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Can you recite your obligation right now?

Angler

Registered User
That's the question. Can you recite your obligation correctly right now with no help?

I confronted the brethren in lodge with this a few weeks ago. The results were disappointing.
 

Zaden

Registered User
Yes. Also working on a C Certificate along with the rest of the line in our lodge.
 

Pscyclepath

Premium Member
Yes... ;-) Having earned the "blue card" this past spring, you can recite all three proficiency lectures, open & close in all degrees, confer all three degrees plus the following sections, all at the drop of a hat ;-) My mentor used to (and still will test me by throwing out a random phrase in the adopted work, and you have to pick up and recite all parts from that point.

On your original question though, there are a lot of brethren who don't have that part of the work down except in generic terms...
 

BroBook

Premium Member
I can hit all the main points to such an extent that it will be beyond the reasonable doubt that I am who I say I am and more!!!! That's almost a yes, but we have a saying help your brother.


Bro Book
M.W.U.G.L. Of Fl: P.H.A.
Excelsior # 43
At pensacola
 

KSigMason

Traveling Templar
Site Benefactor
That's the question. Can you recite your obligation correctly right now with no help?

I confronted the brethren in lodge with this a few weeks ago. The results were disappointing.
I can say all the obligations from the Blue Lodge, Most Excellent Master obligation, Royal Master, Select Master, Order of Malta, Order of the Temple, Order of the Eastern Star, and Order of St. Thomas. I am also a presiding officer or do the conferring in each of these degrees/orders.
 

dfreybur

Premium Member
No. I could in my last jurisdiction but they have a different number of furthers here.

It doesn't get any easier when you're working on your third jurisdiction. If I were to try today I'd mash together more than one version unless I had a little bit of prompting. Close but not quite word for word in any of my jurisdictions. Not just furthers, there is also that list of verbs in the first. Different list in every jurisdiction I've been to first degrees in.
 

Flatworlder

Registered User
I am not familiar with the Cards you are all mentioning. Is this something typical of American Lodges?
My apologies for my ignorance.
 

Pscyclepath

Premium Member
The cards are issued by the various Grand Lodges to indicate that the holder has demonstrated word-perfect proficiency in specific parts of the ritual for that jurisdiction. Texas, for example certifies in increasing order of the volume of work, C, B, and A-level proficiencies. Arkansas has four certifications: Certified Lecturer (white card; the three proficiency lectures for the degrees), Officer Proficiency (white card, opening and closing the lodge in all degrees, plus dispensing & resuming); Second Section, Masters Degree (red card; all parts & floorwork for the 2nd section of the Masters), and Certified Instructor (blue card; all the above, plus all parts in conferring all three degrees, second section of the EA; and demonstrated proficiency/working knowledge of the 3rd section EA, 2nd Section Fellowcraft, and the third section/emblems of the Masters). All together, about 35,000 words or so for the red and blue cards together.

Arkansas is one of those places where there is no cipher or written version of the work other than what is printed in the Monitor, so this is their procedure to ensure that the Work is passed down correctly through the years, mouth-to-ear, via the Grand Lecturer, designated custodians, and the certified instructors.
 

otherstar

Registered User
I sure can (I'm working on my A certificate, which I lost years ago because I got too busy being a new dad---my cable tow got really short there for awhile).
 
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