Upgrading your Masonic knowledge, like developing your computer skills,
is easy if taken one step at a time.

Are you computer literate? Can you define DVD and CD-ROM? Do you know how to use an Internet search engine? Can you get a virus from a gigabyte? If you're beginning to feel you are one of the few people left who is technologically challenged, it would have to be that you are a) not interested in computers b) you are afraid of computers c) you are ashamed to admit your ignorance and become educated about computers.

If you fall into the last category, as I do, remember the adage that a person who is too embarrassed to ask a question can never learn matters requiring study. Whether the subject is computers or Freemasonry, an inquiring, motivated mind is essential for success.

Today there are probably many more Masons who are computer literate than Masonically literate. Lack of Masonic literacy stems from pretty much the same reasons as lack of computer literacy: 1) we're just not interested in Masonic knowledge 2) we're afraid of it or 3) we're ashamed to admit our ignorance.

Indeed, many of us are Masonically challenged. We don't know the difference between the trials and tribulations of Hiram Abiff and those of Zurrubbabel (the first found in the Third Degree and the second in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Degrees), and we may not know if we should give a Masonic sign or a Scottish Rite sign or when and where to do so. Perhaps we don't remember how to give the Grand Hailing Sign of our Degrees or utter the special words we sometimes need to know in Lodge.

The only way to overcome Masonic illiteracy is to overcome our issues with Freemasonry. For some it might mean overcoming the embarrassment of our lack of knowledge and simply asking questions. For others it means unlearning some things which turned them off Masonry as young people. Perhaps our parents and uncles and aunts were too involved in all of the Masonic organizations, and we felt left out. DeMolay for young men, Job's Daughters, and Rainbow for Girls just aren't substitutes for being directly involved in Masonry through the adult members of our family. To others, understanding Freemasonry means overcoming the apathy and indifference which pervades so much of our lives today.

One aspect of computers that often puts people off from even attempting to become knowledgeable about them is that every time you turn around there's something new on the market. Just when you get used to the new Windows program, it's upgraded. Months after you spend $1,000 buying a faster, more powerful computer, the company comes out with something even faster and more powerful. Then the software you buy has a bug, or you need more memory to run the new program you just bought. Unfortunately, the list goes on and on.

Fortunately, there are no such problems in Freemasonry. We have no need to upgrade our equipment, just upgrade ourselves and our performance regarding the principles of Freemasonry. Nothing is faster or more powerful than authentic Masonic study, which we find in our Degrees and hopefully in our Masonic discussions after Degrees, be it in the Masonic Lodge or the Scottish Rite Temple. We have such a Masonic education program in California, and it is proving very successful. Basically, it involves posing and answering questions, and, undoubtedly, you have a local Masonic Education Program where competent Brothers lead discussions to extend the Masonic learning process. If such a program does not exist, surely you can develop discussion leaders by simply generating enthusiasm for such a meeting. Leaders will emerge from the discussion, and soon you will have a Masonic Education Program.

If we don't educate the membership, we will eradicate the Fraternity. Without knowledgeable and involved members, Freemasonry and all the benefits it brings to our everyday lives will disappear. It's as simple as that. If we want our Scottish Rite Valleys and our Masonic Lodges to sustain themselves and grow to where they were some years ago, we will have to furnish leadership and learning.

Don't worry if you think you can't buy into this concept all at once. Take your time. Do your upgrading one lesson, one subject, at a time. Before long, you, too, will be Masonically literate.

Melville H. Nahin is an attorney in Los Angeles, a Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of California (1998-99), Past Venerable Master of Los Angeles Valley, present Chairman of Los Angeles Scottish Rite Childhood Language Disorders Clinic, Past Master Ionic Lodge No. 520 and Southern California Research Lodge, and Chairman of the Board of Governors Shriners Hospitals for Children-Los Angeles Unit. Ill. Nahin began contributing to the Scottish Rite Journal (then titled the New Age Magazine) in September 1977. This article marks his 76th publication, a new record for the magazine of the most articles published by one author. Congratulations, Ill. Nahin!