Guard Our West Gate
To ensure the future of Freemasonry
If we hope to see Freemasonry survive and thrive, then we must always use great care when deciding who we let pass through our West Gate. Freemasonry is designed to be an elite institution, it has never been for every man, and it is not suitable for every man.
We owe it to ourselves, and our Fraternity, to ensure that only those who truly are good men, and who will be a credit to us are given the Degrees of Masonry.
When we are considering a man for Masonry, and given the election requirements we have, it truly is up to each of us to make the decision, we do well to think back to that time when we knelt at the altar and took our Obligations.
When we took those Obligations we promised to bind ourselves to every other Mason in the world. We pledged to do certain things, if called upon to do them, for our fellow Masons.
We should ask ourselves when considering a man for Masonry, if we are comfortable giving our pledge to him, Obligating ourselves to him. We should ask if we believe that we can in turn rely upon him to fulfill his Obligation to us.
Freemasonry is a brotherhood. A legendary and factual brotherhood. We need to ask ourselves, is this man good enough for us to be proud to call him Brother. In today’s society many object to the very idea of judging others, or deciding if someone else is good enough or not, but Freemasonry is not a part of society. It stands apart from society, in its own sacred space. Freemasonry has never been for all men, it has always only been for those men judged to be good men. Good men who are striving to become even better men.
Before we vote to make a man a Mason, we should remember that he will be seen as a Mason by those who know him, by random strangers he encounters in his daily life, and in today’s world, online as well.
All those who see him will judge Freemasonry, and Masons, by what they see in him. Will the people who know him credit Freemasonry as an institution of importance and quality when they see that we have made him a Mason? Will the stranger who sees him out shopping, and notices his Masonic ring see someone who is a credit to the Fraternity? Will the things he posts online, and the way he posts them, leave a positive or negative impression of Freemasonry in the minds of those who read his posts?
The Masonic family encompasses youth groups, and Masons have families. Before you vote to make a man a Mason, you should seriously ask yourself, would you trust this man with your daughter? Your granddaughter? The young people in our youth groups?
The man who is recognized as a good man may serve as an inducement for other good men to consider Freemasonry for themselves. Through our long history how many men decided that they wanted to become Freemasons following the example of someone famous like Washington, Franklin, or John Wayne? Likewise, how many men decided that they wanted to become Freemasons not because of any famous Mason, but because of an unknown, but good man within their family or social circle? One need not be famous to exert an influence, if one is seen to be good.
Good men in our Fraternity attract men to our Fraternity.
On the other hand, a single bad man, who is seen to be a Mason, will drive good men away in droves.
Ask yourself, before you vote to make a man a Mason. Will those non Masons who see this man be attracted towards Freemasonry or repelled from it? What kind of impression will he make on the non Masons he encounters?
How many men have shied away from Freemasonry because they have encountered someone who they do not respect, and know him to be a Mason? Before we vote to make a man a Mason, we must ask ourselves if we believe this man can be respected by all.
Lots of Freemasons love to put Masonic stuff on their cars. Will the man we are considering for the Degrees of Masonry drive safely, or will hundreds of people see the Square and Compass flying by, driven by a man in a fit of road rage?
Lots of Freemasons love to participate on Social Media. Will the man before us reflect well upon our Fraternity in that online space, or will he be seen as an unthinking ass, a troll?
Lots of Freemasons wear Masonic rings, or other bling. Will the person who is truly in need see that Masonic ring turn indifferently away from that need, or will he or she see the hand reach out with some gesture of sympathy or offer of help?
These are the kinds of questions that we must ask before we vote to make a man a Mason, if we hope to see Freemasonry thrive.
It is counterintuitive but true:
Initiating all the men who want to join our Lodge, does not grow our Lodge. It shrinks our Lodge, because those we Initiate who are unsuitable drive many others away.
Rejecting unsuitable petitioners grows our Lodge, because doing so helps to ensure that those who are allowed to become Masons are the kinds of men who attract others to our Ancient Craft.
