|
|
Excerpts from the Proceedings of The Grand Lodge of Texas A.F.&A.M.
(1960 - 1969)
(This is a continuing project as copies of Proceedings are cleaned,
read & excerpted.)
1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965,
1966,
1967,
1968,
1969
1960 --
1961 --
1962 --
1963 --J.W. Weatherby, GM
Salute to the United States Flag
Firm in their conviction that governments should be founded on such
principles and organized with their powers in such form as most likely to
effect the safety and happiness of the governed, in order to form a more
perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the
common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of
Liberty to themselves and their posterity, our forefathers, many of them
Master Masons, almost two centuries ago fought, planned and labored to
establish upon this continent an enduring government dedicated to securing to
its citizens those inalienable Rights of Life, Liberty and pursuit of
happiness, with equal justice for all.
During its early years our forbearers brought into existence a banner for this
young Nation, a flag resplendent with brilliant colors and rich in meaningful
symbolism. The red color symbolizes courage and valor, and the blood of all
those brave and valiant men, which has been shed to protect this Nation and to
maintain Liberty and Justice. The white symbolizes purity, the purity of
purpose and purity of patriotism in which this Nation was conceived and in
which, pray God, it may endure. It also represents peace among men for which
all of us constantly hope and pray. The blue color is a symbol of justice for
all citizens and of faith in the ideals and purposes of our country. The red
and white stripes historically represent the thirteen original states. The
blue field, with the fifty stars, one for each state, stands for unity among
the separate states that form our great Nation.
This honored emblem of freedom and justice, the Flag of our Country, has flown
over oceans and battlefields around the world, where the forces of our Nation
have victoriously defended freedom. It has flown over temples of worship,
hospitals of healing mercy, schools for the education of our youth, courts for
the administration of justice. Legislative halls and seats of government, and
homes of citizens, rich and poor, proclaiming for all to see the glory and
might of this Nation dedicated to liberty and justice.
May this Flag never fly over a Nation which so far departs from the principles
on which it was founded as to be the tool of those who seek special privilege,
of special interest groups, of selfish minorities seeking undue advantage over
others, of those who forget God, but may our Flag always be the banner of a
Nation under God, that government of the people, by the people, and for the
people described a century ago by one of our martyred Presidents.
Stars and Stripes, Flag of Our Country, we salute you with our hands, our
eyes, and our hearts. May you continue to wave proudly in honor over this
Nation in future years with colors undimmed, truly Old Glory!
Grand Master's Messages
DECEMBER 1962
Craftsmen, Brothers all:
It is my request that each of you individually ask yourselves, and then answer
a very simple question
WHAT HAVE I DONE FOR MASONRY?
All of us have answers, but what any of us have done is very little compared
to what Masonry has done for us.
At the outset of this Masonic year, your Grand Master desires and has hope
that there will be perfect harmony throughout our Fraternity. We need but
remember our Masonic obligations, and carry them out, for this to be
accomplished.
My other aim and resolution for this year is that we exert our best efforts in
encouraging men to be Masons. Seek not numbers, hut men who will live
exemplary Masonic lives, even as those who gave us our start in Texas when
they organized under the Masonic Oak. Yes, Masons who will so live that they
need no other recommendation than, "HE IS A MASTER MASON."
The Motto for this year is, "LIVE MASONRY, UNDER GOD, TO INSURE FREEDOM."
A Merry Christmas and a gainful year ahead.
Fraternally yours,
JIM W. WEATHERBY
Grand Master of Masons in Texas.
JANUARY 1963
My dear Brethren:
A new year should bring a new outlook on life and on our actions.
As Masons we should make a payment on what we owe to the Craft. The principles
of Masonry have done so much for each of us.
Live each day under those lessons taught you in your obligation, as a Master
Mason. Live a life that will attract others and cause them to yearn to live as
you live and wonder what makes you the man you are.
Extend that helping hand to yourself by going to your Lodge meeting and asking
a Brother to go with you.
By your Masonic efforts you can make 1963 a Masonic year you will be proud of.
Fraternally yours,
JIM W. WEATHERBY
Grand Master of Masons in Texas.
FEBRUARY 1963
My dear Brethren:
YOU ARE MAKING HISTORY!
