Seeds of Dissent The Origins of Anti-Masonry - Part 4 – Post-Revolutionary Resurgence

by Midnight Freemason Emeritus Contributor

Steven L. Harrison, 33°, FMLR

Once the American and French Revolutions were in the rear-view mirror, anti-Masonry again began creeping out into the open. Strong voices, including future president John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), John Robinson (1739-1805), and Reverend Jedidiah Morse (1761-1826), came on the scene to voice their opposition to the Freemasons. 

In 1798, Robinson published a scathing 240-page diatribe with the daunting title, Proofs of a Conspiracy against all the Religions and Governments of Europe, carried on in the secret meetings of Freemasons, Illuminati, and Reading Societies. Morse picked up on the views expressed in Robinson's book, preaching sermons against the Freemasons and Illuminati, claiming they had incited the French Revolution. This prompted George Washington, clarifying the separation between Freemasonry, the Illuminati, and the still-active Jacobites to respond:1

It was not my intention to doubt that, the Doctrines of the Illuminati, and principles of Jacobinism had not spread in the United States. On the contrary, no one is more truly satisfied of this fact than I am. The idea that I meant to convey, was, that I did not believe that the Lodges of Free Masons in this Country had, as Societies, endeavored to propagate the diabolical tenets of the first, or pernicious principles of the latter (if they are susceptible of separation). That Individuals of them may have done it, or that the founder, or instrument employed to found, the Democratic Societies in the United States, may have had these objects; and actually had a separation of the People from their Government in view, is too evident to be questioned.

Still,  a growing segment of the population continued to be wary of the Freemasons. The mystique of the Craft's secret nature gave way, for some, to suspicions and rumors of brewing conspiracies, its gentry-based membership drew accusations of elitism, and objections by organized religion continued.

Within the Catholic Church, anti-Masonry became more intense. In 1739, Cardinal Firrao issued an edict imposing the death penalty for anyone disobeying In eminenti.2 In 1751, Pope Benedict XIV issued Providas Romanorum Pontificum which reaffirmed Clement's bull of 1738, condemning Freemasonry based on its demand for oaths, secrecy, religious ecumenism, and its perceived opposition to the Church and State. In 1821 Pope Pius VII issued Ecclesiam a Jesu Christo, reinforcing opposition to Freemasonry based on its oath-bound secrecy. Leo XII published Quo graviora mala in 1825 condemning Freemasonry as a secret oath-binding society.

The Catholic church has issued many condemnations of Freemasonry since that time. However, after Quo graviora mala in 1825 little additional condemnation was necessary to change public opinion about the Craft. The following year, a man named William Morgan came on the scene and superseded anything the church could have done to turn the tide against the Masons.

Morgan's threats to reveal Masonic secrets and the Freemasons' ill-advised response garnered an anti-Masonic wave that swept the country, led to the formation of the anti-Masonic political party, forced the closing of many lodges, prompted many men to leave and disavow Freemasonry, and changed American history.

1 George Washington to Washington, D.C., Commissioners, October 27, 1798 https://www.loc.gov/resource/mgw2.021/?sp=201

2 Many arrests were made in Florence, but no death sentences were known to be carried out.

~SLH

Bro. Steve Harrison, 33° is Past Master of Liberty Lodge #31, Liberty, Missouri. He is also a Fellow and Past Master of the Missouri Lodge of Research. Among his other Masonic memberships is the St. Joseph Missouri Valley of the Scottish Rite, Liberty York Rite bodies, and Moila Shrine. He is also a member and Past Dean of the DeMolay Legion of Honor. Brother Harrison is a regular contributor to the Midnight Freemasons blog as well as several other Masonic publications. Brother Steve was Editor of the Missouri Freemason magazine for a decade and is a regular contributor to the Whence Came You podcast. Born in Indiana, he has a Master's Degree from Indiana University and is retired from a 35-year career in information technology. Steve and his wife Carolyn reside in northwest Missouri. He is the author of dozens of magazine articles and three books: Freemasonry Crosses the Mississippi, Freemasons — Tales From the Craft and Freemasons at Oak Island.

Seeds of Dissent The Origins of Anti-Masonry - Part 3 Revolution

by Midnight Freemason Emeritus Contributor

Steven L. Harrison, 33°, FMLR

Anti-Masonry did not see a lot of growth during the era of the American Revolution. Colonists were, after all, preoccupied with other things. It is also a well-known fact that many Freemasons – George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock and a nearly endless list of others – supported the cause. Not only that, the Revolution was fought for liberty and equality, ideals that were consistent with those of the fraternity. The perceived secrecy added to the mystique of the order and most saw membership as a desirable enhancement to one's status.

Still, the same objections to the Craft that had always been there – suspicion of its secrecy, objections by organized religion, the perception of elitism, and rumors of conspiracies – continued to plague the Masons.

