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The same is true in my jurisdictions as well. But what matters is the regular practice and lineage of the lodges that formed the GL and the declarations of recognition granted by other GLs in response to when it was formed. The forming lodges turn in their charters to their parent GLs and new...

No. The PHA degrees I have attended in a few states are very much like degrees in any other regular and recognized jurisdictions. Details vary as always from jurisdiction to jurisdiction but there is no hazing.

Yes. There have been Muslim brothers for centuries. A Muslim brother attended my degrees, though typical in Masonry it was several years before I learned what his religion is. For that matter I have no way to tell if he was the only Muslim brother present at my degrees. I have attended at...

The West Virginia situation is an embarrassment. PGM Haas ended up expelled and there were court cases going back and forth. How much of these events revolve around PHA recognition efforts is hard to tell. Records of expulsion and court files are public. We can speculate why PHA would...

Yeah, but we were supposed to *call* it blue. My "service dress blues" were made from black cloth, same reason. Have you seen the beige camo uniforms the green service folks are wearing this decade? Don't they call them green for the same reason?

Lack of recognition was caused by a travesty and it needs to be resolved soonest. Blanket is a simple solution. Not doing recognition in blanket fashion (both directions as you point out) extends that travesty. I prefer to be a part of the solution not a part of the preciptitate. Exceptions...

I went into my EA cold so I had no idea what to expect. It was all new to me and it had a big emotional impact but there was so much new most of it didn't sink in until I was working on my proficiency. By the time I took my MM I knew everyone well and it was a nice mix of the expected and...

Last night I was at an OV where the Chamber of Reflection was discussed. It seems there was at least one lodge that took the candidate from the dark room directly into a tiled space. No wonder it was banned. There is no way a non-obligated man should be allowed into an opened lodge (insert...

Best reason ever to welcome folks who are clandestine! This board also welcomes men who want to become brothers. We help point them to regular and recognized lodges.

We skipped a generation in my family. When I told Dad I'd petitioned to join the Masons he started rattling off the names of Masons in my grand-parents' generation. He said he never joined because he didn't need it in his line of work. Sigh - It doesn't work that way, Dad. That's not what...

I think the reason dual membership has not been considered is MWPHGLofTX is a single affiliation jurisdiction. They expect every petition for affiliation to have an attached demit from your previous lodge. Being a PM and life member of a couple of lodges I don't ever intend to demit from...

I'm a life member (called endowed member in Texas except the price was higher) in two lodges. Plus an honorary member (very close to what a life member is in Texas except they don't have to pay an extra per capita for me) in another. I'm clearly in favor of dual/plural memberships. Last night...

That depends on if folks get pissed off. If enough brothers get pissed off Grand Lodge is ultimately the vote of the members and the members are the wardens, masters and past masters of the jurisdiction. Contested elections for grand offices do happen on occasion. I've seen it happen once...

If anyone wants to discuss color - We're a blue family. My Honorable Discharge is from the Navy (dark blue?). My older daughter's Honorable Discharge is from the Air Force (light blue?). My son-in-law is current active duty USAF. My younger daughter's Honorable Discharge is from the Navy as...

It is true that Masonry deals with a type of spirituality that is not religion. Our ceremonies have some amount of overlap with the ceremonies of religion because of that. We're men of faith so it's natural that our ways would end up reflecting many faiths. It is not true that Masonry deals...

In Illinois I had to list my Illinois lodge membership. The form was passed to the G Sec office for confirmation before the plate was issued.

Not sure how many places I've posted either of these. 1) When I petitioned for my degrees I took the paperwork to two old friends. They looked at the form and told me they could not sign because the signatures are for members of that particular lodge and they were members of different lodges...

Did you happen to check the year of the book? By the list it would be a book maybe 15-20 years old when PHA recognition was a new thing.

Is this a detail that changes regularly in Texas? It changed in my jurisdictions faster than the details of the floor work and I don't remember a year that didn't have a floor work change. It seems like every ritual school I attended put on by certified instructors the instruction on how to...