Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Fbee
FBEE
There . 'fe one peculiar feature in the Masonic institution that must commend it to the respect of every generous mind . In other associations it is considered meritorious in a member to exert his influence in ohtaining applications for admission , but it is wholly uncongenial with the spirit of our Order to persuade any one to become a Mason . "Whosoever seeks a knowledge of our mystic rites
must first be prepared for the ordeal in his heart : he must not only be endowed with the necessary moral qualifications which would fit hinvfor admission into our ranks , but he must come , too , uninfluenced by friends and unbiassed by unworthy motives . This is a settled landmark of the Order ; and , therefore , nothing can be more painful to a true Mason than to see this landmark violated by young and heedless Brethren . For it cannot be denied that it is sometimes
violated ; and this habit of violation is one of those unhappy influences , sometimes almost insensibly exerted Upon Masonry by the existence of the many secret societies to which the present age has given birth , and which resemble Masonry in nothing except in having some sort of a secret ceremony of initiation . And there are some men who , coming among us imbued with the principles and
accustomed to the usages of these modern societies , consider it their duty to exert all their influence in persuading their friends to become members of the Craft . Men who thus misunderstand the true policy of our institution should be instructed by their older and more experienced Brethren that it is wholly in opposition to all our laws
and principles to ask any man to become a Mason , or to exercise any kind of influence upon the minds of others , except that of a truly Masonic life and a practical exemplification of its tenets , by which they may be induced to ask admission into . our Lodges . We must not seek—we are to be sought .
And if this were not an ancient law , imbedded in the very cement that upholds our system , policy alone would dictate an adherence to the voluntary usage . "We need not now fear that our institution will suffer from a deficiency of members . Our greater dread should be that , in its rapid extension , less care may be given to the selection of candidates than the interests and welfare of the Order demand .
There can , therefore , be no excuse for the practice of persuading candidates , and every hope of safety in avoiding such a practice . It should always bo borne in mind , that the candidate who comes to us not of his own " free will and accord , '' but induced by the persuasions of his friends , no matter how worthy he otherwise may be , violates , by so coming , the requirements of our institution on the
very threshold of its temple , and , in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred , fails to become imbued with genuine attachment to the Order .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Fbee
FBEE
There . 'fe one peculiar feature in the Masonic institution that must commend it to the respect of every generous mind . In other associations it is considered meritorious in a member to exert his influence in ohtaining applications for admission , but it is wholly uncongenial with the spirit of our Order to persuade any one to become a Mason . "Whosoever seeks a knowledge of our mystic rites
must first be prepared for the ordeal in his heart : he must not only be endowed with the necessary moral qualifications which would fit hinvfor admission into our ranks , but he must come , too , uninfluenced by friends and unbiassed by unworthy motives . This is a settled landmark of the Order ; and , therefore , nothing can be more painful to a true Mason than to see this landmark violated by young and heedless Brethren . For it cannot be denied that it is sometimes
violated ; and this habit of violation is one of those unhappy influences , sometimes almost insensibly exerted Upon Masonry by the existence of the many secret societies to which the present age has given birth , and which resemble Masonry in nothing except in having some sort of a secret ceremony of initiation . And there are some men who , coming among us imbued with the principles and
accustomed to the usages of these modern societies , consider it their duty to exert all their influence in persuading their friends to become members of the Craft . Men who thus misunderstand the true policy of our institution should be instructed by their older and more experienced Brethren that it is wholly in opposition to all our laws
and principles to ask any man to become a Mason , or to exercise any kind of influence upon the minds of others , except that of a truly Masonic life and a practical exemplification of its tenets , by which they may be induced to ask admission into . our Lodges . We must not seek—we are to be sought .
And if this were not an ancient law , imbedded in the very cement that upholds our system , policy alone would dictate an adherence to the voluntary usage . "We need not now fear that our institution will suffer from a deficiency of members . Our greater dread should be that , in its rapid extension , less care may be given to the selection of candidates than the interests and welfare of the Order demand .
There can , therefore , be no excuse for the practice of persuading candidates , and every hope of safety in avoiding such a practice . It should always bo borne in mind , that the candidate who comes to us not of his own " free will and accord , '' but induced by the persuasions of his friends , no matter how worthy he otherwise may be , violates , by so coming , the requirements of our institution on the
very threshold of its temple , and , in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred , fails to become imbued with genuine attachment to the Order .