The week after the Grand Lodge officer’s installation, I had two separate telephone conversations with non-Mason friends who had attended.  They were both very complimentary of the event, and stated they found the ceremony interesting and impressive.  Then both of them asked the dreaded question, “So......what do you Masons do?”

I would like to report that I immediately launched into a brilliant dissertation explaining the countless ways Masonry contributes to making men and communities better, followed by my sharing of the significant impact the Masonic experience has had on my own life.  Alas, both times I hesitated, stammered and frankly did not do a good job of answering this simple and direct question.  Upon reflection, my response “we make good men better” was not and probably never has been a good answer to this question.     

Why do many of us have difficulty in articulating what masonry means to us?  I suggest there are several related factors which may lead to our reticence.  

First, the Masonic experience is a deeply personal one.  Each Mason learns to apply to his life the lessons taught by our ritual, and one of the great mysteries and joys of the Masonic experience is that each Mason applies those teachings in his unique, but often very different, way.   

Second, in an American culture which portrays the ideal man as tough, self-sufficient and certainly lacking any need or desire to share his emotions, men have a difficult time sharing their thoughts and feelings about the Masonic journey, even with brothers who have shared the experience.    

Third, there are Masonic rules of conduct which seem to reinforce an unspoken understanding that verbal expressions of our feelings about the Craft are disfavored.  The former prohibition against recruitment lingers over the fraternity. Likewise, the admonition in the Charge to the Entered Apprentice Mason that he not enter into argument with those who may attack the fraternity, while essential, contributes to a sentiment of  “the less said, the better.” 

Regardless of these factors, we must do a better job of responding to the dreaded question.  At a time when so much information about Masonry is available from the mere click of a computer mouse, the tried and true responses of the past have little affect on a potential member.  He already has plenty of data about the fraternity; he is seeking a deeper understanding of the Masonic experience.