Search results

One of the reasons I try to read the VSL of every faith I can. They are all sacred to their members and as such sacred to me. Less directly sacred to me, but sacred nonetheless.

The KJV at home when I grew up lacked the Apocrypha so it never occurred to me to look for those books in either the KJV bibles at lodge or in the Tanakh that appeared at lodge. A couple of years ago I finally got around to reading the Apocrypha so those books I've only seen in one translation...

Special form of applause used in a number of jurisdictions. You may well know of it under another term.

Utter failure for me. Long ago I knew the Masons use a lot of acronyms like AASR-SJ so it never occurred to me that was anything other than yet another acronym for yet another optional order within Masonry. That rendered it meaningless to me in the years before someone told me there are no...

Thanks! I've always wondered what the Dew Drop lecture is. Beautiful and mostly familiar. Paragraph 1 is part of the California SD lecture "staircase" of the 2nd degree. Paragraphs 4, 8 and 9 are part of the California WM lecture "middle chamber" of the 2nd degree. When I saw my first Texas...

I was at a meeting when a brother stormed out. As he started to leave I stood but I wasn't recognized until he was already gone. "Sorry Worshipful. I was going to request a battery of three by three to thank our brother for his decades of service but he's already out of earshot" and I sat...

When I found a siding page translation Tanakh I compared the list of books against a King James version. It's convenient how good books like this appear in the storage chamber under the altar at lodge when a new body starts meeting in your building. ;^) I did not see any differences in the...

Consider what visit means - Passing a tiler. Never go to pass her lodge's tiler and never invite her to pass your tiler. Social events that are open to non-members, don't wear any regalia and you're okay to attend as a non-Masonic social event. Feel free to tell stories about the funny stuff...

Welcome again to the family thrice adopted brother.

Sold? The state laws are different state to state on that. In general to sell per drink requires a liquor license of some sort. Some states allow non-distilled to be available at a meal that is paid for as long as no money is charged for the alcohol but the details are wildly different state...

We entered the Mac world by getting a used mac laptop for my wife. The price wasn't that bad for used equipment. Then it occurred to us that we'd been in that world with iPods. Now my wife carries her iPad with her everywhere and I got her Amazon Fire handed down. Mac takes a bit of getting...

I went to a uniform shop at a nearby military base and located a web and Velcro holder. I think it's intended for a small walkie talkie or maybe an ammo clip. It's indestructible on an even greater scale than an Otter Box.

The classic name is "practice charity" where the word charity is taken to mean love. My mother lodge hosts a family dinner social on the second Tuesday of every month. Some sort of entertainment is booked. We've done everything from a swing band through a travelogue. Some are educational for...

When we lived in North Carolina I just checked the box, paid the fee and got my plates. You don't even need to think you joined a lodge. I do prefer states that check with the Gr Sec office.

How about science fiction and fantasy? I tried to read Game of Thrones. Boring, political, many knotted threads. Okay for folks who like that but not much as an SF/fantasy book. The Time Traveller's Wife. I didn't see the movie. Remarkably well crafted story that jumps from time to time...

Technically, the landmark applies to discussion in a tiled lodge meeting. Tradition extends that restriction farther. The farther we get from a tiled meeting the less the restriction applies. As this forum is publicly available on the Internet we are far away from our private meetings. Still...

The translation of the Tao Te Ching that I read refers to the "evolved man" and that it is a goal to become such a man. That's Masonic pursuit of personal excellence to me. It's the bottom-up phrasing. There is also a stanza that when the Emperor desires the Tao to pervade the Empire he must...

Welcome to the family once adopted brother. Between now and when you are raised please focus your efforts on the proficiencies.

No relation, some overlapping membership. Toastmasters is a service club that focuses on teaching its members public speaking. It is there one main task. When they do other tasks it is as a side effect of their main task. Masonry is a fraternity that teaches its members to be better men...

Start with the recognition lists from the UGLE and in the US the Conference of Grand Masters Prince Hall. Look up the local recognized Grand Lodge(s). The lists work for finding a regular and recognized lodge in your region. Once there they are a starting point for visiting other...