Brothers in 2023 the Rubicon Masonic Society along with many other sponsors held that conference the classic Masonic authors conference and we presented on those four past great authors we will be having another conference in 2024 invitations and RSVPs will soon be sent out and we hope you can join us for
That one this presentation uh in this production was finally completed and it aired today uh March 25th hopefully you got a chance to see that if if not take your time it’s a fairly long presentation and production but we hope you enjoy it was uh it it was excellent
To produce and it’s even more enjoyable in person so we hope you can join us so let’s jump right into the evening as always I want to thank William aware Lodge of research and Lexington lodge number one and of course all of the brothers and friends at the Rubicon
Masonic Society alongside the executive committee worship brother John bisak worship brother Dan Kimble worship brother Alan Martin Jerry Johnston John sisle my name is Brian Evans and we’ll now proceed with the evening worshipful brother Alan Martin will you please do the honor sir of delivering our opening devotion Brothers let
Pray grand architect of the universe Creator and provider of all things we ask that you bless our assembly this evening as we further explore Freemasonry and strive to build a better version of ourselves and do us with your Divine wisdom that we we may be better enabled to cultivate the great moral virtues
That are laid down on our Masonic Trestle board and improve in everything that is good amiable and useful amen so moed be thank you brother brothers our virtual Masonic education aims to help us figure out how to become better men always devoted to our family our faith our country our
Neighbors may we all come together to learn to subdue our minds to discipline our mind to subdue our passions discipline our minds and to improve ourselves through the tools of freem quick disclaimer any opinions expressed during this education will be those of the presenter or participant remember they do not reflect the views
Of any Lodge or Grand Lodge or the Rubicon Masonic Society by participating with us you consent to our full disclaimer at Rubicon Masonic society.com disclaimer remember these are not tiled meetings Brothers Masons and non-masons are more than welcome to attend and participate please be mindful that anything said or discussed should be
Suitable for Masons of all degrees as well as non-masons gentlemanly manners are to be expected at all times no alcohol smoking food foul language no discussion of politics or religion attendees may be removed if not following protocol in an effort to best ensure that these meetings are as enjoyable as
Possible recommended attire is kot and Thai please type your name and any appropriate Masonic title under your video If you’re not a Mason please please simply type guest after your name please enable your video camera please reduce background noise turn off computer programs eliminate outside distractions and please be patient
Should any technical difficulties occur Brothers it is my pleasure to introduce you tonight to our guest speaker wor for Brother John bisac PhD who will be presenting on the great Masonic can kicking wor brother bisak is a 45-year veteran in the fields of policing and crial Justice he’s the
Author of 20 books and numerous essays commentaries papers and Leadership on leadership criminal investigation police standards the behavior of organizations and their Management in 14 of these books and a dozen of other writings include topics about Freemasonry its factual history he served as acting master and then two consecutive terms as
Master of Lexington lodge number one which is the oldest Masonic Lodge in Kentucky he was the founder and coordinator of the Masonic history and study group and author of The structured degree class program which was used at Lexington lodge number one since 2011 currently serves as as special
Adviser to the master he served a decade as chair of the loges education committee wor brother bizak is a fellow and former member of the Masonic Society board he’s a director on the board of the Masonic restoration Foundation Vice chair and founding member of the Rubicon Masonic Society second vice president
And fellow of the fil Society is co-editor of the transactions of the Rubicon Masonic Society volume 1 and co-producer of our 2022 documentary the Masonic table wor brother bizak is a member of the Scottish Wright Valley of Louisville Texas Lodge of research quator Corona correspondent Circle American Lodge of research in New York
And fellow in the initial class at William mware Lodge of research in Kentucky he’s an honorary member of Sophia lodge number 767 North Carolina’s first obser Lodge he’s also a member of Fiat Lo Fiat Lux number 1717 and Alba Lodge Number 222 in Washington DC he was presented the Masonic statesmanship
Award from Lexington LOD number one in 2023 for his service to Freemasonry and most recently in 2024 he was named the 112th member of the Society of blue Friars but those of you who are honored enough to know wor brother bizak in person know that he is of those among
Those great things also an extremely good friend so worship brother bisak we look forward to your presentation the floor is yours here sir think you might be muted brother good evening good evening on December 27th 1779 American Union Lodge one was the first chartered Lodge in Massachusetts
In 1776 and functioned as a traveling military Lodge for seven years they met in Arnold’s Tavern in Morristown New Jersey the lodge Master Colonel Jonathan har noted that one of the purposes of that meeting was to take into consideration quote some matters respecting the good of masonry unquote
Morai gist was a continental army General from Maryland he was given a floor where he presented a petition to form a general Grand Lodge for the United States reportedly more than 80 Masons were present that evening many of whom are distinguished officers in the American continental army some reports
Of the evening which began to appear with regularity and Masonic journalist in later years of the 1800s note that George Washington was in the room just depicted the state of the Masonic institution in 1779 while it was in the infant Confederation colonies that would later become the United States He described
Lodges as lacking quote a source of life to govern their Pursuits and illuminate the path of happiness and noted that many regularities and improprieties had manifested into the present dissipated and almost abandoned condition of our loges he also talked about the relaxation of virtue among individuals in the final paragraph J
Called for an immediate departure from the existing oversight of grand logist quote save us from the impending dangers of schisms and apostasy in closing the petition stated quote to obtain security from those fatal evils with affectionate humility we beg leave to recommend the adoption and pursuit of the most
Necessary measures he went on to say that the most effective way to correct what he called impending dangers was to quote appoint a Grandmaster in an over States of America unquote just used the words in and over and that suggested to S historians that the perpet for the
Proposed grandm might be authorized to create a Grand Lodge of America however later research untangled that notion and determined that such a proposed position of Grandmaster would only have had the authority to preside over and govern Masonic conventions and the warranting of lodges in new territories but no authority to oversee Sovereign Grand
Lodges now contrary to Masonic myth Washington was not nominated that evening for the position of Grandmaster a committee was appointed to take the subject into consideration as might be expected because of the nature of the American Union Lodge itself masons from each division of the army were appointed
Members gist was elected president at the so-called convention and documents were drafted to send to different Grand Masters in the United States the convention was thoughtfully refrained though in the document and did not mention Washington as their choice for General Grand Master but it was well understood that such was their wish now
The movement started by these loyal Military Officers did not gain traction but the 1779 event would not be the last time in America that such a model was proposed over the next 74 years the initiative to establish a general grandm of the United States stes grew into calls for General Grand Lodge
Of America and it appeared another 11 times and involved nine jurisdictions the last call was in 1859 the effects of the Civil War on the mood of nations of Masons and their respective Grand lodges after five years of national conflict cannot be discounted as a principal reason the movement disappeared another reason that