Almost 1,000 years elapsed between the fall of Rome and the rise 'of the
Renaissance, and sandwiched between was the dark ages in which nearly all of
our institutions were inferior to those which had gone before.
At present, because of our failure of action, the strength of our national
character is sapped and it has brought about decay of the spiritual and moral
structure of our existence. Yet, you and I stand idly by. We, like the
monkeys, see, hear or speak no evil.
Awake, rededicate, so our children and grandchildren can know the blessings of
liberty that we enjoy.
Will we permit the loss of our country, lose our heritage, forsake the Cod of
our fathers, or shall we dedicate ourselves to recapture the spirit that was
once Texas and America?
Masons furnished the leadership for our forefathers and Masons must today lead
the fight for liberty and freedom.
Dignity of the individual must be reclaimed; God placed before lucre and
wealth, home, country, church as the rule and guide, principle above party.
You have the seed in hand.
Cast them on fertile soil.
JIM W. WEATHERBY
Grand Master of Masons in Texas.
MARCH 1963
My dear Brethren:
The Great Light in Masonry reflects that through the ages man has gone from
bondage to spiritual faith; then with that faith to courage; through courage
to liberty; from liberty to plenty and wealth; with wealth to selfish-ness and
sin; with living selfishly and in sin to indifference; from indifference to
dependence; and from depending on another hack to bondage.
We are not as yet a slave and in bondage. We have some liberty left. Through
Masonry keep a free flag-a loving heart and a place for prayer. Live Masonry,
under God, to insure freedom.
Fraternally yours,
JIM W. WEATHERBY
Grand Master of Masons in Texas.
APRIL 1963
My dear Brethren:
Foremost in our hearts and thinking is home with Mother. We reverently give
obedience to and agree that:
The Greatest Battle ever fought - Shall I tell you where and when?
You'll find it not on the maps of the world;
It was fought by the mother of men.
Yet-many Masons are ring and pin wearers-a goer to the eating, and attend
other bodies that owe their existence to the "Blue Lodge" and forget from
whence they came.
If we pause to consider we realize that we owe our mother Lodge some loyalty
and attention.
Before long we will be honoring our mothers ("Cod Bless them") on the day set
aside for that purpose. Should we not as Masons pay some attention to our
parent Lodge and maybe just this once attend our Blue Lodge on the first
meeting night following Mother's Day.
You will be surprised what is happening - Seek and ye shall find.
Fraternally yours,
JIM W. WEATHERBY
Grand Master of Masons in Texas.
MAY 1963
My dear Brethren:
ARE YOU A MASTER MASON?
During a recent ten-day period I have had the pleasure of breaking bread and
talking with over 6,000 men who would answer this question in the affirmative.
Have you really thought of the responsibilities and duties von placed on
yourself when you gave an affirmative answer?
For your enlightenment, and perhaps betterment, give yourself five minutes of
time to reflect on what it means to be a Master Mason and follow with a prayer
of dedication and thanksgiving.
Will you now try to follow those obligations you took to become a Master Mason
where non-Masons will know that through your acts and behavior that mankind is
richer and freedom more secure because of Masonry?
Sincerely and fraternally,
JIM W. WEATHERBY
Grand Master of Masons in Texas.
JUNE 1963
My Dear Brethren:
"QUO VADIS? -WHITHER ART THOU GOING?"
Since early December your Grand Master has been trying to get the answer for
his personal, selfish satisfaction and too, to have an answer to the ultimate
end and the accomplishment of Masonry.
I know and realize that I am basking in the sunshine of honor-Honor given me
by my Brother Masons and yet I have a deep inward hurting because of my
inability to foresee the future.
Surely all men do not seek from their God the ability to amass wealth or other
material grandeur. Surely, we as Masons can humbly and sincerely offer our
devotions to Almighty God, seeking peace and satisfaction joyously living a
life for others-Our blessings will be their happiness; their contentment will
be their reflection of faith in serving others with zeal under the laws as
given to Moses in the Ten Commandments. Our hope will be their dividends in
happiness and peace of mind from theft rebirth in true religion; our goal will
be their complete desire to champion freedom and quash deceit and subversion.
