Textfiles | What They Say About Freemasonry

What they say about Freemasonry

“Socially and politically, Freemasons have played an important part in the development of British Columbia.”
David J. Mitchell, in his book W.A.C. Bennett and the Rise of British Columbia

“Perhaps we have finally located the earliest moments in the formation of modern civil society.
“Central to masonic identity was the belief that merit and not birth constitutes the foundation for social and political order.
“Modern civil society was invented during the Enlightenment in the new enclaves of sociability of which Freemasonry was the most avowedly constitutional and aggressively civic.
“Freemasonry was one of the social practises that transmitted to the continent a vocabulary that put freedom and equality central on the word list.
“We should never under estimate the emotional pull of masonic rituals, the intensity of loyalty they could inspire.”
Margaret C. Jacob, Living the Enlightenment: Freemasonry and Politics in Eighteenth-Century Europe, Oxford University Press: 1991.

“To me, Freemasonry is one form of dedication to God and service to humanity.”
Norman Vincent Peale, minister and author

“We represent a fraternity which believes in justice and truth and honorable action in your community… men who are endeavoring to be better citizens… to make a great country greater. This is the only institution in the world where we can meet on the level all sorts of people who want to live rightly.
“I have every degree in Masonry and if there are any secrets, I’m damned if I know them.
“Although I hold the highest civil honour in the world, I have always regarded my rank and title as a Past Grand Master of Masons the greatest honor that had ever come to me. I value it above all others because to be a Grand Master of Masons one must be more than a good public relations man—he must have a background based upon the noblest of principles, and he must bear the respect and esteem of the good men who make up the Craft.”
Harry S Truman, USA President

“I know of no other organization where you have a friend all over the world. It gives you peace of mind, especially traveling as much as we do.”
“It was brought home to us when we were on tour in Regina, Saskatchewan. Our guitar player, Frank Sandusky, had a blood vessel suddenly rupture in his neck, was rushed to hospital, and the doctor’s report was grave. When local brethren found that he was a Mason they sent for his wife. They took her in, saw that she got back and forth to the hospital, and saw to her needs. It didn’t cost her anything, and made an unpleasant situation more bearable—and that is what Masonry is all about.”
Roy Clark, Country Music Hall of Fame

“Freemasonry embraces the highest moral laws and will bear the test of any system of ethics or philosophy ever promulgated for the uplift of man.”
General Douglas MacArthur