# First degree question on study materials??



## mack1389

I just went through my apprenticeship!!!! I am very excited to begin however I have a question???I received my first degree catechism booklet & entered apprentice guidebook, does anyone know if there is any audio, mp3, etc to help with the memorization? I drive a lot & thought this would be helpful with my studies. 

I look forward to any assistance. 
Brother Scott


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## crono782

We don't use any materials here, but I would wager a guess that there are no audio accompaniments. If you need audio, say it aloud to yourself, lol.


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## RyanC

Call one of your new Brothers at your lodge, I'm sure anyone of they will help you. More importantly it will show how committed you are. I would start with the person how is running education for the degrees.


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## Pscyclepath

Depends on your jurisdiction.  Remember your obligation...  Here in AR, the only part of the EA work "proper to be written" is the description of the working tools.  All else is mouth-to-ear.  It's best to get with a good lecturer or instructor and learn the work that way.


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## ajmyrick

@mack, by no means is the material you were given a secret but we also don't want it being readily available to someone who can just open the book and start reading. That being said on the night of your initiation you should have been assigned a mentor for two reasons. The first is to study the material "mouth to ear" or him speaking it and you repeating and using the book as a memory prompt only. The second being to gain a lasting relationship with your mentor and gaining more friends in the lodge, you will understand in your next degree that any brother in lodge will be just as willing to teach as you are to learn. I would not suggest even looking for a audio file because you will miss out on gaining a relationship with your mentor, also there is no rush to "get through" your degrees, take your time and enjoy it (I'm the old days you had to be an EA for seven years before you could get your FC). Remember have fun and good luck on this journey!!!


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## rebis

Congrats brother!
Remember your obligation...
You shall not write, indite, print, cut carve, hack...etc.

I know exactly what mean though.
Wait until there is another first degree initiation and make sure to take time and attend. You can also attend 1st degree practices.
Work often with your coach and ask him questions...but keep in mind, since you're only an EA his answers might not always satisfy. Put in the time, do the work and as you move on through the degrees things will become clearer.

Cheers!


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## BroBook

E.A. is a time to gather useful information !


Bro Book
M.W.U.G.L. Of Fl: P.H.A.
Excelsior # 43
At pensacola


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## MoonlightMadness357

Cabletow is the best audio playback i can tell you of if you don't have a cabletow i'm sure a brother further along in his travels will be glad to assist you


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## nixxon2000

I bet I'm going to get some flack for this but.... If you go to Walmart or best buy you can get a USB mic and headset that will allow you to make your own MP3. 

When I first started I did the same thing and listened to it in my car on my hour drive to and from work. 

As the obligation say. We will not write print paint stamp ..... 

But I also kept it to myself and erased it when I was done. 




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## Levelhead

nixxon2000 said:


> I bet I'm going to get some flack for this but.... If you go to Walmart or best buy you can get a USB mic and headset that will allow you to make your own MP3.



Burning to a cd is considered Engraving. Its carved and cut onto the cd. Remember your obligations brother.
And if someone got hold of that cd TSOFMWBUO.


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## nixxon2000

Levelhead said:


> Burning to a cd is considered Engraving. Its carved and cut onto the cd. Remember your obligations brother.
> And if someone got hold of that cd TSOFMWBUO.



Well to be specific it's not on any form of removable media. It was on my encrypted, biometricly, smart card  controlled computer. They'd have better luck deciphering my study work book than getting my file. 

Since the work book is printed and encoded. If some one digitally recorded and encoded it there should be no issue. 

What's more concerning are those mm that posted it online unencrypted for anyone to see. But that's another topic. 





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## Warrior1256

crono782 said:


> We don't use any materials here, but I would wager a guess that there are no audio accompaniments. If you need audio, say it aloud to yourself, lol.


That's the way that I did it.....over and over and over and over.......