For them and for me to know it can be accomplished only with realization that
it can only come with Divine Guidance.
If this be so and Masons follow their teachings, I will have the answer.
"DEO GRATIAS." "THANKS BE TO GOD."
Sincerely and fraternally,
JIM W. WEATHERBY
Grand Master of Masons in Texas.
JULY 1963
My dear Brethren:
It really takes so little to have so much.
By birth I became a citizen of the United States with the right to enjoy all
of the benefits as one of its subjects.
I had the privilege of being raised in a good Christian home and learned to
know, love and believe in God. Yes, to know that I can safely put my trust in
God and that if I do I am assured of life beyond this world.
I knocked upon the door of Masonry and the door opened so I could receive all
I would ask for and far more than I deserve.
During my lifetime the fate of the world has depended upon God, America and
Masonry.
The future of a free world depends upon Cod and the principles of Masonry.
"Live Masonry, under God, to insure freedom."
Fraternally yours,
JIM W. WEATHERBY
Grand Master of Masons in Texas.
AUGUST 1963
My dear Brethren:
"AND YE SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE."-St. John
8:32.
My Brothers, in my humble opinion, this expression by Jesus Christ is one of
the most powerful and forceful of all his expressions and directives. We, as
Masons, should examine ourselves and see if, in our endeavors and everyday
living, we seek the truth or if we use hoodwinks to evade the truth and care
not for freedom, especially for our fellow man.
Are we, you and I, honest enough to admit that, at all times, we are riot
"big" enough to keep personal piques and prejudices from influencing us in our
selection of fellow Masons-our presentment of our lives to our families and
business associates? We may be able to keep the truth from our friends, our
Brothers and our families, but we cannot fool ourselves.
Your God and you know what is true. You have to answer self and your God.
Act accordingly-it is net too late-"THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE."
Fraternally yours,
Jim W. WEATHERBY
Grand Master of Masons in Texas.
SEPTEMBER 1963
My dear Brethren:
Your Grand Master does not have a program of reform or change in store for you
this Masonic Year. He feels that Masonry is like Old-time Religion. It is good
enough for everyone. All that is needed is for Masons to practice both Masonry
and Religion.
There is nothing wrong with Masonic principles and practices. You be the
judge. Determine that if you carry out the charges and obligations of a Mason,
you will be satisfied with your conduct of Brotherly Love and be guided back
to the teachings of Old-time Religion.
The jet age has done wonders, but it has not replaced those instructions given
us by our Fathers on Religion and Masonry.
Old-time Religion is good enough for me-Old-time Masonry is good enough for
me.
May my daily actions reflect on others the good I have received from both
Religion and Masonry!
Fraternally yours,
JIM W. WEATHERBY
Grand Master of Masons in Texas.
OCTOBER 1963
My dear Brethren:
WHAT DO YOU MOST DESIRE?
You should ask this question of your friends, associates, the lad in the
street and the lass who sings in the choir. When you have the answers, you
will have the reasons why our country, state and nation are like they are
today. Are we not teaching our youth to seek the pleasures and satisfactions
that can be obtained by purchase with coin of the realm? By example are we
making an image that we want our children to worship and emulate?
Are our business practices those that we would want used against us by the
other man when he has the upper hand? Are the uses we make of religion in the
other six days those practices we know are in accordance with the Law of
Moses? Are the laws, both of God and of man, made to control and govern others
while we do not want them to control us, either physically or morally?
What do we most desire?
Masonry teaches us to seek light; light that will open and enlighten the mind
where our lives and actions will reflect and be observed by others, making all
the world know that a Mason lives a life to diffuse principles of justice,
that right and not might is the rule and guide to our faith and practice. We
must raise again the badge of freedom. Let our Masonic light shine to
establish a goal; to insure freedom; to be assured that, in the future, the
answer to the question "What do we most desire?" will he:
LIGHT. LIGHT OF LOVE AND HAPPINESS, ONE TO THE OTHER!
Fraternally yours,
JIM W. WEATHERBY
Grand Master of Masons in Texas.