I have said it before, I will say it again, Masonry needs a few men of excellence, it does not need large numbers of questionable men.
Use Emeth
Masonic education should be a part of every single regular Lodge meeting. I would argue that it should be the largest component of every meeting.
If your Lodge is in need of an educational program, I suggest that Emeth can supply that program.
Simply go through the Discussions, find one that you considered to be interesting, and present that question to your Lodge. Then have the Lodge discuss it, round robin style, with each man giving his own answer to it, or view of it, in turn. Make sure that everyone participates.
You will find that this will result in a Masonic education program that your Lodge will enjoy.
If you want to add additional perspective to the question, the discussion that took place here on Emeth offers a treasure trove of perspective, and generally some very well thought out answers.
Masonic education need not be hard or complicated, Emeth makes it easy.
Potential Candidates
In the Jurisdiction of Washington, due to the pandemic shutdowns, we have a massive backlog of candidates. Men waiting to petition our Lodges for membership, and Initiated men in waiting for their next Degree. I presume that a similar situation exists, to a lesser or greater extent within most Jurisdictions.
When we Initiate a new man, it is extremely important that we mentor and coach him well. Doing so is one of the keys to retention.
Another key to retention is broad based Masonic education. Exactly what Emeth is designed to provide.
I want our new Masons, not just here in Washington, but everywhere, to be able to benefit from the perspective and the experience offered by all of those who participate here. New Masons can learn a great deal from the posts and other discussions Emeth provides.
We can get this to them, here’s how:
If you are a paid subscriber to Emeth, and your Lodge has a new Mason, or you know a new Mason, send me his name and email address. I will provide him with a complimentary paid subscription to Emeth, for one year. This will get him the full experience and all of the benefits of Emeth, completely free of charge. It will give him the Masonic education that so many of our new Masons are craving, yet so few actually get.
Before you send me his name and email address, please be sure that you tell him about Emeth, and to expect emails from me, so that he isn’t suddenly bombarded with a bunch of emails that he has no idea where they are coming from, or why he is receiving them.
I am sorry to have to limit this to paying subscribers, but I fear that it would quickly grow unmanageable if there were no limitation in place.
In Search Of Light
I’ve just started reading In Search Of Light: A Course Of Hieroglyphic and Moral Instruction For The Symbolic Lodge by the sitting Grand Master of Oklahoma, Robert Davis.
I’m not very far into it yet, but given what I know of his past work, I expected it to be excellent, and that expectation is holding true. I’m pleased to suggest it to you.
Quote
“One of the Ancient Landmarks of Freemasonry is that a Mason must be a ‘free man, born of a free mother.’ If a Lawyer proved that a free man who was a Mason was no longer free that man might have had to relinquish his Masonic membership. It was noted with interest that by the late fifteenth century, virtually every man in England was free. The existence of free status as a requirement for Masonic membership indicated that Freemasonry was already an ancient organization when it revealed itself in 1717.”
-John J. Robinson
Let’s Zoom Away!
Like every Sunday, I’ll open Zoom at 7:30 this evening. Login information will go out via email to those with a paid subscription to Emeth at 5:00 PM.
If you would like to join in this Zoom gathering, but need to upgrade your subscription to do so, please do it before 5:00 this afternoon to ensure that you receive the information.
As in previous weeks, we can talk about what was discussed on Emeth over the past week, talk about what we would like to discuss in the future, and of course toast each other and our Ancient Craft.
The meeting agenda will be tight, and like always, limited to 40 minutes.
I look forward to seeing you this evening!
Please Forward
If you enjoy Emeth, might I ask that you forward it along to your Brothers with your recommendation?
The more Masons who participate here, the better it will become, and the more who read it, the greater its positive impact will be.
Thank you for your kind consideration of this request.
Discussion Recap
We started last week discussing our Past Masters and the impact they can have on a Lodge, for better or worse. We then moved on to Globalism, the worldwide scope of our Fraternity, and the tremendous benefits that provides to Masons.
