The family has provided a model for many of Masonry's practices. First, the family was the natural method for continuing into future generations. For many years Freemasons' sons have joined the Fraternity and provided the base for future generations. Further, the family demonstrated to Masons a method for transferring morals, values, family stories, and the work ethic. Each generation shared its experiences with the next, thereby making a continual chain. Masons followed that model and still continue to share their stories, rituals, and values. This seemed a natural model, one known to us for centuries.

Perhaps the classic example of family succession (and a key story in Freemasonry) is King David. David unified the Jewish tribes and established Jerusalem as their capital. He dreamed about building the Temple, but the task was left for his son, Solomon, who continued and extended David's dreams. He learned his family's stories and followed in his father's footsteps.
This model of family succession was reinforced by negative stories where the son broke away from the father and went his own way. An example is the parable of the prodigal son. The son demanded his inheritance from his father even as he broke away from the family. Unfortunately, he squandered his fortune. Penniless, the son returned to his father proposing to be a servant. The parable stresses the joy of reuniting the continuity of the family. Instead of punishing the son, the father rejoiced in his son's return to the father's household.

Similarly, Freemasonry identifies the tragedy of a heritage broken. The story of Hiram Abiff and the master's word is such an example. The break in Masonic knowledge and tradition is like the family's loss of the child leaving home. The rediscovery of that knowledge and heritage in the Scottish Rite Degrees is like the restoration of the family's natural succession.

The problem today, and a challenge to be addressed by Masonry, is a change in the traditional method of family succession. Today children readily leave home. They go to schools, often in other cities, and learn to be independent, find employment, and become self-sufficient. As Wendell Berry has stated, "The child is not educated to return home and be of use to the place and community; he or she is educated to leave home and earn money."

What makes matters worse is that often the continuity with the family is broken. The child who has moved away forgets his family. Family heritage and stories become less vivid. Over time, they are forgotten or lost.

This new behavior causes special concerns for Freemasonry. Often the child leaves home before the Masonic heritage can be passed on. His independence leads him to different communities where his not being a Mason is not recognized as a break in his family's history. Therein is our current Masonic tragedy. It is the loss of Masonic sons.

The challenge presented is threefold. First, fathers must start the introduction to Masonry before the child seeks independence. The foundation must be laid before the son moves out. Second, fathers and family must inform Brother Masons in the areas where children move. These Brother Masons can then recognize they are Masonically related "uncles" to these children. Third, these "uncles" must reach out to the prodigal sons and share their mutual heritage. Then, the family succession of Freemasonry can be reestablished.

George S. Eichhorn was raised a Master Mason in Acanthus Lodge No. 632, Des Moines, Iowa, and is also a member of Acorn Lodge No. 601, Stratford, Iowa, serving as its Master in 1995 and 1998. A member of the Scottish Rite Valley and Za Ga Zig Shrine Temple in Des Moines, Brother Eichhorn has contributed to the Iowa Lodge Bulletin and is a Past Senior Grand Steward for the Grand Lodge of Iowa. In 1997, he won the T. S. Parvin Award which is presented to only one Mason in Iowa each year by various Masonic organizations, including the Scottish Rite. In 1997, he was on Iowa Governor Branstad's Marriage and Divorce Reform Taskforce.