A few years after the American Revolution, the French Revolution came along and with it a complex relationship with Freemasonry. A number of factors including social inequality, financial problems due to the monarchy's extravagance, taxes, and the King's weak leadership led to public dissatisfaction culminating with the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789.

The Enlightenment, with its ideas about reason and individual rights appealed to the populace and was also a factor leading to its discontent. These same ideals promulgated by the Enlightenment, were not at all inconsistent with progressive Masonic thinking, leading many prominent Freemasons to support the revolution. Among these were the Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834), Georges Danton (1759-1794), Jean Sylvain Bailly (1736-1793), Count Volney (1757-1820), and Comte de Mirabeau (1749-1791).

The end of the revolution became a tumultuous period now known as the French Reign of Terror, characterized by extreme repression. The Committee on Public Safety sprang up in order to deal with threats to the revolution and the newly-formed republic. Although formed to suppress counter-revolutionary forces and protect the revolution, the Reign of Terror soon devolved into a violent force using accusations of treason to settle personal conflicts. 

Not all Freemasons supported the revolution, but many of them supported it initially until the violence of the Reign of Terror emerged. As such some of those same Masons who were supporters of the revolution were later declared its enemies. Danton and Bailly were both declared traitors and guillotined when they became disenchanted with the Committee's violent tactics. Mirabeau and Lafayette changed their views but escaped the wrath of the Reign of Terror. Pierre Samuel DuPont de Nemours (1739-1817), who also fell into this group, escaped the guillotine only because the head of the Reign of Terror, Maximilian Robespierre, was executed beforehand.1

Without the existence of definitive data, it is probably safe to assume Freemasons, more than not, supported both revolutions. In the case of the French Revolution, it is probable Masonic support did not extend to the Reign of Terror. In both cases, anti-Masonry may have been aligned with those in opposition to the revolutions or, later, part of Robespierre's terrorism.

1 Denslow, William, 10.000 Famous Freemasons, Volume IV Q-Z and supplement, Transactions of the Missouri Lodge of Research, Volume No. 17, 1960, © 1961, William R. Denslow, pp. 388-389

~SLH

Bro. Steve Harrison, 33° is Past Master of Liberty Lodge #31, Liberty, Missouri. He is also a Fellow and Past Master of the Missouri Lodge of Research. Among his other Masonic memberships is the St. Joseph Missouri Valley of the Scottish Rite, Liberty York Rite bodies, and Moila Shrine. He is also a member and Past Dean of the DeMolay Legion of Honor. Brother Harrison is a regular contributor to the Midnight Freemasons blog as well as several other Masonic publications. Brother Steve was Editor of the Missouri Freemason magazine for a decade and is a regular contributor to the Whence Came You podcast. Born in Indiana, he has a Master's Degree from Indiana University and is retired from a 35-year career in information technology. Steve and his wife Carolyn reside in northwest Missouri. He is the author of dozens of magazine articles and three books: Freemasonry Crosses the Mississippi, Freemasons — Tales From the Craft and Freemasons at Oak Island.

Seeds of Dissent The Origins of Anti-Masonry - Part 2: The Incident

by Midnight Freemason Emeritus Contributor

Steven L. Harrison, 33°, FMLR

By the time Masonic lodges began to appear in what would become the United States, the Catholic church was on the verge of banning the Craft. Protestant evangelical churches, strict and unbending in their belief systems, were following suit. In addition, some colonists began to fear the secretive nature of Masonic lodges and their perceived influence over political and economic affairs was threatening the emerging nation. It was not lost on the populace that the Masonic lodges themselves, whether Ancient or Modern, owed their existence and allegiance to being sanctioned by lodges in England, a country daily waning in popularity with the upstart colonists. This, even though many, if not most, Freemasons went on to support the colonies in the American Revolution. 

With other priorities to deal with in the fledgling colonies, anti-Masonry was simmering on the back burner, but nowhere near a boil. In fact, membership in the Craft was still seen as desirable, an honor, and not something everyone could achieve. A notorious incident began to change things.

Daniel Reese was a young apprentice pharmacist working in 1737 at a prominent apothecary in downtown Philadelphia. He was one of those who thought membership in Freemasonry would enhance his career and status in the community. With that, he told his boss, the respected and well-known Dr. Evan Jones, of his desire to join the organization. Dr. Jones also knew about the Freemasons, a group about which he had some doubts. Seeing an opportunity for some mischief, he told Reese he would arrange his admission to the order.

Jones and a few of his friends, none of whom were Masons, planned an elaborate mock "initiation" for the unsuspecting Reese. A few nights later, in the backyard of Jones' home, the group performed the ceremony. John Remington, a Philadelphia attorney, administered an "irreligious and scandalous" oath on the naive Reese, after which he was subjected to "absurd and ridiculous indignities," given a series of "ludicrous" signs, and then congratulated on having received the first degree of Freemasonry.

