# The Most Important Masonic Speech You Need to Hear.



## NickGarner (Dec 7, 2010)

I found this link to a Brothers Blog and I read the article and was impressed with what he had to say.

http://baileysbuddy.blogspot.com/2010/10/most-important-masonic-speech-you-need.html

I think that many of us could benefit from taking what this article has to say to heart.


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## Timothy Fleischer (Dec 8, 2010)

Brother Garner,
Thanks for sharing that speech. I think that if each of us takes a Leadership position in the Lodge, then we will see a surge of growth in our numbers. Leadership does not require a jewel or a station in the Lodge, but an attitude of ownership and pride. Getting together a group of brothers to "invade" a neighboring lodge, finding ways to talk about Masonry without the ritualism (over coffee or something stronger), opening our homes to new brothers and their families are all ways we can be Leaders.

Being a living embodiment of Masonry outside the Lodgeroom will do wonders for our fraternity.

Tim


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## jim9361 (Dec 8, 2010)

I am a newly raised MM just being raised this year.  Not being one to stand by and go with the flow I have expressed my reasons for becoming a mason and my concerns for not seeing it practiced.  There has been some progress in doing more social gatherings outside of a formal lodge in two parts.  One is social functions including family, friends and non masons.  That then morphing into more community involvement which is at the core of this speech as I see it.  Part two is Masons meeting together informally to discuss the craft.  Part two has a lot to do with the Q&A's right now as we have several brothers advancing through the degrees.  A byproduct of that should be more men asking about becoming a mason.  I see us getting there and that has me looking forward to the future of my lodge.  

A leader does not lead by his title.  A leader may have a title but that is only a name or job description.  A true leader is made up of his actions and by what actions he influences others to take.  

Enjoyed the link, thanks for sharing.


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## Casey (Dec 11, 2010)

I enjoyed the post brother.  I thought about it several times at this weeks stated meeting.  I appreciate the information and will put it to good use in my home lodge.


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## Traveling Man (Dec 11, 2010)

Uncle Jay (the writer) was doing so well until I got to his sig line; now what was the subject? :52:

Why destroy a good message with railed politics? :blush:


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## Benton (Dec 11, 2010)

Excellent post, thanks for bringing this to our light!


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## JRiggs75 (Dec 12, 2010)

Very nice post Brother


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## LDSpears (Dec 12, 2010)

Does Texas have a pocket petition like he spoke of?


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## Casey (Dec 13, 2010)

The only thing I've seen is the wallet/business card message about "What is a mason?".... wallet isn't in the office or I'd scan one.


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## Benton (Dec 13, 2010)

Honestly, I don't know that I'd carry around a pocket petition if we had one. An informational pamphlet maybe, but a petition? I don't think so. It seems desperate to have one on your person. Maybe in my car. But not on me. But maybe that's just my perception.


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## Casey (Dec 13, 2010)

The wallet card is handy brother.  Check it out.


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## JTM (Dec 13, 2010)

Casey said:


> The wallet card is handy brother.  Check it out.


 yeh, i see a lot of people with those.


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## jmklaus (Oct 14, 2011)

Traveling Man said:


> Uncle Jay (the writer) was doing so well until I got to his sig line; now what was the subject? :52:
> 
> Why destroy a good message with railed politics? :blush:



I am the writer of the article, and not my good friend Jay Simser (who is a completely different person from the Uncle Jay who appears on YouTube from time to time).  My authorship, I think, is well established at the beginning of the article.

As to Jay's personal political statements on his blog, I note that his is NOT a Masonic blog, but his personal blog, and that he is every bit as entitled to his political views--and the public expression of them--as anyone in this wonderful country, including you.  Jay is a proud liberal, as is his right.  You are, of course, completely free to choose your own political persuasions.

I find it a bit curious to bring up politics here, however, on a specifically MASONIC forum, when (at least in Iowa) politics and religion are forbidden as topics of discussion in a Masonic setting.  I mean no offense by this statement, as I understand that Masonic laws and courtesies differ from Grand Jurisdiction to Grand Jurisdiction, and that they may be different in the Grand Jurisdiction of Texas than in the Grand Jurisdiction of Iowa.

