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I've heard mystics report that "it all gets worked out in the hereafter". The trouble with mystical experiences is they are all subjective only experienced by one person at a time and each such experience unique. On the one hand it certainly goes against the teachings of several religions but...

Carefully worded as to not apply to the annual communication as described by Companion Joe. Skillful wording IMO.

I take it you mean oldest as in when it was written not oldest as in when it was printed. The oldest Bible I've touched was printed in the 1880s. The Rigveda was composed somewhere 1700-1100 BC. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rig_Veda I have seen a Rig Veda in English translation on the altar...

Re: GL of Virginia Prohibits Transgendered Petitio Yep. Someone signed her petition stating they'd known her her whole life. In fact that sponsor had known him his entire life since birth then known her since her operations. If that's how the gender pronouns work in such a case. The...

Yes. That's how it works in 2 of my 3 jurisdictions. I described it as pro-tem immovable. Once at a pedestal for a meeting you're there until the meeting is closed. W Bro Bill cited Texas law on the situation so that's not how it works in my 3rd jurisdiction. I described it as as-installed...

On of my lodges has a tradition of putting the outgoing PM as Tiler. He generally wants or needs a break. I served two consecutive years in the east and by that time I very much needed the break. How the Warden chairs work is interesting. Immovable as installed in some jurisdictions...

Re: For those who have sat in the East for a degre There are big differences in the second. Do or don't collect the pass during opening, two different scripture quotations are in use during the perambulation, do or don't line up during obligation. The Amos quote has a very uneven cadence so...

On petitions I have read it asks if you have ever petitioned another lodge. Does your jurisdiction not include this question? Reading the answer to it would have handled the situation. In jurisdictions I know the name of every candidate who petitions must be reported to the Grand Secretary in...

Actually, Freeman Dyson's area of expertise is called "futurist". He makes a living projecting advances in science and technology across many fields. His field of highest expertise is physics but he is required to know them all. His take one any one field that he works with is about the...

This doesn't sound correct to me. In my Texas lodge it's common for installed officers to shuffle chairs pro-tem to fill in for brothers who are not present at a specific meeting. Yesterday evening both stewards filled in for both deacons for the opening. By the end of the evening both...

This is in the Shrine sub-forum and that context matters. For over a century the Shrine has been the public face of Masonic refreshment (euphemism for drinking) and charity in the US then spreading out to other parts of the world. Being the public face there is some amount of sense at...

Re: Arkansas Prince Hall Grand Master Cleveland Wi More blanket recognition. Excellent that it is now happening in both directions. Here's a list (no longer maintained) of what I call "George Washington" GLs for lack of a better term who do blanket recognition -...

Nice pics! Thanks for the correction. I wonder if that's from an appendent body or if it's common in jurisdictions I have not yet encountered. Symbols on aprons tend to refer to parts of ritual. I don't recall any mention of snakes in the 3 versions I know nor in the jurisdictions I have...

Fact - The rules of reference were different at the time. Speculation - Scholars at the time would have been able to tell easily what was speculation in the work. Tentative conclusion - The changing rules of references have made it harder over time to tell what is speculation and what is...

Re: For those who have sat in the East for a degre For me it was more about experience and practice not about which degree was being confirmed. The first time I wore the hat and obligated a candidate it was a first degree. As it's a common pattern for advancement that the JW learn the eastern...

It is a conundrum that one Masonic order draws strength from privacy, another draws strength from publicity. What is not a conundrum is that the privacy is at the foundation the publicity is in the superstructure. Hi Noble!

True. Unfortunately it's also true that crazy is what crazy does and another one of our qualifications is to be of sound mind. Snakes on aprons? It's like you've never even seen a Masonic apron. We sometimes march in our aprons in public processions so the images on them are very well known...

Welcome to the forum! This is an interesting variation among jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions like Texas restrict themselves to chartering lodges within their own current territory. Other jurisdictions charter lodges elsewhere sometimes in cooperation with the native jurisdiction.

Welcome again to the family thrice adopted brother.

There are multiple species of belief. Different dimensions of belief can be in surface disagreement without having any effect on each other. As Masons we are all men who accept the existence of a supreme being. Nearly all members of this forum are members of western secular culture, and all...