I AM FREEMASONRY
I was born in antiquity, in the ancient days when men first dreamed of
God. I have been tried through the ages, and found true. The crossroads
of the world bear the imprint of my feet, and the cathederals of all nations
mark the skill of my hands. I strive for beauty and for symmetry. In my
heart is wisdom and strength and courage for those who ask. Upon my alters
is the Book of Holy Writ, and my prayers are to the One Omnipotent God,
my sons work and pray together, without rank or discord, in the public
mart and in the inner chamber. Bu signs and symbols I teach the lessons
of life and of death and the relationship of man with God and of man with
man. My arms are widespread to receive those of lawful age and good report
who seek me of their own free will. I accept them and teach them to use
my tools in the building of men, and thereafter, find direction in their
own quest for perfection so much desired and so difficult to attain. I
lift up the fallen and shelter the sick. I hark to the orphans' cry, the
widows tears, the pain of the old and destitute. I am not church, nor party,
nor school, yet my sons bear a full share of responsibility to God, to
country, to neighbor and themselves. They are freemen, tenacious of their
liberties and alert to lurking danger. At the end I commit them as each
one undertakes the journey beyond the vale into the glory of everlasting
life. I ponder the sand within the glass and think how small is a single
life in the eternal universe. Always have I taught immortaility, and even
as I raise men from darkness into light, I am a way of life. I Am Freemasonry.
- Ray V. Denslow