We discussed what I view as an intentional ‘dumbing down’ of Freemasonry in a misguided attempt at Public Relations. Following that with a discussion of our Annual Communications, what we like about them, and what could use improvement.
Our Live Open Thread for Emeth’s paid subscribers was again wide ranging and interesting.
We finished the week discussing our ritual, specifically the forms it is published in. There are, in my view, some true gems in this discussion, they can be found at: Publishing Our Ritual.
All of these discussions remain open, with the exception of our Live Open Thread, so please do feel free to add your thoughts and perspective to the discussions.
Thank You
I’d like to start out by saying thank you to everyone who reads Emeth. I really appreciate the fact that you spend your time reading what I write.
I owe a big thank you to everyone who shares these posts with their friends, forwarding the emails, and posting them on social media. Our continual growth is due to you.
To everyone who participates in our discussions, Thank You! The opinion, perspective, and advice you offer is universally good, and I know that it is of great assistance to our readers.
Thank you to everyone who has become a subscriber since last Sunday. I hope that you find a great deal of value in this online Masonic space. Please do jump in on our discussions whenever the inspiration strikes.
Finally, a huge Thank You to all of you with a paid subscription to Emeth. None of this would be possible without you.
Just in case you missed them:
As I close, I would like to say Thank You to all of you who sent Birthday greetings this weekend. I appreciate your thinking of me, and your kindness.
I agree totally RWB. Too many times I've been told this man is a friend of mine and I just talked him into becoming a Mason. Did you follow the 6 steps? What other Brothers have met him? Did you have to beg him to make a decision, that will affect not only him as well as the craft? Invite him to breakfast with a few of the fraternity, let us see for ourselves how he would fit into our Lodge. We're not a social club, but on the other hand we socialize with each other. Never ever twist a Brothers arm to sign a petition, just because this man is your friend. I've seen the disaster of All-the-Way-In-a-Day Degrees and even though the numbers coming in, it's the number of those who stay for the long run. Mercenary motives in joining has led a Brother to ruin my business and others lives. Be wary, but inviting. Don't rush in, or rush to judgment. Let time be the monitor. I have 3 candidates who waited a time with patience for restrictions to be lifted, so they could join our fraternity. Even though right now we cannot initiate, we can now vote to initiate the process.
This is an issue that is very important to me. I want to start by saying the average man is likely a good man. I have always thought the test was, "is he good enough to benefit from being a Mason? " Just being good, is not good enough, a man has to be good and WANT to be better. The next thing that matters is what he means by better? Richer? More powerful? More politically affluent? No thanks. Does he want to be seen as better, through association?, No thanks. In my opinion the 'better' that is best is a man who is trying his best to be compassionate, spiritual and enlightened, a man who seeks the strength to act on those qualities for the betterment of everyone, not just himself. The better that is best, in my opinion is a man who wrestles with himself, already trying to subdue his passions. What I have seen, because of the economic stress of our huge temples and the diminishing membership, is that we have all but started the wholesale recruiting of males (men who act like teenagers), not even necessarily men. Twice in the last 10 years men I have called brothers, who I have worked with, have been convicted of child sexual crimes. Ironically in one case it was a child pornography case and brethren in Lodge quit because that man was expelled, feeling that child pornography did not hurt anyone! Let that sink in, men who were Masons quit Masonry because a child pornographer was expelled. I have seen petty childish behavior, some of it threatening and destructive (property not just emotionally). We have to do better or there is no point. I hate to say this, but if I am being 100% truthful, the fact that a man is a Mason no longer equates in my heart to him being a 'good man' automatically. I am still open to the idea that he is a good man, but it's not automatic. I know all men are flawed, as am I, thats the human condition, but there is a moral and ethical line the good men with flaws will not cross. We have new tools available to us. We can do criminal searchs electronically, we can check with other jurisdictions to make sure a man has not been expelled from another Grand Lodge, and we can start viewing the investigation as something meant to weed out unqualified men, rather than something we just do out of routine. Once a man becomes a brother we can hold him accountable to a higher standard. I feel bad writing what I wrote, but I think we need to start having this conversation.