So… What exactly is FreeMasonry / the Universal Grand Lodge of…

Within our Fraternity no one person can speak for Masonry. A Grand Master can speak on organizational matters within his Jurisdiction, but no one — not a Grand Master, not a Grand Commander, not Albert Pike himself — can speak for Masonry when it comes to the meanings of its teachings. That is something each Mason must seek and find for himself.

Perhaps the reason some people find that hard to understand is that they themselves are so willing to speak for all of LAMPity or other group/religion. They write such things are “All LAMPers believe…,” “LAMPers would agree…,” “You can’t be a member of LAMP and believe….”

Staying in that example, If you want to understand the history of the science of geography, you have to know that people thousands of years ago believed that the earth was flat and square, but no one says you have to believe that today because that’s what was written then.

And certainly no one says you aren’t smart enough to know the difference.

Every mans journey in Freemasonry is unique… We don’t mean to sound vague, or cryptic, but every individual will get something different from it.

Members of the fraternity consider each other Brothers. We call each other this for good reason. It has been said in Masonry that there are no strangers in Masonry; only brothers you haven’t met yet.

Just like a family relationship, your brothers don’t all work for the same organization, yet can rely on each other for many other things. Masonry may or may not have specific tasks for you to do, but many a Mason will tell you that the more you give Masonry, the more it gives back.

Within Masonry’s very nature is a design that does not inculcate her truths. She states them, once and briefly; or hints them, perhaps darkly.

“Of the Freemasonry … the true definition is this: ‘An advance toward the Light; a constant endeavor, in all its degrees, to exalt the Divine that is in man, in his reason and moral sense, and to make it dominant over the human, earthly and material in his nature, his passions and his sensual appetites.’ “

Passion, prejudice, and error interpose many obstacles between men and the Truth, but there are none that energy and perseverance, with honest intentions and pure motives, cannot surmount.

We have a lot in store for you in creating a truly unique and genuine Masonic experience within Star Citizen and within our Forums and Site.

Seek and ye shall find, knowledge & the Truth.

A speech given to the Graduating class of the Lodge of Perfection 14’th Degree

Location: redacted – by: redacted

“virtus junxit mors non separate”

Brethren, such is the nature of our Institution, that while some must, of necessity, rule and teach, so others must, of course, learn, submit and obey. Humility in both is an essential duty. The Brethren elected and appointed to assist in the government of the lodge are too well acquainted with the principles of Freemasonry and the rules of propriety to exceed the power with which they are entrusted, and you are of too generous a disposition to envy their preferment. I, there, shall trust that we have but one aim, to please each other and unite in the grand design of being happy and communicating happiness.

Masonry, my brethren, according to the general acceptance of the term, is an art, founded on the principles of Geometry, and directed to the service and convenience of mankind, but Freemasonry, embracing a wider range, and having a nobler object in view, namely the cultivation and improvement of the human mind, may with more propriety be styled a science, in as much as availing itself of the terms of the former, it inculcates the principles of the purest morality, though its lessons are chiefly veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols. To draw aside this veil, therefore, or more properly speaking, to penetrate through it, is the object of rulers in Freemasonry, and by a careful and appropriate attention to them, we may hope ultimately to become acquainted with all its mysteries.

Freemasonry, from its origin to the present time, in all its vicissitudes, has been the steady and unvarying friend of man. It has (in the language of an eloquent brother) gone forth from age to age; the constant messenger of peace and love; never weary, never forgetful of its holy mission, patiently administering to the relief of want and sorrow, and scattering with unsparing hands, blessings and benefits to all around.

It comforts the mourner, it speaks peace and consolation to the troubled spirit, it carries relief and gladness to the habitations of want and destitution, it dries the tears of the widow and orphan, it opens the source of knowledge, it widens the sphere of human happiness, it even seeks to light up the darkness and gloom of the grave by pointing to the hopes and promises of a better life to come. All this Freemasonry has done and is still doing. Such is Freemasonry, and such as its mission; and we should never forget, while enjoying its benefits and appreciating its value, the duties we owe to the order; for there is no right without a parallel duty, no liberty without the supremacy of the law, no high destiny without earnest perseverance, and no real greatness without self-denial.

