Fritz Springmeier

New Age Magazine, The Official Organ of the Supreme Council of 33A & A Scottish Rite, Sept. 1929, Washington,D.C.,p.389.WHENCE AND WHITHER?By C. A. OPPENBORN, 32°The Masonic Order is held to be the greatestforce of constructive initiative in existenceWHAT IS the impelling forcethat is drawing men in suchlarge numbers to Freemasonry?In an age of progressive endeavor,bristling with inventive andscientific genius, focused continually onbringing to light something of materialbenefit to the human race; what is thereabout this great Brotherhood, whichhad its origin and won many of itslaurels in the remotest times of antiquity,that it so universally appeals to men today?POTENCY AND INFLUENCEHow came men to find the seed forthe inestimable Institution of Freemasonry,and the inspiration to generateit to a practical fruition? What gavethem the perspective that in its amelioratingcement was to be found the ultimatehope of the world ? What madethem, when humanity was still wearingits swaddling clothes, provide the measurefor its beneficent bounty? At everyhand we come in contact with the workingsof the silent potency and expandinginfluence of its invigorating leaven.Everywhere we behold the magnificentedifices it has in the building, so thatthe imagination is taxed with wonderand admiration.With its origin wrapped in the profoundestsecrecy, it should not surpriseanyone that Freemasonry still is as muchof an enigma to many of its initiatesas it was in olden times. While themodern mind has become capable ofpenetrating some of the veils of itsdeepest mysteries, the fact that it notyet has fully come into the possession ofthe Grand Arcanum—how its philosophylaid hold on the human and in spiteof strenuous persecution maintained analmost unbroken sway of perpetuityduring the now silently slumberingages—should encourage and stimulatein the initiate a thorough mastery of thetruths of its scientific formula.WISDOM TO BE GAINEDWhile many students of Freemasonrypride themselves of being possessed ofthe secrets of their Brotherhood, thegenuine adept is not so sanguine abouthaving found the kernel of its fundamentalphilosophy and still is gropingfor more Light. The true Mason feelsthat the Institution yet holds unlockedin its majestic bosom from mortal thekey to the magnetic charm and suasionthat has led so many to and is holdingthem in contentment at its Altars.The true Mason feels that, in accordancewith its Ancient Formula, Freemasonryonly from time to time unlocksas it sees fit, from its storehouseof Wisdom, the Truths required for thehuman needs and not more of themthan can be borne. He has an abidingassurance that its Great Founder neverintended that mortality should see Freemasonryin the luster of its full splendorand glory.Has Freemasonry, then, a spiritualconception only? __ Is its objective butthe solidifying into a beautiful Utopiathe wonderful Infinity of the First Causeand the kaleidoscopic finiteness of itsmortal, human creatures? Is. its missionsolely directed to the establishmentof the long-heralded and hoped-forKingdom of the Brotherhood of Man?And has its Founder for these reasonsbut allowed the human occasionalglimpses of some of the inner beautiesthat ever are sweeping it onward andupward; that ever are dazzling thephysical vision from its distant snowcappedelevations; that ever is compel-549Masonry is the "greatest force" forwhat Masons see as good, & hasmore than just Utopia and brotherhoodin store for mankind.