Facts About Freemasonry

The oldest known Masonic writing, the Regius Manuscript or "Poem of Moral Duties," was discovered to be a Masonic document by a non-Mason, J. O. Halliwell, in 1839. It was written about 1390 and was given the name "Regius" because it was found in the Royal Library of England. It is now a part of the British Museum. Some common Masonic Ritual terms in use today are found in it such as "So Mote It Be."

In China, about 300 B.C., Mencius wrote "A master Mason, in teaching his apprentices, makes use of the compasses and the square. Ye who are engaged in the pursuit of Wisdom, must also make use of the compasses and the square." Additionally, in a book called Great Learning, 500 B.C., we find that "A man should abstain from doing unto others what he would not they should do unto him; and this is called the principle of acting on the square."

The Commissioner of Patents In 1872 ruled that the Masonic Square and Compasses emblem could not be used in any trademark or trade name for commercial purposes

When Brothers Richard E. Byrd and Bernt Balchen first flew over the North and South Poles, they dropped a Masonic flag on each Pole. Then, in the 1933-35 expedition, Brother Balchen tossed his Shrine Fez on the North Pole.

The town of Keystone, near Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, was named by a gold prospector in 1877 for his York Rite Chapter watch charm.

A Brother was initiated on August 23, 1879 by Lodge #239 in a balloon flying over Paris

Of the early American Astronauts, John Glenn, L. Gordon Cooper, Virgil I. (Gus) Grissom, Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., Thomas P. Stafford, and Donn F. Eisele were members of our "GentleCraft."

In 1892 the world's tallest building was the Masonic Temple at Randolph and State Streets in Chicago

The Republic of Texas had four Presidents: David G. Burnett, 1836; Sam Houston, 1836-1838; Mirabeau B. Lamar, 1838-1841; Sam Houston, 1841-1844; Anson Jones, 1844-1846. All were Freemasons

In 1952, eighty-nine percent of the U.S. Supreme Court Justices were Freemasons

William R. Davie, an honor graduate of Princeton College and Governor of North Carolina 1798-99, was nominated as Grand Master of Masons on December 11, 1792, having become a Master Mason only the day before. He was not present for his installation on December 30th. Yet he held the position of Grand Master for 7 years and is known as one of the most active Grand Masters in North Carolina history. He is credited with being the "father" of the University of North Carolina, the first State University in America. He laid the cornerstone of the first building, "Old East" in 1793 containing a dedication plate which became missing during the Civil War. The plate was considered lost until it was found in a scrap heap in Clarksville, TN in 1916 and restored to its rightful place

Masonic dates are written "A.L." for "Anno Lucis" or "In the year of Light" which is 4000 years plus the current year. i.e. the year 2001 written Masonically would be 6001. This is because the practice has followed the ancient belief that the world was created when God said "Let there be light", 4000 years before Christ

The Masonic (Square and Compasses) ring is not an official item of Masonic Jewelry. General consensus seems to be that if the wearer wishes to advise others that he is a Master Mason, then he should wear the ring with the Compasses points toward the fingertips. If the ring is worn to remind the wearer that he is a Master Mason, then he should wear it with the compasses points toward the wrist

In Hammer vs. State, 173 Indiana, 199 (1909) The Supreme Court of Indiana upheld a statute which made it a criminal offense to wear the emblem of any society or organization of which one is not a member. The court based its decision on the fact that membership in such societies is the result of fitness and selection and that the wearing of such emblems by non-members is a deceit and false pretense

rother "Buzz" Aldrin, a member of Clear Lake Lodge #1417 in Texas, when he stepped onto the surface of the moon, carried a special deputation from his Grand Master to claim the moon as being in the territorial jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Texas. And so it is

The first evidence of Freemasonry in North America appeared in Nova Scotia. A stone engraved on the top with a square and compasses was found on the shore of Goat Island in the Annapolis Basin in Nova Scotia. In the center of the flat slab was the date 1606. Dr. Charles T. Jackson of Boston wrote about it in 1829, calling it the "Annapolis Stone." The stone is said to have become a part of a wall for a building; it was covered with cement and never found again

When asked how he came to be a Mason, President McKinley explained:
"After the battle of Opequam, I went with the surgeon of our Ohio regiment to the field where there were about 5,000 Confederate prisoners under guard. Almost as soon as we passed the guard, I noticed the doctor shook hands with a number of Confederate prisoners. He also took from his pocket a roll of bills and distributed all he had among them. Boy-like, I looked on in wonderment; I didn't know what it all meant. On the way back to camp I asked him:

'Did you know these men or ever see them before?'
'No,' replied the doctor, 'I never saw them before.'
'But,' I persisted, 'You gave them a lot of money, all you had about you. Do you ever expect to get it back?'
'Well,' said the doctor, 'if they are able to pay me back, they will. But it makes no difference to me; they are brother Masons in trouble and I am only doing my duty.'
"I said to myself, 'If that is Masonry, I will take some of it myself.' "

 

 

Quotes About Freemasony

"Good Masons make good churchmen. Every clergyman can testify to the truth of this. They make loyal and sacrificing patriots. Our colonial history supplies the proof of this assertion. All Masons are not ardent church members but neither are all church members ardent for the church. Yet the proof is clearly and abundantly evident that the Masonic fraternity is an influence for good in personal and community life.

