Anti-Masons seem to be willing speakers when there's a "free-will donation" and their 'pitch' is often the same time after time.
For several years, U.S. anti-Masons have made much of their "Missions to Masons" conferences. Seemingly strong on hype prior to the event, these activities have been the subject of interest amongst Masons who wonder why someone would need/want to 'minister' to them. Here's a report from a Mason about his attendance at such a meeting in 1998.
A Report from the Front:
A Visit to a "Ministry to Masons" Conference
by Frederick W. Randall, Lodge Secretary
Rantoul Lodge No. 470, A. F. & A. M., Rantoul, Illinois, USA
"On Saturday, 8 August 1998, I went to a "Ministry to Masons" Conference in Indianapolis to experience firsthand their assaults on Freemasonry. It wasn't a pretty sight. These folks are serious.
My
Arrival
Upon arriving I noted there were no conference signs anywhere. Only the motel's directory board indicated that the conference was there.
I was warmly greeted at the sign-in desk in the motel ballroom (the main room for the conference). Around the rear of the ballroom were several tables where anti-Masonic books, pamphlets, audio tapes, and video tapes were being sold by anti-Masonic ministries. There were also many free handouts and some donation containers. Leo Taxil's hoax about Freemasonry and Baphomet (the alleged satanic god of Freemasonry) was very present and being treated as fact. The speaker at that time was expounding on the growing evil influence of Freemasonry within the Anglican church.
Attendees
There were 53 attendees by my count (the conference was set up to accommodate 200 persons). They were a varied lot, mostly middle-aged and older. Most of the ones I talked with seemed to be pleasant, likable people. Some had come quite a distance. One lady came from Maryland (she said she was attending because of bad experiences with her husband being a Mason). One attendee had at least 16 Masonic and anti-Masonic books stacked in front of him on his table.
Many Bibles in various sizes were present, some with fancy covers, some with yellow highlighting of passages, all of them showing signs of much use.
Dave
Carrico
Dave Carrico (of the Followers of Christ ministry) gave a presentation titled "Freemasonry: Satan's Wellspring of Paganism." He began by saying that the conference was foretold in Solomon 6:11 ("I went down into the garden of nuts..."). He then expounded on how Freemasonry had developed from ancient Egypt to the first Masonic grand lodge in 1717 and how the Kaballah and Rosicrucianism were involved. His primary slide (the one he kept going back to) had "Freemasonry 1717" at the top in big red letters, "Antichrist" at the bottom (in big red letters), and five philosophical/historical links between them. These alleged "links" had things such as the Nazi party (Hitler gained power supposedly because of certain Masonic connections), O.T.O., The Order of the Golden Dawn, Rosicrucianism, the Theospohical Society with Blavatsky and Leadbetter, Anton Levay and the Church of Satan, and so on.
Playing on Taxil's lie that Albert Pike had said Lucifer was the god of Freemasonry, Carrico expounded on scripture regarding the fall of Lucifer and on the basic teachings of Satan. He also spent some time on Eliphas Levi, Leadbetter, Manley P. Hall (supposedly he was the "greatest philosopher of Freemasonry"), and three "infamous" Humanist Masons: Jacques Casanova, Voltaire, and Freidrich Nietzche.
Carrico then went into Masonic symbols, saying they are on Mormon underwear, and the slanted multi-armed cross symbol of the 33° Mason was the sign of Baphomet (he showed a picture of R.W. Bro. Kleinknecht, S.G.C. of A.A.S.R., S.J., as an illustration). Carrico went on to say that because the hand at the end of a sword that is in the 33° emblem was just like the right hand of Baphomet in a picture (taken from the illustration on the cover of Leo Taxil's false exposé of Freemasonry), the 33° was satanic. He was serious when he said these things! What worries me is that probably all the attendees believed him, accepting without question what he said.
Something that told me a lot about Carrico and others present came at the end of his presentation: he ridiculed an interfaith rally recently held in Indianapolis in memory of the 22 people murdered in Indianapolis during the past year. Why? Because it was an interfaith rally - it was not exclusively Christians.
Greg
Lambert
I next attended a presentation by Greg Lambert (of Advantage Ministries) on "Masonic Symbolism." Lambert began with a critique of the organization emblems for the appendant bodies with an emphasis on the red fez of the Shrine (the usual "Moslems dipped their fezzes in the blood of the Christians they slew in Fez" story). He did not mention or show the Square, the Compass, the Level, the Plumb, nor many of the other symbols used in Masonic lessons (maybe because he could not speak against what they symbolize?). He then critiqued the text of several different Masonic monitors (he said he has monitors from 35 grand lodges), decrying the humanism and the plan of salvation supposedly exposed therein.
Lambert did go into the symbolism of the common gavel and the rough and finished ashlers. I spoke up on using the gavel to rid oneself of faults and sins so as to become more Christlike. I asked if it were possible for a Hindu who lives a Christlike life to enter heaven. Lambert and others present said the Hindu could not because he worshipped demons.
When Lambert criticized the requirement that a candidate believe in the Fatherhood of God, I asked if it were possible that God was the father of all men regardless of their religious belief. Lambert said that God can be your father only if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your savior, thus God is not the father of all mankind. Others in the room agreed with him and said that what I'd said was false doctrine. At the end of his presentation, Lambert, in a display of beautiful(?) logic explained how because Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden made aprons from fig leaves to hide their nakedness, God hates aprons, and Freemasons wear aprons, therefore... (he let us infer our own conclusions).
A
Disappointment
A Q & A session with Duane Washum (a past master who became a leading anti-Masonic) was canceled. No reason was given. That disappointed me. I had wanted to see what kind of person he was, having read about him.
One
Bright Spot
I met a young man there who had petitioned for the degrees but was at the conference because his boss wanted him to attend (his boss brought him there and paid for his attendance). He told me his experiences at the conference had strengthened his desire to become a Freemason." ***Important Note Below!
Our sincere thanks for Bro. Randall's permission to republish his report here!
Masonicinfo Note: It appears that some anti-Masons either can't or don't want to understand the truth! In January, 1999, this site received an e-mail from anti-Mason Greg Lambert (mentioned above) who wrote <<"I met a young man there who had petitioned for the degrees but was at the conference because his boss wanted him to attend (his boss brought him there and paid for his attendance). He told me his experiences at the conference had strengthened his desire to become a Freemason." So here we have it in your own web page. Masons are told by emplorers <sic> to become masons. Thus forcing them into the lodge to keep his job. And masons say they do not recruite! You just proved they do! Thanks! HAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA>>
Now let's think about this, shall we? Why would a Masonic employer who wanted an employee to join Freemasonry send that person to an ANTI-MASONIC Conference????? Does that make any sense at all? NO!
As we point out on our page devoted to Lambert, his spelling and ability to perceive the truth seems quite suspect. His message is yet another example of how anti-Masons twist things to suit themselves!
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