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## Willys

mack1389 said:


> I just went through my apprenticeship!!!! I am very excited to begin however I have a question???I received my first degree catechism booklet & entered apprentice guidebook, does anyone know if there is any audio, mp3, etc to help with the memorization? I drive a lot & thought this would be helpful with my studies.
> 
> I look forward to any assistance.
> Brother Scott
> 
> 
> Sent From My Freemasonry Pro App


The key here is that you drive a lot....  If you know only the first answer to the first question you can practice that while driving.  Establish rhythm, volume, voice control, mastery.  After you've convinced yourself you know that well enough then learn Q/A#2.  Then practice both, everyday, while driving.  Repeat w/#1,2,3, #1,2,3,4, etc.  If everyday you achieve a convincing result then call your mentor and ask for the next QA.  Follow suit.  Repeat.  You'll be impressed, as will your Brethren.

You don't have to know the whole thing, all at once, immediately.  One step at a time, one day at a time.  Or two, whatever works best for you.  Then after 60 days, or 30... whatever works best for you, you'll be ready to prove yourself.


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## DJGurkins

I am a truck driver so I drive ALOT. I would visit my mentor and learn 2 or three questions, then I would practice it when driving and before bed. When I got caught on a word I would call my mentor and give him three words and he would give me one or two in return and that would be enough to keep me from learning it wrong.
I hope this helps.


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## J S

Mack 1389, whether covered by the obligation or not, the way masons have learned this for over 200 years is by passing it down from coach to EA verbally. We are all working people with limited time. That is no excuse. I learned just recently and did it all verbally with my coach, then repeated it in my head over and over as I drove to work an hour and an hour or more home. We tweaked what I remembered incorrectly in each study session. I will be much more proud of my accomplishment than if I recorded it and played it back. I want to learn the way my brothers have for centuries. It is a matter of principle that lives within many brothers I know. Keep your journey and what it signifies in mind.


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## chrmc

J S said:


> Mack 1389, whether covered by the obligation or not, the way masons have learned this for over 200 years is by passing it down from coach to EA verbally. We are all working people with limited time. That is no excuse. I learned just recently and did it all verbally with my coach, then repeated it in my head over and over as I drove to work an hour and an hour or more home. We tweaked what I remembered incorrectly in each study session. I will be much more proud of my accomplishment than if I recorded it and played it back. I want to learn the way my brothers have for centuries. It is a matter of principle that lives within many brothers I know. Keep your journey and what it signifies in mind.



I hate to say it, but seeing as this was a 2 year old topic!!! He's probably been raised by now...


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## Warrior1256

J S said:


> I learned just recently and did it all verbally with my coach, then repeated it in my head over and over as I drove to work an hour and an hour or more home.


I did the same thing.


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## MRichard

J S said:


> Mack 1389, whether covered by the obligation or not, the way masons have learned this for over 200 years is by passing it down from coach to EA verbally. We are all working people with limited time. That is no excuse. I learned just recently and did it all verbally with my coach, then repeated it in my head over and over as I drove to work an hour and an hour or more home. We tweaked what I remembered incorrectly in each study session. I will be much more proud of my accomplishment than if I recorded it and played it back. I want to learn the way my brothers have for centuries. It is a matter of principle that lives within many brothers I know. Keep your journey and what it signifies in mind.



Actually it depends on your jurisdiction, it is not any landmark of freemasonry that I have ever heard that you had to learn it mouth to ear. I have heard of jurisdictions that give you a cypher to learn.


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## Ripcord22A

MRichard said:


> Actually it depends on your jurisdiction, it is not any landmark of freemasonry that I have ever heard that you had to learn it mouth to ear. I have heard of jurisdictions that give you a cypher to learn.


both my jurisdicitons use ciphers.  even though there is no "landmark" on it there is the whole ....not write indcite cut carve ect ect part of the EA.


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## MRichard

jdmadsenCraterlake211 said:


> both my jurisdicitons use ciphers.  even though there is no "landmark" on it there is the whole ....not write indcite cut carve ect ect part of the EA.



Whereby ... is an important element in there as well. Cyphers don't violate the obligations.


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## Ripcord22A

MRichard said:


> Whereby ... is an important element in there as well. Cyphers don't violate the obligations.


in one of my jurisdictions I would agree.  My other one uses what I call text message text.....whnc cme u?


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## MarkR

We use a two-letter cipher.  Even when I'm pretty familiar with the ritual I'm looking at, I sometimes have a little trouble reading it!


