Hi, John. M&D has never actually been required for anyone, even in the Southern Jurisdiction of the AASR, of which Pike was the Sovereign Grand Commander for most of the 19th century and which he governed with an iron hand. In fact, the preface, written by the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction contains a sort of disclaimer; it makes very clear that the work is not the “dogma” of the Supreme Council, but the personal opinions of Gr. Comm. Pike. The work has been officially ignored by the Supreme Council of the Northern Jurisdiction. Since NH is in the Northern Jurisdictions, that’s an additional reason why there would be no requirement on you.
But having said that, I recommend that you try reading it, maybe waiting until you have become a 32 deg. mason. To read it before then handicaps you in that you wouldn’t be familiar with the teachings of the degrees which are the subject of the work. But this is really a minor point. Quite a few of the degrees are very different in the two jurisdictions, so receiving them in the North doesn’t mean that you will know what Pike is talking about, since he is writing on the Southern degrees. And in the last decade or so, the Northern Jurisdiction has been revising and replacing degrees to the point that only a few of the major ones are still what they used to be.
M&D is a very difficult book. Few people, even zealous masons, ever succeed in reading it all the way through. It’s verbose, repititious, and written in an oratorical style which can, at times, be striking and beautiful, but can also be bombastic and overblown. It also pretends to be a scholarly work and drags in a number of ancient (dead) languages and hundreds of ancient writers, most of whom are not identified. Pike is generally credited with being a great scholar. Being something of a very minor scholar myself, I wonder about that. But after all this, it’s very much worth reading. His opening chapter, on the Entered Apprentice degree, is a masterpiece. The chapter on the 18th Deg. is profound and beautiful. By all means have a go at it; it’s best done by taking a chapter at a time when you have plenty of liesure.
Meh, give M&D a pass. It isn’t worth the read. Leave it as fodder for the anti-Masons (they LOVE that book). Most Masons I know pay it no mind. Take the time you would spend reading it and instead go volunteer at a soup kitchen or build a home for habitat for humanity!
Goodness! This is the second time today I have to disagree with Dan (fist it was the donuts).
To begin with, John, you could with profit read the first three chapters after you receive your Blue Lodge degrees.
Secondly, there is a lot in M&D which could profitably be read by anyone. Of course, you have to get past all the Victorian rhetoric and Pike’s more fantastic theorizing. But there is little, if anything, that is absolute rubbish. And it helps you to learn how to practice the important Masonic virtue of Perseverance.
Third, and lastly, it helps to know what it is that the anti-masons like to go after in the book and see how they wrench stuff out of context. It never hurts to know how your enemies think.
Just spend some time reading anti-masonic literature and you’ll eventually get through the whole Pike M&D book. I’m not saying there are some nuggets in there that are interesting, but it certainly isn’t required Masonic reading.
And I still say Masonic meetings should be donut free zones! Half of us are already diabetics. Have an apple!!!! ;)
John: Bob’s post has a good point. If/when you decide to start on M&D, you could first train for it by reading W&P. That’s a very good book, if you can remember who is who.
Bob: You must have different ideas in MA than we do about Lodge refreshment. Here, donuts are a staple only at meetings which begin fairly early in the morning, and they come with coffee, which most of us need to stay awake at the meeting. And talking Lodge refreshments, in PA ice cream (nearly always vanilla) and pretzels is almost standard in many places.
Dan: Believe it or not, I actually persuaded my RA Chapter to serve fruit, along with the usual sandwiches or cake, pastries or the like, after meetings. Some of us eat just the fruit, but there are the more traditional heavy hitters (mostly our young guys, and we have quite a few) who eat sandwiches and fruit. LOL.
Bob: You must have different ideas in MA than we do about Lodge refreshment. Here, donuts are a staple only at meetings which begin fairly early in the morning, and they come with coffee, which most of us need to stay awake at the meeting. And talking Lodge refreshments, in PA ice cream (nearly always vanilla) and pretzels is almost standard in many places.
Dan: Believe it or not, I actually persuaded my RA Chapter to serve fruit, along with the usual sandwiches or cake, pastries or the like, after meetings. Some of us eat just the fruit, but there are the more traditional heavy hitters (mostly our young guys, and we have quite a few) who eat sandwiches and fruit. LOL.
You’ll have to excuse brother Bob and me. Our ideas about Lodge refreshment ARE quite different in our Columbian lodge than in many other states and cities. Last meeting we concluded with lobster and filet mignon. Typical post-meeting fare is appetizers of scallops wrapped in bacon, spanikopita, mini-beef wellingtons, and assorded fruits and cheeses. Typical entrees vary from whole roasted pig to beef tenderloin to filet of sole. All dinners include a wide variety of standard and adult bevarages.
Come to think of it…perhaps we’d be better off with donuts, but if either I or Brother Bob had served donuts after the meeting during our time as Junior Wardens, the bretheren would have our heads!!!
As for M&D, I just have to say there are better things to do with your time, like eating lint, watching paint dry, or watching Boston sports this year!
Columbian Lodge certainly does have unique ideas for post-meeting refreshment! When do your meetings start—noon? Surely you don’t eat like that after the close of an evening meeting. If so, you must have more problems than diabetes.
And as for the futility of Boston sports, don’t mention that to someone who lives where the Orioles play. Now I know what it used to be like to be a Chicago Cubs fan.
Columbian Lodge certainly does have unique ideas for post-meeting refreshment! When do your meetings start—noon? Surely you don’t eat like that after the close of an evening meeting. If so, you must have more problems than diabetes.
We open at 5:30 PM and yes, we dine after we close. The evening usually ends around 10:30 or so (for some of us who head upstairs for scotch and fellowship, it ends MUCH later!)
