The Universal Language of Freemasonry - ArchiMeD - Johannes ...

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Chapter 7 - Rituals
The Pilgrim's Scrip, Sandals, and Staff are also emblems peculiar to Odd
Fellowship, and symbolize the journey of life. The scrip contains the food, the
sandals protect the feet, and the staff supports the weary limbs. They teach the
brethren how important it is to make provisions for life, which consist in
industry, perseverance in good works, and reliance upon God (cf. p. 219/220).
The Tables of Stone, Crescent, and Cross signify to Odd Fellows universal
toleration, and denote that in works of humanity, all differences in politics and
creeds should be forgotten. We have already seen how far Odd Fellowship
tolerance reaches, but in their fundamental conception they come quite close to
Freemasonry. The tables of the law are an emblem of divine government and
represent to Odd Fellows the common basis of the three great religions of the
world (Judaism, Christianity, Mohammedanism), who all worship the One, True
God (cf. p. 220).
The Altar of Incense, an emblem of worship, is also employed in
Freemasonry. It reminds the Odd Fellows of the simplicity of the true worship at
a rude altar as practiced by the ancient patriarchs. This emblem, according to the
ritual, represents the "universality of the spiritual instinct in men to 'seek the
Lord [...]' and to worship, whether on an altar of earth or of stone, or of the living
heart only." (p. 221, quoted from Grosh's Manual).