Thanks for reading my speech, in any case!  I did NOT give it the "Most Important..."designation.  That is purely my friend Brother Simser's doing.

John Klaus, 33Â°
Past Grand Treasurer
Grand Musician
Grand Lodge of Iowa


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## jmklaus (Oct 14, 2011)

It's gratifying to see such approbation of my work of more than a year ago on your excellent forum.  I continue to be surprised at how widely disseminated it has become.  Even some of our fiercest opponents have seized upon it, seeing it somehow as a desperate last gasp (!) of a dying institution.  I, of course, see it in a completely different light.

I DO encourage my Texas brethren to pursue similar research for their own Grand Jurisdiction.  It may, of course, already have been done, but I gather from attending a number of regional Masonic educational meetings that few Grand Lodges have looked at such statistics.  I believe such study can be very informative.

Best regards from an Iowa Master Mason!

John Klaus


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## jmklaus (Oct 14, 2011)

Sorry to take up all your bandwidth, Brothers!

Apropos of the pocket petition we use in Iowa:

It's a four-fold sheet of heavy paper, printed front and back on a half-sheet lengthwise of letter paper.  When folded, it's about the size of a credit card, and most of us carry one or two of them in our wallets.

We, too, have a pocket card that gives the reasons for becoming a Mason; the pocket petition is an entirely different document.  Since I was on the committee that proposed it (I'm still on that committee), I think I can speak to its use.

A few years ago, Iowa dropped the admonition that we should not, in a word, recruit new members, and allowed us to discuss Freemasonry—within reason—with men we thought would be good candidates for the fraternity.  This often involved having coffee or lunch with the potential candidate, and very few carried the full letter-sized petition with us.  Enter the pocket petition.  The smaller version contains EVERY question and space as the larger petition, and in the same order.

If you're interested in seeing what it looks like, you can go to this web site:  http://grandlodgeofiowa.org/?page_id=470 and scroll down to Form 8a under "Secretary Forms."  Imagine it printed front and back, so that each sheet could make two petitions.

It has been VERY useful to us, since we can say to a prospective candidate, "I have a petition right here.  Take it with you, look it over, and fill it out if you're interested.  Here—I'll write my phone number on it if you have any questions."  It works VERY well in conjunction with our pocket card.  In fact, we're probably seeing more pocket petitions in use than the older full-sheet ones.

Thanks for letting me ramble!

John Klaus
Past Master
Mount Vernon Lodge No. 112
Mount Vernon, IA


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## M.M.Wood (Oct 17, 2011)

Good stuff.


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## NickGarner (Oct 22, 2011)

I have not been on the forums much lately due to my busy work and school schedule so I missed the author's reply to this post.

Thanks for replying and adding to the discussion brother Klause.:thumbup:

I still think that this speech is right on the money and exactly what many brothers need to hear.

Fraternally,

Nick


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## Raymond Walters (Oct 22, 2011)

jim9361 said:


> A leader does not lead by his title.  A leader may have a title but that is only a name or job description.  A true leader is made up of his actions and by what actions he influences others to take.
> 
> Enjoyed the link, thanks for sharing.



I remember hearing once that "leadership is action- not position". It seemed to tie in with your comment.


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## Brent Heilman (Oct 24, 2011)

I don't know how I ever overlooked this post in this past. I have read the speech 3 times now just to make sure I was getting everything through this thick skull of mine. I found myself nodding in agreement throughout the entire speech. There were so many truths to what was said. As a new Master Mason I can say that my views are in line with what the Brother was saying. Thank you Brothers for not only posting this but also for saying this.


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## Brother Maples (Oct 24, 2011)

thanks for posting brother

good read


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## BEDickey (Oct 27, 2011)

Benton said:


> Maybe in my car.



This I think would be the best idea. The start of my journey went something like this. A 2 time Past Worshipful Master(I knew he was at least a Past Worshipful due to his hat) came into my store, and I called him on his hat. He started going off, in a good way, about how great it was, was the best thing he has ever done and wished he has started sooner. He then went to shake my hand and asked what Lodge I was in... I replied I wasn't a Mason and shook his hand. He looked at me a bit funny, puzzled almost, then said "stay right there, I will be right back." He came back, handed me a envelope thick with information, and the rest is history.


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