Masonry teaches the unchanging law of the brotherhood of man deriving from the fatherhood of God. Our order strives to join men who believe in the supreme creator and sustainer of the universe and who desire to build up one another rather than tear each other down as is the norm outside of the walls of our lodges. When we exercise brotherly love we seek to build each other up, support and protect one another. We seek to relieve the distress of others where we can, and more especially that of a brother Mason. It implies that we treat others in all respects as we would like to be treated.
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Such relief of distress is classified as “charity”, the greatest of all virtues. Masonry instructs that we should seek the consolation of our own distress by extending relief and solace to our fellow-creatures in the hour of their affliction. To soothe the unhappy, sympathize in their misfortunes, be compassionate to their miseries, and restore peace to their troubled minds is the grand aim we have in mind; on this basis we establish our friendships and form our connections.
To identify the needs of others, a clear understanding of truth is necessary. The concept of truth has remained a problem among philosophers for thousands of years and in the current "post-truth" age it is certain that few understand what truth is. I once had a mentor explain it to me in the most simple of terms. Truth is "what's so." It is not what we think it is, what we wish it were, or what we believe it to be. Truth is what is ACTUALLY so, regardless of us. At any given moment in time Truth is how things ARE, not merely how we perceive them. Truth is a divine attribute. To begin to grasp truth you have to draw closer to “God’s perspective" than to yours or anyone else's. To be true, and to seek to find and learn truth are the great objects of every good Mason.
But we currently live in a “post-truth” age. This is not just an opinion or derogatory labeling. This is what people are CLAIMING to be. They have defined this as a desired lifestyle. Post-truth is a political culture framed largely by appeals to emotion disconnected from the details of fact. In a nutshell post-truth” could be simply described as it is NOT “what’s so”. “It is what I say it is, when I say it is because it makes me feel good to make it be what I want it to be, when I want it to be. It is not reality, it is what I wish were so, it is what I say is so, and it is what I want it to be.” In other words, it is delusion, which is defined as a “mental disorder."
So brethren, the three great principles on which our order is founded, Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth can be summarized this way: join with men who believe in the supreme creator and sustainer of the universe and desire to serve to build up one another. Exercise the greatest of all virtues, relief or charity, by seeking to soothe the unhappy, sympathize in their misfortunes, be compassionate to their miseries, and restore peace to their troubled minds by helping them to understand that there IS Truth, the divine perspective of reality – what’s so – not just subjective childish and destructive thoughts and actions.
Post-truth philosophies are chaotic and destructive at best. Masons are CONSTRUCTORS. We work to bring order to disorder through Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth. We have MUCH work to do. I am glad that we are a lodge of union where we can design and carry out such work.
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