Wisdom, Power and Goodness

"Geometry, the first and noblest of sciences is the basis on which the superstructure of Freemasonry is erected. By Geometry, we may curiously trace nature through her various windings to her most concealed recesses. By it, we discover the wisdom, power and goodness of the Grand Architect of the Universe and view with delight the proportions which connect this vast machine. By it we discover how the planets move in their respective orbits and demonstrate their various revolutions."

I recall sitting in a science class in high school. Our teacher, Mr. Mohr, dropped a chunk of sodium into a beaker of water. The sodium instantly fizzed up and zooped around the beaker like an out of control power boat. Then it burst into flames and finally exploded as the students oohed and aahed. When the rumbling subsided, the diabolical Mr. Mohr called on an unfortunate student, "Henry, what made it do that?"

Henry beamed, "God."

The class thought it was funny. Mr. Mohr, who had the sense of humor of a wounded gorilla, didn't. In his own gruff and unsympathetic way he explained that just because we don't understand something doesn't mean it's a direct result of God's action.

True, but in fact the Masonic ritual teaches there is a relationship between God and the physical universe. From that relationship, as we learn in the Second Degree lecture, we can not only observe the magnificence of the Creator, but also draw moral symbolism from metaphors we see in His physical creation.

God and science are not at war. They can't be. Think about that… they can't be. It is we humans, who don't have all the answers when it comes to understanding either God or science, who somehow perceive there is a war. As Henry discovered, it's a slippery slope to take something we don't understand, stop research, and conclude it's God's work; in that event, what happens when we discover the scientific principle behind it? Historically, many have taken the stance that the research is wrong in the face of overwhelming evidence that it is, in fact, right.

In the 17^th century, for example, humans did not understand the solar system. It was taken as scientific and religious fact that the sun circled the earth (Psalm 104 tells us: "He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved." ~Psalm 104:5, NIV)." When scientists proved the earth, in fact, did orbit the sun, rather than being inconsistent with God's design, it revealed it. The church, however, still didn't warm up to the concept right away. Today, scientists and virtually all religious establishments know it to be an incontrovertible fact.

Today's hot buttons include evolution, the "Big Bang Theory" and a few more points of contention. Regardless of your point of view on these issues, the facts for each are overwhelming; and with some religious groups challenging scientific evidence we are, on some level, back in the 17^th century. Scientific discoveries are not political, not vindictive and not anti-God. They are based on fact. (Not, by the way, just on observation — any idiot can observe daily that the sun circles the earth). These discoveries don't offer proof of God one way or the other. They prove we have learned more about God's universe and, as we are admonished, should "view with delight" all such revelations.

What these scientific discoveries do prove is that God is bigger and more complex than we can ever comprehend. So complex, in fact, that when asked to prove God exists, famed theologian and Freemason Peter Marshall responded, "How could my tiny mind prove God?"

The Reverend Marshall went further. He turned the tables and asked his questioners to prove they existed. Fact is, he was onto something. Any legitimate, credible scientist today will tell you, your body is nothing but energy. Your house, everything inside it, the trees outside, the very ground you walk on is nothing but energy. This is not some kind of New Age folderol; it's scientific fact. Sounds kind of spiritual, doesn't it? Or, as Dr. Wayne Dyer put it, "You are not a body with a soul. You are a soul with a body"

If what you personally believe about God seems inconsistent with scientific facts, consider this: scientists have already observed the world of relativity and the quantum world appear completely incompatible. Yet, they coexist! Can't God coexist along with them even with perceived inconsistencies? And don't we know on some level all those inconsistencies have to iron themselves out, even if that process is beyond our human capability to figure out?

So many concepts still baffle our best scientists: dark matter and dark energy; the nature of time and matter inside black holes — the "singularity"; a unified theory; the possibility of parallel universes; backwards time travel; dimensions beyond the three (four, if you count time) we live in; quantum entanglement, a phenomenon so strange and baffling that Einstein called it "spooky." To each of these, the best scientific minds around would say, "We just don't completely understand." Or, perhaps more accurately, "We just don't have all the facts."

Many, even some scientists, think there may be spiritual elements to these mysteries. The scientists, however, will not draw conclusions without proven facts — pesky hindrances that some outside the scientific community have the luxury of ignoring. In our lifetimes, we will most likely solve some of these mysteries. To many, those discoveries will not just reveal scientific facts. They will also give us greater insight into the wisdom, power and goodness of the Grand Architect of the Universe.