On a subsequent night, June 13, 1737, Reese presented himself at Dr. Jones' store to receive a "higher degree." The men blindfolded him and escorted him to the cellar. There, the perpetrators forced him to repeat an invocation to Satan, and coerced him into drinking a strong drug, most likely a laxative, "for sport."

The group then lit a pan of brandy and camphor and removed Reese's blindfold. At that, one of the sinister bunch confronted him wearing a cowhide cloak and horns, so Reese would assume he was the devil. The stunt failed to frighten Reese, so Jones threw the flaming liquid onto Reese, severely burning him.1 Three days later, Reese died.2

Remarkably, a coroner's inquest acquitted the Masonic impostors, although it severely condemned their actions. However, a grand jury subsequently indicted Jones, Remington and John Tackerbury (an expelled Mason) for murder. Jones and Remington were found guilty of manslaughter with Tackerbury being acquitted.  The court granted Remington a pardon due to extenuating circumstances, including the need to provide for his family. Jones' sentence, to have his hand branded3, was carried out immediately.

The Masons came under fire, even though they had absolutely nothing to do with the episode. The Brothers from St. John's Lodge and the Grand Master published a statement condemning the matter.

The proceedings of the trial revealed Benjamin Franklin was aware of the shenanigans.  The Court of Common-Pleas had appointed him to settle an affair in which Jones was involved. During one of their meetings Jones told him about the first "initiation" and Franklin admitted to laughing heartily "as my manner is." Having heard about Franklin's reaction Andrew Bradford, Franklin's longtime rival in the printing industry, used that information to attack Franklin, as well as the Freemasons, in his newspaper, the American Weekly Mercury.

Franklin responded in his Pennsylvania Gazette, noting he stopped laughing when Jones told him of the incident with the laxative, and the fact the group made Reese swear to Satan. Bradford shot back with a rebuttal that proved to be the opening volley of what has been characterized as the first anti-Masonic series of articles in a newspaper in colonial America.4

1 Some reports claimed Jones tripped, spilling the liquid.

2 Pennsylvania Gazette, No. 444, June 9 to 16, 1737

3 Hand branding was a common punishment in the US through the early years of the 19th century. Most likely the letter "M," for "Murderer," was branded on Jones hand, an extremely painful and excruciating ordeal which Jones would carry for the rest of his life informing everyone he came into contact with of his crime.

4 https://www.alrny.org/articles/power-of-the-press-the-bradford-amp-freemason-rivalry-in-provincial-america

~SLH

Bro. Steve Harrison, 33° is Past Master of Liberty Lodge #31, Liberty, Missouri. He is also a Fellow and Past Master of the Missouri Lodge of Research. Among his other Masonic memberships is the St. Joseph Missouri Valley of the Scottish Rite, Liberty York Rite bodies, and Moila Shrine. He is also a member and Past Dean of the DeMolay Legion of Honor. Brother Harrison is a regular contributor to the Midnight Freemasons blog as well as several other Masonic publications. Brother Steve was Editor of the Missouri Freemason magazine for a decade and is a regular contributor to the Whence Came You podcast. Born in Indiana, he has a Master's Degree from Indiana University and is retired from a 35-year career in information technology. Steve and his wife Carolyn reside in northwest Missouri. He is the author of dozens of magazine articles and three books: Freemasonry Crosses the Mississippi, Freemasons — Tales From the Craft and Freemasons at Oak Island.

Seeds of Dissent The Origins of Anti-Masonry - Part 1: Hanoverians, Jacobites, Protestants, and Catholics

by Midnight Freemason Emeritus Contributor

Steven L. Harrison, 33°, FMLR

The Morgan Affair proved to be the great catalyst for the anti-Masonic movement in the United States. It was a tipping point which sparked years of animosity that could have brought the fraternity down, but it was not, as some think, the first shot across Masonry's bow. Even before the inception of the first Grand Lodge, anti-Masonic seeds began to sprout in Europe. These had their origins mainly within organized religious bodies which saw Freemasonry as a negative influence, if not a threat. The church was intensely opposed to Freemasonry's support of secular ideals, raising concerns of potential subversion. It was also suspicious of the fraternity's secretive practices and oaths which it viewed as heresy. Finally, the church saw the growing presence of Freemasonry within influential circles as a challenge to its power.

The first known criticism was launched at Freemasonry as – for lack of a better term – a labor union. In 1383, John Wycliffe, known for translating the Bible into English, said of the Masons, 

"that they conspire together that no man of their craft shall take less on a day than they fix, that none of them shall do steady work which might interfere with the earning of other men of the craft, that none of them shall do anything but cut stone, though he might profit his master twenty pounds by one day's work laying a wall without harm to himself." 1

That is to say, Freemasons would not work for less than their stated wage rate, nor would they do work that infringed on the skills and ability of other craftsmen to earn their wages.

