In His Own (w)Rite
By Michael R. Poll
Copyright © Michael R. Poll 2011
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Smashwords Edition
Cornerstone Book Publishers
New Orleans, LA
First Cornerstone Edition - 2011
www.cornerstonepublishers.com
E-Book Edition ISBN: 1613420420
ISBN-13: 978-1-61342-042-3
Print Edition ISBN: 1-61342-019-6
ISBN-13: 978-1-61342-019-5
MADE IN THE USA
Table of Contents
Fluid Masonry: The Art of Change
Albert Pike’s Address Before The Grand Conmsistory of Louisiana
The Grand Constitutions of 1786
Down the Path of Proper Research
Dyslexia: The Gift in Disguise
James Foulhouze: A biographical study
Introduction
What's Freemasonry? Well, it pretty much depends on who you ask. In the 35+ years that I have been a Mason I have visited quite a few lodges. No two have been exactly alike. Lodges seem to develop personalities of their own, much like people. Some are relaxed and laid back, some are more formal. Some are very healthy with work going on all the time and some, sadly, are on life support. But, in each lodge when I’ve talked to the individual members, they have expressed a true caring about their membership. Sure, it does not mean the same thing to each one of them. The one in the kaki pants and bright Hawaiian shirt with the donut in his hand might view the reason for his membership differently than the one in the tux with the white gloves and a glass of wine, but, so what? Who said Masonry has to mean the same thing to everyone?
The common denominator in all lodges is that Masonry lifts Masons up a bit more from where they started. Not everyone is a philosopher and not everyone will draw the deeper meanings from the Masonic ritual, but we all can benefit from being told to try and be better than we are today. Sure, few (if any) live up to the deepest teachings of Freemasonry, but is our goal perfection or the striving for it? I believe that if we just try to live as Masonry teaches, recognizing that we all fail from time to time, then we are doing what is expected of us. Masonry is not for everyone and we can not expect that it will, in any way, satisfy someone who is just not Masonic material. But, for those who are touched by Masonry, no matter what they are wearing, eating or the state of their lodge, they feel very deeply about being a Mason. It is important to them and no matter how much or little they know of the ritual or its deeper teachings, it is of value to them.
Our Masonic history is important to us. It is important that we know who we are and from where we come. But, this is not really a Masonic history book. I have, however, a deep interest in the early history of the Scottish Rite. I have this interest because we have such sketchy accounts of the early days of it. While this is not a Masonic history book, I have included some history papers exploring aspects of Scottish Rite history that we might not see explored too often. This is, also, not a book of philosophy. But, I do feel that we can all benefit from the life lessons Masonry teaches. I try to teach Masonry in a way that applies to everyone, so that we all can see and experience its lessons. With this in mind, I've included some of these basic philosophical lectures and papers.
So, that's what we have here; a collection of history and philosophical papers - with some other bits I find useful or noteworthy. If this book gives you just a moment to think about yourself, your role in Masonry or gives you any cause to think of ways to improve yourself, then I consider this book a worthwhile endeavor.
Be happy, enjoy life and make each beautiful moment count.
Michael R. Poll
Fall, 2011
In His Own (w)Rite
Fluid Masonry: The Art of Change
The Journal of the Masonic Society, Issue 7, 2010
WHEN WE BOIL FREEMASONRY DOWN to its most basic element, we find a very simple message: “make yourself better.” Such a statement can, however, be likened to the phrase “be happy.” It sounds easy enough, but how do you do it? How do you know when you are “better?” What is “better?” What seems to be an uncomplicated message becomes difficult to put into practice, even to understand. Such is the nature of symbolism.
We can start on the path of symbolic understanding by looking at nature. If you look at a beautiful mountain stream, you can find more than beauty. You can find illusion (often, the guardian of symbolism). Flowing water goes around a large rock in the stream. The illusion is that the rock is the master. What we believe to be truth is the sight of the water yielding to the rock and being forced to flow around it. We see this and accept it as truth. Our error is that we determined “the truth” before we gathered all the facts. In time, gentle, flowing water can reduce the largest stone to a pebble. The rock is not the master. One lesson to learn is that what we see, hear, feel and believe might well prove to be something other than fact. We must train ourselves to withhold judgment.
In Freemasonry, a subtle lesson is taught early on by putting us in a position where we cannot depend on what we can see. We are forced to depend on others for guidance. We are also forced to use senses other than those we would normally rely upon. We must change in order to adapt to this new situation. The illusion is that we have been handicapped and deprived of receiving the full benefit that would have been afforded us if we had complete use of all of our senses. But the illusion masks the fact that we are forced to adapt to our condition precisely because we have been placed in such a state. We simply can’t act or perform on our own. We need guidance.