Cannot be ignored is that Masonic membership increased with great idity during the following or during and following the Civil War membership levels continue to rise throughout the 20th century and the gleed generated by this unbridled proliferation and prosperity enjoyed by the fraternity smothered the movement although rapid
Expansion was not a Panacea to the internal problems that faced American Freemasonry since the late 1770s in fact the expansion only exacerbated the conditions that prompted the C for a national Grand Lodge and crafted the predicament from which the fraternity has yet to free itself while the failure of the movement
Established to establish a national Grand Lodge or create a position of a general Grand Master is a fascinating part of the factual history of how the fraternity in America unfolded the real story is not about whether the national grandm or Grand Lodge was a solution to the deficiencies existing in masonry at
The time the real story is about the continual failure of the fraternity’s leadership to at least attempt to adequately explore why such a movement persisted for three generations and why there was a seeming indifference to acknowledging the underlying issue that spurred the movement to form a general Grand Lodge the mistaken assumption at
The time and later that bigger is better fed the notion that bigness is a measurement of success rather than more relevantly measuring what is actually produced in due course mainstream American Freemasonry adopted the belief that being made a Mason was considered a mere event rather than a process and the
West gate was flung open candidates were brushed through degrees then left with little but exposure to Ritual as their basis for Masonic competence now men introduced a Freemasonry in this fashion eventually ascended into leadership role at various levels and they brought with them that naive belief and the result
Was more semi-manufactured lodges and more semi-manufactured Masons and once the norm that Granite likee unbending culture of American masonry was set now we don’t have to look far to see that this pattern formed in all jurisdictions was a little variance the factual history of organized free Maan America is data rich and looking
At that data as a whole clarifies the trajectory that the fraternity took then and on which it continues to travel since at least the 1800s now Masons who become familiar with the story of William Preston’s work in the 1770s they’ll gain considerable insight into that trajectory the same applies to
Understanding the influence and work of Thomas web Smith on American freeming the great schism between anian in moderns from 1751 to 1813 also helps explain what happened and learning about the actual roots of the anti-masonic sentiments in America from the late 1790s through the early Decades of the
1800s the Morgan Affair in 1826 and its aftermath all contribute significantly to understanding condition of the order today in addition understanding what led to and the results of the Baltimore Convention in 1843 in the 1860 to 1866 conservative movement are critical to that understanding equally important is
Having a working awareness of how the Golden Age of eternalism influenced the American Masonic institution in ways that continue to linger today and the post World War I years Great Depression and the post World War I years of course but nowhere it’s a story made clearer than
In our own minutes and our annual proced readings when those records are closely examined we find the story of how each of the five major periods of unbridled surges of membership led to a shift in our focus and the gradual but a unmistakable Drift from the foundational
Purposes of organized for masonry it was this Allure of massive increases in membership that eclipsed the profound and historical purpose that defines the character of masony and while masry is unique and an extraordinary concept its management and administration have always been and will continue to be bound by and tether to one humble
Organizational rule the failure to manage growth in any organization consistently leads to later managing decline now this isn’t to say that Viger is inherently bad only that it is not necessarily better especially when growth overtakes the capability of the organization to manage it the organization that regularly mistakes
Bigness for growth typically ends up measuring its success by bigness in due course such an organization drifts from the reality that genuine growth is about reaching full potential not maximum size now expansion does not automatically or inevitably equal much less guarantee progress or stable foundation and saying
That the fraternity at all levels should have seen the problem of unbridled rapid expansion of membership coming is an astonishing understatement one would think that Masonic records research and warnings from a significant number of leaders and Scholars over nearly three centuries of operation in America together with evidence compiled from
These sources would be enough to ensure that the organization would recognize and find ways to address its deficiencies that arose from these rapid expansions but unfortunately such has not been the Case by 1859 our records demonstrate what one Grandmaster that year described as the strenuous labor of a few sustained the
Craft while the lack of masonic knowledge found among the many is an equally powerful force that drag it down 18 or 1983 124 years later it had become unmistakable that the institution had become an example of what many scholars agree is the Triumph of procedure over substance now kicking the core problems
Down the road that it continued to face slowly became an established Pastime for the fraternity and one other thing became abundantly clear over the past 245 years that is it never has so much been written that has been read by so few now that’s a charitable assessment because if it’s not true then
We’d have to say that most Masons and their leaders consciously ignore the truth about the fraternity being on the road that created the drift from intended substance interestingly though despite these repeated expressed concerns none of the earlier writers Scholars researchers or leaders of the fraternity since the mid 1800s claimed that masonry
Was dying because of bigness of the organization eroding yes suffering from a decline and interest by its members and the public yes becoming more Ordinary by the year yes again threatened by the lack of quality work and the increase and unsuitable caliber of men admitted apathy and the lack of
Masonic knowledge and too many of its members absolutely but we find no one declaring that masonry itself was on a path to Extinction especially during the period in which these concerns were identified because the concerns were not about the idea of masonry but rather the feebleness of the organizational model
And structure to convey and provide appropriate instruction about the idea now these concerns were well expressed they were vividly clear about 1843 in fact those same issues formed the impetus for the repeated calls for a general Grand log and since that time the surplus of writings and research
Screams the fact that the entire fraternity and certainly more of its leadership should not only have seen the Perpetual issues but should have applied the simple and workable solutions that were also repeatedly put forth in our own records and in our own writings it’s unlikely that legitimate Masonic
Historians will not be writing about how millions of men were made in members as and masonry became wildly successful rather these historians narrative will be about how allowing Millions to be made members only to have the C craft drift from their historical aim and purpose and intent eventually brought the organization to a
Reckoning by the 21st century we begin to find Masons composing funeral recordings and writing eulogies for the institution now many of those are based on generalizing Actuarial tables that project the year that there’ll just simply won’t be any more masons in America if the rate of membership decline continues as it has since
1959 as that theme made made the rounds on the internet on podcast books and occasionally the mainstream news it got attention of course but even the breathless reporting of such generalized Actuarial tabulations did not cause the Masonic hand kicking Habit to downshift Now using arithmetic predictions forecasting the end of our
Craft is based on the flawed thinking that in order for the institution to M me to be successful and relevant its membership r must reflect a high number of members and that of course is utter nonsense and it is at the very heart of what plagues masonry today many Masons
Who subscribe to such thinking for whatever reasons fall into the same all we need is more members trap that much of our culture and our leadership has fallen into since the early 1800s and what a shame in an era it is to think that the fraternity does not
Have massive membership numbers than the idea of masonry has and continues to fail that cannot be too carefully observed that masonry will always be or become what the great majority of its members think that it is or want it to become we’ve seen that in each generation since the early 1800s and