As the Freemasons transitioned from operative to speculative, things became more heated. The craft shook the foundations of religion which, at the time, is to say it shook the Catholic church. Freemasonry, through its Charges, espoused tenets that were foreign to the teachings of the church. Chief among these was its acceptance of all religions. The very first section of Reverend James Anderson's Constitutions of 1723 makes it clear:

"...if [a Mason] rightly understands the Art, he will never be a stupid Atheist nor an irreligious Libertine. But though in ancient Times Masons were charg'd in every Country to be of the Religion of that Country or Nation, whatever it was, yet 'tis now thought more expedient only to oblige them to that Religion in which all Men agree, leaving their particular Opinions to themselves; that is, to be good Men and true, or Men of Honour and Honesty, by whatever Denominations or Persuasions they may be distinguish'd; whereby Masonry becomes the Center of Union, and the Means of conciliating true Friendship among Persons that must have remain'd at a perpetual Distance."

It did not help that the Masons were known to discuss radical Enlightenment-based concepts in their meetings such as the blasphemous ideas of Copernicus and Galileo that the earth orbited the sun – a notion that was a complete anathema to all that was good and holy.

In 1685, prior to the formation of the Grand Lodge of England, King James II2, a Catholic, assumed the throne. At the time, considerable friction was brewing between Catholics and protestants in the country. Adding to the tension, James was a cousin of Louis XIV, King of France, and many in England were becoming increasingly wary of that relationship.  

On top of the animosities building up over religion and his ties to France, James picked a fight with Parliament, eventually dissolving it in an attempt to form a new body that would support him unconditionally.3 James' 26-year-old daughter Mary was a protestant, which was a mitigating factor until 1688 when he had a son, James Francis Edward Stuart (James III), whom he announced would be raised as a Catholic. The birth of this son changed the line of succession, with many now outraged over the prospect of a Catholic dynasty in England. Just as many were certain the queen's pregnancy had been a hoax (a mystery that was never settled).4

Talk of revolution was in the air. In 1688, a group of James'  former supporters led by John Churchill (1650 –1722, 1st Duke of Marlborough) wrote to the Dutch Prince William of Orange, pledging their support if he would invade England. William, who also happened to be the husband of James II's daughter Mary, did just that. After a few skirmishes, James ran off to his cousin in France with baby James III in his arms.5 With that, William and Mary became rulers of England. A political movement, the Jacobites6, arose supporting the restoration of James to the throne.

A quarter century later, George I became King.7 He was a member of the House of Hanover which had ruled in Germany beginning in the early part of the 17th century. So Hanoverians were now in charge in England and strongly opposed to the Jacobites. The Jacobites saw Freemasonry as an important means to achieving their singular goal… restoring James or his Catholic Stuart successors to the throne.8 Their lodges were primarily Catholic. Hanoverian Lodges in England were mainly protestant but also admitted Catholics and atheists, as long as they adhered to the Hanoverian point of view. Thinking the Hanoverians were infringing on Jacobite Freemasonry, the now grown-up James Francis Edward Stuart, a good Catholic still living in France, approached Pope Clement, asking him to ban Hanoverian Freemasonry. James III thought since the Jacobian lodges were mainly Catholic, the Pope would go along with his request without also condemning the Jacobian brand of Freemasonry. The Pope didn't see it that way.

 

The Chief Minister of Louis XV of France, Cardinal André-Hercule de Fleury, who had been investigating Freemasonry as a part of the Inquisition, wanted all of Freemasonry banned.9 Clement, suspecting the King felt the same way and not wanting to cross the monarch, listened to de Fleury and in 1738, issued the first Papal Bull condemning the fraternity, In eminenti apostolatus specula:

"Now it has come to Our ears, and common gossip has made clear, that certain Societies… called in the popular tongue Liberi Muratori or Francs Massons… are spreading far and wide and daily growing in strength; and men of any Religion or sect, satisfied with the appearance of natural probity, are joined together, according to their laws and the statutes laid down for them, by a strict and unbreakable bond which obliges them, both by an oath upon the Holy Bible and by a host of grievous punishment, to an inviolable silence about all that they do in secret together… Thus these aforesaid Societies or Conventicles have caused in the minds of the faithful the greatest suspicion, and all prudent and upright men have passed the same judgment on them as being depraved and perverted. For if they were not doing evil they would not have so great a hatred of the light… We therefore… do hereby determine and have decreed that these same Societies… of Liberi Muratori or Francs Massons… are to be condemned and prohibited, and by Our present Constitution, valid forever, We do condemn and prohibit them.

Moreover, We desire and command that both Bishops and prelates, and other local ordinaries, as well as inquisitors for heresy, shall investigate and proceed against transgressors… and they are to pursue and punish them with condign penalties as being most suspect of heresy."

The Pope also notes in his encyclical, the first of many having since been issued against Freemasons, that "several countries" had already outlawed and eliminated Freemasonry.