The three degrees in Craft Masonry are often said to represent the three stages of human life: youth, adulthood and old age. How do we progress through these stages? We change. As children, we play, grow and learn. As adults, we put into practice what we have learned, and in old age we impart to others what we have learned. In each stage, we change in body and mind. It is the normal way of life. What would be abnormal is if no change took place.
Let’s look again at the water and the rock. The gentle, flowing water cannot and does not break the rock by direct force. Water changes its direction and flows around the rock; in doing so, it also gradually affects change in the rock. The gentle pressures of the water force the rock to give way and reduce itself in size. The rock is not the master after all. Change is one of the unavoidable facts of all existence. Any attempt to avoid change only results in unnatural waste of energy.
The lessons of Masonry are such that we must study them with a child’s open and willing mind. In certain aspects of our teachings, we might remember we are told that it is not acceptable to bring “innovations” into the body of Masonry. An innovation is change. Are we being told that we cannot or should not change? Not at all.
As individuals, we change every day of our lives. We grow older, which brings physical and mental changes. We have no choice in these types of changes. We also have the option to make free-will choices in our lives. We might opt to eat a more healthful diet, to exercise, or in some way improve our lives. There are countless changes that we can choose. We also might make the decision not to make any free-will changes. It is our choice as individuals.
But when we speak of innovations in Masonry, we are speaking of something quite different. The innovations that are made in Masonry should never be the choice of any single individual. Changes should be the collective will of the membership. In Masonry it is the lodge, not the Worshipful Master, who decides the direction to be taken. The Worshipful Master only steers the ship in the desired direction.
In our Grand Lodges, we see change every year. We see resolutions presented and voted on. It is rare that a Grand Lodge will see no change whatsoever in its nature after a Grand Lodge session. Change is normal. Change is expected.
In Masonry, the changes we see in its nature often mirror the changes we see in wider society. Freemasons are part of society and we interact with others on a daily basis. It would be unnatural for us to be social outcasts. If we look back at Masonry 50 or 100 years ago, or even longer, we see that the nature of Masonry matched that of society in both simple matters of dress and deep social or philosophical issues. Even today, we see social difference in Masonry depending on the location of the lodge and its membership. In a large city, you might see lodge members dressing in a different manner than you would see in a small town. One is not right and the other wrong, they are just simple differences in the social norms of the areas.
When we look at society and speak of a large nation, it would be uninformed to not realize that society’s concepts of what is acceptable and unacceptable vary from community to community. The overall social structure of a large area allows for change and variations within smaller areas. Speed limits might change from one place to another, as well as many other community-based laws, but where will you find murder legal? Society as a whole has limits as to what are acceptable standards.
Because Grand Lodges are sovereign and free to pass the rules and laws of their liking, it would seem highly improbable that you would find two Grand Lodges with exactly the same set of governing laws. If one Grand Lodge changed its laws to require all members to wear tuxedos to lodge, it might draw a level of interest from some other Grand Lodges, but that would be about it. If the same Grand Lodge removed the Volume of Sacred Law from its altars, then not only would this attract the attention of other Grand Lodges, but they would view this Grand Lodge as moving outside of what is considered acceptable, and the breaking of fraternal relations with this jurisdiction might follow. By the same turn, if most Grand Lodges adopted a particular policy which they felt was extremely important, then those few Grand Lodges not adopting the policy might also be viewed as unacceptable or out of step.
Change is not the enemy of Masonry. Just as the water in a stream changes direction as it flows in and around various obstacles, so should we recognize that change is not only inevitable, but is in our best interest. In a storm, it is the strong, unyielding tree, not the flexible blade of grass, that is in most danger of breaking.
***
Albert Pike’s Address Before
The Grand Consistory of Louisiana
I believe readily that you did not want the office, but the office wanted you.
- Charles Laffon de Ladébat to Albert Pike 1
THE PASSAGE OF YEARS can sometimes elevate a historical figure into a legend. This is not always beneficial when a study of the individual is desired. A historical figure can be examined and their actions understood from a human perspective. A legend, however, can take on near supernatural qualities and the whole of their activities are sometimes not expected to be understood, explained or completely recounted. Such is, at times, the case with Albert Pike. It is often difficult to imagine Albert Pike as a player (rather than as the player) in American Scottish Rite events of the 1800s. The monumental mark that Pike left on the Southern Jurisdiction can mask the fact that his influence was not always as profound as it was in his later years. Regardless of his many accomplishments, there was a time when Illustrious Brother Pike was but an inexperienced, yet promising, Mason with a blank book before him upon which it was unknown exactly what would be written.
This address, the first ever given by Pike as the presiding officer of a Scottish Rite body, gives us a rare look at the early Albert Pike. While in his later years, Pike was viewed by many as a true Master of the Scottish Rite, this address clearly calls into notice his immaturity in the Rite, and he asks for “lenient judgment” upon his “short-comings”. In his address Pike is clearly humble and seems sincerely appreciative of his election. He also notes that his election to the position of Commander in Chief was politic in nature and due to “circumstances that surround us”. What could have caused a political election of the untried Albert Pike as the presiding officer of the Grand Consistory of Louisiana? Let’s look at the “circumstances”.