NOVEMBER 1938
My dear Brethren:
I could quote words, of the "The Great" to try to express my gratitude and
appreciation for the positive and distinct honor given me by the Masons of
Texas, in allowing me to serve as their Grand Master for the Masonic year now
drawing to a close.
To me, this honor is second only to the highest honor and distinction that can
be given by Freemasonry -the greatest, of course, being given to each Mason
when he is raised to the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason.
With sincerity and humility-Thank you!
May I, for the remainder of the time that I am privileged to walk with men and
Masons here on earth, live a life that reflects this appreciation and instills
in others a burning and everlasting desire to:
LIVE MASONRY UNDER GOD
TO
INSURE FREEDOM
Fraternally yours,
JIM W. WEATHERBY
Grand Master of Masons in Texas.
Brethren: You are again before an Altar of
Freemasonry-not to assume another vow, but to receive the Grand Lodge Award
for having faithfully kept the vows you made at the Altar of your Lodge fifty
years or more ago. Your presence at the Altar then was no accident, nor was it
an unimportant event. You bad acquired a respect for Masonry from your
association with honorable men who were wearing the emblem of the Order. You
developed a desire to possess the mental and moral, and spiritual qualities
that you observed in your Masonic friends, and to know the beneficent secrets
that could only be acquired by you by membership in the Fraternity. You made
application for membership. After careful investigation by a committee of the
Lodge you were found worthy and were admitted. Upon your entrance you declared
your Trust in God. Later, with both bands on the Holy Bible you pledged
yourself to the highest and noblest in life.
Every time I think of what qualifies men for membership in Masonry, and the
process by which they are admitted, I am reminded of an expression the
President of a College or University uses when he confers an Honorary Degree
upon some one deemed worthy. Says he: "Because of HONOR you are awarded this
Degree."
It was "because of honor" that you received the Degrees in Masonry. It is
"because of honor" that you are today receiving this Fifty Year Service Award
at the hands of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Texas, Ancient Free and
Accepted Masons.
This brief ceremony pays tribute not only for the years you have served in
Masonry, but more particularly for your steadfast loyalty to the principles of
the Order, and your unswerving fidelity to the high and noble purposes of the
Fraternity.
We trust that you will have health and strength to serve Masonry for many
years to come, and that you will find much joy in your recollections of your
Masonic career, and of this recognition accorded you by the Grand Lodge.
We pray that the love of Him in whom you long ago placed your Trust will so
fill your hearts, as you approach nearer the sunset of life, that as the days
and nights come and go:
"The nights will be filled with music,
And the cares that infest the day
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs
And as silently steal away."
Brother Burns will now lead the Brethren to the seats in the Grand Lodge Room
that have been reserved for them.
The Brethren are seated.
Return to top
1964 --
1965 --
1966 -- H.W. Fullingim, GM
Let our lodges reflect the kind of Brotherhood that will cause good men to
want to become Masons. If Brotherhood and goodwill are the guiding principles
of our lives, we will have achieved the civilizing influences that make life
noble. For, after this life, we will be remembered most for the kind of
Brothers we have been to each other.
(H.W. Fullingim, GM)
There is no law requiring Masons to vote, but we believe in a free country
and free public schools. One of America's most popular sayings has been 'It's
a free country.' To keep it that way, we must vote and encourage others to
vote. When we vote, we must keep the tenants of Freemasonry in mind and vote
for good, not evil; for love, not hate; for happiness, not misery.
(H.W. Fullingim, GM)
It is a duty for us to look at ourselves realistically from time to time.
We cannot write off our failures by hiding our heads in the sand, nor should
we attempt to cover our mistakes with loud bragging. A little bragging can be
forgiven a Texan, but we should not allow bragging to blind us to the things
which need correction in our schools, our government and our Lodges. We can
truly brag when we have achieved the love and Brotherhood which should prevail
in our Lodges; when we have reactivated suspended Masons; when we demonstrate,
by love and solicitude, that we have made every member feel the love and
loyalty due him from every Brother Mason.
(H.W. Fullingim, GM)
We uphold honor, duty and fraternal loyalty in our great Masonic family,
and the love we have for humanity is showing. That love for our fellow man is
written in brick and mortar, stone and steel; our love is written in edifices
and human deeds done in them. We don't advertise these things, but the
patients (in our hospitals) and residents (in our Home and School) do.
