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A Masonic Creed
As an expression of the simplest form of fait of Masonry, not exhaustive, but incontrovertable and suggestive, the following is
The Masonic Belief
There is One God, the Father of all men.
The Holy Bible is the Great Light in Masonry, and the Rule and Guide for Faith and practice.
Man is immortal.
Character determines destiny.
Love of Man is, next to love of God, man's first duty.
Prayer, communion of man with God, is helpful.
Recognizing the impossibility of confining the teaching of masonry to any fixed forms of expression, yet acknowledging the value of authoritative statements of fundamental principles, the following is proclaiomed as
The Masonic Teaching
Masonry teaches man to practice charity and benevolence, to protect chastity, to respect the ties of blood and friendship, to adopt the principles and revere the ordinances of religion, to assist the feeble, guide the blind, raise up the downtrodden, shelter the orphan, guard the altar, support the government, inculcate morality, promote learning, love man, fear God, implore His mercy, and hope for happiness.
{excerpt from: Masonic edition of the Holy Bible published by the A. J. Holman Company of Philadelphia.}
The Ancient Landmarks
The rituals and literature of Freemasonry contain many allusions to "THE ANCIENT LANDMARKS’, the immemorial usages and customs, the foundation stones upon which modern Freemasonry has been erected. A noted American Masonic scholar, Dr. Albert G. Mackey, formulated a list of twenty-five landmarks. Opinion as to the falidity of his list is not unanimous. Some Grand Lodges adopted his twenty-five, some as many as fifty, others fewer in number. Bro. Roscoe Pound, a Past Deputy Grand Master of Massachusetts, and for many years Dean of the School of Law at Harvard, promulgated a list of seven.
The Grand Lodge of Washington never officially adopted a list of Ancient Landmarks. The following lists are included here as educational material only, in order that the origins and traditions, the usages and customs, the heritage of our Fraternity may be preserved.
THE ANCIENT LANDMARKS as formulated by Dr. Albert G. Mackey:
The modes or recognition.
The division of symbolic Masonry into three degrees.
The legend of the Third Degree.
The government of the Fraternity by a Grand Master elected from the body of the Craft
The prerogative of the Grand Master to preside over any assembly of the Craft.
The prerogative of the Grand Master to grant dispensation for conferring degrees irregular times.
The prerogative of the Grand Master to grant dispensations for the opening and holding of Lodges.
The prerogative of the Grand Master to make Masons at sight.
The necessity for Masons to congregate in Lodges.
The government of every Lodge by a Master and two Wardens.
The necessity of every Lodge when congregated being duly tyled.
The right of every Mason to be represented in all general meetings of the Craft and to instruct his representatives.
The right of every Mason to appeal from the decision of his Brethren, in Lodge convened, to the Grand Lodge or General Assembly of Masons.
The right of every Mason to visit and sit in every regular Lodge. (SEE NOTE BELOW).
No visitor unknown to some Brother present as a Mason can enter a Lodge without undergoing an examination.
No Lodge can interfere in the business of another Lodge.
Every Freemason is amenable to the Laws and Regulations of the Masonic Jurisdiction which he resides.
Every candidate must be a man, freeborn and of lawful age.
Every Mason must believe in the existence of God as the Grand Architect of the Universe.
Every Mason must believe in a resurrection to a future life.
The "Book of the Law" is an indispensable part of the furniture of every Masonic Lodge.
That all men in the sight of God are equal and meet in the Lodge on one common level.
The secrecy of the Institution.
That Freemasonry consists of a Speculative Science founded on an Operative art.
The Landmarks of Masonry can never be changed.
NOTE: 14. An objection may be made to visitors. Washington Masonic Code, Sec. 13.10 B.L.
THE ANCIENT LANDMARKS as enunciated by Dr. Roscoe Pound in an address to the Conference of Grand Masters in North America, Washington, D.C., February 20, 1952:
Belief in God.
Belief in the persistence of personality, i.e., the immortality of the soul.
A "Book of the Law" as an indispensable part of the furniture of the Lodge.
The Legend of the Third Degree.
Secrecy.
The symbolism of the operative art.
A Mason must be a man, freeborn, and of age.
{excerpt from: The Washington Masonic Code, Appendix I, published by the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accecpted Masons in Washington.}
Officers
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Overview
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What to expect
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