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## Bloke

MRichard said:


> Actually it depends on your jurisdiction, it is not any landmark of freemasonry that I have ever heard that you had to learn it mouth to ear. I have heard of jurisdictions that give you a cypher to learn.



LOL... I'm not ever sure I would call ours a "cypher". No, you actually can't. It simply occasionally  has "... that on the ___ was called ___ and that on the ____, ____." First word is "left" and the third one is "right".  There's pages where here is not  a single blank in our ritual book. We regard "the secrets" purely as the modes of recognition. We do have the standard ob not to "mark, carve engrave indite" etc.. but apparently it does not apply to Grand Secs.... I thought it was strange for a long time, until I realised the critical place of _symbolism _in Freemasonry, yet, it always feels weird when I think about it... but having a written ritual makes life so much easier and one of the cores of Freemasonry (ritual) so much more accessible. We go a step further with a book of "workings" which even has dance steps for deacons. We've got a lot of PMs, but even we have trained ourselves to check the book.... we pride ourselves on uniformity across our lodges and a very high standard in the lodge room, and these tools help achieve this... These are not restricted, but given to every MM who wants one - it's why most of our charges in my lodges are delivered by MMs - because they have to tools to learn them.


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## Ripcord22A

Bloke said:


> LOL... I'm not ever sure I would call ours a "cypher". No, you actually can't. It simply occasionally  has "... that on the ___ was called ___ and that on the ____, ____." First word is "left" and the third one is "right".  There's pages where here is not  a single blank in our ritual book. We regard "the secrets" purely as the modes of recognition. We do have the standard ob not to "mark, carve engrave indite" etc.. but apparently it does not apply to Grand Secs.... I thought it was strange for a long time, until I realised the critical place of _symbolism _in Freemasonry, yet, it always feels weird when I think about it... but having a written ritual makes life so much easier and one of the cores of Freemasonry (ritual) so much more accessible. We go a step further with a book of "workings" which even has dance steps for deacons. We've got a lot of PMs, but even we have trained ourselves to check the book.... we pride ourselves on uniformity across our lodges and a very high standard in the lodge room, and these tools help achieve this... These are not restricted, but given to every MM who wants one - it's why most of our charges in my lodges are delivered by MMs - because they have to tools to learn them.


In Oregon we have the "cypher"  that has everything from the prep of a candidate with the anteroom lecture, opening and closing in all 3 degrees, all 3 deg rituals, funerals, GM or Reps visits.  Also included is the "floor work" example:  when the SW is saying why the WM is in the E, the book tells you when the WM should stand.  In NM it is just the speaking parts that are included.  NM has what they call the "WHITE" book, as the cover is white, that has all the floor work.


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## Bloke

jdmadsenCraterlake211 said:


> In Oregon we have the "cypher"  that has everything from the prep of a candidate with the anteroom lecture, opening and closing in all 3 degrees, all 3 deg rituals, funerals, GM or Reps visits.  Also included is the "floor work" example:  when the SW is saying why the WM is in the E, the book tells you when the WM should stand.  In NM it is just the speaking parts that are included.  NM has what they call the "WHITE" book, as the cover is white, that has all the floor work.


Thanks - interesting....


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## Brother_Steve

mack1389 said:


> I just went through my apprenticeship!!!! I am very excited to begin however I have a question???I received my first degree catechism booklet & entered apprentice guidebook, does anyone know if there is any audio, mp3, etc to help with the memorization? I drive a lot & thought this would be helpful with my studies.
> 
> I look forward to any assistance.
> Brother Scott
> 
> 
> Sent From My Freemasonry Pro App


find an EA degree happening in your area and go watch it from the sidelines.

Also, I'd recommend Claudy's books.


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## Seeves

Willys said:


> The key here is that you drive a lot....  If you know only the first answer to the first question you can practice that while driving.  Establish rhythm, volume, voice control, mastery.  After you've convinced yourself you know that well enough then learn Q/A# 2



This is exactly how I did it. My job is nothing but driving. Brothers from another lodge had directed me to make a recording for myself, but after taking the obligation during the degree I could not bring myself to do it because to me it was breaking the oath I had already taken. Encrypted or not its still stamping or staining. I chose the method described above. 

