When I was a teen a member of our LCMS church in Texas was excommunicated for refusing to give up his membership with the Masons.
*** When I was a teen a member of our LCMS church in Texas was excommunicated for refusing to give up his membership with the Masons. ***
Same story, except the TX Church was ELCA, and the member was my Dad’s friend. He was given the option of quitting the Masons or the Church. He left the Lutheran Church. It was a real scandal back then.
In my TX town, a lot of the Higher Ups at two of the biggest hospitals were Masons. Promotions and hiring preferences were given to Masons. I think that was the “networking” aspect of Freemasonry.
The person in the office next to mine spent many hours helping “recruits” with the memorization required. Day after day, while the State of Texas was paying him a salary to work at his job, I would listen to the oral coaching.
One day, when he had a “recruit” who couldn’t remember jack, I opened his door, and started reciting all the texts these guys had to memorize by rote.
I said that “since this memorization stuff is all supposed to be secret, you really shouldn’t be saying it where I can hear it. I have no desire to hear all this stuff, or memorize it. Plus, you are not getting a salary from the State to spend five hours a day on Freemasonry stuff.
He cut back on it, and was a lot quieter while coaching “recruits”, but he still kept it up on the State’s dime.