A lodge of Freemasons is the temple of peace, harmony and brotherly love; nothing is allowed to enter which has the remotest tendency to disturb the quietude of its pursuit. A calm inquiry into the beauty of wisdom and virtue, and the study of moral geometry, constitute the chief employments in the tyled recesses of the lodge. The lessons of virtue which proceed from the East, like rays of brilliant light from the rising sun, illuminate the West and South, and as the work proceeds, are carefully imbibed by the workmen. Thus, while wisdom contrives the plan, strength lends its able support to the moral fabric, and beauty adorns it with curious and cunning workmanship. All this is accomplished without any compulsory or coercive means, but on the principle of friendship and brotherly love, which guards the precincts of our temple that nothing may enter to disturb the peaceful sanctity of that holy place.

The object, however, of meeting in the lodge is of a two-fold nature, namely, moral instruction and social intercourse. Our meetings are intended to cultivate and enlighten the mind, to induce a habit of virtue, and to strengthen the fundamental principles of our Order: Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. And if these meetings are blended with social mirth and a mutual interchange of fraternal feelings, then Freemasonry will be shown in its true light, as an institution which fosters and improves the best affections of our nature, and carries into active operation the practice of the four cardinal virtues: Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence and Justice, combined with the theological virtues – Faith, Hope and Charity – thereby demonstrating to the world at large that in Freemasonry there is found the true import of the three great social treasures: Fraternity, Liberty and Equality. Therefore the utmost extension of fraternal feeling and affection which can subsist between man and man is expected to be displayed among the brethren of our order in a lodge of Freemasons, and then will be attained the chief point of Freemasonry, namely, to endeavor to be happy ourselves, and to communicate that happiness to others.

Before I conclude, my brethren, let me endeavor to portray to you the ideal of a Freemason.

If you see a man who quietly and modestly moves in the sphere of his life; who, without blemish, fulfills his duty as a man a subject, a husband and a father; who is pious without hypocrisy, benevolent without ostentation, and aids his fellowman without self-interest; whose heart beats warm for friendship. whose serene mind is open for licensed pleasures, who in vicissitudes does not despair, nor in fortune will be presumptuous, and who will be resolute in the hour of danger;

The man who is free from superstition and free from infidelity; who in the Universe sees the finger of the Eternal Master; who feels and adores the higher destination of man; to whom faith, hope and charity are not mere words without any meaning; to whom property, nay, even life, is not too dear for the protection of innocence and virtue, and for the defence of truth;

The man who towards himself is a severe judge, but who is tolerant with the debilities of his neighbour; who endeavors to oppose errors without arrogance, and to promote intelligence without impatience; who properly understands how to estimate and employ his means; who honours virtue, though it be in the most humble garment, and who does not favour vice though it be clad in purple; and who administers justice to merit whether dwelling in palaces or cottages;

The man who, without courting applause, is loved by all noble-minded men, respected by his superiors and revered by his subordinates; the man who never proclaims what he has done, can do, or will do, but where need is will lay hold with dispassionate courage, circumspect resolution, indefatigable exertion and a rare power of mind, and who will not cease until he has accomplished his work, and who then, without pretension, will retire into the multitude because he did the good act, not for himself, but for the cause of good!

If you, my brethren meet such a man, you will see the personification of brotherly love, relief and truth; and you will have found the ideal of a freemason.

Finally, my brethren, as our fraternity has been formed and perfected over 3 millennia in complete unanimity and concord, in which we all greatly rejoice, so may it continue until time shall be no more. May you long enjoy every satisfaction and delight which disinterested friendship can afford. Within your peaceful walls may your children’s children celebrate with joy and gratitude the annual recurrence of this auspicious solemnity. And may the genuine tenets of our time-honoured Institution be transmitted through your Lodges pure and unimpaired from generation to generation.

The Universal Grand Lodge of Ancient Free & Accepted Masons operates under it’s original charter to be viewed by any member of Grand Lodge upon request. This Charter/Warrant is not a public document.

