Jim Tresner, 33°, Grand Cross
P.O. Box 1019, Guthrie, Oklahoma 73044-1019

Masonry is not just knowledge of the Craft. It is what happens in a man when he takes the Degrees and then practices their lessons.

Taiwan-Cochin Porcelain Dragon; Photo: Bro. Dean R. Alban, 32°


In a very kind letter I received a few days ago, a Brother referred to me as an "expert in Masonry." In a significantly less kind conversation a few weeks ago, I am told that an Oklahoma Brother referred to me as that @#$%*! know-it-all in Guthrie.

Both Brethren are in error. It is said that the dragon is a fabulous beast, meaning a beast which exists in fable, but not in reality. The expert in Masonry is a fabulous beast as well.

There are Brothers who are experts in Masonic ritual-Ill. Bros. Robert G. Davis, 33°, Secretary of the Guthrie, Oklahoma, Scottish Rite Bodies, and Arturo de Hoyos, 33°, spring immediately to mind. There are experts in Masonic Jurisprudence; Roscoe Pound is an outstanding example. There are experts in Masonic history, symbolism, origin theories, the esoteric aspect of Masonry, and the like. But an expert in Masonry? No.

According to one published estimate, between 75,000 and 100,000 different books have been written about Masonry and its various branches. My own Masonic library has about 400 books, and I have read perhaps 100 more. That's a grand total of one-half of one percent of the information available. A Masonic expert? You bet, both me and the dragon.

Actually, dragons have been my personal totem animals for as long as I can remember. The painter Will Hurd and I have been best friends for decades, and for most of that time, I have been trying to get him to paint my portrait, garbed as Merlin riding a stormy sky aback a great golden dragon, lightning flashing from my upraised hand as I fight the forces of darkness, the powers of ancient wisdom surrounding me with a numinous glow. He tells me a psychiatrist has advised him to stick to landscapes.

But the point of all this is that Masonry is a vast ocean, not only wide but deep. No one has a hope of knowing it all or even a really significant portion of it. There is no such thing as an expert in Masonry. Well, to be accurate, there is one.

It is you.

It is part of the genius of the Craft that no person speaks officially for Masonry. The fundamental reason is that no one can. Masonry is an intensely personal experience-a largely internal experience. As the late Masonic scholar Bro. Jerald E. "Jerry" Marsengill, 32°, K.C.C.H., was wont to remark, a man could read every Masonic ritual there is, and discover all the "secret work," but he still would not be a Mason. Being a Mason does not come from study. It is something that happens in your heart and mind when you take the Degrees.

All the history, all the symbolism, all the psychology, and all the philosophy which are a part of Masonry are fascinating, and these areas provide many hours of joy for many Masons, but, the bottom line is this: Masonry is what happens in a man when he takes the Degrees and then practices their lessons. That experience is individual, unique, and personal to each man. So no Mason should ever be intimidated or feel he is somehow less a Mason than a Brother who has had the opportunity to read more or study further. No one ever needs to feel he is a second-class Brother or something less than a true Freemason.

Whatever wisdom dragons are said to possess, you are the only expert on what Masonry means to you; and you are real, not fabulous.

Jim Tresner
is Director of the Masonic Leadership Institute and Editor of the Oklahoma Mason. A frequent contributor to the Scottish Rite Journal and its book review editor, Illustrious Brother Tresner is also a volunteer writer for the Oklahoma Scottish Rite Mason and a video script consultant for the National Masonic Renewal Committee. He is the Director of the Thirty-third Degree Conferral Team and Director of Work at the Guthrie Scottish Rite Temple in Guthrie, Oklahoma, as well as a Life Member of the Scottish Rite Research Society, author of Albert Pike, The Man Beyond the Monument and Vested in Glory, and a member of the Advisory Committee of the Masonic Information Center. Ill. Tresner was awarded the Grand Cross, the Scottish Rite's highest honor, during the Supreme Council's October 1997 Biennial Session.