Dear Brother:

As you have discovered, being a Mason directs you to study and learn for yourself more light in Masonry. It forces you to search out the truth and compels you to take the initiative, as a grown man should, so that the very act of learning is in itself a great educational value. The purpose of secrecy is not to keep the new brother in the dark, but to stimulate him to seek the light. The symbols and emblems do not conceal the teaching, they reveal it; but they reveal it in such a way that a you must find it for yourself. Only when you find truth for yourself, are you likely to keep it as a permanent possession.

Freemasonry has three great tenets or teachings: Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth Freemasonry is a fraternity devoted to Brotherhood but this Brotherhood must be understood in a special sense. Freemasonry's position is that Brotherhood rests on a religious basis. We are all brothers because God is the Father of us all; therefore religion is one of the foundations of Masonry.

Masonry is dedicated to God, the Great Architect of the Universe. We keep an Altar at the center of our Lodge-room and the Holy Bible lies upon the Altar. We begin and end our undertakings with a prayer. Our petitioners must believe in God. All this is genuine religion, not a formal religiousness. But religion in Masonry, like all else in its' teachings, is not set forth in written creeds or in any other form of words. As Masons we must come upon it for ourselves and put it in such a form as will satisfy our own mind.

Along with religion, Masonry teaches the necessity of morality, requiring of its' members that we be good men and true, virtuous when tried by the Square, upright when tried by the Plumb, our passions are kept in due bounds by the Compasses, just in our dealings with our fellows, patient with the erring, charitable, truthful, and honorable.

We don't stop learning because we are getting older; we stop learning when we are no longer alive. If you are looking to gain more light in Masonry, why not come out to lodge and get some more light. Every experience with your brothers will enlighten you see what you are missing.

Fraternally,

John Lacki Jr.
Worshipful Master