I Believe...

I demmitted from my Lodge due to issues surrounding me coming out to a brother... The following was written by a Mason. Maybe there's hope for the fraternity yet... :

The Premise...

When we choose our leaders we can easily find out what each has done or what they want to do, or for that matter, who they are. What they don't tell us is what they truthfully believe. If they wrote it down they would have to make good on their future decisions. I am becoming an older Mason. I no longer need to impress anyone in order to advance in the Craft. I now want to say what I truly believe. See if you would vote for me for anything after you read what I have to say.

I Believe...

I believe in God. As a Christian I believe that the Sermon on the Mount was the world's most beautiful explanation of God's relationship to Man. (I have a little problem with Matthew 5:28 but that's another story.) During that sermon, Christ first recited the Lord's Prayer, a prayer that could be used as the foundation for every religion in the world. I believe that the purity of that prayer has been diminished because of greed, ego, and the pursuit of power on the part our religious leaders. (They mucked it all up.) I respect all other religions as I do my own. I believe that genuine religious tolerance is the first step towards perpetual world peace. (How is that working out for us now?)

I believe in freedom for all humankind. We all should have the right to determine our political, religious and philosophical leaders. I believe that the founders of this Country had it right. Where did we go wrong? (It seems now that Congress has its head up its butt.) The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights has had all of its five facets modified, while modification of the Second Amendment (I'm a proud gun owner) seems taboo. Perhaps we should have had lobbyists for the First Amendment (who could make lots of money) working on the freedoms of speech, religion, the press, the right to assemble and the right to petition. I also believe that there are some moral issues that are personal and not to be used for political advantage. I believe that women should determine women's rights. I am not a, member of any political party because I will not have someone else tell me what to believe.

I don't believe in ghosts, UFO's, palm readers, sasquatch, the loch ness monster, or that you can't wear white after Labor Day.

I believe in pure honesty. It seems today that everyone has an angle and they tell half-truths to kept those advantages. I believe that we don't get the full truth from Wall Street, politicians, business owners, religious leaders, et cetera, and sometimes our own Masonic Leaders. "If you have integrity nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity....."Oh well, you know the rest ."

I believe that we don't need an exhausting explanation of the next five-point Masonic program. (It will probably not work anyway.) Perhaps what we need instead is a full description of what our next Masonic leaders truly believe. I believe that this is the best way for them to build trust and attract followers. I believe that Masons should give allegiance to the Craft and not the other way around.

I believe in the Craft. I believe that the most important members that we have are not our Worshipful Masters or even our Grand Masters, but our Entered Apprentices. They are the ones who will shape the Craft for the next Century and keep our teachings relevant. When every Past Grand Master (including myself) is dead and gone, the model of Freemasonry must live on to benefit the world. We all need to learn how to serve the Craft and not have it just serve us. If you believe that our future shouldn't include non-whites, non-Christians, non-heterosexuals or immigrants, go take a pill.

This I believe .....

Conclusion.........

I am pretty sure that no one believes exactly what I do. I am also pretty sure that honesty shines through and that you might still vote for some one who believes what I do. Isn't honesty what we are truly looking for and wouldn't you work for, support, and vote for some one who tells all? Shouldn't we expect more from our potential leaders.

I love getting older....... n
Take care of each other, my Brothers

Sincerely,

Neil Neddermeyer