The Turmoil that was Louisiana Masonry
Just seven years prior to Pike’s assuming the leadership of the Grand Consistory of Louisiana, the whole of Louisiana Masonry underwent a dramatic shift in direction, leadership, and character. The once French dominated Grand Lodge of Louisiana became “American” in nature. This shift mirrored the cultural changes taking place in New Orleans and other French areas of the state. Louisiana was founded as a French colony. Even after the territory became a state in 1812, the French influence was the dominate force, especially in the city of New Orleans. Not only was the Grand Lodge of Louisiana a French-speaking body, but so were the five lodges that created it. Louisiana was the most “foreign” Grand Lodge (as well as state) in the U.S. Over time, many did not view this as an acceptable situation. There was a desire to “be like everyone else.”
By the 1830s, Louisiana Masonry, as well as the whole of the Louisiana culture, began feeling intense pressure to become “more American”. With many, this was not a welcome change. Bitter disputes and unyielding divisions developed that culminated in actual violent clashes between the “Creoles” and “Americans” in the downtown New Orleans streets. The Grand Lodge was not immune to these cultural divisions which often manifested themselves in the different rites worked by the Louisiana craft lodges. Unlike the other U.S. Grand Loges, the craft lodges in Louisiana did not only work in the Preston-Webb (York Rite) craft ritual, but also in the French or Modern Rite and the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite craft rituals. For the most part, the French interests were championed by the lodges working the French or Modern and A.&A.S.R. Rites and the American interests by the York Rite lodges. The 1844 Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana was the last straw for many York Rite craft Masons. The new constitution officially recognized the, then, three rites working in Louisiana and sanctioned the creation of a “Chamber of Rites” to supervise the work of the lodges. The York position was that there should be only one recognized rite for Louisiana craft lodges (York Rite ) and that the Grand Lodge should be made to conform to the same system as worked by the other U.S. Grand Lodges.
A committee of English-speaking York Rite Masons, frustrated by the lack of accommodation they perceived in the Grand Lodge, approached the Grand Lodge of Mississippi and submitted a letter of grievance on January 23, 1845.2 They charged the Grand Lodge of Louisiana with irregularity due to its practice and acknowledgment of various craft lodge rituals. After debate, the Grand Lodge of Mississippi agreed with the charges, declared the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana as “open territory” and, by 1848, chartered seven lodges in Louisiana.3 On March 8, 1848 these seven lodges formed a second Grand Lodge within Louisiana. John Gedge, who had spearheaded the “rebellion” was elected Grand Master of the “Louisiana Grand Lodge of Ancient York Masons”. While this new Grand Lodge received recognition from only the Grand Lodge of Mississippi, its future was not nearly as bleak as it might seem.
The Grand Lodge of Louisiana was created in a manner to accommodate the needs of the lodges which organized it. The Grand Lodge was created French in nature because this was the culture of the vast majority of those living in the area of the Grand Lodge at that time. Over the years that followed, the Grand Lodge continued to exist and operate in the manner in which it was created. The majority of the membership of the lodges under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge, however, changed from French to American. The Grand Lodge was then viewed, by the majority, as not accommodating their wants and needs.
The Grand Lodge of Mississippi received admonitions from most U.S. Grand Lodges for their actions in Louisiana, with the majority openly condemning its activities.4 With the exception of the Grand Lodge of Mississippi, no U.S. Grand Lodge entered into relations with the new Louisiana Grand Lodge. Regardless of their seemingly advantageous position, the Grand Lodge of Louisiana was in serious trouble.
Outside of New Orleans, there were a few pockets where the French culture was strong, but the majority of the state was already (or was becoming) Americanized. The events surrounding the creation of the Louisiana Grand Lodge buckled the knees of the Grand Lodge because most of the lodges under this new Grand Lodge were located in the New Orleans area -perceived to be the largest stronghold of the French culture within the state as well as the home of the Grand Lodge. The fact that the Grand Lodge of Louisiana was overwhelmingly considered to be the “regular” Grand Lodge in Louisiana was not sufficient to overcome the internal problems stemming from the cultural divisions in New Orleans. By mid 1849, it was realized that the English-speaking lodges that had remained loyal to the Grand Lodge were showing signs that continued loyalty would, most likely, not happen. Contributing to the dilemma was divisions between the French-speaking New Orleans Masons.