In a way, one could argue it was not the Catholic church that struck this seminal blow to Freemasonry, rather it was differences between two factions of the Craft that got them condemned. At any rate, officially formed as a Grand Lodge in 1717, just two decades later the Catholic church, along with several countries, had banned the fraternity, leaving anti-Masonry as a stowaway on board as the Craft sailed for the new world.

1The Canadian Forum, a Monthly Journal of Literature and Public Affairs, Volume IV, No. 37, October, 1923, p. 284

2 James II (October 14, 1633 – September 16, 1701) ruled England and Ireland as James II and Scotland as James VII from February 6, 1685 to December 23, 1688, with historians sometimes referring to him as King James II & VII.

3 This never happened. Once James II dissolved Parliament, it never met again during his tenure as king.

4 Churchill, Winston, A History of the English Speaking Peoples, The New World, Dodd, Mead & Company, 1966, pp.404-405.

5 Ibid, pp. 396-410. The English have called this relatively bloodless coup the "Glorious Revolution." Its alternate names have been "The Bloodless Revolution,"  and "The Revolution of 1688."

6 The name derives from the Latinized version of James, or Jacobus.

7 William and Mary jointly ruled until her untimely death from smallpox in 1694. At William's death in 1702, Anne, the younger daughter of James II, took over. Anne died in 1714, when George I assumed the throne.

8 Irish Jacobitism and Freemasonry, Sean J Murphy, Eighteenth-Century Ireland, vol 9, 1994, pp 75-82, https://tinyurl.com/Jacobism

9 Bernheim, Alain (2011). Ramsay et ses deux discours (in French). Paris: videographer, broadcaster, television producer. pp. 17–19. ISBN 9782906031746.

~SLH

Bro. Steve Harrison, 33° is Past Master of Liberty Lodge #31, Liberty, Missouri. He is also a Fellow and Past Master of the Missouri Lodge of Research. Among his other Masonic memberships is the St. Joseph Missouri Valley of the Scottish Rite, Liberty York Rite bodies, and Moila Shrine. He is also a member and Past Dean of the DeMolay Legion of Honor. Brother Harrison is a regular contributor to the Midnight Freemasons blog as well as several other Masonic publications. Brother Steve was Editor of the Missouri Freemason magazine for a decade and is a regular contributor to the Whence Came You podcast. Born in Indiana, he has a Master's Degree from Indiana University and is retired from a 35-year career in information technology. Steve and his wife Carolyn reside in northwest Missouri. He is the author of dozens of magazine articles and three books: Freemasonry Crosses the Mississippi, Freemasons — Tales From the Craft and Freemasons at Oak Island.

The Second Body

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Steven L. Harrison, 33°, FMLR

Are you tired of the Morgan Affair? Do you think we've explored every nook, cranny, and crevice of the evidence and come to a dead end on a street to nowhere? Are you ready to move on? Me, too. But before we do, let's just take one more quick look at something.

For those of you who have been living on the back side of the Masonic moon and have never heard of the Morgan Affair, here's a quick summary:

In 1826, William Morgan, who had connived his way into Masonic Lodges but wasn't really a Brother, announced he was going to publish a book revealing Masonic secrets. Upset, certain Masons kidnapped Morgan and spirited him off to the border of New York and Ontario. After that, no one knows what happened. Speculation that the Masons murdered Morgan ran high. Anti-Masonic furor followed, with about a half dozen convictions for the kidnapping. Amidst the confusion, a body showed up, was determined to be Morgan, and buried. Then it was exhumed and determined to be someone else. Afterward, there were more Morgan sightings than there have been of Elvis, but none were confirmed, only adding to the mystery and confusion. 

Now, that's not even the Reader's Digest version of the incident, but those are facts anyone knows if they know anything about the Morgan affair; but you never… or rarely… hear about the second body. That's right, the second body.

I refer you to the "New York Times" of June 22, 1881, with a headline, front page center, that screams, "WILLIAM MORGAN'S BONES." A sub-heading informs us workers found a silver ring with the body that had the initials "W.M," and a tobacco box that, "seems to prove the bones are those of …" Morgan. Part of that lengthy article reads:

"BATAVIA, N. Y., June 21 – This little town is filled with excitement to-day over the discovery of what are believed to be the remains of William Morgan, the man who betrayed the secrets of the Freemasons in his book entitled "Morgan's Illustrations of Masonry" 55 years ago, and was abducted and made away with before his work was given to the public. The mystery surrounding the fate of William Morgan has defied human ingenuity for over half a century, and now it seems destined to be unraveled at last, when most, if not all, the actors in the tragedy, like its victim, are laid away in the grave. About 11 miles west of Batavia, in Genesee County, lies the town of Pembroke, and it is in this place that the bones were found. Some men were… opening up a stone quarry, when they suddenly came upon the remains of a human skeleton… The locality is about two miles south of the Tonawanda Indian Reservation, and the men at first thought that they had chanced upon the bones of some Indian brave. But this idea was soon dispelled by the consideration that no trinkets were found with the skeleton, and such articles are always buried with the remains of a departed Indian… it was quite evident that the persons who had deposited the body in its resting place intended that it should be well concealed… After some time… one of the party [discovered] a silver ring, which… was found to bear the monogram "W. M.," the initials of William Morgan…. 

