T.F.S.

Three, five, and seven 3 5 7

By Ed Halpaus, Grand Lodge Education Officer. Number 65 December 20, 2005
This publication, while it is printed with the permission of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of A.F. & A. M. of Minnesota, contains the writings and opinions of Ed Halpaus and is not in any way the opinion of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota.

I call the book of Job, apart from all the theories about it, one of the grandest things ever written with pen. Carlyle

Bible Presentations for use in Masonic Lodges

Dear Brethren, I have been asked from time to time if I have a presentation talk that could be used in Lodge when the Lodge is to present a copy of the Holy Bible to the newly raised Brother at the end of his third degree. What follows are two presentations that could be used on such an occasion. The first one I received from my friend and brother, W.B. Harley Johnson. Im sure you will find a time to use one of these presentations. So, here are a couple of Bible presentations you might like to use. As I mentioned the first presentation was given to me by W.B. Harley Johnson, District Representative in district #1 for the Grand Lodge of Minnesota. The second one is by that famous Masonic Author Anonymous.

Bible Presentation
By Worshipful Brother Harley Johnson "My Brother, tonight you have been raised to the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason. You have been taught how to use the working tools of a Master Mason, learning as you progressed from being an Entered Apprentice, to Fellow Craft, and now that of a Master of the work. You were given a White Lambskin Apron, and informed of its meaning, antiquity, and honor. You were informed that as stains brought recognition to our ancient Brethren, you were to keep it spotless before God and man, while at no time were you informed as to how this was to be done. You were shown all the tools to do your work; you learned how our ancient Brethren used them, and that we are to use those same tools in a symbolic way, yet you were never told how to do that very thing. As you took your degrees, you placed your hands on the Bible open before you. Then you observed how the major tools of our degrees unfolded before you, as the points of the compass were moved from covered to bare, teaching how you were moving forward in your Masonic knowledge and gaining wisdom. Yet, where is the guide to keep you moving forward? It is in your hand! This Masonic Bible is our gift to you for your work to become a Master Mason. This Bible, which you now hold has all the directions you will ever need or desire, it is the Rule and Guide to all your future actions. It teaches you how to work good, not evil, in your dealings with your fellow man. It teaches you how to love your wife and children. Yet most importantly, it teaches you death will come to all, and how you must react to that final chapter in your life. You will see that in all well governed Lodges the Altar Bible is the first opened and the last closed. It is opened with the light upon it and closed before the light is extinguished as your life must be. For when you read in the book of Ecclesiastics Chapter 12 verse's 1 through 7 it begins; "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth," for after youth comes age, then wisdom,

and then the dust from which we came and to which we return leaving the buildings of Truth, Brotherly Love, and Hope of the future. May this Bible be worn and tattered when you stand before the Great White Throne, and hear "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." Take it and may you go with God" The Bible is a window in this prison-world, through which we may look into eternity. Timothy Dwight From Short Talk Bulletin August 1966 Short Short Talks for Special Occasions. By the Masonic Service Association.

PRESENTING A BIBLE
By an Unknown Brother (Not every Mason is a Christian. To a non-Christian a Bible presentation would be inappropriate. However, frequent requests for a presentation address of this kind have prompted its inclusion in this pamphlet.) My Brother, the Worshipful Master has graciously requested (permitted) me to present to you this Holy Bible, a gift from ..........................-......... In Masonry, this Book is referred to as the Volume of Sacred Law, which should be the rule and guide of your faith as a Mason and as a religious person. The Volume of Sacred Law rests upon the altar of every Masonic lodge, where it supports the Square and Compasses. With those two symbols of Masonic philosophy and moral conduct, it is designated as one of the three Great Lights, of which this Book is the greatest. The Holy Bible opens when the Lodge opens; it closes when the Lodge closes. No Lodge can transact its business, much less initiate candidates into its mysteries, unless the Volume of Sacred Law lies open on its altar. Thus the Book rules the Lodge in its labors as the sun rules the day, making its work reverent and spiritually significant. Let not the image of the opening and closing of this Book be stretched too far. It is not meant to suggest that you open and close this volume only when you come into the lodge-room. The Volume of Sacred Law is the prime source of that spiritual Light for which every Speculative Mason is seeking. As such, consult it on every convenient occasion, for within its pages you will find, for example, the historical account of the building of Solomon's Temple, the foundation stone of Masonic ritual and teaching. But more than that, from a perusal of its sacred pages, you may learn the fascinating stories of God's chosen people, who gave to the world the concept of the one true God and His expectations of the children of His creation, of the age-long conflict between kings, priests, and prophets, wherein the kings did battle for or against the cause of Jehovah, while the priests established ritualistic forms for religious observances, and the prophets re-emphasized the spiritual meaning of lives lived for God. In the New Testament you will find the story of One who suffered and died to establish a new idea the Law of Love and the account of a small band of men who changed the world by means of that idea and their own indomitable courage. No Mason really needs to be told of the significance of the Holy Bible in Freemasonry. It is central and sovereignthe dazzling light of spiritual revelation and the steady beam of moral illumination.

Upon this Book you reverently placed your hands when you took the obligations of a Mason. Those vows are sacred because of their association with this holy volume. Every time you witness the pledging of a newly admitted Brother, you will silently renew the vows which you have made, until their language and their imagery become more and more eloquent in binding you to the great moral commitments which you made on a Volume of Sacred Law. This Book is yours, my Brother, to consult throughout a long and useful life for Masonry and for mankind. Read from it regularly and often, for only by its guidance will you find the Light which will ultimately reveal "that which was lost", the goal of our spiritual seeking. The sire turns oer, wi patriarchal grace, the big ha-Bible, ance his fathers pride. Brother Robert Burns, in The Cotters Saturday Night. More Light Mehr Licht , Masonic Matters and T.F.S. , are sent out by E-mail at no charge to anyone who would like to receive them. If you enjoy these publications please share them with others. To subscribe to any one or all of these publications just send an E-mail to ed@halpaus.net with Subscribe and the Title, or all 3, in the subject line and you will be added to the list to receive the publication you want. Sicut patribus, sit deus nobis = [Latin] = As with our fathers, so may God be with us. From the Great Light of Masonry: And have ye not read this Scripture; The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner: This was the Lords doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. Mark 12:10-11 KJV With Brotherly Love, Ed Halpaus Grand Lodge Education Officer