sure a Lodge partakes in meaningful ritual, not just repetition for its sake, without ever experiencing it. He asked how to find a Lodge that seeks to elevate the Craft at large, rather than just an individual Lodge experience, without witnessing their efforts. He asked why Lodges seemed to be isolated, competing or opposing each other’s approaches, rather than acting as a network of deeply connected and supportive Brethren he once heard about. He asked how to find a Lodge that embodies the kind of Masonry his Grandfather experienced. All of these were questions he left the meeting with after hearing what each of the Lodges had to offer. Many of the same concerns and questions that I had when I started my journey. Some I still share.
I told him the only thing he could do is make sure to ask questions that would reveal those answers. Try to find a Lodge that felt right to him, like another home. Find Brothers who would make themselves available to him. To recognize that all Lodges have their strengths and weaknesses, and we each have areas of the Craft that we excel in, and areas we can improve.
I think unless we candidly look at the kind of Craft we practice, we do ourselves and our candidates a disservice. Your point is an excellent one. How can we improve if we only look to our environment, rather than our actions for the challenges we experience?
Great post MWB!
I think it is helpful to potential prospects for us to remind them that while various Lodges all have their own personalities, no Lodge will be able to completely meet their own unique expectations, because the expectations of every man are different from those of every other man.
That because of this, Freemasonic involvement can't really be a passive thing. Rather it has to be an active thing in which every Mason creates within the Lodge what he seeks from the Lodge.
I wholly agree with you here. This is a big part of why I travel.
I shared with him that if he decided to begin his journey and were to find something missing in his Mother Lodge that travel is a great way to meet Brethren, exchange ideas, and gain the parts of the experience that he may feel he is not finding supported or present in his prospective Lodge.
I agree that Masonry should be an active practice. Though not all aspects of a Brothers journey may be desired or accepted by a Lodge.
For example a Brother who might desire to join an active or social Lodge but also desires to round out their esoteric studies, finding others on a similar journey. Or perhaps a Brother might wish to conduct charitable or community focused activities, but finds themselves most comfortable in a philosophical or research oriented Lodge.
Rather than creating disharmony by promoting topics his Brothers may not share an interest in, or becoming disheartened by the lack of support for his additional interests, travel may offer a path toward maintaining harmony in the Lodge, and a fulfilling Masonic journey for that Brother. With the added benefit of strengthened ties with Lodges and Brethren that may desire what his Mother Lodge offers, and the increased potential for cross-visitation or plural membership.
I don't disagree. Travel is a great way to enhance our own Masonic experience, and if we bring back to our own Lodge the best things we find in Lodges we travel too, it is a great way to improve our Lodge as well.
I also believe that it is important to remember that over time our personal Masonic interests might change. If they do, and a different Lodge appeals more strongly, The a moving of one's membership can certainly be worthwhile.
I’m also curious what he considers his Grandfather's experience to consist of. I’d wager what his grandfather experienced is probably not the experience he is seeking.
I am learning more about this prospect each time we speak. It sounds like his Grandfather was a fairly active Brother and Traveler. I know at times we look on the past with rose tinted glasses and this is always a possibility, but I am not certain, as I have never met or spoken with this Brother.
I will say most of those I have met who desire a more active approach to the Craft seem to reference the kind of Masonry that many of us have only read about. The kind of Masonry that we point to when advocating the merits and benefits of Masonry, and what it can be.
The Builders of Brothers, Community, or Society. The Seekers of hidden or esoteric knowledge, searching for answers wherever they might be found. Teachers who are renowned for their preservation of the Craft and all it has to offer, passing the flame from one generation to the next to illuminate the future, preserving that which might otherwise be lost to the sands of time.
We may not ever know or experience the reality of it, but shouldn't we encourage the search or creation of that kind of Freemasonry? Laboring to make it the type of Legacy that will echo through history, like those who passed it down to us? Ensuring that we at least preserve, if not build or grow, the Legacy that we ourselves inherited.
Oh, I certainly agree on your sentiments about what masonry used to be. I just don’t think it has been that way for at least 150 years. Hence why I don’t think he would want to experience what has been masonry in his grandfathers time, as for most lodges, none of what you’re referring to happened. It’s been only, I’d guess, since the 90s that we are seeing glimmers of it returning.
