The Charges of the Free-Masons are not dead paperwork. They are a code of conduct — and most lodges never read them together.

In EP 168 of Masonic Muscle, we continue our journey through Anderson’s Constitutions with Part 3, focusing on the Charges of the Craft.

These charges are foundational instructions for how Masons are supposed to conduct themselves toward God, civil authority, the lodge, the officers, the Brethren, strangers, neighbors, family, and the Craft itself.

And yet most lodges never sit down and review them together.

That is a mistake.

This episode asks:

How can Masons claim to practice the Craft if they do not study the rules of conduct Anderson placed before the Brethren?

We discuss:

• Anderson’s Constitutions
• the Charges of the Free-Masons
• God and Religion
• the Civil Magistrate
• Lodges
• Masters, Wardens, Fellows, and Apprentices
• management of the Craft while working
• behavior inside the lodge
• behavior after lodge is over
• behavior when Brethren meet outside lodge
• behavior around non-Masons
• behavior at home and in the neighborhood
• behavior toward a strange Brother
• why Masonic conduct matters

These charges are not dead paperwork.

They are a code.

They tell a Mason how to carry himself in lodge, out of lodge, at home, around strangers, and toward Brothers he may not even know.

That matters.

Because Freemasonry is not supposed to be something a man performs for a few hours in a tiled room.

It is supposed to shape his conduct.

If a man cannot govern his behavior, control his tongue, honor his obligations, respect the lodge, and act properly among the Brethren, then what exactly is he building?

The Charges of the Craft force the question:

Are we only calling ourselves Masons — or are we behaving like Masons?

Let us contemplate after lifting heavy weights.

Have a question, Anderson observation, old document, origin theory, lodge issue, or want to come on the show?

Write to me at:

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