It’s pointed out by classic Masonic authors researchers and voice of many American nations for multiple decades there’s nothing wrong with free maing however how we convey it understand it weaken it and Drift from its historical intent has proven abysmal in mainstream circles but we have learned that it does indeed seem to be
Useless to attempt to teach some men any more than they wish to know one of the more important papers on this matter was published in 2023 in the Rubicon Masonic Society transactions Dan Kimbell past master of William moare logic research in Kentucky pointed out how the fraternity has
Managed to make members of too many men with no chests and expects them to be virtuous and enterprising castrating then bidding the gildings to be fruitful we expect them without heart or conviction to exhibit morality and leadership in their labor and pursuit of masonry well intention It
Or Not by allowing members to make Freemasonry what they will we have turned our precepts and principles into moving targets and we’ve effectively removed the very Heart Of Who We Are by denying our own elevated purpose and as Kimble observes we stripped ourselves of our identity as an organization of moral
Morally and intellectually exceptional exceptional men grounded in the knowledge of truth but aside from the internal core problems with which the fraternity has repeatedly struggled American masonry faces today what perhaps the most challenging hurdle and that makes the following question even more pertinent than any time before can
The idea of organized masonry that arose out of and was heavily influenced by the enlightenment era remain relevant to a modern society male when modern society itself is unmowed from the values and beliefs of the Enlightenment era trust in the longstanding belief that every regeneration produces a ready Forest of
Well seasoned men of good Timber can be readily challenged today more than any other time in the history of the nation and it’s often argued that over the past two decades alone the so-called uh pool of men of good Timber on which we’re supposed to rely for future membership
Is looking a lot more like a puddle and the density of the forest in which good timbered men grow has been thinned out substantially it’s always proven more difficult for the fraternity to retain members than it has been to attract them what will happen when the pool from which we hope
To attract future quality members and effective leaders becomes even smaller than we imagine it is today that makes us a very pertinent question will we address that question will we continue to Kick the Can down the road we’ve watched as the high standards of our craft have been altered and betrayal of
Our absolute and mutable characteristics and by those alterations we continue to make Freemasonry something other than Freemasonry and we frequently hear the phrase my Freemasonry we hear it to describe an individual’s understanding of masonry but there’s no your Freemasonry there’s no my Freemasonry there’s no Kentucky Indiana Virginia Ohio Pennsylvania
Missouri California Texas or any other state Freemasonry there is only Freemasonry and as Dan Kimbell tells us in his writings it waits for us to practice it now the aim of premy is indeed the training and the development of its appearances men of character of square conduct and of upright attentions
Men of Charity of thought and spirit men of moral fiber moral C moral courage and it is these purposes these purposes that committed and well-instructed Masons are increasingly anxious to see realized now perhaps because the future so often seems far in the distance much of the fraternity seems to
Believe there’s ample time to develop fruitful programs that can accomplish what’s lacking without changing practices that have proven ineffective uh one would think or maybe believe that time will tell if these practices work but we’ve done that for nearly 250 years and that seems to be time enough but then again such members
Are not well instructed about the historical aim the purpose the intent of masonry why would they think there was a need for introspection and change at all if we have taught men to Kick the Can down the road and we have why should we expect them to do anything other than
What they’ve been taught but there’s good news although there is a ample number of Masons today who may view it to be the opposite the fraternity is on an uninterrupted path of not only membership declined since 59 but an accompanying disinterest felt by many of its members and that of the
Public the current indifference to Freemasonry has not been seen since the aftermath years of the anti Masonic period and the 1826 Morgan Affair and perhaps those left standing when the fraternity comes to its lowest point will be the men committed to the pursuit of masonry as it was intended and such
Men will realize that the strength that masonry is intended to have is through a new level of Fess of its members so let’s be clear there’s nothing that needs to be changed or modified about the historical intent or idea of organized Freemasonry but the authentic leaders of
The craft many of its members and the vast majority of the scholars have noticed since the late 1700s is that the change necessary to best assure the perpetuity of masonry is found in amending much of our organizational processes and modeling now some think perhaps I may interpret my remarks
As a call for the establishment of some kind of General Grand Lodge in our country and if that’s so that’s a tortured analysis and it’s far from The Mark in 1788 through the middle of the 1800s seven decades over which there were nearly a dozen Nation calls for
Sovereign Grand lodges to consider the value of a general Grand Lodge in America to address fundamental practices and the direction of masonry in the United States tell us something else first if there was a chance at all to establish the general Grand Lodge in our country it was most likely to have
Happened in the earliest years of those calls second failing to establish the general Grand Lodge was not the problem the problem was that the majority of American Mason and the majority of their leaders failed to give serious Examination for the reasons the calls to consider creating
One came about in the first place nor did they answer the question why it continued to appear for nearly four generations of Masons observers in and outside our fraternity have for nearly two centuries consistently voiced and made known what has been most needed in organized masonry in America
First is a genuine and a rigorous guard of the west gate second is offering substantive instruction and education about masonry third is fostering consistency in the election and appointment of leadership based on Merit nevertheless the loudest sounds in the halls of American free ma stre for
Nearly 250 years has been the sound of a can being kicked down the road to that date or to date that sound has been heard above the reasons for the calls in the early years of American Mally to form a national Grand Lodge that sound of can kicking has been heard
Above even the loudest voices that have and continue to so strongly recommend steadfast consistency in the manner in which we can best convey the historical intent aim and purpose of our craft to those who we admit into our ranks the distraction of and preoccupation with growth deprived of the substance
Required to sustain it is directly linked and it can be credited for the condition in which we find our fraternity today so in summary let’s be reminded of what esent Morris astutely observed decades ago change in the manner in which we impart and pass on masonry is inevitable
If that is the institution is to do more than merely survive through the future we’re told that the wind and waves are always on the side of the ableist Navigators we have to ask what kind of Masons will prove to be The ablest Navigators as the 21st century
Unfolds those of us who are optimistic about the posterity of masonry then we are about the model and method used to administer and convey it can find some solace in the idea that the Freemasonry that was carved out of the rough hard quaries of a quarreling humanity is only
Passing through a period of Youth and thus the maturity of the powerful idea of masonary self is yet to come since high numbers of names on membership roles has not proven key to that maturity perhaps in the future fewness will regardless we will know when that maturity arrives
Because the sound of can kicking in American Freemasonry will be silenced I hope this 57th episode of our series stimulates conversation and further discussion tonight and discussion continues as we move into the next decade of this Century brothers and friends this concludes tonight’s presentation thank you thank you very much wish brother bizak
