Scottish Rite Research Society

It's enjoyable to see the home team win, or a local boy or girl make good, or your own neighborhood school set new standards of excellence and reach them. It's encouraging to see your children and grandchildren grow and prosper and build productive, happy lives. It is always rewarding when something you care about deeply does well.

That is why I take such a great interest in the growth and development of the Scottish Rite Research Society (SRRS). Dr. S. Brent Morris, 33°, G.C., first conceived the idea, and he still functions as the editor of Heredom, the hardbound volume of research papers published each year by the Society. I was excited about the Society when he first brought the idea to me in 1990, and my enthusiasm has increased every year since.

The Scottish Rite Research Society is the fastest-growing Masonic research group in the world and one of the largest with over 6,000 registered members. One of its great strengths is that it does not limit itself to research in the Scottish Rite, but embraces research in all areas of Masonry. Its purpose is simple—to provide good, solid information about Freemasonry to its members. Its success proves it does that well.

I hope you are a member of the Research Society. If you are, you already know its benefits. If you are not, joining is easy. The cost is only $20 a year, and a Life Membership (individuals only) is just $300. Also, each year so far, dues-current members have been sent a bonus book, free of charge, as a token of appreciation for their support. This year's bonus book is Vested in Glory, The Regalia of the Scottish Rite. It's a winner.Click here to see the Book Reviews column.

I had the honor of becoming the Society's first Life Member on May 8, 1991, when the Society was granted Letters Temporary, but I am certainly not alone. Almost 700 Brethren have taken out Life Memberships (individuals only). While I am pleased with the number of current members and the high percentage who are Life Members, I am particularly impressed with the quality of the Society and its publications. In this day when we are so often forced to settle for inferiority in the goods and services we buy or the information available to us, the Scottish Rite Research Society stands as a beacon of quality. It fulfills the Masonic adage: "If Masons do something, it's the best it can be!" I believe that the Scottish Rite Research Society has as much integrity as the House of the Temple itself, as much as the Scottish Rite itself, and as much as Freemasonry. It is, in every way, First Class.

To those members who write the research papers the Society has published (we're now up to Volume 7 of Heredom), edit the text or arrange for the printing and distribution of the Society's books, I am most grateful. The SRRS is an organization which has provided quality service and dedication to excellence in publication.

You may be thinking that a research society has nothing to offer you, but the chances are you will be surprised by the wide variety of ideas and topics covered. There are articles about how Masonry has interrelated with nations, biographies of famous men who were Masons, articles about the early days of the Rite and the Degrees as they evolved in both text and presentation. Recent volumes of Heredom have included the decoration of a Lodge room as envisioned by Albert Pike, the translation of the famous press conference in which Léo Taxil admitted that his whole charge of Masonry and devil worship was a hoax, and much more. If you are not already a member of the Scottish Rite Research Society, let me encourage you to become a member today. Click here to see the membership information.

Join today and share in the excitement.