Something I wrote about a year ago... Food for thought...

“Freemasonry Why is Just the Tyler Left to Guard the Door?”

Most Worshipful Grand Master and Brethren Good Afternoon.

The title of my talk today is “Freemasonry why is just the Tyler left to guard the door?”

Our ancient rituals, elaborate regalia and impressive titles, leave a mystery about us that makes us one of the darlings of today’s pop culture.

The curiosity of the outside world continues to build.

Men want to join Freemasonry. But is it for the right reasons?

Are we sure?

From our ritual we know that the duty of the Tyler is to guard against the approach of cowans and eavesdroppers and to see that none enter our lodges without permission. Yes this is his symbolic and actual duty but why have we left it just to him?

Should we the Brethren be not more diligent?

Each of us as a Mason is charged with the solemn duty to make sure good men enter our Fraternity. In the closing paragraph of the Entered Apprentice Charge it reads, “If, in the circle of your acquaintance, you find a person desirous of being initiated into Masonry, be particularly careful not to recommend him unless you are convinced the he will conform to our rules; that the honor, glory, and reputation of our institution may be firmly established, and the world at large be convinced of it’s good effects.”

In the Thirtieth Degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite it says, “Let us increase in number our companions in arms admitting not even our most intimate of friends unless we are certain of their discretion and fitness.”

Our Masonic ritual as you see is laced with instruction.

How then are we sure of the men that knock upon our doors?

How do we make the positive or negative decision about the prospective candidate?

In recent years the Internet and the proliferation of Masonic websites have become one of the many public faces of our Fraternity.

Open houses tied in with movie or book premieres have brought in tens if not hundreds of people into our Temples. No longer do we hide in the shadows. We are more and more the public fraternity that in reality we always were.

The concept of the Masonic Meet-up has grown and spread to many lodges around the state and has lead to many men asking for petitions and joining our Fraternity. Think about it you get to sit down, break bread and talk with a guy that wants to talk to you about Freemasonry.

These extensions of ourselves into the outside world are the golden opportunities for us to know the man before he joins the Fraternity. Better yet it gives the potential candidate the opportunity to know us before he asks for his petition.

So often in the past the curious fellow knocked on the door of his local lodge talked with a Brother and returned six months later in search of a promised signature. An unfortunate thing I know I for one have been guilty of.

Did we really know the man?

Did he really know what he was committing to?

Everything needs to evolve though. If it does not it stagnates, shrinks and eventually ceases to exist.

These “new” methods of attracting and interacting with potential members are refreshing and exciting and hopefully fill that gap on how we get to know that man before he becomes privileged to call himself a Mason.

Just as our ritual instructs and cautions us our policies and procedures provide safeguards. These safeguards are not only traditions but were laid out for us to keep us honest.

The committee of investigation now more than ever is a vital part of the mix.

Whereas in the past the committees have sometimes been accused of being the welcome wagon or the rubber stamp on a man’s membership they now need to be more thorough and truly investigative.

The fear of running a fellow off because the questions are too tough needs to be overcome. There is nothing wrong with challenging a man on why he wants to be a Mason and see if he can defend his argument and reasons. I would argue the potential candidate expects the questions to be probing and might be disappointed if we did not delve that deeply.

He wants to know “he” is part of something special.

In closing, “We” all are the “Tyler” in effect for our Fraternity.

“We” all are the guardians of our past ever moving forward towards a brighter future. Embracing the ever-changing opportunities with caution and discretion.


Thanks for listening and enjoy the rest of your day.