And I, for one, finding far more spirituality in science than science in spirituality, anticipate each new discovery with delight.

For the Whence Came You podcast, this is Steve Harrison with the Masonic Minute.

The Christmas Flower

Brother Joel R. Poinsett (1779-1851) had a successful diplomatic career as US Secretary of War, US Congressman and Minister to Mexico.  Additionally, he was instrumental in the formation of the Grand Lodge of Mexico, served as Deputy General Grand High Priest of the General Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, Master of two of his Lodges, Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of South Carolina and Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter of South Carolina.  Even with impressive credentials like that, however, he is best remembered for a plant he brought back from Mexico, the Mexican Fire Plant.  After cultivating it and introducing it in the US, the plant was named in his honor.  Today, the Poinsettia is the traditional Christmas flower. (Originally posted April 2, 2011)

Grounded

Brother John Glenn, Concord Lodge 688 Concord, Ohio, became the first American to orbit the earth on February 20, 1962. Immediately recognized as one of the greatest American heroes of the time, the ticker-tape parade in New York held in his honor equaled in size only that of Brother Charles Lindbergh. Afterward, the city reported it had picked up a record 3,474 tons of confetti! Brother Glenn never flew again during the early space program. Reports say officials grounded him because they felt in the event of a mishap, the loss of such a great American hero would irreparably damage the space program as well as the morale of the American public.

In Whom Do You Put Your Trust

The candidate, as instructed, knelt at the altar. In front of him in the east, the Worshipful Master stood at his podium and asked a question we have all been asked, "In whom do you put your trust?"

Silence followed.

Having encountered similar hesitation before, the composed WM rephrased the question and asked, "In whom do you put your spiritual trust?"

After another long pause the candidate finally answered, "I guess I put my trust in myself. If you are trying to get me to say I put my trust in God, I can't. I don't believe in God."

Another period of silence followed. Still composed and carefully assessing the situation, the Master asked, "Would you please repeat what you just said?" The candidate repeated his answer. Standing before a hushed and stunned Lodge, the veteran Master knew exactly what he had to say next, "Brother Senior Deacon, you will escort the candidate to the preparation room."

Freemasons believe in God; and we take it seriously. It's not just lip-service. We tolerate all religions, but hold a belief in Deity as the single non-negotiable requirement to becoming a member. No exceptions. And no exception was made that night, either.

Epilogue: This incident took place early a couple years ago, at Brotherhood Lodge #269 in St. Joseph, Missouri, with a friend of mine, Dennis Vogel, presiding. The Missouri petition is very clear in stating that the candidate holds a strict belief in God, but this candidate signed the petition anyway. The investigating committee covered the issue of belief in God with the candidate; and the candidate very skillfully crafted a satisfactory answer. The question in Lodge, however, "In whom do you put your trust," doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room... as the candidate discovered.

Alfalfa Switzer — A Little Rascal's Tragedy

One of the episodes in the Our Gang series tells the tale of the young cowlick-bedecked Alfalfa attempting to shed his reputation as a common crooner and become a great opera star. He visits an opera company where the impresario is so inspired he immediately signs Alfalfa to a contract effective 20 years hence. At the appointed time two decades later, the intrepid divo makes his operatic debut and the audience, predictably, boos him off the stage. It's all downhill from there for our hero, whose adult life just doesn't turn out the way he expected. The episode ends happily as Alfalfa wakes from his dream, sees the error of his ways and returns to his calling as a popular, albeit off-key, crooner.

In many ways the episode is a foreshadowing of the real life of the actor, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, whose meteoric rise to fame as a child preceded a tragic adulthood.

Hal Roach created the Our Gang comedies in 1921 after watching a group of kids do what kids do best. They were playing in his yard. Originally made as silent films the series grew in popularity as Roach added sound in the 1930s. MGM re-released the episodes in the mid 1950s as The Little Rascals.

In 1935, Carl's parents took him and his older brother Harold to visit the Hal Roach Studios in Los Angeles. The purpose of the trip was nothing less than to turn Carl and Harold into child stars; and it worked. Carl and Harold parked themselves in front of the crowd at the studio's café and began performing. Roach saw them and signed them on the spot.

Carl... Alfalfa, as he was known in the series... quickly overshadowed Harold and became one of the top stars along with regulars Darla Hood and George "Spanky" McFarland. He was enormously popular with viewers but was just as unpopular with the child actors and filming crew.

