It is a small booklet that contains the first degree lecture (Q&A including Obligation). Used by the candidate for study (committing it to memory) as they will have to prove proficiency by answering the questions and repeating the obligation.
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Conduct unbecoming of Masons
- Thread starter Onewhoseeks
- Start date
In some PH jurisdictions the handbook is not coded and in others it is. In Texas PH Masonry it is not therefore no codebook exists.
In some PH jurisdictions the handbook is not coded and in others it is. In Texas PH Masonry it is not therefore no codebook exists. It is a small booklet that contains the first degree lecture and the candidate must memorize it. It will be what they will be quizzed on to prove proficiency.
Is it only the first degree? Or is all the work written?
Glen Rose # 525
Granbury # 392
Glen Rose # 525
Granbury # 392
Only the first degree. If they successfully prove proficiency then they receive the FC booklet.
I give up!!! Seems that some ears are plugged and I am tired of trying to explain.
Bro. Bill is asking that because with the GLoTX everything is mouth to ear. There are no books or pamphlets at all. I don't even think that they can be in possession of a ritual.
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They need to read post number 43. It explains that this is not the norm for all of PH.
Michael Hatley
Premium Member
I think most of us understand that this particular lodge may be going through some challenges not normal for a Texas PH lodge.
It may be a separate matter, however, for some of us who favor visitation with PH to find out that in Texas - at least some of the ritual work for PH is provided in clear, written form to candidates after initiation and through the degree process. It is something to be discussed in perhaps a different thread, where it doesn't confuse the issue that this fellow is having with broader political things.
It may be a separate matter, however, for some of us who favor visitation with PH to find out that in Texas - at least some of the ritual work for PH is provided in clear, written form to candidates after initiation and through the degree process. It is something to be discussed in perhaps a different thread, where it doesn't confuse the issue that this fellow is having with broader political things.
No, but post 43, if I am reading it correctly, states that IS the norm for Texas PHA. I am not stating that your obedience is deficient in that regard, I am just extremely surprised since GLoT places such importance upon "mouth to ear" that, until recently, even "coded" rituals were illegal. We may now possess them, but Master Masons only and NEVER on Lodge property or in the presence of candidates. Apparently, the EA degree ritual and obligation must be quite a bit different also, as the concept of "mouth to ear" is very important in both in ours.
dfreybur
Premium Member
Brother Onewhoseeks,
The terminology in the message you quoted is jumbled but there is meaning in it. "Never attribute to malice what can adequately be explained by incompetence". Let's take a step back and shift from thinking something is wrong by way of action to thinking something is broken by way of incapacity and see where that line of thought leads -
Suspension - Is for brothers who have failed to pay dues, clearly not correct usage. Here it must have its outside meaning of being put on hold.
Line - The line is the list of officers not a group of candidates, clearly not correct usage. You have mentioned that it means your class, group or cohort.
Confusion - In a Masonic context this means failing to work *for lack of direction*. IF it is used correctly here. The rest of the message makes that dubious but let's go with it anyways. This part matches the rest of your story very well. It says one or more members of your group are not doing any work for lack of direction. You have mentioned there is no direction from your mentors because there are no mentors assigned. You've been doing your best to study out of the guide so it's one of the others in the group.
Until further notice - You're on hold not in any punishment status. This makes sense taking the word confusion as I just described.
If your lodge can't pull off a mentor it could easily be they can't pull off a degree. I figure that means they need new members or the lodge will fail and at this point they are floundering. Maybe even in denial.
I have two suggestions based on this line of reasoning -
1) Go to the next meeting and see if they admit you. If they let you in the door then you are not Suspended and the SW used the word incorrectly.
2) Ask to be separated from your group and to have your degree put on the calendar. Ask them if the lodge is currently able to pull together a degree team to be able to do that and that you're okay with waiting several months if that's what it takes.
I hope my take on this is correct and you're not in a mess here other than a communication mess. I do think this is what happened.
Patience! If the lodge is having trouble pulling together a degree team you're more needed than you know.
dfreybur
Premium Member
Do not let lack of instruction on this topic cause confusion that interferes with helping our new brother.
Different jurisdictions, different rules on books. I am currently a member in California and Illinois. In California the non-monitorial ritual is available in a cipher book that has been printed by the Grand Secretary's office at least a decade before I took my degrees in 1993. I was issued a blue book the day I was raised. In Illinois the entire spoken ritual is printed out word for word except for underlines in place of the modes of recognition. The current version is from 1986 but there was a previous authorized version at least as far back as 1913. I was issued a blue book the day I was appointed to a chair.
There exist mouth to ear jurisdictions. When you're a member of one it can be easy to think that all jurisdictions are mouth to ear. That has not been true for longer than anyone in the world has been alive. Authorized books go back a very long time in some jurisdictions. Just another detail of difference jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
As I read the syntax you have used, I take it to mean that you had no access to printed ritual until after you became a Master Mason. Is this so, and, if so, did you receive your EA & FC instruction by mouth to ear or by some other method?
I wouldn't be too concerned regarding our young Brother and his difficulty. It can only be solved by our PHA Brethren and, at that, behind the scenes only- not by way of this forum.
dfreybur
Premium Member
Bro Bill,
I used the word "issued" because in both lodges I proceeded immediately into appointed pro-tem chairs and entered the line. In both lodges non-officers may purchase a GL printed blue book while officers are issued one. As you suggest the blue book is only for MMs as it contains the ritual with varying degrees of change to reflect varying ideas of what the secret parts are.