Always great to hear your perspective especially on this topic which uh is always important for us to hear and think about uh Brothers if you have questions comments this will be the time to bring those up you can raise your virtual hand there’s some button somewhere that you can press and I can
See the hand raised here on my end you can enter your your comments in the chat box and um we’ll go from there does and and I’m going to pose a few questions does anyone feel that there should be a Grand Lodge of America yes or no and
If so can you support your thoughts on that uh is free masonry on a path to extin Extinction yes or no um is there anyone to blame for where we are now yes or no just some just some thoughts to put out there um John you’ve talked about this
For quite some time correct me if I’m wrong I’m pretty sure this coincidentally is a is a supports your presentation today the Grand Lodge of Scot recently lowered their age of membership to 18 from 21 is that I believe that’s accurate recently can I haven’t heard that but I wouldn’t be
Surprised I believe I read an article uh somewhere and that was the case and justifiably so because they need they need more members they’re trying to attract more members and this is one way to do that if I’m incorrect I apologize but I’m pretty sure that that is accurate
Information Brothers is Freemasonry on its way to Extinction Geral Smith you said no let’s hear why I I don’t think that it’s likely to be um become extinct I think that it is much more likely to go in the direction of um becoming another Rotary Club Kanas that
Kind of thing I was just speaking with my son recently who had attended the Masters and wardens one of the Masters and wardens retreats in uh California he’s now the the junior Warden of South Pasadena Lodge and he told me that there was actually a a discussion that some people
Were advocating for that and um I think that uh I think that I think that what’s going to happen perhaps though is that um we will get smaller but um what’s going to persist are the uh growing numbers of uh lodges that are getting back to studying our history studying our philosophy
Um and really uh becoming a different kind of a person from from being a Mason also got a thing from well every Mason in California got a pamphlet about half an inch thick that was a report on the state of the fraternity in California I would say no less than 90%
% of it was about numbers of members and how much they are Dona and and I do think that and I thank you very much uh worful brother John for your your analysis and your historical background of how this has been going on almost from the beginning um but I do
Think that the the answer to it is for lodges one by one to to um instigate uh uh a serious program of of masonic education and um I think that that that may end up with a a smaller fraternity but but the idea of just uh making it a
A um a social and uh charitable organization they they there are plenty of those um there are very few of of those and and I’ve I’ve I’ve attended things like rotary I was uh in a quanis key Club when I was in high school those are Wonder wonderful
Organizations but they don’t have the psychological and spiritual depth and that’s uh what what is going to sustain Freemasonry I don’t know that a that a national Grand Lodge though I have a feeling that gr National Grand Lodge would evolve into another organization of uh of of men whose main
Goal in Freemasonry is uh being the head of this and and the honory of that and building up an impressive uh uh resume of masonic so-called achievements and um I think that a national Grand Lodge at the state of our 51 uh State Grand lodges um I think that they would be
Taking on uh one of those uh hering of cats kind of uh of uh things but if it if if that could be tried I’d I’d be willing to see it tried but it seems to me and I think that California is one of the most Progressive Grand lodges in in the
Country I um I was so disappointed to see that their focus is so strongly on uh on on on numbers and dollars and I think that that’s uh that that that that is a big problem but but I think that our our uh our path forward is is the
Observant law Lodge movement and um I’m I’m happy to be a part of that and uh but I think that but I think that if if the grand lodges in general keep going after more and more men and more and more more donations um that what we are is more likely to disappear
Than the existence of a of a fraternity that can say it’s got so many thousands of men yeah thank you worship brother good good comments Brothers I think this might be the most important topic for us to discuss in all of our 57 episodes so I would challenge every single person here
On tonight to think if we were tasked as a committee to save Freemason or to improve Freemasonry what would we be bringing to the table to present to this topic to this committee tonight otherwise we’re just one more Cog in the wheel of kicking that can down the road for another
Generation wor brother Chad lasich you said that Freemasonry is not at all on a path to to Extinction why well thank you brother Brian and first of all it’s wonderful to see you and uh I really appreciate all that that Lexington Lodge has done uh to continue this tradition
Of these uh online OPP unities for us to get together uh Brothers masonry does not need saving neither are any of us capable of saving it if we thought it needed saving the things that Freemasonry provides to a man are things that a man will always
Need and I think that what we’re really talking about is all of us are observing the tale blend of the popularity of Freemasonry in its Decline and we’re wondering well you know with with the declining membership what do we need to do to increase it because it seems to be dying and the
Fact is it’s not dying at all uh what Freemasonry offers to any man will always be needed and valuable and none of us I think I think we’re treating it as though it’s fragile and it isn’t it’s Timeless and those who seek its values will continue to seek it and I think the
The harder it is to get in and the the fewer members that we have the stronger that it gets and so I I don’t think that any of us need to despair uh everything that Freemasonry stands for is timeless and extraordinarily valuable and the people that will
Observe that it has value will join and will be better off for it so I I don’t think there’s a crisis at all but Grand lodges do well I you know I I think that uh Grand Lodges at least in Illinois from where I am they they were
Swollen and so they have these larger budgets and and this is a little bit of a controversial topic but you know they have these these these big budgets and they have all these other things that they that they attempt to fund uh and and I don’t think any of
That really has anything to do with Freemasonry that has to do with perhaps a uh an organ a leadership organization that was bloated to serve a larger fraternal group and as that fraternal group shrinks then naturally the the governing body must shrink and they don’t want to and I don’t blame them but
That really has nothing to do with Freemasonry that just has to do with local leadership right wor brother bizak thank you Chad it’s great to see you as well hopefully we’ll see you uh at the next conference um John there was a question that came
In just it was a direct message to me just asking for you if you could summarize simply in your perspective the historical principles of what actual or original Freemasonry was intended to be and how was intended to be practiced from your perspective I think we can sum it up effectively with Robert
Davis’s description of what we came to do and that’s to build men and how we build them and the manner and model through which we do it is what’s an issue as I emphasized um Mas is not the issue it’s how we interpret the best way to convey
It and we haven’t been consistent with that and the inconsistency shows throughout the United States uh it’s not to say that some men gain from it but it certainly is to say that not every man admitted gains from any of it and they have to search for it just like anything
Else in masonry they have to find the lodge that will provide them the experience that they want and I believe we can say unfortunately that many of them admitted fin lodges that are um marginal U Rob Morris said semi-manufactured lodges producing semi manufactured Masons uh if we want more than that then
We have to do something at the very core which are those three things we mentioned in the um presentation um a robust and genuine authentic guard of the Westgate not just lip service that we do it um a robust instruction and education program that starts as men pass through the the
Degrees not after they’re raised a masterm with fingers cross if they’ll learn something after that and third is that we elect men of Merit that was one of the original ideas in the 1723 Constitution elect men of Merit now we have men who come in that are trained
