I went to lodge 1st Wed of the month last week. [EA] And kinda talked myself into being ready for the 2nd degree on the 17th. I plan on calling my sponsor this week to make sure i have things memorized correctly. However i’m a night person and i’m not going to call him for 4 hours a day going over my cryptic notes.  I have the cypher and the work book but I’ve never been good at line memorization.

Anyone found a technique that worked wonders for them? Like writing the cypher over and over while saying the words mentally? I’ve been told by 3 people there is nothing in the work book that is “private” so i’ll probably get my wifes help with the lambskin, common gavel and 24 in gauge paragraphs. Now i know what the Grand lodge secretary said when I might not be ready by march for the 3rd Deg. Yikes. I hear the 2nd Deg is more memorable and easier to memorize.

Thanks in advance for ideas.

Jason-

I too looked for ways to get the information set to memory....the best thing I have found is simple repetition. Not everyone will remember things the same way. My biggest issue I had after getting close to proving my proficiency was going to fast and getting ahead of myself but once you get to work with your mentor enough, they will be able to tell if you know it or not....
Best of Luck and Welcome from new EA.....but 9 days away from my FC.

Just as a point of reference, a Grand Master of Masons named Benjamin Franklin once said that “Repetition was the mother of memory.” I have no doubt he was speaking from his firsthand experience as a Mason.

I usually tell young Masons that practicing early and often on the First Degree may be the most important thing you can do to truly enjoy Masonry. It will get the ritual into your head early, and since most Masonic ritual plays off the previous, so you can never get started too early. And even if your jurisdiction does not require that you repeat parts of it in Lodge, understanding the words that were said to you during the First Degree will make the rest of your Masonic experience more enjoyable and rewarding.

I also know that waiting until late in the game to start can be stressful, and you don’t want to associate Freemasonry with stress.

Relax. While some people may be “better” at ritual than others, I have never seen any Mason who could not get the ritual down with a little persistence.

Good luck,

Bob Heruska
Columbian Lodge,

Brother Bob, thanks for the quote from the PGM Franklin, they are so very true words. Practice...practice....practice. I have been told that once you get your EA down, the next two come so much easier. One of the big problems I had was the phrasing, it isnt written in modern style of speaking and I find myself unconsciously trying to rearrange the words to flow a bit easier....... along with trying to go WAY to fast, which in turn get me out of sync with the rest of what I am trying to do. I do look forward to my FC...... I feel like I am reading a story but have to wait for the next chapter to see whats going on......or like when we were kids and the next comic book wouldnt be out until next month and you just couldnt wait to see if Superman saved the planet or if the Joker got the best of Batman.

As far as proficiency goes,I am sure the Brothers in Lodge understand that some people just arent good a public speaking and they will be able to tell if you know it or not.

Well thanks for your tips. One more question. What exact methods of repetition did you gentlemen use? I was thinking that i could adapt a couple to fit how i could keep with the spirit of the oath and my style of learning. Which i have not quite figured out yet. I’ve never had to memorize so much before. Not even when i went over the FCC test questions and answers for Amateur radio. 490 questions onlt 35 got used. see eham.com [left side menu for practice tests]

Jason and Fireman,

Not much more to say about memorizing the catechism or other qualification work. It’s basically just a matter of getting it into your head and whatever works best for you is what you should do.

That said, there is a good bit more to memorization and optimum performance if you hope at some point to take a chair in your lodge or otherwise take a speaking part in degree work. I am somewhat of an expert in that, having been teaching and coaching others how to do ritual work for 40 years. I started out as a DeMolay advisor and went on to coaching and acting as Director of Work in lodge and the other three York Rite Bodies. I won’t take up more space on this thread, but if there is any interest, I’ll start a new thread to give advice on learning and doing ritual.

I for one would be very interested in learning anything you have to offer. A thread would be very interesting to me or if it is something you couldnt post publicly, please feel free to send me a PM.

I have got the memorization pretty good, my only stumbling point is the phrasing and going to fast. I get ahead of myself and then get mixed up, but my mentor has me working on a technique where I consciously speak a lot slower and it seems to be helping.

I myself have memory problems, and I found that repetition to the extreme extent helped me the most. The way in which I studied consisted of breaking the works into sections and memorizing smaller portions. After finishing the smaller portions, I then memorized the entire section of that particular degree. I must encourage, however, that if at all possible do take your time, for these words have great meaning.
Jon

My going fast isnt trying to rush through the degree.....its repeating it back to my mentor too fast. I too did the extreme repetition, my job allows me to have time on my off days when I was alone to go over it numerous times and then I would walk around work repeating it to myself....most of the people I work with thought I was going crazy talking to myself, but one guy asked me if I was going through the degree work for a masonic lodge....... it did kinda shock me until he said it reminded him of a time when he was a kid and his Dad was going through the degrees.......my friend isnt a mason(yet) but he told me he plans to follow in his fathers shoes and join, when things are right for him.

Fireman, that’s funny. It’s not an uncommon experience. We used to have a joke in our lodge that if you are in your car sitting at a red light and notice that the guy in the car next to you is talking to himself, he’s probably practicing ritual. I learned the Master’s part in the Most Excellent Master degree while driving up and down the Baltimore-Washington Parkway many years ago. My father, who worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad, told me he learned the catechisms from his mentor while they were both walking up and down the tracks inspecting the journal boxes of freight cars.

It is neat to hear how people went about learning the rituals and degree work. Some guys just pick it up like they have been taught this since birth and then there is some of us (self included here) that are kinda hard headed and it takes a little work.

Hello all.

I think it would be wonderful to have a thread open that talks about learning the ritual. Brother Young, if you had a mind to start one of those threads that would be wonderful.

I do want to point out here—especially for those thinking about becoming Freemasons—that one doesn’t have to be good at memorizing things to become a Mason. I don’t want someone thinking they don’t want to become a Mason because they are not good at it. One of the Masons who helped create this WEbsite has extreme dyslexia—and memorizing and reading are very difficult for him. And dyslexia research and help itself is something that Masons help support. His gift to the Fraternity is in other areas.

The whole point of this memorizing is that a new Mason is supposed to try to understand the lessons that are being taught to him. Otherwise there’s not much point, is there? But if you are asked to repeat some of what you’ve heard in the first degree in front of the Lodge or another Mason—there will always be a Ritualist there to prompt you if you forget. The idea is to try to learn it. You will not be drummed out of Freemasonry if you can’t do it perfectly, or even adequately. I would love to hear one Mason say on this Forum that they never had to be prompted by the Lodge Ritualist… :)

We had one Master of our Lodge who had tremendous difficulty with the ritual throughout his tenure. But he had the support of his Brethren and became one of the most respected members and Past Masters in our Lodge. He ended up acting for years as our Marshall—a part that had few speaking parts—but his powerful and elegant manner in the Lodge made our entire Lodge look very “buttoned up.”

The point is that Brothers are here to help you. The ritual is not written down because you are supposed to work one on one with your Brothers—it’s part of what makes our Fraternity so special.

I may start this ritual thread myself—and put some of this info in there. But I also have some little tricks I use myself—I will post those at a later time.

Bob Heruska
Forum Administrator

Bob....
I agree 100% with you......AND…

Please do share some of your tricks....

I created a desktop wallpaper for my computer that contained the first letters of each word, that way I would always see it and it was always fresh in my head.
It worked great and I knew every word by heart.
Only problem was that last night was my first inspection and, even though I knew all the lines, my nerves got the better of me and when it was my turn to speak (as JW) I couldn’t remember my own name…
So, any one have any tips for getting over the fear of speaking in public?