The Rite will remain relevant as long as we teach the lessons that build character and Masons live lives that reflect the Craft's teachings.

Masonic leadership is not an accident. The selection and training of our future leaders is one of the greatest duties of our present leadership. The conduct of this series of Scottish Rite Leadership Conferences shows your dedication to our future, not a future of despair, but a future of strength and commitment where we are truly united for the benefit of mankind.

Our Masonic forefathers were men of great courage and determination. They built with mortar and stone. Today, however, we build the invisible; we build the inner man. Masonry is the man-building Fraternity, and nothing is worth building unless we build the man. Do you believe we can attract enough new men to survive in the new millennium? I know we can. Membership encouragement is easy, but each Mason has to do his part. When considering membership, it is important to be aware of three things:

• We must know who we are.
• We need to know our potential.
• We should consider what we could each do and the result we can produce.

Let's start with who we are. You must understand your product to sell it. What is Freemasonry to you? What is Freemasonry to the non-member? I'm sure each Mason can give a different answer. I have heard all kinds of esoteric descriptions of what we are, but this is the explanation I like best: "Freemasonry is an organized society of men, symbolically applying the principles of operative masonry and architecture to the science and art of character building."

Character building requires effort—it does not just happen. Young men need good examples in their lives. Have you noticed that an effective leader is one who leads by example? What kind of an example are you? I have often heard it said, "that Freemasonry makes a good man better." That is a simple way of saying we build character. That is who we are. That is who we have always been. Is that relevant today? Yes it is! Honest men of good character and integrity are needed today; thus we, as Freemasons, are relevant today.

The Scottish Rite, in particular, is and will remain relevant as long as we teach the lessons that build character and our leaders and members live lives that reflect our moral teachings and philosophy. We are not dinosaurs who have nothing to offer. Our work is important; good men always need encouragement. We have something important to offer today's man.

How do non-members view us? The greatest asset they see in Freemasonry is the spirit of friendship that exists between Freemasons. They admire our relationships, one with another, and our attitude of thoughtfulness and charity towards others. They see a worldwide network of men of high character united for the good of mankind. I always let prospective members know that the most important men in my life have been Freemasons.

Freemasons are my greatest friends, and I am proud to be a Scottish Rite Mason. I received the Scottish Rite Degrees in Danville, Illinois, in 1958 when I was in law school. It was a very moving and important experience in my life. I believe in the principles and purposes of Scottish Rite Freemasonry and think they are important.

I encourage membership in our Craft because I believe in it. I promote membership in the Scottish Rite because I believe it complements and enriches the ancient Craft. If you believe in the Scottish Rite, you will help it grow. You should be excited and happy to share your experience at every opportunity. Your own verbalized love and appreciation for our Craft are your most powerful sales tools. An excited salesman, who is convinced he has an important product, will succeed.

Many non-members are interested in joining with other men in a unity that benefits them and mankind. We learned a great deal from the Festival Program in Illinois. The Grand Lodge of Illinois, at the request of the Grand Master, held four One-day Festivals in 1996 and raised 2,769 new Master Masons. The next year the program was placed on hold to allow time for evaluation. In 1998, the Grand Master scheduled five small One-day Festivals resulting in another 1,031 new Master Masons. The Festivals were restricted to smaller groups to make them more personal. However, there were so many candidates being presented that the Grand Master had to schedule two additional Festivals, seven in all. He had a difficult time keeping the Festivals small. What a problem! Too many candidates!

This year, under the caption of the "Blue Lightning Program," the Lodges or Districts in Illinois are initiating, passing, and raising candidates in groups of approximately 10 to 20. In January, I obligated 12 in my Lodge under this program. I am not promoting the Festival Program. It is highly controversial. I changed my own position five years ago, when the Grand Master asked for my support to try something new, a Festival Program with large classes. I agreed and we discovered a great deal about our candidates and ourselves.

• There are many men who know about the Fraternity and are ready to join, many more than we believed. The highest estimate for the original program in Illinois was 500 new members. We got over 4,000!
• A large number of interested men know we have a long and difficult catechism in Illinois and are intimidated by it.
• The group as a whole was far younger than the average of our regular candidates.
• The first year 48% were candidates who had previously received the First or Second Degree and had not finished. Two years ago it was 57%. Only 450 of the 1,031 candidates were new. For all practical purposes the earlier candidates were lost.
• Some of them went to great lengths to participate. One flew back from Colorado, another from Washington, and others from distant places.
• The group contained executive officers of important corporations, attorneys, judges, many sons and grandsons, friends, coworkers, and community leaders.

In all respects they were a worthy and well-qualified group of men. The program is considered to be a great success by 95% of the leadership in the local Lodges and by the Grand Lodge. This doesn't mean they particularly like it. The smaller Festivals work better, and the old fashioned-way of initiation in the local Lodge is still considered best. However, it is difficult for the leaders in Illinois to turn their backs on the over 4,000 men that welcomed the opportunity to become Master Masons in this new way.

The candidates love the program, and many of the men who thought they would rather die than ever consent to such a program are now excited about the results. They have renewed faith that the Fraternity is not going to die, and the excitement and enthusiasm the candidates brought with them have truly been inspiring. Men who hadn't attended a Masonic function in years have since attended to see what is creating the excitement. Such Festivals are, of course, a Grand Lodge decision, and the duty of the Scottish Rite is to support the programs and policies of each Grand Lodge to the best of our ability.