Luckily my dad is mentoring me so each night I would learn a question and answer. Easy ones maybe two or three. And just recite them to myself during all my windshield time. As the days went on I commuted the entire degree to memory in 30days. 



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## Warrior1256

Willys said:


> The key here is that you drive a lot.... If you know only the first answer to the first question you can practice that while driving.


I did this myself. While driving I would go over and over it in my head.


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## Brother_Steve

nm


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## Abe Johnson

I don't think an audio recording of the lecture questions breaks the obligation... As it is not capable of ...  fill that part in and I think it will be clear.  None of those things are revealed in lecture questions.  My humble opinion.

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## Seeves

Maybe I took a different obligation. 


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## Bill Lins

Abe Johnson said:


> I don't think an audio recording of the lecture questions breaks the obligation


Under the Grand Lodge of Texas, it certainly does violate OUR obligation. The questions, as well as the answers, are esoteric.


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## Brother_Steve

Abe Johnson said:


> I don't think an audio recording of the lecture questions breaks the obligation... As it is not capable of ...  fill that part in and I think it will be clear.  None of those things are revealed in lecture questions.  My humble opinion.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G930T using My Freemasonry mobile app


Our OB hearkens from a time before audio recordings!

IWNPPSSCCWoE them.

The question is, what is "them?" In my jurisdiction "them" refers to the modes of recognition that we are entrusted with. The obligation is there to seal the deal.

Some jurisdictions make everything the secrets of masonry.

We could all agree that however where the work is written in jurisdictions where it is interpreted to be 'legal,' the work is still private to masons only.


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## Bloke

Brother_Steve said:


> .....IWNPPSSCCWoE them...



Now **that's** an acronym!
( which I'm yet to work out)


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## Brother JC

'Merican EA ob might have some answers...


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## Brother_Steve

Brother JC said:


> 'Merican EA ob might have some answers...


I am going to graduate university in the spring of '17 at the age of 40. I told my wife upon returning to school two years ago that, when I graduate, we are going to the UK. I want to witness your EA degree or at least sit in lodge with an English mason so that I may read the OB to compare the differences.


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## Brother JC

Bloke's in Australia, I'm in California. I think we'd all enjoy a trip to the UK to study another jurisdiction's work!


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## Bloke

Brother JC said:


> Bloke's in Australia, I'm in California. I think we'd all enjoy a trip to the UK to study another jurisdiction's work!



I can cheat though.... we have an English lodge here working under UGLE because it never joined our GL....  i've visited the quite a few times; but never seen their third degree.... must do that....


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## Glen Cook

Brother_Steve said:


> I am going to graduate university in the spring of '17 at the age of 40. I told my wife upon returning to school two years ago that, when I graduate, we are going to the UK. I want to witness your EA degree or at least sit in lodge with an English mason so that I may read the OB to compare the differences.


You can order the more prevalent rituals from Lewis Masonic.


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## Glen Cook

Abe Johnson said:


> I don't think an audio recording of the lecture questions breaks the obligation... As it is not capable of ...  fill that part in and I think it will be clear.  None of those things are revealed in lecture questions.  My humble opinion.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G930T using My Freemasonry mobile app


It would in OK and UT


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## Bill Lins

Bloke said:


> Now **that's** an acronym!
> ( which I'm yet to work out)


Yup- it's not even close to ours!


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## acjohnson53

CABLETOW......


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## Levelhead

mack1389 said:


> I just went through my apprenticeship!!!! I am very excited to begin however I have a question???I received my first degree catechism booklet & entered apprentice guidebook, does anyone know if there is any audio, mp3, etc to help with the memorization? I drive a lot & thought this would be helpful with my studies.
> 
> I look forward to any assistance.
> Brother Scott
> 
> 
> Sent From My Freemasonry Pro App



Once you fully understand your EA obligation. You will understand why theres no audio ect.


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## Bloke

Levelhead said:


> Once you fully understand your EA obligation. You will understand why theres no audio ect.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



It depends on the obligation and culture of the Constitution... and how the individual freemason might interpret the same...


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