Masonry, also known as “Freemasonry,” is the oldest and largest fraternal organization in the world. Its purpose is to make good men better.
Masons are men of charity and good works, respected leaders of their communities. Many of our nations’s founding fathers were Masons, including thirteen signers of the Constitution. Fourteen U.S. Presidents were brothers of the craft, beginning with George Washington. Over four-million Masons in the U.S., from diverse religious, professional and political backgrounds, have built this fraternity on the cornerstones of friendship, compassion, and brotherly love.
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“A Simple Charge to the Fraternity” by Benjamin Franklin, starring Richard Easton
Our Mission
The Freemasons of South Dakota engage and inspire good men, who believe in a Supreme Being, to live according to Masonic tenets of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. Our mission is guided by the core values of our fraternity:
Freedom: Freemasons champion the liberties and values outlined in the founding documents of the United States of America.
Integrity: Freemasons strive to be honest, truthful and reliable, living in a just and upright manner.
Tolerance: Freemasons embrace diversity of opinion, religious, ethnic, cultural, social and educational differences.
Organization
Each Mason belongs to a local lodge, sometimes called a “Blue Lodge.” The elected chairman of the local lodge is called the “Master of the Lodge.” Local lodges are organized into state groups, known as “Grand Lodges.”
The Blue Lodge confers three sequential degrees: the Entered Apprentice degree, the Fellowcraft degree, and the Master Mason degree.
There are many other Masonic bodies, such as the Scottish Rite, York Rite, the Shriners, Job’s Daughters, DeMolay, Eastern Star, and Rainbow for Girls. Some of these affiliated bodies confer degrees. For example, the Scottish Rite confers degrees 4 through 32, and an honorary 33rd degree for special service. Although these degrees are numerically greater than the 3rd degree conferred by the Blue Lodge, they are not superior degrees. As Brother Mitchell M. Waring wrote in the Scottish Rite Journal (1/2003):
“No degree is higher than a Master Mason.... They amplify the Masonic story, add to knowledge, and increase interest. But, as they cannot make more complete that which is already perfect, they cannot be considered ‘higher’ than the Master Mason Degree.”
Masonic Symbols
One goal of Masonry is to make good men better men. To accomplish this, Masonry teaches morals and virtues through the use of symbols, metaphors, and allegories.
To newcomers, these symbols seem strange and even unsettling, but I assure you that they have no sinister purpose. For example, you have probably seen a single eye on Masonic decorations. This eye is intended to remind us that our Creator watches over us. It is a symbol, or metaphor, of God’s omnipresence; it is not an image of God, nor is does it represent anything deeper than that. The use of this symbol is common in many cultures and many religions. In slightly different forms, it appears on the American dollar bill, in stained glass windows in many European churches, and in Latin American Christmas decorations.
This — and other symbols, metaphors, and allegories — is intended to make you a better man, reverent to your Creator, helpful to the Brotherhood of Man, and mindful of the virtues of temperance, fortitude, prudence and justice.
Contact Us!
Postal Mail:
Grand Lodge of South Dakota
520 S. First Avenue
Sioux Falls, SD 57104-6902
Brotherly love, relief and truth, based on a reliance on faith, hope and charity, are fundamental tenets of Freemasonry. Benevolence to promote human welfare is basic to our existence.
All over the world, Masons care for their needy brothers, their widows and orphans, and maintain homes for their care. Masonic charities provide scholarships, maintain and support hospitals for crippled and burned children, support research, surgery, and hospitalization for eye diseases and injuries, childhood aphasia, and deafness. The value of Masonic charitable contributions exceeds $1,000,000 a day.
Still, Masonry is a fraternity, not a civic club, though we do many civic projects. You have to be ready to grow, to suspect that there is something more to life, and to want to know what that is, before you are ready to become a Mason.
Courtesy of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts
Common Myths
Freemasonry is not a secret society. As you can see from this Web site, our activities are well-publicized. Meetings are advertised in newspapers and on Web site. Local lodges are active in their communities, and the public often participates in our activities. Our guiding principles, as well as our constitutions, by-laws, and other rules are open for all to see. Masons proudly place their membership on résumés, and even on bumperstickers on their cars!
Although we are not a secret society, Freemasonry does have certain signs, rituals, and ceremonies that we do not share with non-Masons, as do many fraternal organizations.
Another myth is that Freemasonry is a kind of religion. Nonsense! Masonry is not a religion in any sense. Church membership is not a requirement, nor is membership in any church a bar to admission. Nothing prevents a Catholic, a Protestant, a Moslem, a Jew, a Buddhist, or a member of any other religion from becoming a Mason.
While we are not a religion, we are religious. Belief in God is a requirement, and we do not admit avowed atheists or agnostics. We open and close each meeting with prayer, as do many civic organizations, including the U.S. Congress.
Finally, Freemasonry is not political. We open lodge with the Pledge of Allegiance to our nation’s flag. Within the lodge, we do not discuss partisan politics or religious dogma, and we neither sponsor nor endorse candidates for public office.
What Is Masonry?
Freedom: Freemasons champion the liberties and values outlined in the founding documents of the United States of America.
To newcomers, these symbols seem strange and even unsettling, but I assure you that they have no sinister purpose. For example, you have probably seen a single eye on Masonic decorations. This eye is intended to remind us that our Creator watches over us. It is a symbol, or metaphor, of God’s omnipresence; it is not an image of God, nor is does it represent anything deeper than that. The use of this symbol is common in many cultures and many religions. In slightly different forms, it appears on the American dollar bill, in stained glass windows in many European churches, and in Latin American Christmas decorations.