Otherwise in masonry and they ascend in the leadership positions it’s it’s a perpetuation of the process and that’s proven itself out for the last 245 years you think there are any other ways to measure masonry aside from dollars and heads as far as value or another perspective on measuring
It it’s been suggested that U if you have a l of 30 men and you retain them for 50 years you’re doing something right the same 50 men so maybe retention is a way but we know that’s not a perfect way because there’s many reasons men leave masonry or move or go
Someplace else but I think the perpetuation of um membership with quality men creates the type of Na it was designed to be and as Chad said uh we we really don’t need thousands and millions masonry is not going to die the idea of masonry is not going to go away
There’ll always be a group of men who will subscribe to and practice masonry we just won’t see it in the massive structures that we see it today or have seen it in the 19 or 20th century and we just have to get comfortable with that and if if U those left standing whenever
Masonry dwindles down to under 800,000 plus which is where it reportedly is today and it gets down to pre Civil War levels or pre uh um 1820 levels and perhaps those left standing will be the ones who carry it Forward just as it is today or maybe they’ll be the ones who
Carry it forward in a new vein recognizing that Fess is strength when we address the real purpose of Mason uh brother Marty go ahead thank you for the opportunity and thank you always to just participating these sessions I’ve been to the belief that masonry is a pardon me a one-on-one
Institution it’s not the grand and Lodge it’s not the Masonic District if you have them it’s not even the lodge in total it’s that few Brothers in a lodge who come to these discussions who have a core feeling for the institution and the willingness and the
Ability to pass it on that’s part of the joy as far as I’m concerned in mas and to me that’s its future John any comments to that well I believe it’s an individual process as well Bruce and you know there’s a there’s a question on the board about U Masonic
Education being difficult to Define and what it is let me bring up one example if we have um seven of 10 Masons who cannot identify Our Grand Lodge proceedings across the United States and we found it in papers and books and articles and presentations going back into the mid 1850s it’s the same issue over and over again no matter how many people rapidly expand the membership it still dwindles in the end do you think in the Constitution
Original Constitution that this should have been addressed or thought about in order to prepare for something like this I think it was I think it was adequately addressed you know for a young infant organization I think it started off with some pretty good rules yeah um that was
1723 and then by 1738 they um adjusted the Constitution and became a little longer and by 1770s it had already started being picked apart and changes were made but that’s the LI every Grand Lodge has Liberty to do that and as as it was weakened as some
Say and as exposures came out and uh by the 1770s uh ritual was a a mess um the Schism and between the ancient and moderns um it was kind of an elastic process where two competing ideologies about what masonry was U in disagreement for until 1813 and then found some Unity
Now we all came together but we were still jumbled in what we believed and how we did things and you know that’s not to say we need a uniform ritual that we need to have everybody do this or do that at every single lodge meeting the one basic element was
Missing we just stopped explaining and exploring Freemasonry at our primary business yeah brother Bruce go ahead thank you first of all I want to express my thanks for the wisdom and the Insight that brother bisak has and always shines forth when he talks and I am trying to be careful in the way
That I say what I want to say but given my background as a minister uh I have a tendency but I’m not going to talk religion but um I think sometimes um looking at that looking at masonry that’s where my life is um but that man who gathered a whole bunch of people
Around him he numbered it down to 12 he had a very concise group and he spent years before he even talked to them of Exploring Life but then when he did call them he said follow me and that’s a commitment and sometimes I don’t think that we talk about the
Commitment that is need did in Freemasonry but that person was with those 12 people those other men day in and day out for three years that’s a heck of an indoctrination into his life his philosophy and the way he saw things but yet he educated them in in
What the grand architect of the universe had called him to do and what he was calling them to do you know a lot of years later there was a thing called the Reformation which really upset the apple cart and just recently my pastor was giving in his sermon and he was talking about
Nicodemus talking to that young man And he said you must be born again and I was like oh my gosh that’s what most of our organizations and even what our ma Masonic lodes need to do is they’ve got to be reborn to refresh and come back to what it is about what like brother John said
You know that robust instruction and educ ation and the consistency in our way of thinking and what it’s about and sometimes I think we don’t guard the west gate you know I’m the lodge education officer in my Lodge and right now I’m just trying to get a young
Man to reply to me either by a phone call or text who joined our lodge petitioned our lodge of May of last year and he’s yet to command his uh Entered Apprentice examination and that shows to me that he’s not made a commitment you know maybe we should not have accepted him
That given he is sometimes I think too busy you know what I found is that may commands and demands uh commitment uh just as anybody’s own faith requires a commitment so um I thank you than thank you Bruce brother John go ahead brother John Cameron thank you brother Evans I I
Appreciate uh the opportunity to comment um brother biz thank you for an very insightful and thought-provoking presentation we learned not that long ago about comple complex adaptive systems and that got me thinking I was brought up in the country and any species whether it’s deer or rabbits if they over if they become
Overpopulated Nature has a way of thinning the herd so I I take that crude analogy to to Freemasonry we clearly we’ve overpopulated and what is taking place now actually instead of being lamented and crying tears we should be joyful because it presents a wonderful opportunity for now for us now to to
Resort back to the original purposes intent and aim of Freemasonry so the these challenges are actually a blessing so I I I I hear Grand lodges and I hear Brothers lament about the decreasing numbers and as a as a Freemason I see that actually as a positive and we
Should we should encourage uh this uh this the shrinking where um where it’s warranted so we have a healthy thriving population and I think that’s the essence of of what’s taking place now uh we need to be prepared however for when they when that calling of the herd is fished
That we have a solid foundation that our complex society adopts and there was a question asked you know is the Freemasonry of our grandfathers the Freemasonry of today and that’s a thought-provoking question as well and deserves deserve some some thought in this whole opportunity that we face so
Brother Evans and and brother bizo thank you I do appreciate the time it was well worth U the time here this evening so thank you again thank you brother John I couldn’t agree more I think the shrinking is a positive thing it absolutely is a good thing we have to
Look at it as a good thing we’re somehow going back to equilibrium and it’s going to take some time and I think sometimes we have to I think tough love is okay if you’re not going to show up if you don’t want to show up if you don’t respond to text
Or email then that’s fine we’re not going to chase you um you should chase us if you really want to be a part of masonry and I don’t mean that in a petty way I mean you should want to do this is really what we’re all trying to say you
Need to want but at the same token David felty made a comment in here that says well I don’t feel like I was adequately mentored so if we’re not adequately putting out an image and a perspective for our lodge and who we are as human beings that would attract someone to us
Well then that’s also pretty telling isn’t it brother Patrick go ahead thank you thank you uh good evening Brothers um excellent presentation from uh uh brother bizak as usual I and and honestly I just finished the uh candle in the- dark book um touching on a lot of the same uh topics
And and and the conversation itself makes me wonder whether whether or not those conversations in that book led to Rubicon to begin with but that’s a whole different uh situation my question is really around education so if we we’re thinking about education being a a component right in terms of uh getting