Charters given to individual lodges from this Grand Lodge can be viewed by their members or visiting brethren upon request.

CHARTER – WARRANT

Among several meanings of the word “warrant”, the Standard Definition gives the following: “That which gives authority for some act or course; sanction; authority.” It defines “charter” as: “A writing issued by the authorities of an order or society empowering certain persons to establish a branch or chapter.”

The two words are thus interchangeable in meaning. Both words now mean the legalizing and empowering document issued by Grand Lodge to brethren for the formation of a new lodge. A warrant for a new lodge is issued by the Grand Master, not the Grand Lodge.

The First Charter

The first Masonic charter, so far as is known, was that issued by Prince Edwin, with the consent of his father, King Athelstane, at York, in 926 A.D. This charter, told of in numerous copies of various old Masonic Constitutions, or “The Old Charges”, provided fundamental right of Masons to assemble, work, take apprentices, make their own laws, have their own organization. It is, in the thought of many, the fundamental landmark of the Craft.

New Lodges

But to modern Speculative Masons, the charter of a lodge is a document, setting forth the consent of Grand Lodge that certain brethren become the Master and Wardens of a new lodge, and that the new lodge is of. right and of necessity must be, recognized as an equal by all other lodges, with no authority over it and its Master except Masonic law, the Grand Master and the Grand Lodge.

The charter of a lodge is so important that, according to common Masonic practice, it must be present in the lodge-room whenever a lodge is open. Proceedings had without the physical presence of the charter are generally considered null and void.

“If any set or number of Masons shall take upon themselves to form a lodge without the Grand Master’s warrant, the regular lodges are not to countenance them, nor own them as fair brethren and duly formed, nor approve of their acts and deeds; but must treat them as rebels, until they humble themselves, as the Grand Master shall in his prudence direct, and until he approves of them by his warrant, which must be signified to the other lodges, as the custom is when a new lodge is to be registered in the list of lodges.

The word “charter” has been too loosely used in the past for clarity in the present day understanding. Thus, antiquarians and historians of Masonic lore write of the “Charter of Cologne” as “the oldest Masonic charter.” But this document was not really issued by some Masonic authority, giving certain rights to others. There is little belief in its being other than a clumsy forgery, made for what purposes any one’s guess is as good as anothers.

Traveling Warrants

Most ancient charters given to a group to form and hold a lodge in a particular locality made the lodge stationary. Such a lodge cannot move to another location without permission of Grand Master or Grand Lodge, a provision necessary to keep records and permit inspection. But as humanity moved to the stars and increasingly petitioned Grand Lodge for Traveling warrants (to place lodges on capital ships etc.) these travelling warrants have become the norm, empowering them to travel from place to place with the ships to which they are attached.

The Power of a Charter

The charter of a lodge today is its symbol of legitimacy. It is its power to work, to make brethren, to do all that any lodge is empowered to do. It is its attestation that it is duly constituted, dedicated and consecrated, and is one among its sisterhood of lodges, with rights equal to all other lodges, rights greater than those of no other lodge.

By the granting of a charter a Grand Lodge offers the greatest of evidence of its belief in the trustworthiness and dependability of the brethren named as the principal officers, and the successors they are to install.

No greater disgrace can fall on a lodge than to have its charter forfeited; second only to this is the arrest of the charter, which the Grand Master may do if in his judgment wrong actions or contumacy have brought disgrace upon the Fraternity.

While a Grand Master may arrest (or take up) the charter, only Grand Lodge, which gave it, can forfeit it. It is good to chronicle that both arrest and forfeiture of charter are very rare.

A lodge may give up its charter voluntarily, returning the instrument which brought it life to the Grand Lodge which gave it; this is occasionally, not often, done when circumstances have so dispersed the brethren that not enough remain to act as a lodge, or when indifference among the survivors causes the lodge to become dormant.

The charter of a lodge is its life. The privilege of asking Grand Lodge for one is great. The responsibility of Grand Lodge in giving life to a new child in the Masonic family is heavy. The charter, as a result, becomes the most venerated and loved of Masonic documents, by the brethren whose Masonic life is lived in its shadow.