‘We should ever be industrious ones’

    

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The Bee Hive

Is an emblem of industry, and recommends the practice of that virtue to all created beings, from the highest seraph in heaven, to the lowest reptile of the dust. It teaches us, that as we came into the world rational and intelligent beings, so we should ever be industrious ones, never sitting down contented while our fellow creatures around us are in want, when it is in our power to relieve them, without inconvenience to ourselves.

When we take a survey of nature, we view man, in his infancy, more helpless and indigent than the brutal creation: he lies languishing for days, months, and years, totally incapable of providing sustenance for himself, of guarding against the attack of the wild beasts of the field, or sheltering himself from the inclemencies of the weather. It might have pleased the great Creator of heaven and earth to have made man independent of all other beings but, as dependence is one of the strongest bonds of society, mankind were made dependent on each other for protection and security, as they thereby enjoy better opportunities of fulfilling the duties of reciprocal love and friendship. Thus was man formed for social and active life, the noblest part of the work of God, and he that will so demean himself, as not to be endeavoring to add to the common stock of knowledge and understanding, may be deemed a drone in the hive of nature, a useless member of society, and unworthy of our protection as Masons.

Jeremy Ladd Cross

The True Masonic Chart, or Hieroglyphic Monitor, Containing All the Emblems Explained in the Degrees

1854 edition

The Beehive State adopted a new design for its flag Saturday, one that emphasizes the beehive at its center more so than the previous flag.

That banner, which displays the Utah seal at center, will remain in use for official ceremonies and events. This new flag employs the colors blue, white, and red, symbolizing blue skies, snowy mountains, and the redrock canyons, respectively.

To the uninitiated eye, the beehives in both the new and old flags befit the state’s one-word motto: Industry. (The state insect, unsurprisingly, is the Western honey bee.) The initiated eye, though, should be able to connect the beehive to Utah’s Mormon history and, from there, to Freemasonry. It’s a long and complicated story, but the first members of the Latter Day Saints Church included a number of Freemasons.

Joseph Smith, founder of the church, was made a Mason at sight by the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Illinois in 1842 while the congregation was based in Nauvoo. Within eighteen months, there were five Masonic lodges consisting of Mormons in Nauvoo, then one of the largest cities in the Midwest. In time, the Mormons would move to Utah, and would repudiate Freemasonry and secret societies.

Researchers have presented the facts many times over the generations, and I urge you to hit the books if the subject moves you.

The beehive (one word these days) enters Masonic ritual via Jeremy L. Cross’ The True Masonic Chart, first published in 1819. Another story with many details, so read up on him too.