However, as Scottish Rite Masons, we have choices to make. The Scottish Rite can die, survive, or thrive. Each of us is a party to that choice. If we do nothing, then we are voting to die. What should we do about membership?

I have a suggestion. It works for me, and it will work for you. The potential is great for new Masons and new Scottish Rite Masons. In May 1998, the Northern Light, the sister publication of the Scottish Rite Journal in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, reported that 16,000,000 men in the United States over the age of 21 are potential candidates for Freemasonry. Even if that estimate were 50% too high, there would be sufficient men available to assure the future of our beloved Craft. We have prospects. Do we have the desire? New members don't just happen; they need encouragement and information.

Overall, the most alarming observation I hear about Scottish Rite Officers and leaders is that they distance themselves from membership activity. They stay as far away as they can. "It's not my job, boss. I'm an important officer with many duties, or I work in wardrobe or makeup or on the stage crew, or I have a part in a Degree. Membership is someone else's job."

The membership committee is important, and everybody is on it. Every Degree in Freemasonry is centered on the candidate. We teach the candidate. That is where the character building comes in. Without candidates, we lose the reason for our existence. We teach important lessons relevant to men today. We need students, and they need us. It is that simple. There is no job more important than bringing in candidates so everyone else can do his job. That is the bottom line of our Fraternal business.

In business, the salesman is essential to keep the business going. When the orders stop, everybody else closes down and goes home. It is no different in fraternal work. Last fall I brought in my 199th candidate. I have five candidates in the next class. I believe in the Scottish Rite. I bring in petitions because I take the time to talk Freemasonry and Scottish Rite. I would not ask any Mason to do anything that cannot be done. Every Mason can bring in petitions.

I would like to share a few ideas about obtaining petitions. I became a member in Danville, transferred to Southern Illinois, and eventually to Chicago. When I affiliated with Chicago, I lived 60 miles from the city. It was a time when it was very hard for a country boy to be accepted in the big city Scottish Rite. Past Grand Master Earl Potter, then a Grand Lodge Officer from southern Illinois, encouraged me not to give up when I felt I had no opportunity in the Scottish Rite. He said, "There is one thing they cannot ignore; that is membership."

I became interested in membership because I wanted to become involved. Talking without results was not my style. I knew I had to bring in petitions. To do that I needed prospects. I looked around and made a list of Master Masons who were not members of the Scottish Rite. I watched everywhere—at church, at the courthouse, at political meetings, wherever I happened to be. I inquired discreetly to determine if an individual was a member of the Scottish Rite. When the list totaled 100, it was time to go to work.

Then I made some rules for myself. I decided to take the time to visit each prospect in person. There is no substitute for personal contact. I first asked each prospect in a general way if someday he would like to become a 32° Mason? If he said no, I never bothered him again. If he said yes, then I felt free to explain how much I enjoyed the Scottish Rite and to encourage him to sign a petition.

To make a long story short, out of 100 prospects, I signed up 40 candidates. I went to the next meeting and asked the Commander-in-Chief, "If I bring in 40 petitions will you pay for the bus?" He said, "Sure!" I pulled 40 petitions out of my pocket, and he almost fell out of his chair. That opened the door for me, and I have never stopped working on membership. That is how I learned the 40% rule. If you list 10 legitimate prospects for the Scottish Rite and personally visit them and work with them, you will consistently sign up not less than four.

Have you ever heard of Junior Achievement? It is an organization that teaches young people about business, manufacturing, and sales. When I was in high school, I entered a Junior Achievement area-wide sales contest. I won second place and learned more from second place than I would have from first. I learned what I believe to be the most important rule of sales. Practicing this rule has helped me in many areas of my life. After the contest was over, the experienced salesmen met with each of the young people and described how we could improve. They told me, "Larry, you were the outstanding salesman in this contest. You presented your product well, you knew your product, you were sincere, but you never closed."

I didn't know what they were talking about. They repeated, "You never closed, you never asked for the sale, you never got the signature on the bottom line." I learned then that if you are selling a product, you haven't done anything until you take the order, and you can't take the order without an order blank. That is why I always carry a petition and offer to help the candidate fill it out.

To be a success in membership, you only need a list of prospects, a petition, an information booklet, enthusiasm, love for the Fraternity, and the willingness to make a few personal visits with men who would make good members. But, don't forget to close!

The simple things in life often work. Don't wait for a miracle, do your part and it will happen. Carefully select 10 men. I am talking about sons, grandsons, co-workers, church members, union friends, professional colleagues—good men who are not Masons. Plan a face-to-face meeting with each one of them. Say, "I am proud to be a Mason, and I've noticed the way you live. I believe you would make a good Mason and you would enjoy a network of new friends." Give him a brochure explaining the Fraternity. Then in your own words explain what the Fraternity means to you. Tell him he must ask if he decides he would like to join. Then go back in a few days and ask if he has any questions. I can assure you that this gentle approach will yield many petitions, but you must speak about the Craft. There are a lot of men just waiting to be told how to become a Mason. They want to hear from you.

This is where I stop and you decide the future of the Scottish Rite. Yes, we are relevant. The time is now to stop just talking to each other about your pride in the Craft and to start sharing your pride with 10 worthy and well-qualified men.