(H.W. Fullingim, GM)
Charity is the outward expression of inward love, that motivating force,
brethren, which causes us to act good, kind, compassionate toward out
Brethren.
(S.B. Casey, GM of Arizona)
Return to top
1967 -- J.D. Tomme, Jr., GM
A number of years ago -- I don't remember how many -- there was an instance
where the mother and father of a family were tragically killed in an
automobile accident. There were no close relatives to this family and the
responsibility of rearing and providing for the younger brothers and sisters
was put upon the shoulders of the oldest daughter. In the days, she went to
high school; in the evenings, she washed dishes in a restaurant.
She did this for a number of months, but found that the money income was not
enough to support the family, so she quit high school. In the morning, she no
longer went to school, but she scrubbed and cleaned in an apartment building.
She literally worked day and night, day and night, for a number of years,
until finally her health failed. She was admitted to a hospital, and there the
doctors found that she had incurable tuberculosis and would soon die.
A women who belonged to the church of the young girl came to the hospital one
day and sat down by the bed and she said, "My dear, when was the last time
that you were in church?" And the girl said, "Well, you see, I haven't been
able to go to church in quite awhile." And the women said, "Well, when was the
last time that you were in Sunday school?" And the answer was the same. And
the woman was quite surprised and she said, "You mean you haven't gone to
church or Sunday school? Don't you know you're going to die soon? How will you
get into Heaven?
Now from beneath the sheets the young girl pulled her hands. These were not
the hands of a young girl, but those of a woman who had worked for others. The
knuckles were red, inflamed and swollen, the fingernails were torn and ragged
and the hands themselves were chapped and rough and lined. And she held her
hands before the woman's eyes and said, "Why I will show God these. He will
understand."
(David Levin, State Orator, Order of DeMolay)
Communications are more difficult today than they were in the days when the
local Masonic Lodge was the center of community activities. We have to make an
effort to be sure that our Masonic works are known. if we work at our Masonry
and demonstrate our Masonic faith by our works, then I believe young men want
to join to help us in our work. I'm not saying that we should advertise how
wonderful and how much good we are doing for humanity, but I am saying, like
Saint Matthew, 'A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. neither do men
light a candle, and put it under a bushel.'
I simply do not believe that we will interest young men in Masonry unless they
know something about what we Masons are trying to do. There is no better way
to show them than by example in our daily lives, by making a dignified effort
to let the community know we exist, and why we exist. We don't need to solicit
young men for membership, we need to inspire them. And once they have become
masons. we need to remember them.
(Royce Nicar, Grand Orator)
Return to top
1968 -- J. W. Chandler, G.M.
I think that somewhere you and I have fallen down on the job. We are not
inculcating masonry as it should be inculcated. We are failing to do
something, and these men [suspended for NPD] are losing interest in our
fraternity and they no longer have a desire to wear the Square and Compasses
or to have their names published in our membership roster and they had just as
soon drop out. I think that we need to examine the things that are going on
today.
I think that in many instances when we raise a candidate to the Sublime Degree
of a Master Mason, we tell him that he is entitled to receive all the light
this Lodge can bestow, and then we ask him to have a seat among the Brethren.
he comes back at the next stated meeting, at the next stated meeting, at the
next one. He never learns one thing more about masonry. You have taught him
all that you intend to teach him when you confer the Master's Degree. This man
came to Masonry because he had a good opinion of Masonry. He wanted to learn
something about Masonry. He wanted to learn how to be of service to his fellow
man. He wanted to learn how to care for the widow and the orphan of his
deceased brethren. But we never tell him.
Sometimes I think we are more concerned in paying attention to those who are
not members of our fraternity, hoping that they will petition, than we are in
paying attention to those of our members who have already received the
Degrees. I think that if every Lodge spent as much time ministering to the
needs and the concerns of its members as it does to conferring degrees and
processing petitions, this would be a far greater fraternity.
