Morning journal and courier., 1889-07-08
THE GENIUS OF MASONRY.

Masonry" Many prominent members OF the
order were present. The sermon was OF in.
terest, not only for its own strength but also
because of this weeks centennial celebration.
, The service was appropriate to the occasion.
Anthem-"Ths King of Love my sheperd Is% s.,;:x
'''''''''''''''''c,ih,oii Choir. ""''' NV s''"'''
Hymn-"Tune Rockingham. n....;;.............
sosiyeF Lost sy BIO r. l. tno.Iss Sullivan
Wv MI, Fred, Weld.
scripture Minis Minister ts' and congregation
s.,monrs S4 s5si and of cs%nssssatSn.
Rev. Bro :. 4: IT, aoodenOush.
asmn-iu"'c choir and Congregation.
The Genius ofMasOnry.
+ ,s sus 1os %ees & God
"Building up yourselves Jude 40.
My brothers, welcomed A hearty welcome
to our church and to all the exercises of this
hour. When we think of the antiquity, the
principles, the high social standing of your
fraternity we feel honored in your presence
In this place at this time. May the influence
of this hour remain with you as benedic-
ton In all the days to come. You have
ceased from labor, you have turned away
from Refreshments and recreation and on the
lords day In this holy place we congregate to
worship and adore Almighty God, who is
able to build us up in the nobility and honor.
Also to gather strength and wisdom to build
up ourselves In all manliness and true great
ness.
Our name suggests our condition and vo-
cation. Free Masons. Suggestive word.
Free-msn, workbench. Freedom is heavens
gift, and earth's greatest boon. To be tree
Is the desire of all intelligent mortals. May
we be tho freemen of God. "Whom the son
makes free shall be free indeed" Workmen.
Droaes have no place among us. Our watch
word is work. Carlyle says, "The latest
gospel in this world is, know thy work and
do It." Again he says, "Work is worship,
labor is heavy" Every true Mason is a
ceives his wages. Co-workers with God in
building men.
Continuing, Rev. Goodenough said We
must endeavor to be the best of men. True
Masonry aims at that. You cannot buy
character as you would garment. 1t takes
time and appropriate environment and dill
gent care and hard work to grow character.
| The real man is invisible, yet evidences of
| his power, results of his thinking, fruits OF
his toll are all about us. He is a thinker.
| In him Is divinity. One man is made to
minister to another. Noblest of all created
| things is man. More than man you cannot
be; to be less than man is sin. Let us give
God thanks that We are men. There are diff
ferent types of men. There are small men,
| very small. A man destitute of the essen-
tials of manliness is the saddest sight the
| angels ever looked upon. We must be the
best.
What have said ia information to some
people. People do not know our principles,
and because they do not know, they have
falsely maligned us. Our mysteries have
been bugbear to many people. Our secret
Ism has been an annoyance to the inquisitive.
II has been said that all secret societies are
| wrong. II 80, there is wrong were we little
expected II, and more Of it than l care to
admit. Odd Fellowship is secret society,
yet pronounce Odd Fellowship q Good Sa-
maritan who has bound up the wounds and
supplied the wants Of many a needy soul.
Freemasonry Is secret society, y ct the object
| of Fremasonry is humane, brotherly, divine.
Some have said that we are in league with
the devil, and that we love darkn ess rather
than light, because our deeds are evil. Such
ignorance and righteousness do not wrong us.
How frivolous the objection to our order,
because 1t is q secret society. Why, every
man Is secret society in himself. Every
| woman IL @ secret society in herself.
We shall not think less of our noble order
because certain persons speak evil of it. oh,
no! What Is there that has not been spoken
evil Off The purest man that ever trod the
earth; 80 pure that even his enemies said he
was faultlees. Yet 1t was said of him that
he was in league with hell. The church of
God, which is the divine agency for the
bringing home of Gods straying and lost
ones, has been condemned; and as long as
sin is here depraved hearts and soured minds
will condemn every good thing. But good is
indestructible. Evil is doomed. Good will
survive evil. Good is divine, and whatever
IL divine is immortal.
who have taken an obligation and who even
meet In lodge rooms. AS the world goes, 1t
| would be strange If that were not 80. But
that is no fault of Masonry. There are I'M
worthy people in the church. But that is no
proof that Christianity is failure. If all
anity there would be no black sheep in the
field of Jesus. And II all Masons lived up to
the principles of Masonry there would be
no unworthy persons in our ranks.
Masonry Is Christian in its principles and
teachings. do not say that the lodge room
Is church. No intelligent Mason evel
thought 1t was. Nothing can take the plac,
appointed and God commissioned to do
, / work that can be passed on to no other Tn,
| church Is here to show men how they may b.
, saved by the peace of God in Christ Jesus
| The church 10 here to teach men the veritie
j; | of God and to build men up in holiness
And in this work the church has man.
helpers. Free Masonry 10 one of them. 1t
II
=; A Mason is builder. He receives hi
plan from the architect Trowel and mallet
plumb and square, he goes to work, and fror
the foundation stone to the topmost ston
the building rises slowly, surely, to it's com
.. | pletion. There it stands, the production o
an artist, thing of beauty-Masonic, sym
metrical, useful. A Free Mason is a builde
also. Free Masonry is an art, professions
= science. A Free Mason has much to stud
o and learn. A delicate, difficult, importan
A craft Is ours. We have a structure to raise
!, A simple mistake is fatal. We have plan
perfect, faultless plan; for God, the 81
: preme, all-wise architect, is the author OF il
r Our building is manhood or character. Brio
q and mortar will crumble and decay
Granite and cement will disintegrat
and disappear. The temple of oil
!. ia gone. The mighty and exquisite cathe
O l drals of old worlds are crumbling to the dus
y for they are perishable. But the materis
with which we work is imperishable an
y eternal. The structure which we build wi
9 | must live in. Our character-house will
r our heaven or our hell. No true Freemaso
y. can build hell. He of us who builds &C
10 cording to his plan, and is dilligent an
1t faithful In his work every day, will bull
- an edifce which the architect will approve
!. and that means heaven. Let us examin
this work for a moment.
The foundations: The foundation Is Goo
}. The first principle of Masonry is God. Tn
!. is our foundation stone. Faith tn God
the starting point of our immortal edifc
No atheist can build character for HEAVIER
q A Goddess character cannot endure. But I
- atheist can be a Mason. President Carter,
y Williams college, once wrote: "Every ms
70 Is the architect of his own fortune" The
"a he said: "No, that is only half tenth
Then he wrote: every man is the joint a
III ohitect with God of his own fortune. &c
q. works capacity; man makes character"
~ Masons we believe that and act upon 1t.
ID Our master builder Is himself our plan al
pattern, Jesus, the Son of God and the 81
.. Of Mary. The first stone that we lay
ID friendship. Others follow, such as trut
ie virtue, temperance, and the cement, whit
70 binds all these together, is brotherly love
to Charity. That gives you structure tn
Id no man need be ashamed of. He wi
d. builds less than that Is not worthy to
g. called Mason. Brothers, let us rememb
d: our obligation, our high calling, our dut
de Let us be men, and we shall command t
tn admiration of the world and the approval
lis | the Master.
"Wanted, Men
Not systems fit and wise,
gh Not faiths with rigid eyes,
on Not wealth on montain piles,
81 Not power with gracious smiles,
'"s Not even the potent pen;
nd Wanted, MSn!
81 Wanted, Deeds
~ Not words Of winning note,