…presented at Brant Lodge No. 45, Brantford, March 10, 2009.

A Mason is sometimes asked by a friend, a neighbour, or a business associate, "What do the Masons do?" Or, "What are the Masons?" In either case, the Brother is challenged by the realization that there is no simple answer which he can rattle off "from the top of his head," because the questioner is really asking him for a comprehensive explanation about what organized Freemasonry is, what its principles and purposes are. Some of these considerations arouse the fraternal doubt that "you can't tell that," or "that's secret," so that the Brother's reply is marked by hesitation or reluctance to explain. He realizes that Freemasonry's reputation cannot be explained by charts, statistics, or financial statements, because the Fraternity's real worth can be expressed only in spiritual terms, and that is rather difficult to explain to the uninitiated.

Embarrassment is probably the commonest cause of a Brother's difficulty in replying to the question. He is embarrassed because he realizes that he doesn't really know enough about the Fraternity to give a good simple reply. He knows that there is much more Masonic activity going on in other lodges all over the country and throughout the world, but he has never taken the time to experience some of it or to read about it with real interest. He hasn't given much thought to the subject. He never expected to be asked such a question by a non-Mason outside the lodge. Even though he has experienced Masonry, he has never tried to express in words just what Freemasonry means to himself. There are really so few "secrets" which a Mason is required to keep, and so much that he should be proud to proclaim to others, that his principal concern in answering questions is probably the doubt that he can give an adequate Masonic reply. The ritualistic work, the grips and passwords of the three degrees, these are really the only "secrets" which should be kept. Because it is impossible to communicate to the uninitiated the joys and satisfactions of brotherhood experienced in "the labors of the lodge," this too becomes a secret because it is inexpressible. But there is so much that can be told about Freemasonry, about the particular lodge, about the individual Mason, that the real problem in answering the question, "What do the Masons do?" is to say only enough to satisfy the questioner without boring or distracting him.

He can point out that Freemasonry is an educational organization. By means of the ritualistic ceremonies and other educational programs, Masons learn and teach the truths of morality, justice, and the necessity of brotherly love to achieve those universal ideals.

He can explain that Masonic meetings, while resembling the meetings of any organized society, have a distinctly Masonic character. They are opened and closed with prayer. They are opened and closed with Masonic ceremonies to remind the members of the principal purposes of the Fraternity, which are to develop brotherly love and respect for truth, the truths which guide a man to live happily and harmoniously with his fellow man. When a Mason is proud of the moral and spiritual achievements he has made through Masonry, when he has been inspired to display the beauties of friendship, morality, and brotherly love, when he realizes that his own personal life is the most important evidence he can give to show what a Mason is, he usually finds it very easy to talk about the Fraternity to his non-Masonic friends. When he knows that his lodge is a spiritual force, when it is learning and teaching its members the universal ideals of the Craft, when it is actively promoting charitable programs and pursuing truth, he will tell what Freemasonry is with conviction and enthusiasm.

Brethren in closing "What do the Masons do?" and "What are the Masons?"

"Masons are men who voluntarily asked to join a lodge. They were accepted because they were good men who believe in God and hold high ethical and moral ideals. They go to meetings which they call lodge, in order to learn and to teach what 'friendship, morality, and truth really involve, and to practice on a small scale the reality of brotherhood.