No one joins any organization without some reason for'doing so, be a social club, a civic organization, a union, or any other. A reason was there. Have you ever given , time to think about why you joined Freemasonry?

In somecases it might have been a passive reasons. In others, an active stimulus might have been the factor, as in a political affiliation but the cause was there. Now, my Brothers, why did,you become members of our Craft?

Some,years ago, an old man was being honoured for having been a Freemason for 70 years. When asked to respond that night, he said that when he was a boy, , growing up near a small village, he observed a group of men in the community who were leaders with outstanding reputation and character. He learned that these men were Freemasons, and because of them he reasoned that Masonry must be good and set his sights on becoming a Freemason. '

I just finished reading the new book, Revolutionary Brotherhood by Steven C. Bullock, which emphasized reasons for joining Freemasonry during more than 100 years of American history. I was somewhat amazed to learn the changes iFreemasonry went through during those years,. not only in its structural 'composition and operation but also in its emphasis on different aspects of its operation. I knew that the Craft was not-static but I did not know enough' of .its evolution which, in turn, produced different stimuli for affiliation.

One constant denominator that did not vary, however, through all its evolution was the emphasis on the quality of its membership, which in turn probably has been the primary reason for most affiliations.

Today we are greatly concerned with the decline in our membership. Yet by the simple practice of Freemasonry, we would aid in the reduction of declining membership.

If we become a Freemason with no mercenary or other improper motive, as we said we did; and, if we truly have made an effort to understand our obligation then we would know what we owe to the past and comprehend our obligation to the future.

Our late Brother Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, the great German author and philosopher, many years ago wrote, "That which has been bequeathed to us must be earned anew if we could possess it." It would be well to remember that.

I wonder how many small boys are watching us and reasoning that Masonry must be good and by that observations and reasoning are setting their sights on becoming Freemasons.

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