(J.W. Chandler, Grand Master)
When President [of the Republic of Texas] Mirabeau B. Lamar, a member of
Harmony Lodge #6 at Galveston, delivered his first message to the Congress of
the Republic of Texas on December 21, 1838, it included this statement: 'it is
admitted by all, that a cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy,
and while guided and controlled by virtue, the noblest attribute of man. It is
the only dictator that free men acknowledge, and the only security that free
men desire.'
(J.W. Chandler, Grand Master)
Every Mason is a living example of the teachings and precepts of our
fraternity. Every non-Mason will judge Masonry the world over by the actions
of one individual member. That one member may be YOU. You have been taught
lessons, within the tiled recesses of our Lodge rooms of good moral living,
upright conduct, honesty, integrity and Brotherly Love. We have been taught to
regard the whole human species as one family -- the high, the low, the rich
and the poor -- created by one Almighty Parent.
Every Mason has been taught to be concerned about his fellow man -- to have
compassion for those less fortunate -- to care for the lonely, the
downtrodden, the sick and the lame. We must live by the lessons we have been
taught to set an example before the profane. We must set an example before our
own members. 'As a Master Mason you are authorized to correct the
irregularities of less informed Brethren.' But, we must do more than this!
Every new member of our fraternity is looking to you and me to set the example
by which they will govern their lives and actions as a Mason. Each of these
men came to Masonry because of the example set by someone else. Can we do any
less than lead the way -- set the example? The voice from every empty lodge
room seat cries out. 'Show me!'
(J.W. Chandler, Grand Master)
First, my brethren, some of our Lodges are realizing what our lady folks
have known for centuries, that one of the best ways to a man's heart, mind and
soul is through his stomach. We should have a few more good eating meetings.
(V.A. Browning, Grand Orator)
Return to top
1969 -- J.G. Smith, G.M.
Any organization which is to succeed and prosper will face the recurring
problem of recruiting and training exemplary leadership. The Masonic
Fraternity is no exception. In a large measure, the achievement of
Freemasonry's goal will be determined by how well we solve this problem. If we
attract dynamic, aggressive, talented and zealous leaders we will have
growing, vigorous Lodges. It is inconceivable to me that we can reach this
objective by basing our search for officer material on who has the most time
to attend meetings, who is willing to serve the longest number of years or who
deserves personal reward. Much has been written regarding the practice of
'going through the line.' This practice has been deplored by previous Grand
Masters and others in the Craft. It also seems to me to be a poor practice to
allow the Junior Warden to appoint a Junior Steward, knowing that in all
probability the individual will be Master of the Lodge in seven years.
By this practice, we disenfranchise the membership in an organization which
desperately needs the uninhibited franchise of all its members in selecting
leaders. in a few short months, we will again be turning our minds to the
selection of officers. it is my prayer that you will join with me in seeking
officers among the finest and most capable men in your Lodge without regard to
previous attendance, personal feelings or other such considerations. If we
will do this, our Lodges will truly become oases of wisdom, strength and
beauty from which all mankind can derive great benefits as he traverses the
desert of life.
(J.G. Smith, Grand Master)
I read a little story recently that impressed me very much. Little Jimmy,
when he was six years old, his father was stopped by a patrolman and he saw
his father slip a five dollar bill under his driver's license as he handed it
to the officer. His father said, 'It's all right, Son. Everybody does it.'
When he was nine, his mother took him to a play. There were no seats available
until she slipped the usher a dollar bill. She said, 'It's all right, Son.
Everybody does it.' When he was eleven, he broke his glasses and his aunt
convinced the insurance company that the glasses had been stolen and collected
the insurance for the glasses. She said, 'It's all right, Jimmy. Everybody
does it.' When he was sixteen, his football coach showed him how to block in
the line and yet hold onto the jersey of his opponent. he said, 'It's all
right, Jimmy. Everybody does it.' And when he was nineteen in his college work
as the final examinations came along a friend came along and told him the
answers to the questions. He said, 'It's all right, Jimmy. Everybody does it.'
But he was caught. He was expelled. He was sent home. His father and mother
were wringing their hands and saying, 'Jimmy, how could you do this to us? You
never had this kind of upbringing at home. How could you do this to us?'
Brethren, this is a typical thing in our American lives. These things go on.
Can we blame our youth?
(D.L. Andrews, PGM of Iowa)
Return to top
|