Alfalfa was a prankster and the biggest bully of the gang. During filming he would intentionally step on other kids feet or stick them with a nail he carried in his pocket. On one occasion a cameraman became frustrated with Carl as he muffed his lines and told him to, "get it right so we can go to lunch." After the cameraman left, Alfalfa gave each of the kids a stick of gum and collected it back from them after they were done chewing it. Then he took the enormous wad and stuck it into the gears of the camera. That afternoon, the kids went home while the cameraman tried to save his machine.

One day director George Sidney became so frustrated with Alfalfa's antics he pulled him aside and told him, "Come and see me when you grow up so I can beat the crap out of you."

In 1940, Roach booted 13-year old Alfalfa from the series for being too old. He had been earning about $750 a week — a fortune in the depression era — and supporting his family. Suddenly it all ended and, like most child stars, he did not make a successful transition into acting as an adult.

While continuing to struggle in his acting career, he became an outdoorsman and hunting guide. In 1958, he borrowed a hunting dog from a man named Bud Stiltz. He lost the dog when it ran after a bear on a hunting trip, and he offered a reward for the dog's return. When a man brought the dog back to him, Alfalfa was so grateful he paid the reward and bought the man several drinks. Later, he decided Stiltz should be responsible for the money he spent on the dog's return. On January 21, 1959, Carl went to him and demanded $50. Stiltz refused to pay. They argued and fought. Finally, Alfalfa drew a knife and went after him. Stiltz ran, got a gun and killed the 31-year old former child star. A jury subsequently acquitted Stiltz of any wrongdoing.

Along the way, there was a bright spot in Carl's short and tragic life. In his work as a hunting guide, he crossed paths with cowboy superstar Roy Rogers, a 33° Mason and member of Hollywood Lodge 355. Roy tried to help Carl's faltering career by giving him parts in several of his shows. He also encouraged Carl to join the Freemasons, which he did.

Brother Carl was buried in Hollywood Forever cemetery, a resting place for many of Hollywood's greatest. His tombstone bears symbols of the better parts of his otherwise tough life: It reads "Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer" and is adorned by a carving of a hunting dog (not "Pete" from the Our Gang series, as some think), and two square and compasses flank the top. Interestingly, the cemetery sits on the grounds of what once was Southland Lodge 617, and the original Lodge building is still standing.

Alfalfa and other child actors from the series proved being a child star wasn't as glamorous as it might have seemed. About half of them, Carl included, did not live to see 40. Even Carl's brother Harold committed suicide at age 42. Today, the Little Rascals are all gone; every one of them. Many, Carl chief among them, never had that second chance Alfalfa got when he woke from his operatic nightmare.

Lyndon Johnson and Herbert Hoover

In 1994, over 30 years after Lyndon Johnson assumed the Presidency and over 20 years after his death, the United States government began releasing tapes of his Presidential phone conversations. Among the first tapes released were those conversations he had just after the death of President John Kennedy.

On April 15 of that year, Ted Koppel featured the tapes on his Nightline program. On it, he conducted a roundtable discussion with Johnson biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin and other Presidential historians and journalists.

One of the most interesting tapes they listened to was a 20-minute conversation Johnson had with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover on November 29, 1963, one week after Johnson became President.

On the recording, Johnson and Hoover discuss their thoughts on the formation of a group to investigate the assassination — a committee that almost certainly became the Warren Commission. Then they turn their attention to the facts of the assassination itself, with Hoover updating Johnson with the latest information known by the FBI.

Those facts, after only one week of investigation are very close to those we know about today, conspiracy theorists notwithstanding. They discuss Lee Harvey Oswald's activities the day of the assassination, including his capture in the theater. "There is no question Oswald is the man," says Hoover, "given the evidence we have." Johnson asks about any relationship between Oswald and Jack Ruby (Rubinstein). Hoover says they have discovered none. He explains Ruby was a "police character" who was well known by the authorities and speculates that is how he got into the prisoner transfer area. Hoover confides, "Dallas police didn't operate with the highest degree of efficiency."

At the end of the conversation, Hoover recommends Johnson consider a bullet-proof car. Johnson replies, "I want to take every precaution I can... you're more than the head of the Federal Bureau as far as I'm concerned. You're my Brother and personal friend and you have been for 25 to 30 years."

