It's Yours My Brother

With the overwhelming influence of social media in today's culture, one can join a group concerning almost any subject. The same is true with Freemasonry. I belong to a couple of these groups one being the "Winding Stairs".

 This group seems to be a lot of younger Masons and they are very inquisitive about topics from which way to wear ones ring to the wearing of the lambskin.

The discussion about the lambskin proved to be very interesting. The question was whether it was permissible for a brother to wear his lambskin to lodge.

Usually the responses to the questions posed are much more entertaining to read and think about than the point in question. In reading the responses I'm reminded that there are as many opinions as there are Masons.

Among the responses were things like; no definitely not to be worn but to be put aside until death, death is the only time this apron should be worn.....should be taken care of and worn only on special occasions....worn only during installations, etc.

If I remember correctly we are instructed as follows; it is yours my brother yours to wear through an honorable life and at your death for we are all born to die it may be placed upon the casket that encloses your lifeless remains and with them lowered beneath the silent clods of the valley.

One of the senior Past Masters of Fellowship Lodge, WB John Gilmore wore his on a regular basis, and his PM's apron only on special occasions. WB John's lambskin showed the work of a craftsman. He said, They gave it to me to wear and at my death I want it to show the labor I've done for the craft."

The reason I raise this topic is to illustrate that Masonic Education must be ongoing. With the way brothers are indoctrinated in today's lodge, Masonic Education can't go too far. Some of the young men coming in will seek out knowledge others will accept only what is given to them, in other words they are not going to go out of their way to learn.

We old timers take too much for granted. We tend to think that if a new brother wants to know they will search it out like we did. Today's generation have two factions, seekers and receivers. There is still curiosity and yearning for the seekers but many will take the knowledge when presented but figure if they want me to know they will tell me.

With Masonic Education perhaps we can convert some of the receivers into seekers. Sometimes a little knowledge is enough of a spark to ignite a fire of seeking and yearning for knowledge.

Again, there is something to be said for the old way of  doing ones proficiency. We lost a big element of teaching, explaining, and most importantly learning. Today we are supposed to mentor the young Masons coming into lodge, regrettably I think that falls by the wayside way too easily.

We need to foster these brothers coming into lodge and build friendships and brotherly love with these young Masons regardless of their age. We saw this illustrated at Eureka Lodge when we visited their Prince Hall Lodge. They still require the old style proficiency and there seems to be a bond there.

Regardless of all the social media and knowledge that can be learned from various avenues on the internet, the age old method of socializing and teaching face to face seems to still be one of the most effective and accurate ways of communicating our rituals, history, and traditions. When was the last time someone explained "So Mote it Be" to a new brother???????  That's just the tip of the iceberg as they say.

How Easily We Forget

As we move forward with the Fraternity of Free & Accepted Masons, it seems that we are now at a point to focus on quality rather than quantity.

There seems to be more instances of...."I gotcha moments" than ever before. Perhaps it's just a sign of the times and societal behaviors leaking into the fraternity.

In years gone by it was a rare instance that a brother was brought up on "charges"....now it seems that the first conclusion is to bring charges against a brother. Admittedly there are times when that is the only course of action to rectify certain situations. For the most part it's an over-reaction to a brother's conduct....believe me, nothing good happens when charges are brought, it can tear a lodge apart and cause separation among the brethren that may never heal.

While attending a Master Mason Degree this week, I was reminded of one of the most powerful things we are taught......to whisper good counsel in the ear of a brother.

It seems that rather than whisper good counsel to a brother about his actions or lack of actions he is allowed to continue on until there is no return. There is a total breakdown in communicating what is expected or perceived to be acceptable. I've experienced this myself on more than one occasion during my Masonic journey. It can be very hurtful and a huge blow to endure, and make one question one's position in the fraternity.

On a much smaller scale I'm reminded of WB Bennie King and the way he would correct a brother's use of a wrong word or phrase during a degree. During a break or after the degree WB Bennie would take the brother aside away from everyone else and correct the brother. The only people who knew of the corrective counseling was the brother and WB Bennie, he fully understood the concept of whispering good counsel. So many are so quick to correct and interrupt the degree in the process, why?

We are taught to "ever" whisper good counsel....ever means at ALL times; always; continuously; at any time; in any possible case; by any chance. I think the word ever pretty well sums up when we are supposed to whisper that good counsel. Too often we forget this basic lesson we are taught in the Master Mason degree.

Whisper is used intentionally in this lesson to demonstrate that the counsel should be between only the two brothers and not for everyone to hear. To whisper is to utter in soft, hushed sounds. In other words a private low key conversation between two brothers.

The whispered words or counsel consists of advice, instruction, or opinion.These words are delivered in a friendly manner. Friendly is defined as helpful or supportive, and manner is the way of doing things. This is done to remind the brother of his errors.....as the writers of the ritual knew and we also know if we are honest with ourselves, most of the time we know of our errors and sometimes need to be reminded of them.

We are to "aid his reformation".....in other words help the brother to improve what is wrong, to abandon the wrong way of conduct. All while giving him "due", or what is owed to him....and "timely notice", an opportune or well timed communication. That he may "ward" off; protect, guard, avert, repel, or turn aside...approaching "danger"; a liability, harm, risk, peril, or bad situation.

This is a very special time in Masonry....our numbers have shrank but the fraternity is greater than any of us and has a unique way of surviving. The fraternity of Free & Accepted Masons has survived through the ages and has been challenged in many different ways. We are now in the information age and the men that are joining seem to want to learn the true meaning of Freemasonry. The meaning is right there for all of us to enjoy and learn from.

Too often the basic lessons taught are the ones most easily forgotten. We need to take brothers aside and in the most friendly manner remind them of their errors and aid their reformation. We also need to be man and brother enough to receive counsel from another brother....to listen to his whispered counsel and accept his friendly manner of correcting our errors. Sometimes it's better to receive than to give.

We need to step away from the Ah, I gotcha moments.....and remember Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth......if we get back to the basics and truly practice brotherly love we will surely grow personally and the numbers will come as a result.