Need Help From Masons and Ghost Hunters

Originally posted by Witness2008
reply to post by network dude

 

You guys certainly could help. I have been at this all day and have acquired a headache and have no more knowledge than when I started. Geeeez, you masons know how to complicate things.

I have sent emails to scottish rite lodges in Stanford, Oklahoma City and Houston. He started of in Stanford but lived most of his later life in OK and TX.

Are 32nd degree masons limited in membership? How many can one lodge have? Is it like military ranking?

No, there is no limit to the number of 32's in a lodge. A lodge can have as many 32's that qualify for the rank. No, it is not like Military rank. It is more about the amount of education received and mastered.

reply to post by phantomjack


Does the Scottish Rite limit it's membership to only 32nd degree Masons? Is it possible that he could have been a 33rd degree? I had no idea that there could be so many 33rd degree mason's. I thought the rank was a figure head one and that there was only one.

I suppose that I'm really looking for is what type of man he was. Getting that far in Masonry took a lot of dedication and work. What sort of responsibility does a 32nd degree Mason have?

Originally posted by Witness2008
Getting that far in Masonry took a lot of dedication and work. What sort of responsibility does a 32nd degree Mason have?

You are getting caught up with the whole degree/number aspect, it is only relevant in the Scottish Rite and you can get your 32nd in one weekend.

His responsibilities would have been the same as every other Mason, community/self-improvement.

Originally posted by Witness2008
reply to post by phantomjack

 

Does the Scottish Rite limit it's membership to only 32nd degree Masons? Is it possible that he could have been a 33rd degree? I had no idea that there could be so many 33rd degree mason's. I thought the rank was a figure head one and that there was only one.

I suppose that I'm really looking for is what type of man he was. Getting that far in Masonry took a lot of dedication and work. What sort of responsibility does a 32nd degree Mason have?

Regular Masonry (AKA "the Blue Lodge") has 3 degrees; "Entered Apprentice", "Fellow Craft", and "Master". When you reach the 3rd, you can petition to join one of the appendant bodies (the Scottish Rite or the York Rite, etc), and earn supplementary degrees. The Scottish Rite confers degrees from the 4th to 32nd degrees; the York has fewer. The degrees are not "ranks". NO Mason is "higher up" than a 3rd Degree, or Master Mason. If you want to visualize it, imagine a capital "T". The first three degrees are the stem, and the once at the top of the stem, you can move "sideways" into the "appendant" degrees.

Before any tinfoil hatter chimes in, that does NOT imply that because the cross of the T moves away from the stem, that the other degrees "move away" from the central blue lodge; I used it only to illustrate that everyone from the 3rd and higher degrees are the same "rank".

When you speak of a 32nd Degree Mason, you're likely talking about a Scottish Rite Mason. In some jurisdictions, earning the 4th through 32nd Scottish Rite degrees is as easy as spending a weekend watching morality plays; in other jusrisdictions, they actually make you "work" the degree (do the memory work and so on).

A 33rd degree is an HONORARY degree only, conferred on those who have done exceptionally good works for the Lodge or the community at large.

There are no limits to the number of 32nds or 33rds there may be in a given lodge.

reply to post by Witness2008

That image is a sword used in the Knights Templar.

As to what to do with it, that's up to you. You can return it, but you can approach a Lodge, or York Rite about it if you would like to donate it.

In the Commandery all the officers use swords; really in any knighthood degree/order there are swords used. In the Lodge, the tyler is armed with a sword.

The value of the sword depends on who made it and when. Some new swords can be bought for several hundred, depending on the venue.

Originally posted by AugustusMasonicus

Originally posted by Witness2008
Getting that far in Masonry took a lot of dedication and work. What sort of responsibility does a 32nd degree Mason have?

You are getting caught up with the whole degree/number aspect, it is only relevant in the Scottish Rite and you can get your 32nd in one weekend.

His responsibilities would have been the same as every other Mason, community/self-improvement.

edit on 5-5-2013 by AugustusMasonicus because: networkdude has no beer

I am confused as to the importance of the "Degree". The York Rite and Scottish Rite do seem to put emphasis on it considering that the York Rite has nine additional Degrees over that of the Scottish rite. Are the additional Degrees dependent upon whether one is Christian or not?