California answer as of 2001 when I moved out - As I progressed through my degrees I was given a small cipher containing the proficiency for EA/FC, assigned a mentor and we worked through it in person. Once raised there was no need of a separate booklet for the third proficiency as they all appear in that blue book.
Illinois answer as of a 2013 when I moved out - As one of the lodge's posters I got copies of the candidate booklets that contain the short form catechisms and also the poster booklets that contain the long form catechisms. The catechisms are under active development in Illinois. I recently trashed my booklets from the version current until 2012.
Length - The Illinois long form is the length I learned in California for EA/FC, shorter than what I learned for MM. The California only form and the Illinois long form for EA are very close to what I heard in Texas lodge a few weeks ago as section one.
So Texas is one of the few remaining mouth to ear states. Texas allows dual/plural affiliations, right? So I'll soon end up a member in a lodge at all 3 common levels of secrecy. And yet another list of synonym verbs to memorize in the EA proficiency! I've already begun learning the local ritual ...
We do as long as the jurisdiction you are currently under allows the same.
To me, the value of "mouth to ear" lies in the bond forged between instructor & student. A good instructor, such as the Brother who taught me my catechism, taught me much more than just the words & their meanings- he taught me the true meaning of "Brotherhood"- something for which I will always hold him in the highest esteem. You just can't get that out of a book. :sad:
jwhoff
Premium Member
Agreed Brother Bill! The bond is life-long and can be considered one of the greatest wages of a master mason.
There is so much more to the meanings behind the esoteric work than one could possibly learn with a book or from a brother who does not take the time to explore with the candidate the meanings behind the meanings. One is blessed to have a brother willing to take the time and explain masonry along the way.
There is so much more to the meanings behind the esoteric work than one could possibly learn with a book or from a brother who does not take the time to explore with the candidate the meanings behind the meanings. One is blessed to have a brother willing to take the time and explain masonry along the way.
dfreybur
Premium Member
If mouth to ear only means with no book then what drives it is the presence of the mentor not the absence of the book. I did my proficiencies with my mentor using a cipher book. I guess I'll call it cheek to cheek instead of mouth to ear. Being taught what the words mean and more about Masonry than the degrees helped instill in me a lifelong love of our gentle craft.
Quoting out of order because it's a change of topic - Does the Texas Prince Hall GL allow multiple affiliations? If they require a brother to demit from his previous lodge to affiliate they do not allow multiple affiliations. I know the Texas George Washington GL allows multiple affiliation because when I pulled out dues cards from two states some of the investigating brothers showed me their dues cards from multiple states.
I can't truly agree with that. The fact that a Brother cared enough about the Work to memorize it greatly impressed me. I seriously doubt I would have found it as important except for the example my instructor set for me.
Bro. Upton or Bro. Jones could give you an accurate answer to that- our List of Lodges Masonic contains no information regarding PHA Texas. What is the "Texas George Washington GL"? I've never heard of it & couldn't find anything regarding an organization of that name on Google.
GOOD EVENING BRETHREN-----Let's start with the question Bro Cog41 raised-----What Lodge are you involved with, and which Grand Lodge is the Lodge subordinate to? THIS will tell me a lot about what happened and WHY............GET ME THAT INFORMATION, AND I WILL DO WHAT I CAN TO ASSIST YOU..................CLUE----IF YOU ARE IN TEXAS, AND THIS LODGE IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE PRINCE HALL GRAND LODGE OF TEXAS IN FORT WORTH, TX., OR THE GRAND LODGE OF TEXAS, AF&AM, IN WACO, TX., YOU HAVE A PROBLEM..................
BOTH OF OUR GRAND BODIES HAVE SYSTEMS OF CHECKS AND BALANCES IN WHICH THIS TYPW OF BEHAVIOR AMONG MASONS WOULD BE SUBJECT TO SOME FORM OF DISCIPLINARY ACTION.....HOWEVER, IF YOU HAVE JOINED A LODGE NOT AFFILIATED WITH EITHER OF THESE TWO GRAND BODIES, PERHAPS IT IS TIME TO MAKE SOME DIFFERRENT CHOICES AFTER DOING YOUR RESEARCH...............
BRO. VINCENT C. JONES, SR. , BAYOU CITY LODGE #228, PHA
PRINCE HALL AFFILIATED, FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONRY
MOST WORSHIPFUL PRINCE HALL GRAND LODGE OF TEXAS
BOTH OF OUR GRAND BODIES HAVE SYSTEMS OF CHECKS AND BALANCES IN WHICH THIS TYPW OF BEHAVIOR AMONG MASONS WOULD BE SUBJECT TO SOME FORM OF DISCIPLINARY ACTION.....HOWEVER, IF YOU HAVE JOINED A LODGE NOT AFFILIATED WITH EITHER OF THESE TWO GRAND BODIES, PERHAPS IT IS TIME TO MAKE SOME DIFFERRENT CHOICES AFTER DOING YOUR RESEARCH...............
BRO. VINCENT C. JONES, SR. , BAYOU CITY LODGE #228, PHA
PRINCE HALL AFFILIATED, FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONRY
MOST WORSHIPFUL PRINCE HALL GRAND LODGE OF TEXAS