Laudable Pursuit - Softcover

Knights Of The North

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0557007224 ISBN 13: 9780557007226

Publisher: Lulu.com, 2006

Synopsis

Laudable Pursuit is an examination of the state of Freemasonry in the United States, and a plan of action for rejuvenating lodges in the 21st century. Based on topics raised in the 1960's by renowned Masonic author, Indiana Past Grand Master Dwight L. Smi

About this title

From the Inside Flap

In early 2004, an extended paper was widely disseminated anonymously inMasonic chat rooms, forums, and elsewhere online. Entitled Laudable Pursuit and attributed to an unidentified collection of more than a dozen authors calling themselves the "Knights of the North," the paper became both notorious and praised. The Knights described themselves as a Masonic "think tank," and the paper was crafted out of Internet conversations held between 2003-04. Based on Dwight Smith's 1960s collected essays, Whither Are We Traveling? and Why This Confusion in the Temple?, the paper explored modern answers to the vexing questions posed by him that had largely gone unaddressed by the U.S. fraternity in the ensuing decades.

Laudable Pursuit advanced numerous proposals that combined new approaches with older practices, in parallel with much of what became the "traditional observance" or "observant" lodge movement. These included: conducting business on the Entered Apprentice degree; multiple Volumes of Sacred Law opened on the lodge altar; formal attire at meetings; higher dues; regular Masonic education and proper Festive Boards at monthly meetings; deliberately smaller lodges; alternative ritual presentations; less concentration on institutionalized charities in favor of smaller, individual lodge or personal charity; rejection of regularly advancing officers' lines infavor of a merit-based approach; and streamlined regulations to simplify the chartering of new lodges. Much of what the Knights clamored for became adopted policies in numerous U.S. lodges and jurisdictions, including Indiana.

The Knights also contributed 26 original essays to the Masonic Dictionary website at masonicdictionary.com, on a broad array of topics, from pleas for rescuing the fraternity's significant, endangered temple buildings, to Masonic jurisprudence. However, the overarching goal of the site was to provide a resource for true Masonic education, and eventually became home to more than 600 articles from public domain sources like The Builder magazine, Albert Mackey's Encyclopedia, and others. The site was developed and maintained by Canadian Masonic author Stephen Dafoe, and remains as of this writing.

A large number of the Knights of the North eventually identified themselves publicly, including its editor, Christopher L. Hodapp. They were scattered across the U.S. and Canada, but were largely dominated by a crowd of Indiana Freemasons. Many of them went on to become the founders of the Masonic Society, an international membership research organization formed in 2008. Meanwhile, Laudable Pursuit has continued for more than a decade influencing lodges and grand lodges throughout North America. While it remains available as a freely circulated download online at knightsofthenorth.com, a paperback booklet version has also been made available for convenient reading.

Edition details

• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0557007224
• ISBN 13: 9780557007226
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 42
• Editor: Christopher L. Hodapp