Us back to where we where we should be where we expect to be Um two things how how do and this is a question for brother BAC or anyone else who who’s on on on tonight are there any examples right we we we talk about the the need for we talk about the problem and whatnot I know with everyone’s vast experiences that someone has seen
Something that’s worked uh or or at least has the potential to work in terms of uh education specifically so are there any examples of programs initiatives uh whatnot inside the lodge or outside of um that have proven successful or at least look to be moving in the right direction and then on on
The on the second hand with all of this that we’re talking about how just generally speaking for and I know it’s different for jurisdictions different for different Pockets within those jurisdictions but overall how do we create like an atmosphere for Education right an at when I say an atmosphere
Create a a situation whereas wherever these brothers are um whatever their culture is that’s local to where they are how do you are there are there some general things to be considered as you try to implement the idea of Education in those places that’s a great question seems
Like an easy question but that’s a hard question John you want to take that uh sure there are logists uh Patrick that have different programs that do Excel and they do prove themselves um capable of the cons consistency Required for longevity of those programs um at lexton number one we started in 2012 actually 20 end of 2011 a program that we eliminated the 60 days rushing men through the degrees and we offered structured degree classes and those structured degree classes are now up to a mandatory minimum of 24 weeks on
Each degree and takes that long not 60 days anymore 24 weeks and we’ we’ve created I think we’re in our fifth edition of our structure degree books for each of the degrees we go by those to instruct we develop an instructor’s core and everyone who has been through
Our process since 2011 has returned a mations proficiency uh in Kentucky you’re not even required to return your masturbations proficiency but we’ve not had anybody not do it who who stayed in the lives we had men who were in the military and they moved on then his
Careers changed and they had to go someplace else but anybody who finished the program has done that uh now we’ve institutionalized that at number one and it’s one of the processes that probably won’t change for another decade because most of the men who have gone through that program
Have been officers in one capacity or another for the last 3 to four years they feel build all the chairs maybe longer than that actually so as we generate that type of caliber of educated Mason they assume the chairs and they endorse that program and it continues to unfold and evolve in the
Right direction uh other things that we did were a lot like we what we just talked about in the presentation uh we changed our approach to the investigation committee and one of the primary issues is finding out if a man has time to spend with masonry if he wants to get
Into masonry and be made a mason in 60 days there’s other lodges he can go to but if he wants to pursue masonry and he wants it to be the his life to be where he does that that’s his primary business then he has to let us know and we have
To be convinced that he has the time to devote to 24 weeks of classes in each degree and will attend in doing that we feel like they are also the ones who will later attend and participate in Lodge and that’s proving out to be true slowly but it’s proven out to be true
Um another issue is that we eliminated about nine years ago the progressive line we move men all over uh we have men on here tonight who have been in several positions uh not necessarily in Progressive line to the east and we have men who are willing to do that for the
Good of the lodge not for the good of vancing or Masonic resume and it’s where a man can best serve The Lodge at any given time we have Masters who secede themselves now didn’t have that since 1855 um these these things take a lot of time and there’s no quick Solutions but
There are solutions and probably the biggest enemy to lodges that are looking to do these kind of things is that it does take time and it can’t be rushed and I wish there was a magic way of doing it a quicker way of doing it uh but this is a culture
That we’re dealing with and the cultures just don’t change overnight there’s other lodges that do programs like this we ar the only one in this country that does it uh there are other lodges that have other steps and some loges take even longer to get their candidates through so you know we’re
Just one that has found some something that works for the culture of our LOD yeah I noticed initially when you started speaking that time was going to be the the the common denominator what not in terms of change simply because when you started you said you started your changes in
2012 uh 2011 end of 2011 they were officially adopted in 2012 yes so patience is also a key it is frustrating key but a key Patrick did that answer your question a little bit a little bit absolutely absolutely we just finished a Master Mason class teaching John and I
Taught it uh John was the first chair and I was the second chair he um it was 25 maybe 26 weeks I can’t remember exactly but at the very end we had four four or five brothers in the room four brothers in the room who were going
Through the the class and they asked if we could continue they didn’t want it to end which was really um heartfelt uh to hear that because it made us feel like we were doing something right you know they enjoyed it and uh in and sometimes the best masonry
Comes in just the smallest groups let’s just talk propose something and let’s talk about it and it can go in any direction possible know as long as it follows some aspect of masonic conversation that’s just like what Rubicon did Rubicon started out as a dinner Club
Just some guys in Lodge wanted to get together to talk about masonry because it wasn’t we weren’t really talking about it at Lodge Lodge we were reading minutes paying bills you know things of that nature and that’s that’s not masonry so um sometimes it’s just sitting down cup of coffee and throwing
Out a question and seeing where the conversation goes I will say in Rubicon we had a conversation last meeting about ego and Freemasonry and um that was probably one of the best conversations that we’ve had in a little group of 15 people in all the times we’ve been together it made us really
Think about what it is is it good is it bad and we don’t have time to go into all of it but it was uh what makes a conversation like that work really well is we have someone John sisle who’s not on tonight he acts as the MC so he
Continues to facilitate conversations so that helps that somebody is there to continue to promote and engage and and uh poke and and pride a little bit so I think at the end of the day we just need to talk about Freemasonry and what is that how do we build ourselves to become
Better but what do that mean well infinite ways to think about and I think for me that’s that’s what I get out of it more than anything else brother Jerry you’re a part of the education committee for quite some time a big big part of that what would you
Say in regards to Patrick’s question uh well thank you brother Brian and brother John great presentation tonight thank you um I would say somebody mentioned commitment earlier and I think um that you’ve got to establish early on that the particular man who’s come to visit Lodge does have a commitment to go
Through um the education program and learn what needs to be learned to go through the degrees learn about Freemasonry um so uh uh I see you know we we refer to the west gate I I see it as more than one gate West Gate plural
Um and it starts with uh inviting uh a man to dinner to come visit the lodge and multiple dinners does he continue to come and visit over a period of months and if he doesn’t have the commitment to do that he’s probably not going to be an
Active Mason should he even join it all um and I think it needs to be um I guess Lish early on that what’s expected of him should he petition choose a petition the Lodge and become a member if you have an education program in place whatever form that takes so he he needs
To understand what will be expected of him um in terms of attendance and a time commitment and he’s able to do that uh and you know we’ve seen at our lodge and and I’m sure other loges were someone likes the idea of being a freem Mason um
Wants to you know wear the ring or or carry the card in his wallet but just does not have the time um to um to commit to becoming a Freemason um like we we like John said earlier it’s not an event it’s a process and he doesn’t have the time to commit
To that process U and in terms of the education program that’s just something that the lodge needs to come up with um our own education at Lexing number one um part of the uh curricul is we’ve got um a series of papers that the members of The Lodge have written and so there’s
