World Masonic Knowledge

In 2011 and 2013, the Grand Lodge of California’s Institute for Masonic Studies held International Conferences in conjunction with the history department at the University of California, Los Angeles. These academic forums brought together acclaimed contemporary...

The Old Master’s Wages

I met a dear old man today, who wore a Masonic pin, It was old and faded like the man, It's edges were worn quite thin. I approached the park bench where he sat, To give the old brother his due, I said, "I see you've traveled east," He said, "I have,...

Mission Lodge History: 1937

In 1937 , Bro. Daniel D. Smith was installed as Master. WB “Dan” (as he was known) receives special mention because he was one of the primary contributors to Mission Lodges “Centennial 1863 - 1963” history book. He spent many hours quietly...

Fool, Dotage, Libertine, and Profane

Masonically, a fool is a mature man without good common sense. Legally, he is of age, mentally, he is deficient. Dotage begins at no special year; it is that time in a man’s life when his mental power deteriorate. The fool never has much mental power; the...

The Winding Staircase

Oliver Day Street defined the central theme of the Second Degree as: “In the winding stairs, an architectural feature of Solomon’s Temple is seized upon to symbolize the journey of life. It is not a placid stream down which one may lazily float, it is not...