In nearly all clubs, organizations or associations, the titular head is a president, that is to say, a presiding officer in whom little autonomy is vested. In a Masonic Lodge, the titular head is not a presiding officer but a Master whose word, within due limitations, is law. The Master does not request but commands. His duty is to set the Craft at work and give them the necessary instructions for their labor, and the Craftsmen are under a solemn obligation to obey him. A Lodge member who goes on the assumption that a Master is a mere presiding officer will find himself out of joint with the system of his Lodge like a fish out of water.

In majority of associations, it is the right of the members themselves to decide the principles, policies and purposes of the organization either directly or through their chosen representatives. Thus, it happens that a club for one purpose will, in time, become transformed by its own membership into something entirely different. The members of the Masonic Lodge have no such power. The Landmarks on which the Lodge in Annual Communication has no power nor any right to change them.

Masonry is not a pliable system that adjusts itself to its members. They must adjust themselves to it. Our jurisprudence is rooted upon profound ideas of law and is adjusted to the requirements of a permanent and universal fraternity. Ours is not a mere set of arbitrary rules but the embodiment of a philosophy of life on which one may ground his behavior.

The ground work of Masonry consists of a number of fundamental ideas related to one another in a system, the whole of which may be described as Masonic Truth, the pursuit of which in turn will lead one toward intellectual and moral ascendancy. As it is impossible to list or develop these ideas, a few may be suggested--God, Truth, Religion, Prayer, Volume of the Sacred Law, Death, Immortality, Conscience, Morality, Patriotism, Equality, Secrecy, etc. When these ideas are thoroughly comprehended, all systematically interrelated, all caught up and organized into the mission-vision of the Fraternity as a whole, it is only then that one begins, perhaps for the first time, to gain some insight into the breadth and depth of the Fraternity.

As a brotherhood, we have a clear vision of life, which includes the high moral standards we observe and the high goals we set for the common good. Possessed with a clear vision and committed to a worthy mission, the brotherhood focuses on the best means to move ahead instead of scattering our intentions and resources among many base distractions. With rhyme and reason we direct all efforts straight. ***

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Reprinted from "The Cable Tow", Vol. 74, No. 2