Why did you want to become a Freemason?
Networking? Riches? Fame and Success? World domination?
This is why a waiting period for prospects is a must. Six months minimum.
There should be no shortcuts as patience is one of our virtues. We shouldn’t encourage the mentality of instant gratification to gain membership.
We are not a product to be consumed; we are a path to be traveled.
When our brethren built Kings Solomon’s Temple, did they cut corners to get it built quicker?
However, in California Freemasonry, you are not required to give back the long-form proficiency, just the obligation. A choice that has backfired.
Membership in the Masons of California has declined significantly, dropping from a peak of over 244,000 in 1965 to approximately 80,000 by 1990, all the way down to around 40,000 today.
Long-form or full-form proficiency is not a formality. It’s not busywork.
It’s the backbone of Freemasonry.
It’s a test of character.
A man who truly knows his work doesn’t just recite words, he embodies the Craft.
He lives it. Breathes it. Becomes a pillar others can lean on.
In life, we all return to certain moments, and for a Mason, the memory work, the teachings, the discipline, these become a compass when we need direction. If you can’t be bothered to learn them, how will you live them?
At a bare minimum, that should be required before advancing in the degrees.
You are a representative of this ancient fraternity.
What does it say about the Craft if a Master Mason can’t answer basic questions about Freemasonry?
What does it say about the candidate that doesn’t care about understanding what he just experienced in the ritual with his guide?
Can you explain the point within a circle? The Three Great Lights? The working tools of each degree?
If the future of Masonry relied on your knowledge to rebuild it, do you have the ability and could you do it?
Or did you just memorize a few lines to get your next degree, never thinking twice about what you swore to uphold? I’ve seen many who have.
It isn’t a race to the top. it’s not a race at all.
Freemasonry isn’t about titles. It’s about transformation.
It’s not about the SWAG we can wear on the outside when we become a Master Mason, it’s about what is inside that makes us a Mason.
We’re not here to make men comfortable and lazy.
We’re here to make men better.
Do the work. Know the work.
Lead by example.
Be the Mason, future Masons can build on.
-Robert Anthony Meyers
2 time Past Master
North Hollywood Lodge No 542
c 2024 Chu The Cud
All Rights Reserved
Chu The Cud 
Extremely well said, Worshipful.
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Thank you Brother. Now, go and go, go go go and go and go now go go go go go go go go go go……
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