Upon hearing that last sentence, Koppel asked the panel, "What did President Johnson mean when he told Hoover, 'You're my Brother?'" Not a single panelist had any idea what Johnson was talking about.

But we know, don't we?

Lyndon B. Johnson is rarely included in lists of US Presidents who were Freemasons; however, he was, in fact, initiated an Entered Apprentice on October 30, 1937, in Johnson City Lodge #561, at Johnson City, Texas. He never went beyond the First Degree.

J. Edgar Hoover, on the other hand, was a 33° Scottish Rite Mason, a York Rite Mason, a member of Federal Lodge #1, Washington, DC and a charter member of Justice Lodge #46 in Maryland.

Lyndon B. Johnson and J. Edgar Hoover were, in fact, Masonic Brothers; and President Johnson acknowledged it in that historic conversation.

The Pony Express

"You will raise your arm to a level square and repeat after me. I... do hereby swear, before the Great and Living God, that during my engagement... I will, under no circumstances, use profane language, that I will drink no intoxicating liquors, that I will not quarrel or fight with any other employee of the firm, and that in every respect I will conduct myself honestly, be faithful to my duties, and so direct all my acts as to win the confidence of my employers, so help me God."

With that oath, many rugged young men joined the Pony Expres during its short life from April, 1860 to October, 1861. Alexander Majors from Golden Square Lodge 107 in Westport, Missouri, founded the organization along with Brother William H. Russell (Lexington Lodge 149). Majors was the author of the oath, which, not surprisingly, had Masonic undertones. Although short-lived, it was an organization that quickly became part of the fabric, folklore and history of the United States.

In its day, the Pony Express offered the promise of untold adventure. To the general population its young riders were in many respects the equivalent of today's rock stars. Riders garnered fame, if not fortune as well as the favor of young girls. (One doubtful legend attributes the invention of the donut to a young girl who made pastries with a hole so a rider could scoop them up on a finger as he whizzed by).

It's understandable then how an energetic young man, even a kid, of that day would want to join the Pony Express. Given the burden on the horses, Russell and Majors were more concerned with weight than with age. Unfettered by today's child labor laws, they hired some very young riders, all anxious to join this elite group.

One of those young riders was a kid who would grow up to become famous in his own right. William Frederick Cody was born February 26, 1846 in Iowa territory. Only 14 years old when he became a Pony Express rider, William grew up to be known by a more familiar name, Buffalo Bill. Cody had worked as a courier for Russell and Majors from the time he was ten and parlayed that into a job as a rider when they started the Pony Express. His ride ran 116 miles from Red Buttes to the Three Crossings Station in Nebraska.

A born showman, Cody certainly did noting to subdue wild stories of his exploits as a rider. In later life as he wrote of his adventures, he claimed skirmishes with Native Americans, and other harrowing adventures, including an assertion that he held the record for the longest single-day ride ever. Historians estimate that ride at about 300 miles, an arduous day in the saddle for anyone.

Cody, a member of Platte Valley Lodge 32 in Nebraska, went on to serve as a general in the Nebraska national guard. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry as a scout to the US army, served in the Nebraska legislature, fought at the Battle of Wounded Knee and was president of the Shoshone Irrigation Company. A staunch abolitionist, Cody was years ahead of his time as a proponent for Native American and women's rights. He eventaully became a performer traveling the world with his wild west show; and it all started with the Pony Express.

Lasting only a year and a half, the lifespan of the Pony express is little more than a blip on the expanse of United States history. Yet its legend lives on as testament to good old Yankee ingenuity... with a strong Masonic connection.

Masonic Trivia

It's time for a little Masonic Trivia

Here are 15 things you may not know about your fraternity and your brothers...

Brother "Jimmy" Doolittle earned the Congressional Medal of Honor flying missions to Japan able to go that distance only by high octane aviation fuel he had himself invented.

The Liberty Bell cracked while tolling the Death of Chief Justice John Marshall, Past Grand Master of Virginia.

A Masonic Lodge, Henry Knox Lodge of Massachusetts, was constituted on the ship USS Constitution, also known as "Old Ironsides," on March 17, 1926.

The military bugle call "Taps," written by Brother Daniel Adams Butterfield, was originally called "Butterfield's Lullaby."

Abraham Lincoln petitioned the Masonic Lodge in Springfield, Illinois, but did not join, thinking it would look like he was doing so for political purposes.

