I’ve written a lot about famous Freemasons over the years. Our Fraternity has boasted a tremendous number of truly remarkable individuals over its long history. I’ve studied many of our Fraternity’s most notable men. Freemasonry can’t take full credit for the attributes of many of these remarkable men. Many of them were remarkable long before they knocked at the door of a Masonic Lodge, but the Masonic Lodge certainly focused many of these men, and gave them the skills they lacked to achieve the goals they set for themselves. Many men both famous and not-so-famous have learned valuable skills in leadership, character development, and morals and ethics. Freemasonry has served as a springboard for many to find our purpose and our true calling in life. That’s certainly been true for me.
Freemasonry has been a college of learning for me. Throughout my adult life, the Bible has always been my “text book” but Freemasonry has served me well as the “learning lab.” I’ve learned how to run a meeting. I’ve learned how to apply minimal resources for maximum impact. I’ve learned to network. I’ve gained leadership skills. I’ve gained speaking skills. Most importantly I’ve been able to take the sharp edges off aspects of my character and personality through the teachings of Freemasonry and by my association with men that possessed those skills I lacked. I’m not the same person that I was at all, and I don’t think I’m finished learning either. Masonry took me down a path I never thought I’d be on, and changed me in ways I never thought possible. Over the last year or two, that path has lead me to…
