2009 Grand Oration
January 30, 2009
Allen W. Record, W. Grand Orator

Most Worshipful Grand Master,

Brethren, before I begin I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to the Most Worshipful Grand Master for the honor and privilege to serve as Grand Orator this past year. This position has been the most challenging, and also the most rewarding job I’ve held within the Grand Lodge. I would like to thank all the brothers that were more than happy to share their ideas and their brotherhood with me. Most importantly however, I would like to thank the Lodges for their generous hospitality, inviting me to participate in their Lodges and allowing me to assist with their degrees, fill chairs, and provide educational features.

When accepting this appointment, my instructions were simple, I could speak on any subject of my choosing, keeping them informative, entertaining, and of course short. Inspiration came directly from observing the activities of our Lodges, and witnessing true brotherhood. It came for seeing how so many of our Lodges were preserving and honoring the history of their past, yet taking active steps to move their Lodges and Masonry Forward.

Most Worshipful Grand Master, Past Grand Masters, Grand Lodge Officers and Members, and Distinguished Guests, The title of my oration today is “Moving Masonry Forward”.

For the last several years, while serving in the Grand Lodge, I have had the opportunity to see some amazing things within this jurisdiction. I have seen things that show me that Masonry in Utah is Strong and growing Stronger. Our Lodges are moving into the future and ensuring that Masonry will be here for many years to come. There are detractors out there that have predicted that our great fraternity would someday soon disappear into history. I can confidently say that they are wrong. Our Fraternity in Utah is gaining momentum, and Brethren, we have turned the corner.

Within the last several years, many of our Lodges have begun a journey to revitalize themselves. The officers and members of these Lodges have developed long term plans to increase not only their membership, but also to give their members a real reason to come out and be active Freemasons. They are providing value to their membership. Lodges are holding regular Meet Up Groups to introduce and familiarize non Masons with the Craft. There are informal “coffee’s” being held throughout the jurisdiction where non members and their families are welcome, and current members are encouraged to attend for informal Lodges of instruction. Through these tools, they are not only introducing Freemasonry in a casual setting, but for the membership, these venues provide another opportunity to strengthen the ties of brotherhood. There are also Open Houses being held throughout the State, thus allowing even more people the opportunity to know who we are.

One of the real benefits of these new ideas has been growth and activity in our Lodges. Many of these new, enthusiastic Masons have affiliated with other Lodges in our Jurisdiction. Some have even taken up the responsibility of being officers and leaders in these Lodges. The foresight of the Masons in these Lodges, and their desire to move the Masonry into the future has had far reaching results, they have, in many ways, become the shot in the arm that some Lodges in Utah needed to help them with their own rebirth.

I’d like to present you with an excellent example; Tintic Lodge in Eureka. Tintic is a Lodge that simply though age and geography was just a meeting away from turning in its charter. In fact the Lodge voted to do just that. However, a few members from the Salt Lake and Provo area affiliated with Tintic Lodge. These new members made a conscious decision to give Tintic just one more chance. They made some changes, some of which included changing to a quarterly format for the meetings, having dinners prior to each meeting, and while doing this ensuring that they retained their history by staying in Eureka. They continue with their local charity, specifically awarding scholarships each year to students from Eureka area schools. One might think that Tintic is just on life support by members from outside Lodges, but this isn’t the case. This past year, Tintic Lodge began doing their own degree work again. Imagine, not one degree had been performed in Eureka in over 10 years, but this year, that all changed, they initiated three and Raised two new Master Masons. They are ensuring that Tintic Lodge will be a viable part of the community for many years to come.

Just a quick glance around this room illustrates just how well positioned we are for our journey into the future. There are with us here today, Brothers from every Lodge in the State, there are Brothers from several other states, and Brothers from the other side of the Globe. Each of us here today is here because of the Love we have for this Fraternity, and our desire to see it flourish. Just by being here, it shows that we here in Utah have the dedication, the desire, and the ability to continue the work that began here in Utah over a hundred and forty years ago, even before this Grand Lodge was formed.

We are in a new climate of responsibility. What we do here today will ensure that Freemasonry in Utah will be viable for many years to come. What is accomplished at this communication will have an impact on those who come after us, just as the work done by those that came before us has impact on us here today. This responsibility that falls on our shoulders is great. We collectively and individually need to ensure that we not only move forward, but also to respect our History. Today and from now on we Honor the work of those Masons that came before us, and who provided to us this Great gift of Freemasonry in Utah. In doing this, we all commit ourselves to the idea; the truth; that Masonry is worth our hard work and our efforts.

There is no one way to do this; rather, we need to operate on several fronts. We need to work both within and without the Masonic family. We have heard that there are so many other things that occupy a man’s time. We need to decide what we are going to do to so that the world at large knows that what we have to offer is more valuable than those outside distractions, that what we offer is more valuable than the television, the Internet, or Sports. How we do this is the question. The answer lies within each individual Mason. We are the building blocks of our Lodges, and collectively we gain strength for the betterment of it. We form our Lodges culture and build for our future.

The strengths and needs of one Lodge is not necessarily the same for all. The key is for each Lodge to decide itself what they need to do. We know they need to do something. It may be that some of our Lodges are or become more esoteric, some may become more civic minded, some may become extreme ritualists, and it may be that some of our Lodges have already taken the steps to ensure their individual futures. By moving our mindset forward, our fraternity becomes more valuable, and the result will be passionate Masons, Passionate Masons who in turn will attract new Masons.

We’ve all had an experience where we have been approached by someone outside the fraternity and asked about the ring, necklace, or lapel pin we wear, or even the symbols on our cars. All too often, when we tell them that we are Masons, they don’t know what that means. Many have never even heard of the Masons. We need to become even more visible, thus educating the community as to who we are. We need to promote what we do, whether it be our charity through the Masonic Foundation of Utah, or the work done by the Scottish Rite Learning Centers, the York Rite Charities, the Shrine Hospital, or the individual work our Lodges do in the community. By actively promoting who and what we are, we, by default will carry ourselves, our philanthropies, and the fraternity into the future. We don’t need to beat our chests, but just through our actions, our visibility, the question of “What does that symbol mean?” will turn into “Hey, you’re a Mason, I think what you guys do is great. How do I become a Mason?”

We have an awesome responsibility and opportunity before us. To move Masonry forward we must demystify who and what we are to the public in general while still keeping our mystery. We must provide our membership a value for their time and money, without changing who and what we are. We must hold onto and honor our past without living in the past. We move forward because the past is just that, the past; It is behind us. We move forward because as we come to the crest of a new hill or challenge, there is something for us to fix, to mend or to build. We don’t hold back, we embrace the stories of the more seasoned men in this room, and use them as a compass, to guide us into the future, the future that is the history of those who will come after us. This is a great task before us, but it’s a task that we can, we are, and we will meet head on as we all work together. Brethren, I look forward to continue working with you in the quarries where we will move our great and honorable fraternity forward into the future.

Thank you for your attention, and enjoy the rest of your communication.

Most Worshipful Grand Master, I move that this oration be accepted and spread upon the minutes of this communication.