jonesvilletexas
Premium Member
Within the Entered Apprentice Degree Charge is found three of the most important lessons of our Craft. The newly obligated Brother is instructed "There are three great duties, which as a Mason, you are charged to inculcate - to God, your neighbor, and yourself." A short explanation then follows, clarifying each of these duties and assures our Brother his attention to these duties will assure him of public and private esteem.
To "inculcate" means to teach through repetitions and to firmly impress upon the mind these duties, or obligations, recently assumed. Thus, our reverence to God as our Creator recognizes our trust in Him as the chief good, the Source of Life and Light.
We commit our actions to his care and support through prayer, and remember our obligations are taken at the Holy Altar before Him. It is our belief in God and the immortality of the human soul to which we are committed as Freemasons.
The Golden Rule urges us to respect our fellow man and treat each of them as we wish them to treat us. The Square alludes to the uprightness of conduct we should extend to all. At all times, it urges us to higher levels of conduct in our outward dealings and holds us to a higher ethical standard. We are to recognize what is good and bad, and always choose the good. It is this choice which will achieve the public and private aspect of this charge.
Your duty "to yourself" is an admonishment toward regularity of personal conduct, for the loss of one's dignity reflects not only the Freemason as an individual, but upon Freemasonry as an institution. Each Freemason has an awareness of the rights and privileges he has as a Freemason, but he must pay due attention to the responsibility he likewise bears. The world must know and understand Freemasonry's commitment to good. Our profession is that of a Freemason in a Brotherhood of Freemasons, and its duty requires the highest of ethical and moral conduct.
Thus we see that our "great duties" are to improve ourselves, morally, ethically, and spiritually. Our ancient Brothers used their Operative Masonry and its tools to build great buildings and temples. These edifices were tributes to their skill and commitment. We, as Speculative Masons, must use our tools of our Craft to build ourselves and our Brothers, socially, intellectually, and eternally to God's plan.
To "inculcate" means to teach through repetitions and to firmly impress upon the mind these duties, or obligations, recently assumed. Thus, our reverence to God as our Creator recognizes our trust in Him as the chief good, the Source of Life and Light.
We commit our actions to his care and support through prayer, and remember our obligations are taken at the Holy Altar before Him. It is our belief in God and the immortality of the human soul to which we are committed as Freemasons.
The Golden Rule urges us to respect our fellow man and treat each of them as we wish them to treat us. The Square alludes to the uprightness of conduct we should extend to all. At all times, it urges us to higher levels of conduct in our outward dealings and holds us to a higher ethical standard. We are to recognize what is good and bad, and always choose the good. It is this choice which will achieve the public and private aspect of this charge.
Your duty "to yourself" is an admonishment toward regularity of personal conduct, for the loss of one's dignity reflects not only the Freemason as an individual, but upon Freemasonry as an institution. Each Freemason has an awareness of the rights and privileges he has as a Freemason, but he must pay due attention to the responsibility he likewise bears. The world must know and understand Freemasonry's commitment to good. Our profession is that of a Freemason in a Brotherhood of Freemasons, and its duty requires the highest of ethical and moral conduct.
Thus we see that our "great duties" are to improve ourselves, morally, ethically, and spiritually. Our ancient Brothers used their Operative Masonry and its tools to build great buildings and temples. These edifices were tributes to their skill and commitment. We, as Speculative Masons, must use our tools of our Craft to build ourselves and our Brothers, socially, intellectually, and eternally to God's plan.