This week, I was lucky enough to attend the South Dakota Grand Lodge session in Sioux Falls. I say that I was lucky because I got to see a lot of fantastic Brothers that I had not seen in a while and meet Brother Chris Hodapp, the author of Freemasons for Dummies. Nothing terribly exciting […]
Continue readingAuthor Archive: The Euphrates
Learning a Lecture
Memorizing Masonic ritual has long been an important part of carrying on the work of Freemasonry. Those that masterfully perform Masonic lectures have long been revered as prestigious members of the fraternity and have been pointed out as men worthy of emulation. However, while many Masons have relished the opportunity to memorize one of the […]
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Metaphysico-Theologo-Cosmonigology
“It is demonstrated,” he said, “that things cannot be otherwise: for, since everything was made for a purpose, everything is necessarily for the best purpose. Note that noses were made to wear spectacles; we therefore have spectacles. Legs were clearly devised to wear breeches, and we have breeches. Stones were created to be hewn and […]
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Wine, Kings, and Women
Which is the greatest? The strength of wine, the power of Kings, or the influence of women? Those of you that have been received in the Illustrious Order of the Red Cross will doubtless recognize this question. In the degree, Darius offers this question for discussion in his forum and a discussion ensues on the […]
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Mussar and Freemasonry
This article comes from Jeremy Gross, who you may know better as the 47th Problem Euclid and author of the Masonic blog Corn, Wine, and Oil. His blog is very insightful and it is recommended that you visit his site for more thought provoking articles on Freemasonry. I have been writing a lot about Jewish […]
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What is the Lodge?
Masons often work to improve lodges by performing a number of tasks. Many actions have been taken or proposed in order to create better lodges and much debate has taken place about the proper way to improve Masonic lodges. However, in order to improve a lodge it is important that Masons take a step back […]
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What Will Be Your Legacy?
This article comes from RWB Dean Behrens, Senior Grand Warden for the Grand Lodge of South Dakota. The article originally appeared in the Grand Lodge of South Dakota’s publication The Masonic Messenger. You can visit the Grand Lodge’s website here. What will be your legacy? Is it too soon, or too late, for any one […]
Continue readingThe Christian Mason
“Boy, am I perplexed!” said the young Brother as he sat down on the bench outside of the lodge building. Ferris Thompson, a Past Master who spent most of his time mentoring his younger Brethren was sitting on the bench contently puffing his bent bulldog pipe. “What has you confused? Not that I’m promising that […]
Continue readingMy Mentor Passes on to the Celestial Lodge
My Masonic mentor, friend, and Brother Dr. John “Doc” Schwietert passed away this morning. Doc epitomized the word ‘Mason’ in everything that he did. He was a devoted member of the Blue Lodge, York Rite, and Shrine. While Doc was a man that found great purpose in his Masonic involvement, it was his ability to […]
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Long Pine Lodge Thrives
In the small town of Long Pine, Nebraska (population 326), there exists a Masonic lodge that is truly on the upswing. Long Pine is in an area that I am very familiar with and I have many fond memories of the beautiful Sandhills region of Nebraska. However, anyone who lives there will tell you that […]
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