Freemasonry is not a religion. It has never claimed to be, and has always corrected those of the Brotherhood who unthoughtfully would say 'Freemasonry is my religion.' Freemasonry has always been a friend and ally of religion. Religious people have found a congenial fellowship within the Lodge and have not been embarrassed by what takes place there. In many respects, Freemasonry may be called a religious institution owing its 'origin and morality to the religious element.' But this is something different from being a religion. A hospital can be a religious institution but not a religion."

The Rev. Bishop Fred Pierce Corson
Methodist Bishop of Philadelphia and
President of the World Methodist Counci

 

"I am closing my address with a confession.

Since becoming a Freemason, I forgot hate. Instead, I learned to love - to love God and my fellowman. I am now at ease with my own conscience. I only do what I think is right, and shun all evil. I also forget fear. I can be alone no matter where I am, what I do, or where I go.

A clean conscience makes a man brave. I hope that Freemasonry has had the same influence upon all of you, which is an assurance of a better world to live in, and a happier humanity to live with."

General Emillio Aguinaldo, Filipino Hero, addressing the Grand Lodge of the Philippines in 1955

 

Mysteries, like the Masonic rites, are ones parents and elders are sworn not to reveal to the uninitiated, which include all children. And so we sought for signs.

Anthony Hecht

 

"There is no doubt in my mind that Masonry is the cornerstone of America."

Dave Thomas Founder of Wendy's International

 

"To me, Freemasonry is one form of dedication to God and service to humanity."

Norman Vincent Peale Minister and Author

 

"Freemasonry embraces the highest moral laws and will bear the test of any system of ethics or philosophy ever promulgated for the uplift of man."

Douglas MacArthur General of the Army

 

"The Masonic Fraternity is one of the most helpful mediating and conserving organizations among men, and I have never wavered from that childhood impression, but it has stood steadfastly with me through the busy, vast hurrying years." George W. Truett
Southern Baptist Leader

 

"We represent a fraternity which believes in justice and truth and honorable action in your community...men who are endeavoring to be better citizens...[and] to make a great country greater. This is the only institution in the world where we can meet on the level all sorts of people who want to live rightly."

Harry S. Truman President of the United States

 

 

Famous Freemasons

Eddy Arnold - Roy Acuff - Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin - Gene Autry - Daniel C. Beard - Francis J. Bellamy - Irving Berlin - Simon Bol¡var - Walter Boomer - Gutzon Borglum - Ernest Borgnine - Omar Bradley - James Buchanan - Arleigh Burke - Richard E. Byrd - B. H. Carroll - Mark Clark - William Clark Dewitt Clinton - Ty Cobb - W. T. Connor - Jack Dempsey - James Doolittle - Arthur Conan Doyle - "Duke" Ellington - Henry Ford - Gerald Ford - Benjamin Franklin - Clark Gable - James Garfield - Arthur Godfrey - Wolfgang von Goethe - Barry Goldwater - Samuel Gompers - John Hancock - Warren Harding - Jesse Helms - Sam Houston - Burl Ives - Andrew Jackson - Andrew Johnson - John Paul Jones - Benito Juarez - Rudyard Kipling - Marquis de Lafayette - J. B. Lawrence - John Lejeune - Charles Lindbergh - John Marshall - George Marshall - Thurgood Marshall - Jos‚ Mart¡ - Charles Mayo - Douglas MacArthur - Abner McCall - William McKinley - James Monroe - Wolfgang Mozart - Louis D. Newton - Norman Vincent Peale - J. C. Penney - John Pershing - James Polk - Paul Revere - Herbert Reynolds - Roy Rogers - Will Rogers - Franklin D. Roosevelt - Theodore Roosevelt - Thomas S. Roy - L. R. Scarborough - Jean Sibelius - "Red" Skelton - John Phillip Sousa - William Howard Taft - Danny Thomas - Lowell Thomas - Strom Thurmond - George W. Truett - Harry S. Truman - Joseph Warren - John Wanamaker - George Washington - John Wayne