Freemasonry is effectively an organization which encourages men, through participation in a series of ritual dramas, to achieve a better understanding of themselves leading to a general improvement of character and moral fiber.

At every turn we hear of demands for “rights” of one kind or another. How often do we hear of duties or obligations? Freemasonry teaches the duties we owe to others; it teaches obligations that its members owe their families, their communities, and their country. With every “right” there is a corresponding duty or obligation. The world in general today is emphasizing its demands for “rights”, but is conveniently forgetting its corresponding duties. Freemasonry says nothing about “rights”, but has much to say about the duties and obligations that each member owes. If all of us do our duty, all will profit; and there is no need to discuss “rights” because, where men do their duty; justice will prevail.

Freemasonry offers to mankind an emphasis on the importance of the individual, the belief in the brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of God, the concept of the dignity of work and its necessity for the pursuit of happiness, the opportunity to realize one’s social aspirations in a morally constructive way, and a philosophy of life which can lead to individual, and therefore community happiness.

And the twenty-first century really needs what Freemasonry offers.