Whether or not his Grandfather ever experienced it, or if it was just the fond recollections of a Brother reminiscing on his experiences, I think it is worth trying to re-establish. I hope that through our efforts and collaboration we might one day be able to make it what it once was, or was purported to be. Ashlar by Ashlar.
"It’s been only, I’d guess, since the 90s that we are seeing glimmers of it returning."
I joined in 1996. I'd kick that "90's" forward a few years, maybe a decade.
I wrote the 90s because I thought the Masonic Restoration Foundation was started in 1992. I should have double checked, it was founded in 2001. That was my reference point, so yeah, a decade is good. Thanks!
Aha, I see your reasoning. Mine was fully personal, based not so much on my own Lodge, but on the neighboring Lodges I was visiting, as well as the Grand Lodge officers and deputies of the time. Then listening to the stories from the “Old-timers” and my own recollections.
Fortunately, I joined a Lodge that had for its members older WWII vets that knew me since I was in my early teens or earlier, so they knew me and my personality and coached me accordingly. I honestly don’t know if I would have been active in this Craft had I joined one of the neighboring Lodges back in ’96.
While there is always room for improvement in any case and in any situation, I truly believe that our Fraternity is in a much better position than it was 30 years ago.
I think that the first great degradation of Craft Freemasonry came about in response to the Morgan Affair and the American Anti-Masonic movement. 1826.
The second following the World Wars.
It was the damn hippies!
Always blame the damn hippies! 🤣
While I'm in full agreement with Bros. Clayton and Glenn here that Freemasonry on the whole is better, in all the ways that truly matter today than it was decades ago, it is of course possible that this fellow's grandfather did live an extraordinary Masonic experience.
I've known, and know guys who had that back in the bad old days.
Because ultimately, we all curate our own experience. We can do 'good Freemasonry' even if most of those around us are not. It is a personal journey, our Brothers are our companions along that journey, but ultimately we must take each step ourselves.
That was my initial thought as well. Freemasonry on the whole, at least in my little corner of the world is leaps and bounds better today than it was some decades ago.
I can't help but remember the time of awful 'meals;' Goat jokes, seemingly by the dozens, delivered to each man just prior to his EA Degree; a belief that the best ritual was not only letter perfect, but delivered as quickly as humanly possible; absolutely zero guarding of the West Gate; intentionally lessened Proficiency standards; seemingly every 'Masonic' discussion focused on membership levels.
By every important standard I can think of, Freemasonry is vastly improved in 2025.
Thanks in large part to Brothers who started writing about ways to improve the experience, Andrew Hammer and Chris Hodapp are two examples of this, but there were others. And ordinary Brothers putting those ideas into practice, slowly, from Lodge to Lodge.
"... but surely Freemasonry can offer a more valuable experience than a television show or video game."
Surely Freemasonry can, but just as surely it frequently doesn't. I'm happy to say that my Lodge has been very intentional about determing what kind of experience the Brothers want and then delivering it. Of course there are other Lodges that do this but the Fraternity as a whole is inconsistent.
Whether our Rosicucian forebear likes it or not, when we're inconsistent we lose to external forces. And they're not imagined, they're very real and society reacts differently to external forces today, 110 years after he imparted his wisdom. I don't beileve the external forces will become less compelling in years to come, so it's incumbent on each Lodge to accept these forces as a reality and figure out its competitive strategy,
>>>Surely Freemasonry can, but just as surely it frequently doesn't.
Agreed. But, we can address that shortcoming.
>>>they're not imagined
I don't disagree, these external forces do exist. And I imagine that the quote's author didn't really believe such things to be truly imaginary either. My hunch is that he chose that framing as a rhetorical device.
I see his larger message as a warning to not allow those things such power in our minds that they overwhelm our feeling of need to consider where improvement might be necessary on our end.
Can you point me toward where I can find this quote? I’d like to know more :)
It is in:
Rosicrucian Principles for Home and Business by H. Spencer Lewis, published 1929 by AMORC.
Thank you :)