Discussion on those papers there’s discussion on different uh topics for each of three degrees and we’ve actually established a syllabus like you would receive for a college level class and outlines for example Under The Apprentice there’s 30 classes and here’s you know we’ve got the list of topics
For class number one through 30 uh discussion topics and of course they’ve got them proficiency memorization Kentucky we do it mouth to ear so they don’t receive that written um but once you have that um you know in a format and you can stick to it um and you have
A core of instructors that are willing to put the time in as much as the uh the student is uh you know you’ll have a successful program I think yeah thank you Jerry following up to this David felty had a comment uh David to answer your question
The last sentence in your message yes um it is helping in retaining members for sure but it is a slow process brother Gerald go ahead yeah the main thing I raised my hand over I heard it uh spoken a couple of times brother Cameron brought this up and that is the subject of
Mentoring we really need to emphasize and I think that it’s good to to connect it to signing someone’s petition that you’re you’re you’re not just taking credit for bringing another seat into the into the chair um but but you’re you’re going to Mentor this person and if he’s not showing up you’re
Going to get a hold of him and talk to him about uh why why he isn’t and and get him out there um and I think that that’s a a really important thing to do and one other thing that I will throw in when we get the most people are at our
Stated meetings but it’s my observation that most of the conversations that are going on are not about masonry they’re about sports or or some other other kind kind of thing and so I would also recommend the kind of people that we’re talking about that want to move their Lodge in this uh
Direction sit down at a table and start the conversation toward Freemasonry what it’s about what the values are and and so on and um particularly if that uh uh has somebody that’s that’s a prospect um uh to to let them know what your Lodge is about but um I do think that
Mentoring is a very very big element of it and should uh should be very strongly emphasized um that uh that uh when when you when you invite somebody to join the your Lodge um you you’ve you’ve already been a establishing a relationship of with them and that you should follow
That through through through their whole progression of the and South Pasadena we have uh uh takes a couple months to go through the classes we go through them in groups but um class workor is also really important but just just talking about it make that your subject not that
This is just a you know a social a social evening uh make make even your social evenings Masonic and and the guys that you that you help bring in particularly signing their petitions uh don’t leave them alone be be be be be pushing them pulling them consoling them encouraging them whatever
Whatever it takes because that’s you you could you can be an anchor for that person if you will take that on thank you Jared well well said worse brother Dan you’re you’re too quiet so I’m going to pick on you for a minute you ready um how do we pivot from being the
Generation of another Masonic can kicking and pivot to a a baton passing how do we do that I think the best person to answer that question John B no no John is he’s muted he’s having technical difficulties I can see um so we’re gonna have to let you take
It I don’t have the Fest idea uh if I knew the answer to that I’d already be doing it um I I would Echo uh worshipful brother jel and others who have mentioned this idea and that is um you know we have to be mentors
Uh I I realize that um we don’t discuss politics and and I do not mean this as a political statement in any in any way but um when Barack Obama ran for president president I think it was in what 2012 that he was elected president
For the first time 208 or 2008 I guess it was 2008 his uh campaign slogan was be the change that you want to see and I think that is exactly the um the model that Freemasonry ought to adopt and that each of us should be the change that we want to see in
Freemasonry if you want to make your Lodge better make yourself better you want to make your Grand Lodge better make yourself better at the end of the day uh the only Temple that we can build is our own Temple and hopefully the example that we set in building that
Temple will um be inspirational to the men who are beside us in Lodge and those who uh will engage Us in conversation and offer themsel to be mentored and I think that’s how we pass to Baton is uh just um working on our temples and being
Accessible to uh to our brothers who are also working on their Temple I think that’s a great answer you you have a you have a unique definition of Freemasonry I’ve heard it said at one of the past or two classes before do you recall what I’m referring to and what it
What you refer to masonry as in your definition uh if it happened more than 24 hours ago I don’t really it’s all right if you think about it let us know but while you have U you know conjured me up here uh I’m I’m going to offer um
Um and and um I will ask worship brother John if who comment on this in in your presentation John you you talked about how the society in which we live um is unmowed from the ideas and ideals of the Enlightenment era do you think that that affords Freemasonry an opportunity right now uh
Because um we are a place where men who are who have a desire to want to learn how to be men uh can come to us for that time typ of education for that type of experience do you think that there’s a there’s an opportunity for us to um if
If we know how to U um I don’t like to use the word market ourselves but if we can figure out a way to communicate to young men in our society right now that that we are a place where they can learn what manhood is and do so in a safe
Environment does that afford an opportunity for us I think it does I think it’s the same opportunity though Dan that um was after the Civil War the opportunity that Newton Joseph Fort Newton has weaving through many of his books about the post pre and post World War I period about
How masonry was something for men of that era we see writings U during the Great Depression not many but there are a few where this was also an opportunity for masary and we certainly saw it after World War II and uh those those writings disappeared quickly until membership
Started declining then all the issues went to what happened but I I think now is maybe one of the more right periods in history and if we don’t think we have u a generation or maybe more of young men who appear lost um I think all we have to do is pay
Attention to what’s going on in the world um but those who aren’t so much lost but are good young men we found most of them don’t even know masonry exists and that’s a problem we have to overcome as well how do we how do we get them to see that and I know
There’s not just a animation and a lot of promotional activity like that but you know we get criticism on those two because they they show what masonry looks like in a in a setting where a lot of young men in huge Lodge rooms doing a
Lot of fun things and then it’s not like that every place and when men go to those lodges they well what happened to what I saw on television or what I saw on the internet on these promotions where are these people where are they having the fun I think we have to
Collectively decide how we going to communicate appeal and attract a generation that um doesn’t show itself too interested in masonry at this point but again it’s relative to the type of if we want a massive influx like we’ve had I think we can forget it if we’re looking to slowly build our lodge
I think that can be done because if we’re not worried about getting bigger we can focus on being a reasonable size with quality men and taking our time but again that leads back to how much money does your Lodge have how much money does your Lodge need how much
Bills and how much are your um debts because your coffers aren’t going to get full that way but you can practice freem nation and you can teach it yeah well said yeah worship brother Allen looks like your mic’s not working either either let’s see if we can get it to
Work um how do we uh prove to Future historians that we are not the generation of another great Masonic can kicking but rather a generation of masonic baton passing well I think we need to realize and embrace the warnings from the past and what we know to be
True that the true strength of our fraternity rests not in the number of our members but in the quality of our members and the Deeds accomplished um and how we accomplished that is through identifying quality candidates to enter into the craft and educate them up front instead
