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Article MASONRY—ITS PAST AND FUTURE. ← Page 3 of 4 →
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Masonry—Its Past And Future.
Him ! " The Edict went forth from on High , and not one stone was left upon another . On two points I now wish to draw ths parallel between the two temples , viz ., that of Jerusalem and that of Masonry . First , then , the difference betAveen the materials and construction of the two edifices ; and secondly , the difference between the material temple and that " built Avithout hands Eternal in the Heavens . " That of Masonry 1 First , then , as to the materials and construction . Tbe materials Avith which the
Temple at Jerusalem was built , Avere all of the very best kind , perfectly wrought , so that no fault could be found in any of them ; but can Ave say so much of those of the Masonic Temple . Every stone in which is tbe heart of a weak and erring Brother . But yet the one has fallen , and as Masons , Ave hold that the other can never fall . In whatever form or shape Masonry shall continue to exist , the " true essence " must ever remain . Second , the material Temple at Jerusalem , though designed by God Himself , was the workmanship of mortals , all its materials Avere mortal . The Temple of Masonry
was designed by the Almighty and wrought out by him , and its materials are immortal souls . The only things in Masonry that are human , are the " forms ancl ceremonies , " which have from time to time been devised by man , though the great teaching inculcated by them have ever been , and ever will be , those of God . The material Temple was built for one sect , one nation ; the Masonic Temple " for the good ancl true of every race , every believer in God ! Mighty idea ! Would that . Masons would earnestly contemplate thereon ! There would then be less apathy , more real energy and
vitalitymore care would be taken to keep scoffers , idlers , evil-doers , out of our Order ! the apparent prosperity would be less , but the real more abundant . In Article 1 of tbe Old Charges and Constitutions of the Order we read as follows— . " God seeth not as man seeth ! for man looketh to outAvard appearance , but God looketh to the heart . " Apply this to ourselves at the present time . NBAV Lodges are being consecrated , and hundreds of members added to our Muster Bools daily , the apparent prosperity is certainly dazzling ; but have the characters , and habits of life of these candidates , their tempers , their morals , been duly enquired into 1 How many of these
hundreds of neophytes will ever trouble themselves about the esoteric teachings of the Order , and endeavour by their own example to lead others 1 How many , alas ! Avill never again enter a Lodge after their curiosity has been satisfied , and they have received their degrees 1 Is the prosperity , then , of the Order so great , as it would outwardly appear to be 1 Can the best among us say that Ave have truly acted up to bur promises as Masons 1 I fear but feAV can ! Sad thought ; but it is true that , amidst all this outAvard glory and magnificencea cloud hangs over the sacred Edifice of Masonry . In its
, greatness and poAver the weakness of Masonry exists ! Already some portions of the building are showing signs of decay . Several Continental Grand Lodges and Grand Orients are striking out of their " Articles of Faith , " that Greatest of all , " Belief in God . " It is true that the offenders , compared Avith the vast number of our votaries throughout the world , are comparatively fevr in number , but this decay must have had a yet smaller beginning . We know not how far the evil may spread .
It is certain that with its material prosperity , the ] " Light of Masonry " shines more dimly than in the days of yore , when our numbers Avere fewer but more earnest—more devoted 1 Our Bulers , in fact every true Brother , must look to the heart ; they must not be dazzled by spurious glories and fictitious glitter . There are many signs that Masonry is not practised as it should be ; ancl UOAV is the time , Avhen , to the outer world , all appears fair and in order , for our Craftsmen to repair all damages , that the
glories of our Ancient Structure be not dimmed . Again , how many of us knoAv that there are esoteric teachings in Masonry 1 They imperfectly understand , perhaps , A'arious ceremonies . They knoAV that Masonry is a system of morality ; but knoAving this , trouble themselves no further . They have a vague idea that Charity is a great point in Masonry , and occasionally give alms to distressed Brethren , or donations to the Masonic Charitable Institutions , but have no idea of the full meaning of the word " Charity . " On the tAvo great Landmarks of the Order , viz ., "Faith in God and to be in Charity with all men , " is built up the esoteric teachings of Masonry . Surely this alone should lead the Brotherhood to search more
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonry—Its Past And Future.
