I do not believe Masonry was created to teach the simple lessons which have been available to us from our earliest childhood

I do not believe Masonry was created to teach the simple lessons which have been available to us from our earliest childhood. Brotherly Love, Truth, Temperance and Justice aren't the special province of Masonry. Our parents, schools and churches all taught these lessons. We didn't need to become Masons to learn that the Holy Bible or other Volume of Sacred Laws contains valuable truths.

So, what are we to get from our Masonic experiences? The very essence of Masonic teaching is that all men, the world over are in search of something in their own nature that they have lost. And that by proper instruction and by their own efforts and industry they may hope to discover it.

Everything we do in a lodge relates to the individual Mason. The form of the Lodge, the officers and their duties, the working tools and the ceremonies refers to the individual and his search for that part of himself he hopes to find. You are the Lodge. When as a candidate for Initiation you sought admission to the Lodge, you also sought admission into yourself, to improve yourself mentally and spiritually. You were seeking to know yourself. One of the most difficult and most important things you can do in life.

Masonry teaches its lessons by symbols and allegory and most importantly, through the experience of the ceremonies of initiation in the three degrees of Masonry and through reflective thought on them. Anyone can understand the simpler, superficial, meaning of our symbols and ceremonies. But the deeper meanings contained in them may require a lifetime.

So again I ask you, what are we to get from our Masonic experiences?

In the first degree, the candidate takes his first steps on the great journey to explore his true nature and find his place in the universe. He learns to "subdue his passions" (subdue his suffering and conquer adversity) and improve himself in Masonry. The lessons of this degree are meant to bring order to his life and prepare him for further progress toward developing his spiritual awareness. To put his inner house in order by laying a firm foundation stone to build upon before venturing any farther .

The second degree, then, builds upon the work begun in the first degree. The progress expected in this degree is symbolized by the lowering of the triangular flap of the apron onto the rectangular portion below. The triangle is an ancient symbol for the Spiritual or Divine nature and the rectangle represents the worldly, physical nature of the individual -- the builder's stone referred to in the first degree. The Spiritual nature that has been resting upon and above the self moves into the self and permeates it forming a worldly, physical being which contains the Spiritual essence. This symbolically represents the conscious recognition of the soul's place in your life. Further progress in Masonry absolutely depends on this realization. It is only with this knowledge that the Mason can understand the lessons of the third degree.

How should we interpret the lessons of the third degree?

In the first degree we learned that the Lodge is a representation of King Solomon's Temple that was built to be the house of God. We also were taught that each Mason is, himself, a spiritual house not made with hands. In the third degree, the Temple is nearly completed. Progress has been steady and the craftsmen have worked in harmony unhampered by even a single rainy day. Still, there are a few craftsmen who fear they will not obtain that which they have been working for and plot to obtain it by force. As Masons, we also have been making steady progress in building our inner Temple. But as we get closer to it's completion, a part of us doubts, hesitates and tries to take shortcuts.

The renegade craftsmen only succeed in throwing the whole project into confusion and came up empty handed, outcast and alone. They are apprehended and punished and harmony and order is restored. Still there is a great loss and there is also a great gain. Adversity faced and conquered can give great strength. It is only by directly facing the blackness of despair that we may also see the light that lies beyond it.

Each man who has learned the lessons of the first two degrees come to realize that there is still something missing. He has subdued his passions and has become a spiritual person but he has not yet taken that final step and come to know his soul. He has no connection with the Deity and knows he is incomplete without it. This is what is lost and it is what we hope to find by persevering to the end.