The Gift of Scottish Rite Freemasonry

Can you recall the first time you learned about The Scottish Rite? Maybe it was from your father after you asked him where he went every week in that nice suit of his, it could have been from a friend who you admired, or perhaps it was from a book that you found browsing an old bookstore on a rainy day.

Every one of us has a story about how we found The Scottish Rite, and I am willing to wager all of the beans & biscuits in my lodge's pantry that the story of how you found the Scottish Rite is also the story of you becoming a better man.

For those of us who took our Scottish Rite education seriously we look back on the early days of our first reunion as a time when we were full of naivety, curiosity, and more than likely a little arrogance. Now the man we see in the mirror is not the same man, and we have The Scottish Rite of Freemasonry to thank for that.

Our Masonic forefathers labored endlessly to preserve these traditions, carry these legacies, and deliver what we know as Freemasonry to the modern world. Shrouded in the midst of antiquity, we are taught about those old mysteries creeds and faiths, and we become wiser for it.

Meanwhile in our daily lives outside of the lodge we are inundated with which celebrities are causing the biggest fuss in Hollywood, the politicians stirring division and strife, and the irreverent nature of the secular habits overtaking our public institutions. Yet the Scottish Rite continues to feed us meaning and virtue.

Through the thread of time our Ancient Rite has been preserved. It has endured political, religious, and civil attack. It has taken beatings left, right, and center. Our members have suffered ridicule, isolation, and charges of satanism by the mob. Yet here our Rite remains, like a strong father unwilling to bend to the demands of the oppressor, teaching us the same old truths that the ancient initiates revered as wise and benevolent.

How lucky are we to have been introduced to this incredible organization, and how honored are we to be able to pass this on to the next man?

Scottish Rite Masonry is a gift. One that we have been given, and one that we now have to give. May you carry it with you always, and with an open heart be ready to share it with the next man who is destined to hear it.

Warren Steury

PS: The Tennessee Scottish Rite Newsletter is looking for YOUR article submissions! Please email your articles to info@tennesseescottishrite.org for publication!