How much do Freemasons know about Freemasonry?

How much do Masons know?

Many times we have heard someone say that those in the Blue Lodge, the Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason degrees, don't know what's going on. Most Masons never go past the Third or Master Mason degree. We have been told that only those in the higher degrees of the Scottish Rite or York Rite are allowed to see the true nature of Freemasonry. But, is that really true?

All Master Masons have been through the Entered Apprentice Degree and the Fellow Craft Degree before being raised to Master Mason. The ritual work, which the men participate in to obtain a degree, is done at a regular Lodge meeting with many Masons usually in attendance. Any man who has attended Lodge regularly has seen other men conducted through the rituals.

Let's examine the rituals which all Master Masons have participated in.

During the Entered Apprentice Degree, they discuss the covering of a Lodge. The following words are spoken:

The covering of a Lodge is a clouded canopy, or star-decked heaven, where all good Masons hope at last to arrive. . .

That text represents the answer, of the Senior Warden, to a question asked by the Worshipful Master in the third section of the Entered Apprentice Degree ritual.

A portion of the Master Mason ritual deals with The Three Steps. The following words are spoken:

. . .as Fellow Crafts, we should apply our knowledge to the discharge of our respective duties, to God, our neighbors and ourselves, so that in age, as Master Masons, we may enjoy the happy reflections consequent on a well-spent life, and die in the hope of a glorious immortality.

A prayer is offered by the Worshipful Master during the ritual of the Master Mason Degree in the portion known as the Legend of the Third Degree. The prayer occurs just before Hiram Abiff is raised from the dead.

Yet, O Lord! have compassion on the children of Thy creation, administer them comfort in time of trouble, and save them with an everlasting salvation. Amen.

At the close of the Legend of the Third Degree, the Senior Warden speaks these words:

Then, finally my brethren, let us imitate our Grand Master, Hiram Abiff, in his virtuous conduct, his unfeigned piety to God, and his inflexible fidelity to his trust; that, like him, we may welcome the grim tyrant, Death, and receive him as a kind messenger sent by our Supreme Grand Master to translate us from this imperfect to that all-perfect, glorious and celestial Lodge above, where the Supreme Architect of the Universe presides.

Any honest person, who thoughtfully examines those words from the ritual of the Blue Lodge, realizes that Masonry is teaching that Masons are saved men. The ritual openly teaches that all good Master Masons hope to go to heaven. It teaches that as a group, Master Masons may die in the hope of a glorious immortality and may welcome the grim tyrant Death as a kind messenger sent by their god to translate them to the celestial Lodge above. There can be no doubt that Masonry is teaching that Master Masons have salvation!

Many of the men who hear those words don't understand the significance. Many assume that the Lodge is a Christian organization and often they miss to entire point of the ritual. A man will not realize the significance until he stands back and considers some critical factors.

In order to understand the significance, consider the following:

The Masonic Lodge is not an organization made of only Christian men.

The group of men known as Master Masons includes Hindus, Moslems, Buddhists, men who profess to be Christians and men who have no religion other than Masonry.

Hindus, Moslems, and Buddhists all reject Jesus Christ as Savior and as the unique Son of God.

Since Masonry is teaching that Master Masons, as a group, may die in the hope of a glorious immortality, and may welcome the grim tyrant Death as a kind messenger sent by their god to translate them to the celestial Lodge above, Masonry is teaching a gospel of salvation which does not require faith in Jesus Christ.

The significant factor in the ritual of the first three degrees of Freemasonry is that they are teaching a plan of salvation which does not depend on faith in Jesus Christ. It is clear from examining only the ritual of the Blue Lodge that the Masonic Lodge is teaching a false gospel. That alone is enough to cause a man who is a Christian to renounce the Lodge. Many have done just that. There may be no stronger argument against the Lodge than the fact that they are teaching a false plan of salvation, one that does not acknowledge the unique nature of Jesus Christ.

How can we prove these facts?

After a man is raised to Master Mason, the Lodge presents him with a small book which is commonly called a "monitor." Most Grand Lodges publish an official monitor for use in their jurisdiction. The monitor is the most comprehensive written training material that a Mason sees. The monitors have different names in various states. A few examples are Ahiman Rezon (SC), Masonic Textbook (WV), and Indiana Monitor and Freemason's Guide (IN). Since monitors are authorized by the Grand Lodges, they are an authoritative source of information. Monitors typically contain material which corresponds to the ritual. Some portions of the ritual are included verbatim.

Portions (1) and (2) of ritual dealing with salvation are found in all of the monitors which we have examined. Additionally, either or both of portions (3) and (4) are found in the monitors for many states. Even though all four elements from the ritual are not included in a given monitor, those words or very slight variations of them are spoken in every Lodge in every state. Sometimes additional information on salvation is included in a monitor. Since each man is given a monitor, even the man who has not attended Lodge regularly can refer to his monitor to verify certain facts about the teaching contained in the ritual.

Since the monitors are published by authorization of the Grand Lodge, it is difficult for a Mason to deny that the information in them is accurate. A monitor can be a very useful tool for leading a Mason who professes to be a Christian out of the Lodge. We are able to provide copies from the monitors for most of the Grand Lodges in the United States. Many Masonic Monitors are available on CDROM. We can provide Xerox copies of the monitors of almost all of our United States. Even if the monitor is copyrighted, the fair use portion of the copyright law allows non-profit organizations to provide copies of critical pages of any Masonic monitor for educational purposes. Many Masonic publications are entirely without copyright protection. Complete copies of those are available for your use.

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