- What is Masonry? Who were the Masons?
Masonry, also known as, Freemasonry, is a brotherhood organization that consist of Masons are men, who are spiritual and moral people, who choose to be in groups with others, who have similar ideas, for mutual benefit. It is not a religion, nor does it substitutes for one, therefore, it consists of men of many different religions, and it encourages them to follow their own faith. It is defined as “a peculiar system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols”, “a science which is engaged in the search after the divine truth” and “the activity of closely united men who, employing symbolic forms borrowed principally from the mason’s trade and from architecture, work for the welfare of mankind, striving morally to ennoble themselves and others and thereby to bring about a universal league of mankind, which they aspire to exhibit even now on a small scale”. Within the masonry society, the have foundations of the Masonic family, and these are called lodges. In each lodge, masonry teaches the following lessons: kindness in the home, honesty in business, courtesy in society, fairness in work, concern for the unfortunate and respect for one another. Masons believe in three fundamental principles: Brotherly love, relief and truth.
- Describe the history of the Masons.
Since Masonry is known as a secret society, there is no solid evidence or facts on how and when it was formed. A theory is that it was formed from the stonemasons’ guilds during the Middle Ages, for the languages and symbols used in their rituals were associated and from that time period. Historians have referenced their origins in a group of documents called the “Old Changes”, which includes the oldest document, the “Regius Poem”. About thirty years later, the fraternity had spread all throughout Europe and America. It had particularly become popular in the United States. After many centuries, the organization had become worldwide emphasizing personal study, self-improvement, and social betterment through individual involvement, charity, and philanthropy. They have influenced many great changes and ideas in society during the late 1970s, including the dignity of man and the liberty of an individual, the right of freedom of religion, democratic forms of government and the importance of public education; particularly, they had supported the first public schools in Europe and America. Between the 1980s and 1990s, they became a bigger organization. During this time, they founded orphanages, homes for widows, and homes for the elderly, when people need the security; for the government was not able to provide them with a social “safety” net.
- Identify the key features of Masonry.
Masonry is a society of men, who are concerned with their moral and spiritual values. The membership qualifications of Masonry is open to men of any race or religion, who are willing to believe in a Supreme Being, and are of good morals and reputation. Additionally, Masonry is not considered a religion nor a substitute for one, therefore, it is open to men of any religion, and it encourages Masons to be involved and follow their faith. Some key features of Masonry are the three great principles that the Masons follow: brotherly love, relief and truth. Masons believe that following these principles will serve as a representation of their way of achieving high standards in life. Brotherly love is that all Masons are to show tolerance and respect towards each other’s opinions and behave kindly and understanding towards others. Relief is each Mason is to perform acts of charity and to care for their own, and for the community, especially those who need help. Truth is that Masons are to yearn for the truth, which requires high morals and aiming to achieve the truth for themselves.
- What connections can you make between the fact that Brigham Young was a Mason and so was Drebber?
There are many connections that I can make that shows the fact that Brigham Young and Enoch Drebber were masons. For example, Brigham Young is the new leader of a group called The Latter Day Saints, who were mormons. Mormonism and Masonry were closely knitted together, for Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism/The Latter Day Saints, came from a masonic family. Smith’s father, Joseph Smith Senior, and his brother, Hyrum, were also very active members of their mason lodges. Therefore, Joseph Smith throughout his life, was influenced to become by his family to become a mason; and because of this, even before the creation of Mormonism, the founders, had created a mason lodge in Illinois. From this, one can say that masonry had an influence and affect on the creation of Mormonism. Brigham Young being the new leader of the Mormons after Joseph Smith, can say that he was a mason because of the previous relationship between masonry and mormonism. Additionally, Enoch Drebber, being the son of a Mormon elder, could have also been a mason. Moreover, when investigating his death, he was found possessing a Masonic device, a ring with a symbol, which shows that Drebber was apart of the fraternity.
- Is there a connection between masonry and Sherlock Holmes? What about Arthur Conan Doyle?
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did have a connection with masonry; when he was 27, in 1887, Doyle had become a mason. Throughout his years in masonry, he had become very active in the community but later in 1889, he resigned from the lodge, then rejoined in 1902, and left again permanently in 1911. Sherlock Holmes, was not a mason, but he did have knowledge about masonry, which he uses to make some of his observations. But since Doyle was very interested in masonry, and was a mason, and because of this, he could have influenced Sherlock Holmes’ character to be a mason. In the other Sherlock Holmes’ books, it shows that Sherlock does, in fact, have many qualities of a mason.
Links:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/218618/Freemasons-order-of
http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/catholic-contributions/what-are-the-masons.html
http://www.msana.com/historyfm.asp
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09771a.htm
http://www.bluelodge-wa.org/membership/history.html
http://www.grandlodgescotland.com/about-masonry
http://www.masonic-lodges.com/masons.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemasonry
http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/history/lds/mormonism.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormonism_and_Freemasonry
http://themastersmasons.homestead.com/masons.html
http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/beresiner10.html
photo: http://blogs.wdav.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Freemasonary-Logo-Mormon-Books-of-Foundation-Peter-Crawford.png
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