Brother Richard Gatling invented the Gatling Gun believing it was such a terrible weapon fear of using it would actually save lives.

Brother Charles Lindbergh, known for his historic flight across the Atlantic, once had his picture on the cover of Time Magazine for inventing what was called an artificial heart.

Brother Harland Sanders started his huge Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise empire with nothing more than a single Social Security Check.

All four presidential candidates in 1948, Republican Thomas Dewey, Progressive Henry Wallace, Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond and the eventual winner,

Democrat Harry Truman, were Freemasons.

From its founding as a state in 1890 until the mid-twentieth century, every governor of Wyoming was, with one exception, a Freemason. That exception was Nellie Tayloe Ross, the first woman governor in the United States, a member of the Eastern Star.

In 1953, the Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Texas was a Brother named Hiram Abiff Boaz.

Gerrymandering, the rearranging of voting districts mainly for political purposes, is named for Brother Elbridge Gerry, fifth Vice President of the US.

Brother Charles P. "Chic" Sale once wrote a best-selling book about outhouses.

The oldest building in the US built specifically for Masonry is Mason's Hall on Franklin Street in Richmond Virginia. It was saved from destruction during the Civil War because Union troops guarded it, ordered to do so by a General who was a Mason.

And Finally, did you know there is only one city in the world known to be purposely laid out on a Masonic theme? Think it's Washington, DC? Think again. In 1816, Hector Kilbourne, a surveyor and member of the first Master of Science Lodge #50, laid out the original plat of Sandusky Ohio. He designed the city on a grid of equal-sized squares and rectangles representing an open Bible, with a square and compasses located in the center. He named many of the streets after famous Masons.

Stephen Austin and Anthony Butler

Anthony Butler (1787–1849) was a lawyer, a politician, a diplomat, the ward and friend of Brother Andrew Jackson and, yes, a Freemason. Brother Jackson, when President, thought highly enough of Butler to appoint him United States chargé d'affaires in Mexico City. He also appointed him his secret agent in a surreptitious plan to purchase Texas for the United States.

Some say Butler was dedicated to the point of ruthlessness in carrying out this plan.

Brother Sam Houston, who had more than one encounter with Butler in the United States' effort to purchase Texas, was not an admirer. "Such men as he is," said Houston, "would destroy a country, but take my word for it, he will never gain one!"

Stephen F. Austin (1793-1836) had known Butler in the US and, although Masonic Brothers, they were far from friends. Many, including Austin, felt President Jackson's plan to purchase Texas was nothing more than a scheme to secure Texas' public lands at a pittance, without regard to the well-being or future of the territory. Austin refused to go along with the deal. Butler, in return, offered Austin a one million dollar incentive (some might call it a bribe) to change his mind, but Austin would have no part in it.

Butler remained in the area attempting to gain Texas for the US despite Austin's opposition. While there, he became interested in and began courting the daughter of a prominent Mexican family. Austin was a friend of the family. Upon hearing what Butler was up to, he exposed him as a man who had a wife and three children back in the US.

Exposing Butler no doubt won the gratitude of his friends but it also sealed Butler's animosity. Butler was delighted when the Mexican government imprisoned Austin for sedition in 1833. Andrew Jackson, however, was not at all pleased when he learned of Austin's arrest. He wrote letters to Butler asking him to act as a United States agent and to use his influence to secure Austin's release.

Rather than ignore Jackson's letters, Butler so despised Austin he made the perilous journey to Mexico City to visit Austin in jail and taunt him with them. During that visit Butler read the letters to Austin and told him the only way he would work for his release would be if Austin gave him large land grants back in Texas. Austin refused and Butler, ignoring President Jackson's request, left him to rot in the Mexican prison. Austin gained his own release eight months later.

The men remained adversaries for life. Austin's place in history is well-known. Although he died at a young age he is revered in Texas for his pioneering efforts... but whatever became of Anthony Butler?

Although he definitely engaged in some questionable behavior, Butler may not have been quite the scoundrel some claimed; or, at least he may have in some measure redeemed himself. As a Freemason he was well-regarded enough to serve as Grand Master of two states, Kentucky (1812 - 13) and, indeed, Texas (1840 - 41). Then, in 1849, the 62-year-old Butler was a passenger on an ill-fated riverboat that exploded and sank on the Mississippi River. Butler died as he swam into the burning wreckage in an attempt to save fellow passengers.