Rolla York Rite

10/03/2026

Representing AMD Elizabeth St Leger Council #386 at the Allied Masonic Degrees Annual InGathering in Holts Summit /G\. w/Steven Eberharter 

08/24/2026

THE TRUTH FREEMASONS DON’T LIKE HEARING

Freemasonry is not struggling simply because the world has stopped caring about it.

And it is certainly not because people have stopped being curious.

Public fascination with mystery is everywhere.

People watch documentaries about secret societies.

They listen to podcasts about hidden history.

They explore ancient symbols, forgotten traditions, lost buildings, old manuscripts, and questions that seem to have no easy answers.

Whatever else may have changed, curiosity has not disappeared.

So perhaps the more uncomfortable question is not:

Why has the world lost interest in Freemasonry?

Perhaps it is:

What does a man sometimes find when he finally comes close enough to see it for himself?

This criticism does not describe every lodge.

There are lodges filled with strong friendships, serious mentorship, meaningful education, charitable work, and men genuinely trying to improve themselves.

But pretending that every lodge provides that experience would be equally dishonest.

Sometimes a man comes looking for brotherhood and encounters politics.

Sometimes he comes looking for mentorship and finds indifference.

Sometimes he comes looking for meaning and finds another meeting.

Sometimes poor communication, personality conflicts, titles, chairs, precedence, or arguments over “how things have always been done” become louder than the principles everyone gathered there is supposed to represent.

And when men quietly stop attending, perhaps the first question should not always be:

What was wrong with them?

Sometimes the harder question is:

What did we give them a reason to stay for?

A man does not need Freemasonry merely to give him another meeting.

He already has meetings.

He does not need another financial obligation.

He already has bills.

And memorizing words, however important memory may be to a tradition, is not the same thing as understanding them.

A man looking toward Freemasonry may be searching for something deeper:

Brotherhood.

Mentorship.

Discipline.

Meaning.

A community in which a man is expected not merely to speak about character, but to develop it.

To govern himself.

To treat others with dignity.

To become more useful to his family, his community, and the people around him.

That is where the Craft becomes something more than an organization.

But this is also where the uncomfortable part begins.

If we speak about morality while practicing gossip, we should examine ourselves.

If we speak about harmony while feeding division, we should examine ourselves.

If we speak about brotherly love but become indifferent when a Brother is struggling, we should examine ourselves.

If we are careful about who enters the door but careless about the pride, resentment, jealousy, complacency, and ego that enter with us—

perhaps we are guarding the wrong things.

Freemasonry should never become merely a museum of inherited forms.

Its traditions deserve preservation.

Its history deserves study.

Its ceremonies deserve respect.

But preservation alone is not the purpose of a working tradition.

A workshop matters because work is supposed to happen there.

And perhaps no Masonic image expresses that challenge more clearly than the rough ashlar.

Stone does not improve merely by being carried into a workshop.

Neither does a man improve merely by entering a lodge.

Growth requires effort.

Correction.

Humility.

Discipline.

Reflection.

And the willingness to discover that the part requiring improvement may be ourselves.

Perhaps that is why the symbols of the Craft remain so powerful.

They do not have to remain decorations hanging on walls, embroidered on aprons, or displayed on rings.

They can become questions.

The Square can ask:

Are my dealings honest and fair?

The Compasses can ask:

Can I govern myself before trying to govern others?

The Level can ask:

Do I really treat another man as my equal?

The Plumb can ask:

Am I upright when nobody is watching?

And the Ashlar may ask the most uncomfortable question of all:

Am I actually improving—or have I simply become comfortable attending?

That distinction matters.

Because it is easier to wear a symbol than to live what it represents.

It is easier to defend Freemasonry online than to practice patience with a difficult Brother.

It is easier to speak about ancient wisdom than to apologize.

To forgive.

To mentor.

To listen.

To show up when someone needs you.

To admit when you were wrong.

To do the work.

Freemasonry is sometimes described as outdated.

Yet brotherhood is not outdated.

Mentorship is not outdated.

Integrity is not outdated.

Self-discipline is not outdated.

Men gathering together and expecting something better from one another is not outdated.

Those things may be needed as much now as they ever were.

But they cannot survive only as words.

They have to become visible in the men who profess them.

So perhaps Freemasonry's greatest challenge is not simply attracting more members.

It is creating lodges—and Masons—worth belonging to.

Not men chasing titles.

Not men collecting offices.

Not men merely defending the institution because it is old.

But men willing to allow its lessons to confront them.

Correct them.

Humble them.

And change them.

Because perhaps the hardest truth is not that outsiders sometimes misunderstand the Craft.

The harder truth is that the Craft can only remain alive when the men inside it continue trying to live what it teaches.

That work begins with the institution.

But ultimately—

it begins with the man in the mirror.

THE ASHLAR
Exploring History. Building Character. Seeking Light.

08/23/2026

Happy Birthday Companion/Sir Knight Tanner Baggett. Hope your day is filled with family and friends!! 👏🏾🎊🥳🎉

08/22/2026

Good news, Companions and Sir Knights!

The hotel has extended our South Central Conference room block deadline through September 4th.

If you thought you missed your chance to book at the group rate, you're back in business.

Head to the website for details and to reserve your room before the new deadline hits: http://aryorkrite.org

08/22/2026

08/07/2026

Sir Knight James Joseph "Joe" Hayes, Right Eminent Past Grand Commander of the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of Missouri.

James “Joe” Joseph Hayes, 85, of Salem, Missouri, passed away Wednesday, August 5, 2026, in Salem, Missouri.

Visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Saturday, August 8, 2026, in the Wilson Mortuary Salem Chapel. Masonic Services to be held at 12:30 p.m. by the Lodge and the York Rite Commandery.

Funeral Services will be held at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, August 8, 2026, in the Wilson Mortuary Salem Chapel. Burial to follow in the Crossville Cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction and care of Wilson Mortuary of Salem.

Joe is survived by his daughter: Denise Polk and husband Gary of Salem, MO; grandchildren: Derrick Hayes and Andrea Kennedy of Mountain Grove, MO, Vanessa Williams and husband Thomas of West Plains, MO, DeeAndra Thompson and husband Jordan of Salem, MO, Zachery Hayes of West Plains, MO, Whitney Polk of Springfield, MO, and Hayden Polk of Jefferson City, MO; sister: Ann Ritter of Rolla, MO; seven great-grandchildren; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends.

Preceding him in death were his wife: Darlene “Sue” Hayes; son: Dennis Hayes; grandson: Christopher Polk; parents: Earnest and Anna (Miner) Hayes; siblings: Ray Hayes, Arzetta Smith and husband Stewart, Harry Hayes and wife Donna, and Clyde Hayes and wife Carol; and brother-in-law: Wilburn Ritter.

Memorial Contributions may be made in memory of Joe to St. Jude Children’s Hospital and left with Wilson Mortuary. Memorial Envelopes will be available.

Condolences may be left online at www.wilsonmortuary.com

08/04/2026

President William McKinley dressed in Masonic regalia of a Knight Templar. McKinley decided to join Freemasonry after witnessing an act of fraternal charity between two Masons, a Union physician and a wounded Confederate private, during the Civil War. (More on his initiation in a future post.) Like other Masons during this period, he joined other appendant bodies including the Royal Arch and Knights Templar. The latter being Canton Commandery No. 38, Ohio.

Photo: Library of Congress, colorized