Of trying to do it on the backside after they have been initiated pasted and raised as McBride in 194 Published a book and in that he noted that aij is a workshop wherein The Souls of men may be shaped molded and made fit for the great ideal Temple he also noted in the same publication that today we have too many members that are not Masons because we have too
Many lodges that aren’t engaged in Masonry uh we have a responsibility to ensure that those that seek out the craft are exposed to good quality instruction and education of exactly what Freemasonry is what its intent and what its aim is on the front side and not wait
Until again on the backside to educate them as to what masonry is um I I think the challenges for the craft have have been articulated tonight um we have to be in a position to where young men quality Timber to use John’s uh analogy of that um
Are given the opportunity to to see the craft for what it is up front so I think we do that but we have also a responsibility for those individuals that were rush through the degrees and and exist in our lodge to provide them with education also to um move them in a direction
To assimilate into the culture and the change of the culture from the change age agents within the lodge that are trying to make the lodge a more observant uh Lodge in how they approach the philosophy of Freemason thank you uh one more quick question and then we’ll we’ll move on um brother Cameron
Asked John wor bizak what is the role of the Masonic Service Association in regards to this issue you have any comments on that what do you mean role John um John what I mean is the dissemination of information my impression of the MSA uh is to supply or provide
Information on issues that we’re facing today to the ground masters of respective ground lodges and then those messages could be taken to uh their individual ground Lodge for potential action I I I’m just curious about the role that they perform if they’re not if the MSA is not
Aware or responding to the the U metrics that we see and at least trying to figure out the the reasons for the Met you know the declining numbers is like your blood pressure your blood pressure goes up for a number of reasons a good-look woman just walked by or you’re in the cardiac
Arrest I mean so how how are they or are they analyzing this matter and um if they are what are the what recommendations do they have I guess that’s I’m sorry go ahead no that’s just essentially what I was getting that with my question the MSA has been around for
Quite a while since the 1920s I believe Sometime Late in 1920s they’ve disseminated volumes of short talk bulletins yeah um they a matter of fact Brent Morris compiled them all I think there was four maybe five volumes of them they’re worth any lodges investment to get those um Steven
Defo wrote an article called the rise and fall of masonic education in that paper uh which is um a couple of decades old now I think um he analyzed what the Masonic Services association’s contri contribution was to masonry and he rated it high but the short talk bulletins also give us
Another pattern to look at in the history of masonry what started out is about masonry eventually unfolded into the mechanics of masonry how to do things in Lodge not necessarily Masonic things but the mechanics of running a lodge that was about the time when the face of masan America changed again after a
Influx of too many members um we we see this MSA as a real measurement of the way masonry was in maybe every other decade now today they still produce that they have a website U lodges can get their short talk bulletins at one time I believe they I forget the the number of
Lodges that it went out to that subscribed to them but it was massive and we still have books and papers and references to people standing up in Lodge and giving one of those short talk bulletin talks to their Lodge and that counted as their Masonic education some
Of them were brief uh some of them took maybe 10 minutes 15 minutes uh and that was it so in that way MSA really contributed now today I I don’t whether we see them looking at this issue but we see other uh websites uh we see some Masonic journals
Addressing this but there’s ample information that shows that this is a topical issue whether or not it’s explored in lodges on a regular basis uh that’s questionable but we know that it is the underlying motivation of many Masonic writers today is to examine where are we going to be
In the future if we keep going like we are so I wish I could give you more about what they’re doing right now John but they have been a huge contributor to many things Masonic in 20th century Brothers I think we should not over complicate this issue I think um
Quality members are attracted to Quality Masonry and in my opinion Quality Masonry doesn’t care about heads and dollars and fish and pancakes Quality Masonry cares about hearts and minds and fellowship and Leadership so with that being said wor brother bizak thank you for enlightening us and opening our minds and encouraging
Us to think about the future uh by learning from the past so we appreciate your time today thank you Brothers Moving on our next educ is Monday April 22nd and uh there was some talk about The Trestle boards and the symbols on our Trestle board and uh
Which is a great segue into our next presentation by right worth worshipful brother Chad kopinsky he’s going to be talking about the Masonic Legacy of John sheer and John Sher sheer Sher is uh the creator of many of the trust boards that we look at every day um and they’re
Hanging at Lexington Lodge Number One if you are not already aware the um classic Masonic authors conference is now live you can view it on our YouTube channel it’s 100% free it’s about two and a half hours of quality Masonic education we hope let us know what you
Think when you have some time watch it uh for those of you that are not aware worship for brother bisac has uh relaunched his website called the craftsman.com uh in my opinion this is one of the best resources for Masonic education on the Internet it’s a massive collection of books and papers and
Reviews and videos and and and resources to follow so go check it out um there may be some tweaks and things here and there I think that might still be being developed so if you see any errors please be patient uh but we hope you enjoy I think you’ll find a lot of
Useful information on that website the craftsman.com please give a brief shout out to our friends at the Phil Society sure Brothers if you aren’t familiar with Phil Society uh it’s the oldest independent Masonic research Society in North America um you can learn more about it by visiting a link that I’ll
Paste into the chat box here as soon as I finished speaking but they have programs that you can sign up for for your Lodge and receive U up to 50 to 100 copies of this a subscription for for your Lodge and you can send them out to
The men in your Lodge who are most interested uh there are other programs that they have a Master Masons program uh I would strongly suggest if you aren’t familiar with them uh visit their site look at some of the past issues and see if it might be something you’d be
Interested in subscribing to or becoming a member of the society great thank you uh the Rubicon transactions are out available for purchaseing if you have any interest Rubicon Masonic society.com transactions uh you can find them on Amazon it is possible that they might be down here and there as a result of some
Uh typographical errors that might be being fixed so if you if it is down please check back or let us know and we’ll help make sure that you get a copy Masonic table if you hadn’t had a chance to watch that please go check it
Out let us know what you think a lot of time and energy and effort went into went into prep ing this documentary if you have any interest in pursuing festive board dinners with your Lodge or Grand Lodge might be a great place to start and check it
Out rcon Masonic Society is a 501c3 if you have any interest in donating for our cause you can do that at the link on the screen any other final comments before we prepare to close John anything else you want to add Dan Allen all right me thank you Brothers
Right hearing none worship brother Allen would you please delivering us in a closing devotion absolutely grand architect of the universe as we prepare to close our meeting this evening we ask that you bless us with Perpetual awareness of the principles inculcated by the craft as we Endeavor to fortify our abilities to be
Just and upright in all of our undertakings let us always be aware of the blessings we have received from where those blessings emanate things we ask in your holy name amen so M it be brothers thank you for joining us our next meeting is Monday April
22nd um we hope you can join us at that time no need to RSVP if you’re already on our list if not please go to Rubicon Masonic society.com RSVP until next time Brothers may we always be happy to meet sorry to par and very happy to always meet again have a great evening
source