The initials W.M., however, will fit a great many names, so that the discovery of the ring, taken by itself, would not be considered of such great importance. But… soon an object of much greater significance was discovered. This was a small tin box… In this box was found a manuscript, the writing of which was scarcely legible… The crumpled paper was taken to the office of Dr. Phillips, where it was placed under a microscope… the words " Masons," "Liar," "Prison," "Kill," and the full name "Henry Brown" were plainly visible… The name of "Henry Brown," too, is most significant. At the time of Morgan's disappearance Henry Brown was a lawyer in this town, and a prominent Mason. In 1829 three years after the tragedy, he published a book,,, entitled, "A Narrative of the anti-Mosonick Excitement in the Western part of the State of New York"… In it Henry Brown gives a very correct account of the abduction of Morgan, and admits that it was probably done by Masons, who, in their zeal for their order, lacked discretion. He strives to show that although Morgan was abducted, there is no proof that he was murdered, and indulges in long arguments to show that the anti-Masonic excitement created by the Morgan tragedy was uncalled for, and the work of political demagogues. If it shall now appear that the body found is accompanied by a threatening letter signed by Brown, the inference will be irresistible that the remains are those of William Morgan, and that Henry Brown, the great defender of the Masons of Batavia, was one of the murderers. This discovery bids fair to explode all other theories regarding the fate of Morgan."

The article goes on to give great detail about the Morgan affair. But is says nothing about what was done with the body or the artifacts found with it. Bear in mind, this is from the "New York Times," not the "Deadwood Dishrag." If the account is true, perhaps Henry Brown was one of the murderers, as the article suggests

Or, consider that one of the myriad of Morgan theories claims the Masons released Morgan and he lived in that area with Native Americans; and workers found this body near a reservation. So, if that manuscript was in Morgan's handwriting, does it prove he lived in the area until at least 1829, read the book, and was himself calling Brown a liar? In which case, the Masons did not kill Morgan.

The Morgan Affair: the mysterious 19th century Masonic gift that just keeps on giving.

~~SLH

Bro. Steve Harrison, 33°  is Past Master of Liberty Lodge #31, Liberty, Missouri. He is also a Fellow and Past Master of the Missouri Lodge of Research. Among his other Masonic memberships is the St. Joseph Missouri Valley of the Scottish Rite, Liberty York Rite bodies, and Moila Shrine. He is also a member and Past Dean of the DeMolay Legion of Honor. Brother Harrison is a regular contributor to the Midnight Freemasons blog as well as several other Masonic publications. Brother Steve was Editor of the Missouri Freemason magazine for a decade and is a regular contributor to the Whence Came You podcast. Born in Indiana, he has a Master's Degree from Indiana University and is retired from a 35-year career in information technology. Steve and his wife Carolyn reside in northwest Missouri. He is the author of dozens of magazine articles and three books: Freemasonry Crosses the Mississippi, Freemasons — Tales From the Craft and Freemasons at Oak Island.

I Was Wrong, Conspiracies Are No Laughing Matter

by Midnight Freemasons Contributor

WB Darin A. Lahners

In September and October, Freemason Lodges across Illinois started to receive anti-Masonic literature like that above.  This literature was deposited by a person or persons who not only have no idea what Freemasonry is or does, but that also decided to reuse arguments from Leo Taxil's hoax as the main basis for their Anti-Masonic rants.  Today, the arsonist that attacked several lodges in Vancouver, British Columbia was sentenced.  While he attacked them because of his drug problem and mental illness, the basis for the attack was because of his belief that the Freemasons were up to no good.  I also read today on social media about a brother who was having a conversation with some of his other brothers in front of his Masonic lodge after an event, when a truck stopped and a gentleman got out and started calling them, "Baby-eating satanists." 

The last example has realized my fear that some of the conspiracies put forth by Q-Anon, which has linked Freemasons and/or the Illuminati as being part of the cabal made up of satan-worshiping pedophile US politicians and entertainers which they believe wanted to remove and keep former President Trump from rooting them out, is at the heart of the rise of anti-masonic rhetoric.

Read about it - "Facebook Removes Thousands of Pages Linked to QANON Conspiracy Theory"

It's gotten so bad that there are people claiming that the Bible that President Biden took his oath on is a "Freemasonic Bible", further giving credence to their beliefs.  Read about it here.

