Starting another great year!

I want to tell you about the progress enjoyed by The Masonic Society, the research and education foundation created last year to serve the Craft in North America.

Since introducing ourselves last May, membership in the Society has grown to nearly 850! Issue No. 5 of The Journal will arrive in our members’ mailboxes in the next two weeks, and our on-line discussion Forum is buzzing with 541 members discussing 2,496 topics. And we’re getting ready for our Semi-Annual Meeting, to take place Oct. 24 in Indianapolis.

For the Magpie Mason, it is especially great to see so many New Jersey Freemasons (46 at last count) joining the Society. Plans are in the works for a local gathering, consisting of a great meal and a thoughtful program to advance our Masonic knowledge. (Members will receive invitations soon.)

The Journal is a quarterly magazine containing Masonic information written by authors from all over the world. Speculative papers, news stories, fiction, poetry, great photography, insightful opinion and other editorial elements reviving the golden age of Masonic publishing.

Features in the new issue include:

The Two Confessions of John Whitney: an examination of the conflicting theories as to the fate of William Morgan by Stephen Dafoe.

Brother Bloom, The Most Influential Mason Who Never Lived by Kenneth W. Davis.

Debunking Reality: Solomon's Temple and the Power of Allegory by Randy Williams.

Multiple Dimensions of Silence in Freemasonry by Shawn Eyer.

The Orders of the Secret Monitor and the Scarlet Cord By Richard L. Gan.

International Conference on the History of Freemasonry 2009 by Christopher Hodapp.

Masonic Treasures: The Washingtons of Donald De Lue by Marc Conrad.

Plus news of current events, info on terrific Masonic events this fall, and other news from around the Masonic world. It is a top quality publication that, frankly, has inspired other national Masonic periodicals to rethink their own operations.

A subscription to this magazine is only one of the benefits of membership. Members are granted access to the Society’s on-line Forum, where hundreds of Masons from around the globe interact every day, helping each other advance in their Masonic knowledge.

And of course it wouldn’t be a Masonic organization without goodies like pins and membership cards, but the Society cranks up the quality of these items, producing elegant symbols of membership that are earning accolades. In addition, each member receives an 11x14 patent, personalized and highly stylized that you'll want professionally framed. It is a very impressive document, on parchment with a hand-stamped wax seal.

But the true benefit of membership in The Masonic Society is the learning experience. Whether it’s an eye-popping topic in the magazine, or just simple conversation in the forum, there is no end to what a Mason can learn from his brethren in this organization. It’s the best 39 bucks I’ve ever spent in Masonry.

Our President is MW Roger VanGorden, Past Grand Master of Indiana. Our Editor-in-Chief is W. Bro. Chris “Freemasons for Dummies” Hodapp. And our Directors, Officers and Founders include many leaders in Masonic education, including authors, publishers, curators, lecturers and more.

Brethren, there is a lot of confusion in the Temple over Freemasonry. ‘Dan Brown this,’ ‘Templar treasure that’ and all kinds of superstitions never should distract the brethren from Truth. The Masonic Society offers one way to uphold Truth with like-minded Masons from all over the world, and have some fun doing it. I hope you’ll check us out.