Him ! " The Edict went forth from on High , and not one stone was left upon another . On two points I now wish to draw ths parallel between the two temples , viz ., that of Jerusalem and that of Masonry . First , then , the difference betAveen the materials and construction of the two edifices ; and secondly , the difference between the material temple and that " built Avithout hands Eternal in the Heavens . " That of Masonry 1 First , then , as to the materials and construction . Tbe materials Avith which the
Temple at Jerusalem was built , Avere all of the very best kind , perfectly wrought , so that no fault could be found in any of them ; but can Ave say so much of those of the Masonic Temple . Every stone in which is tbe heart of a weak and erring Brother . But yet the one has fallen , and as Masons , Ave hold that the other can never fall . In whatever form or shape Masonry shall continue to exist , the " true essence " must ever remain . Second , the material Temple at Jerusalem , though designed by God Himself , was the workmanship of mortals , all its materials Avere mortal . The Temple of Masonry
was designed by the Almighty and wrought out by him , and its materials are immortal souls . The only things in Masonry that are human , are the " forms ancl ceremonies , " which have from time to time been devised by man , though the great teaching inculcated by them have ever been , and ever will be , those of God . The material Temple was built for one sect , one nation ; the Masonic Temple " for the good ancl true of every race , every believer in God ! Mighty idea ! Would that . Masons would earnestly contemplate thereon ! There would then be less apathy , more real energy and
vitalitymore care would be taken to keep scoffers , idlers , evil-doers , out of our Order ! the apparent prosperity would be less , but the real more abundant . In Article 1 of tbe Old Charges and Constitutions of the Order we read as follows— . " God seeth not as man seeth ! for man looketh to outAvard appearance , but God looketh to the heart . " Apply this to ourselves at the present time . NBAV Lodges are being consecrated , and hundreds of members added to our Muster Bools daily , the apparent prosperity is certainly dazzling ; but have the characters , and habits of life of these candidates , their tempers , their morals , been duly enquired into 1 How many of these
hundreds of neophytes will ever trouble themselves about the esoteric teachings of the Order , and endeavour by their own example to lead others 1 How many , alas ! Avill never again enter a Lodge after their curiosity has been satisfied , and they have received their degrees 1 Is the prosperity , then , of the Order so great , as it would outwardly appear to be 1 Can the best among us say that Ave have truly acted up to bur promises as Masons 1 I fear but feAV can ! Sad thought ; but it is true that , amidst all this outAvard glory and magnificencea cloud hangs over the sacred Edifice of Masonry . In its
, greatness and poAver the weakness of Masonry exists ! Already some portions of the building are showing signs of decay . Several Continental Grand Lodges and Grand Orients are striking out of their " Articles of Faith , " that Greatest of all , " Belief in God . " It is true that the offenders , compared Avith the vast number of our votaries throughout the world , are comparatively fevr in number , but this decay must have had a yet smaller beginning . We know not how far the evil may spread .
It is certain that with its material prosperity , the ] " Light of Masonry " shines more dimly than in the days of yore , when our numbers Avere fewer but more earnest—more devoted 1 Our Bulers , in fact every true Brother , must look to the heart ; they must not be dazzled by spurious glories and fictitious glitter . There are many signs that Masonry is not practised as it should be ; ancl UOAV is the time , Avhen , to the outer world , all appears fair and in order , for our Craftsmen to repair all damages , that the
glories of our Ancient Structure be not dimmed . Again , how many of us knoAv that there are esoteric teachings in Masonry 1 They imperfectly understand , perhaps , A'arious ceremonies . They knoAV that Masonry is a system of morality ; but knoAving this , trouble themselves no further . They have a vague idea that Charity is a great point in Masonry , and occasionally give alms to distressed Brethren , or donations to the Masonic Charitable Institutions , but have no idea of the full meaning of the word " Charity . " On the tAvo great Landmarks of the Order , viz ., "Faith in God and to be in Charity with all men , " is built up the esoteric teachings of Masonry . Surely this alone should lead the Brotherhood to search more