We only need to look back in our recent history to see what popular Anti-Masonic sentiment did to our craft.  This culminated with the formation of a political party that sent members of it to Congress in the 1830s. Is it only a matter of time before we face similar forces?

When I raised my concerns about this disturbing trend on other social media platforms, most of the reaction I have received is that I'm somehow legitimizing the conspiracies by addressing them.  Unfortunately, I do not think that we can afford to bury our collective heads in the sand, and to believe that the people that believe these conspiracies are going to disappear--they're growing in number.  Recent polls have shown that 15-20% of Americans agree with Q-Anon's beliefs, while others have shown that it's more like 4-5%. Any percentage over 0% is too much.

Back in the simpler days of September 2017, I wrote a satirical piece for this very blog about Conspiracy Theories and Freemasonry.   You can find the article here. 

I was wrong.

At the end of the article, I stated that I didn't care what someone believed as long as they were a brother. Unfortunately, I need to say that this is no longer the case.  I do not care what your religious beliefs or political affiliations are as long as they are not ones that hold that Freemasonry is evil, immoral, or indecent. If you subscribe to anti-Masonic conspiratorial beliefs, then we are in opposition.  Yes, I understand that I also just wrote an article about Being Curious and not Judgmental,  however,  I cannot in good conscience do that when the person on the other side of the argument has already judged the institution of Freemasonry as being something that it is not and will never be.

I want to be clear because I don't want to get accused of taking sides politically for having specifically called out Q-Anon.  This isn't a political issue.  Any group that holds anti-Masonic conspiratorial beliefs regardless of their political leaning is a direct threat to the institution of Freemasonry. Also--it's just plain rubbish.

Our new Grandmaster in Illinois, MWB Michael Jackson, made a very important point to the Freemasons gathered at our Annual Communication in October.  His point was that a Masonic Lodge is like the human body.  If it is not active, it will atrophy and will most likely die.  However, if it is active and healthy, then it has a better chance of survival.  His words ring true as there is only one way to combat conspiracies, and it's something that my mother lodge has been struggling with--hell, many lodges are struggling with this. The only way to combat conspiracies is to show that they are not true by being transparent and active in your community.  

This means opening your lodge doors by having open houses and inviting your community in.  Yes, we need to start talking about what Freemasons are and what we do in public forums. Not only this, but we also need to start participating in community events and actively promoting our charitable efforts in the media (social and otherwise) if we are not already doing so.          

While we might not convince someone that is firmly entrenched in their conspiratorial beliefs about Freemasonry, we can at least try to make sure that those same beliefs don't spread like cancer in our communities by showing that we are the opposite of what the conspiracies say we are.  We will not be giving away our secrets by doing so.  Who knows, maybe we might gain some new members this way as well.  We just need to make sure that we are doing our due diligence and guarding the West Gate.

~DAL

WB Darin A. Lahners is our Co-Managing Editor. He is a host and producer of the "Meet, Act and Part" podcast. He is currently serving the Grand Lodge of Illinois Ancient Free and Accepted Masons as the Area Education Officer for the Eastern Masonic Area. He is a Past Master of St. Joseph Lodge No.970 in St. Joseph. He is also a plural member of Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL), where he is also a Past Master. He’s a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Danville, a charter member of Illinois Royal Arch Chapter, Admiration Chapter No. 282, and a member of the Salt Fork Shrine Club under the Ansar Shrine. You can reach him by email at darin.lahners@gmail.com. 

Lost Little Lambs

by Midnight Freemason

Bro. Brian Schimian

Once again social media provides me a topic to rant about. As always, though I will be using direct quotes, copied from their original posting, I will remove all names so as to not allow for the Lost Little Lambs to feel that they are being attacked…

If you have read my previous pieces that I have written about the Shriners, (A.A.N.O.M.S. & Nobles of the Mystic Shrine) you know how what high regard I hold for the Order and the men that call themselves Noble.  I will start by letting you read his own statements as he wrote them…

“I am one stone in a temple of many stones. I want to help other stones smooth out too. Shrine activity distorts the shape and decreases the usefulness of some of our stones. For the sake of the whole temple we need square work. The Shrine keeps brother stones as rough ashlars and prevents them from realizing what they need to smooth out. For the sake of the work of the Temple, we need to get rid of this monstrous polluter. One drop of their poison affects the communal waters of Masonry. Why should I stand by as the well that I draw water from is poisoned by drunkards?”

“The Shrine has the power to turn the nice wise old men in the Lodge into dirty old men. I have seen it completely change the character of people and get them more in that "drunk dirty old man" mindset.”

“Would you want the Shrine to host a debaucherous party in your sacred space? They are invoking energies that are harming us all and polluting our egregore.”

“The Shrine is notorious for dirty old men. I remember hearing about how someone would know that there is a big Shriner convention in town that weekend when you'd see a bunch more dirty old men making crass remarks everywhere at beautiful women. The Shrine is probably one of the greatest tools for turning a smoothing ashlar into a dirty old man.”