Obviously realizing that the total collapse of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana was a very real possibility, the Grand Lodge and the Louisiana Grand Lodge, A. Y.M. entered into discussions in 1849 designed to merge the two bodies.5 That merger took place in June of 1850 with the approval of a new Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana of Free and Accepted Masons. Under the terms of the agreement of the merger, the Louisiana Grand Lodge, A. Y.M. members declared irregular would be healed by the Grand Lodge of Louisiana, F.&A.M.. All Lodges chartered by the Louisiana Grand Lodge, A. Y.M. (or by the Grand Lodge of Mississippi in Louisiana) would, also, pass under the jurisdiction of the new Grand Lodge of Louisiana, F.&A.M. John Gedge, who had served as Grand Master of the Louisiana Grand Lodge, A. Y.M., was elected Grand Master of the new Grand Lodge of Louisiana, F.&A.M. for 1851.
While this new constitution seemed to merge the two Grand Lodges, the Grand Lodge of Louisiana was, in reality, replaced by the Louisiana Grand Lodge, A. Y.M.. All that actually remained of the old Grand Lodge was the name, organizational date of 1812, and the list of Past Grand Masters. The nature of the new Grand Lodge of Louisiana, F.&A.M. changed to match the Louisiana Grand Lodge, A. Y.M.. The “Americans” were in power.
The old Grand Lodge of Louisiana officially accommodated lodges working in the York, French, or Modern, and A.&A.S.R. craft rituals. The French-speaking Masons believed that the two Grand Lodge merger would result in the continued recognition of lodges working in all three rites. They were horrified and outraged when the new Grand Lodge instructed all non-York Rite lodges to turn in their charters so that York Rite charters could be issued.6 Charges of trickery abounded. Three A.&A.S.R. craft lodges (Etoile Polaire, Disciples of the Masonic Senate, and Los Amigos del Orden) applied to the Supreme Council of Louisiana for relief. The Supreme Council announced that since an 1833 concordat between the Grand Lodge of Louisiana and the Grand Consistory of Louisiana (at that time the highest ranking Scottish Rite body in the State) to assure that the Grand Lodge would provide a home for the Scottish Rite craft lodges had been violated by the new Grand Lodge, the Supreme Council would issue charters to these lodges and allow them to pass under its jurisdiction.7
The French Rite Masons did not have a Grand Body from which to seek relief. The Grand Lodge had been the home of the French Rite. With no superior body for the government of the French Rite lodges, they would, ultimately, disappear from Louisiana Masonry as an identifiable force.8
The Setting for More Change
When we step back and attempt to look at the situation through the eyes of the participants, we can see that the Supreme Council of Louisiana taking jurisdiction over the three A.&A.S.R. Craft Lodges must have been just as jarring to the new Grand Lodge of Louisiana as the action of the Grand Lodge of Mississippi was to the old Grand Lodge. No one could see or know the future. The Grand Lodge of Mississippi had been a body in full fraternal relations with the old Grand Lodge, as was the Supreme Council of Louisiana. While the Grand Lodge of Mississippi was a sister Grand Lodge, the Supreme Council of Louisiana was composed of members who were nearly all Grand Lodge officers, a good number of whom were Past Grand Masters. The Supreme Council of Louisiana was not an insignificant body. The actions of the Grand Lodge of Mississippi set into motion a series of events that led to the downfall of the old Grand Lodge of Louisiana. It was not unfeasible for the actions of the Supreme Council of Louisiana to result in the same fate for the new Grand Lodge of Louisiana. Clearly this situation needed to be addressed by the new Grand Lodge.
At the invitation of Grand Master John Gedge, Albert Mackey came to New Orleans in late 1851/early 1852 and established, for the Charleston Supreme Council, a Consistory of the 32°. Gedge was appointed Commander in Chief of this new consistory. Obviously, the Supreme Council of Louisiana charged that this was an outrageous invasion of territory.
Not only was it the fact that the Consistory was organized in New Orleans, but the manner in which it was created was the subject of severe criticism. In 1853, Charles Laffon de Ladébat wrote about the events concerning the new Grand Lodge, the Supreme Council of Louisiana and the new Charleston Consistory in New Orleans.
“In presence of such despotic, anti-masonic conduct, the Scotch BB:. resisted as men, as Masons, and formed an independent corporation under the only M:. authority existing in Louisiana dejure et defacto. The balance remained with the new Grand Lodge, swore obedience to her, through indifference rather than from conviction. Soon after this, the very same Sectarian, in his restlessness, caused Br:. Albert G. Mackey to come from Charleston, in order to establish a Grand Consistory, exactly as if there never had existed a Supreme Council of the Scotch Rite in Louisiana. Our sectarian, after abolishing the Scotch Rite, wished to re-establish it in order to be at the head of it. This Consistory has been inaugurated, you know it M:. W..., for you were admitted into it for proper causes. The manner in which the degrees were conferred in this spurious Consistory is and will be an eternal shame to the Br :. who has conferred them.”9