Each Rite is made up of different groups and each group consists of different degrees. So I don't understand how the degrees would be un-important to understanding Free Masonry. I wonder what it takes to become "Super Excellent Master?

I do think it takes a certain type of person to reach those ubber secret levels of Masonry, and I intend on getting to the bottom of what type of guy held the sword that is hanging on my wall.

reply to post by IslandMason


Thank you Island Mason. You have helped a great deal. While reading about Masonry there was one word that kept popping into my head.... convoluted. But then I do understand that Masonry is an ever evolving body.

reply to post by KSigMason


Thanks for your input. I have this nagging feeling that the sword will remain on our wall, proudly displayed by a grandson.

reply to post by Witness2008

That's fine too. It's a good momento as a reminder of your grandfather. One of my best friends has kept all of his grandfather's Masonic regalia.

Originally posted by Witness2008
I am confused as to the importance of the "Degree". The York Rite and Scottish Rite do seem to put emphasis on it considering that the York Rite has nine additional Degrees over that of the Scottish rite. Are the additional Degrees dependent upon whether one is Christian or not?

The York Rite and the Scottish Rite do not have degrees over each other. They are side orders that further explore the leasons of Masonry already covered in the 3 degrees of the Blue Lodge. There is no emphasis placed on attending or watching all of the Scottish Rite degrees in a particular timeframe and many Masons have not seen all of them.

The York Rite requires that one be a Christian if you intend on joining the Knights Templar.

Each Rite is made up of different groups and each group consists of different degrees. So I don't understand how the degrees would be un-important to understanding Free Masonry. I wonder what it takes to become "Super Excellent Master?

The understanding of Masonry is covered in the Blue Lodge, everything else just reiterates what is taught there through morality plays. The Blue Lodge degrees are more formal while Scottish Rite is more theatrical in nature.

I do think it takes a certain type of person to reach those ubber secret levels of Masonry, and I intend on getting to the bottom of what type of guy held the sword that is hanging on my wall.

There are no 'ubber secret levels' and as I explained earlier, you can get your 32nd in one weekend or in some cases one day.

reply to post by Witness2008

The York Rite is really misleading as it should be called the American Rite and one should realize that it is composed of 3 separate and sovereign bodies: Royal Arch Masonry (RAM), Cryptic Masonry, and Templar Masonry. There are 4-RAM degrees, 2-Cryptic degrees (+1 optional degree), and 3-Chivalric Orders. There are also "chair degrees" and several invitational orders attached to the York Rite system.

Neither Rite is over one another. They are separate groups with different histories. Only the Commander, the Chivalric Orders, require a Christian belief. Several of the invitational bodies require a Christian faith as well.

I wonder what it takes to become "Super Excellent Master?

You must have gone through the Royal and Select Master of the Cryptic Masons. Then you just find a jurisdiction that actively confers this. I'm trying to get my Grand Council to hold a mass conferral on people at next years Grand Assembly.

Here is a description of the Super Excellent Master:

Leaving somewhat the legend of Ancient Craft Masonry, but also making reference to Royal Arch Masonry, the Super Excellent Master degree refers to circumstances that occurred during the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, commander of the Babylonian Army. This degree is noteworthy for its scenes of the Jewish court of Zedekiah and the Chaldean court of Nebuchadnezzar. It represents the final destruction of King Solomon's Temple and the carrying away of the Jews to Babylonian captivity. This degree emphasizes the values of loyalty and faithfulness, and It teaches that while men may continue to build, the only permanent temple is that spiritual temple which each erects within himself.

SOURCE

Originally posted by vasilecostea1986

 

 

hmmmm......

Originally posted by Witness2008
I have sent emails to scottish rite lodges in Stanford, Oklahoma City and Houston. He started of in Stanford but lived most of his later life in OK and TX.

Again, it's a York Rite sword, so Scottish Rite isn't going to be of any help.

Email Larry Tucker, and he might be able to dig something up or point you in the right direction.

www.knightstemplar.org...