“What is the intent of the order? Drunkenness.”

“I have a great new order to bring refreshment to the craft. It's called the shooting-yourself-in-the-foot order. Let's inflict harm on ourselves in order to relax and enjoy life.”

“That's what the Shrine does, it encourages behavior that basically gets Masons to defile themselves. We are One, we are a Fraternity, and the Shrine does nothing good for us. Even the facade of the hospitals doesn't hold up and the world equates "Shriner" with "dirty nasty old rude lying men." 

“THAT is the image that the world has of Shriners. THAT is the behavior that has been broadcast to the world. THAT ruins the rest of the reputation of Masonry. THAT is working against the progression of the craft. Shriner behavior also prevents the craft from progressing and perfecting the stones. The Shrine is killing us from the outside (the infamous reputation) and from the inside (the invoked energies from debauchery that taint our egregore.). We are all part of one big pool of energy and I do NOT want you guys pissing in the waters I drink from. Shriners are universally known as being dirty drunk men. Everywhere. That's how many shows portray the red fez.”

Then this Lost Little Lamb went on to say that:

“The hospitals are a cover. They do it to make themselves feel good and to make their wives feel better about them getting trashed.”

He went on and used terms to describe the Shrine an “insidious organization” and the Nobles are actually “Jesters”.

Wow, how far off base...The Shrine is one of the best philanthropies in the world and it owes itself to Freemasonry. The best men I have ever known were Shriners. The selfies and timeless dedication to others, to sick kids, to each other... Truly a misled individual... How sad and vile are those that stand outside and cast judgment within.

He continued:

“It goes against the spirit of Masonry. Masonry teaches self control and subduing the passions. The Shrine teaches alcohol and more alcohol. Masonry preaches to walk after your soul instead of your flesh. The Shrine teaches to live in the flesh and to stay in the flesh. Getting drunk and dirty is not a healthy environment for spiritual growth. Getting drunk and dirty chains you to the flesh and makes you do things that defile your body and your mouth (tell us about how much love the drunk Shriners speak towards their wives when she isn't there.)”

“The cardinal tenets of this organization are drunkenness and debauchery. That is not Masonic.”

I 100% disagree with the last statement. It is completely incorrect.  Luckily I was not the only person sharing my views and others commented:

“Not every aspect of masonry has to be philosophical or mystical. Sometimes we can become so enthralled in our quest for spiritual knowledge we lose our common sense.”

"Harming us all". No, that's quite inaccurate. I'm doing just fine without a fez, thank you.”

“…time, experience, and the application of virtue has made it the great charitable organization it is today.”

Then the Lost Little Lamb made this statement: “Sorry if I offended but, but you must not be a terribly connected or active Shriner if you don't know about the rampant overindulgence.”  Sounds like every other conspiracy minded nut-job that attacks Freemasonry. Oh, you must not be a “high enough” level Mason to know what's “really” is going on.  Let me tell you this, I may have not been able to wear a Fez for many years, but I was a Shriner from the time I was 8 years old.  I grew up in the Medinah Temple, helping with parades and picnics and fundraising.  I was selling onions and sauce decades before crossing the Hot Sands.  What bothers me the most about these completely ridiculous and unsubstantiated claims is that it does more harm than anything.  Especially when people have to ask things like this: “I'm not a Shriner, is it really THAT bad???”

It is true that the Charity aspect was not primary in the formation. It was a social endeavor.  But that doesn't detract from their purpose now or the fact that they are one of the best philanthropies today and would not exist without Freemasonry.  If you ask me, the Shrine is one of the best things to come out of the Craft.  It exemplifies the tenants of Freemasonry better than anything else.  All anyone needs to do is spend a few hours in a Shriner's Hospital and they will see what I mean.  Everyone has their own path, that much is for sure, but if you want to toss the bushel because of one or two bad apples, that is your loss.  One of the best days of my life was when my father put that Fez on me.  No person and nothing will ever take that away from me.  If there is any doubt about the lengths I will go to in defense of Freemasonry, read these two pieces that I have written and you will see how deep my debt to the Craft goes: Everything Good In My Life, I Owe To Freemasonry and How Far Would You Go?.  I am just simply disgusted by what was written.  So much for virtues of tolerance and acceptance being followed by this person.  Truly a Lost Little Lamb that needs some true guidance. 

How closed minded can you be and still call yourself esoteric?  

~BJS

Bro. Brian Schimian is Life of Member A.O. Fay #676 in Highland Park Illinois and the Medinah Shriners - Lake County Shrine Club. He was also the Past Master Counselor of DeMolay - Lakes Chapter in 1995. Most recently, Brian became a Companion of the York Rite, joining Waukegan Chapter #41 R.A.M. Brian is a father of two children. You can follow his blog "It is. In God. I do." where he publishes even more excellent content. "Start Square, Finish Level"