Whither Are We Traveling?

Dwight L. Smith, P.G.M.

Chapter 1

Whither Are We Traveling?

The Wailing Wall is crowded these days. Masonic leaders, great and small, are lined

up, each awaiting his turn to lift his voice in lamentation. The figures show a falling off

of membership. Attendance at Lodge meetings is not what it used to be. The thing to do

is to adopt this project or that gimmick, and then all will be well. As might be expected,

the projects and gimmicks are about as impossible as they are ridiculous.

For several years, the bosom-beating has been going on. Firing with a shotgun rather

than a rifle, our leadership has offered little of a constructive nature. Prescriptions for the

most part have consisted merely of sales talk for whatever pet scheme was being

proposed. Only a few voices in the wilderness have made a mature and realistic appraisal.

I. Faulty Diagnosis

At the outset, I may as well precipitate an argument by disposing of the old favorites:

One: Whatever attendance troubles our Lodges may be having are not caused by

television, nor the automobile, nor by bowling, nor togetherness, nor any of the other

“busyness” in which our restless society is engaged. A multitude of activities may

contribute to a decline in Lodge attendance, but they do not constitute the cause. When

we complain of lack of attendance, what we really are saying is that interest is at a low

ebb, for in any organization, if there is interest, there will be attendance. No amount of

television or bowling or endless “busyness” can usurp the position of eminence a Lodge

of Freemasons occupies in a man’s loyalty if the Lodge is in a position to command his

loyalty.

The ailment isn’t quite that simple. We are looking at the symptoms – not the disease.

The real source of the trouble is within ourselves.

Two: Such problems as we may have will not be solved by forcing men to memorize

a set of questions and answers, nor by cramming books and lectures down their throats,

nor by any Big Brother Plan, nor by devoting our energies and resources to other

organizations or movements, however worthy they may be.

The cure isn’t that simple, either. The patient’s indisposition will not be relieved by

nostrums. The treatment, too, must come from within.

II. Basic Premises

Next, may I offer what I consider to be three basic premises. Then we shall get down

to cases.