Making this Manual available on amazon for brethren who wants a printed copy. The Mentor Plan was conceived as an answer to one of the problems of Masonry - the producing of interested Masons by means of a well - rounded education in all phases of the Royal Art. It is not possible to impart all of the knowledge necessary to produce a generation of informed Masons in the brief time the Mentor will be active in the life of the candidate. The Plan, therefore, must have, as its main objective, the promotion of an interest in Masonic knowledge. It must devise a means of creating a desire in the candidate to learn more about Masonry and point out to him the sources from which he will be able to obtain more light on those facets of it which he will find interesting to him. These, of course, will vary with the individual.It is not the objective of the Mentor Plan to teach the ritual nor is it generally recommended that the Mentor instruct the new Mason in the catechisms which he is required to learn. In some Lodges it will be necessary that the same brother perform both functions because of the shortage of instructors. However, when this is the case care should be taken to avoid confusing the two subjects. The Mentor Plan will endeavor to acquaint the new brother with some of the history of Freemasonry, its philosophies and objectives. It should also give him some insight into the literature of the Fraternity wherein he may begin and continue his study of its teachings and doctrines.Instruction under the Mentor Plan must be individual and personalized if it is to be effective. In embracing this system we are following the time honored method of the Fraternity, that of imparting instruction from mouth-to-ear, for Freemasonry believes in and stresses the importance of the individual. Through the individual, as he comes to realize that he is Freemasonry to many people, will understand the necessity for him to exemplify its principles by walking uprightly before God and man, squaring his actions by the square of virtue.

Modern Freemasonry in the United States and Great Britain celebrates its 300th anniversary in 2017 tracing its direct history from the Grand Lodge of England founded in 1717. This text is intended to provide a theory of origin for the Fraternity. It is based on available sources, many of which are not Masonic in nature, but cover the disciplines of history, religion, ethics, economics, politics, and labor development. The book begins with an overview of how the Fraternity initiated members in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, and includes the ancient Legend of Noah. It then reviews how history is written and exams the utilization of Biblical and legendary accounts in the development of a country’s, peoples’, or organization’s history. The text moves on to the transition from craft guild to fraternal organization and gives the full text of Freemasonry’s four oldest documents: Regius Poem, Cooke Manuscript, Graham Manuscript, and Schaw Statutes. This is followed by a description of the London Masons’ Company based on the assumption that this city-wide organization of craftsmen chartered in 1481 may have been the administrative precursor of the Grand Lodge of England. The author then reviews the demise of craft guilds and the rise of fraternal societies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Additional chapters review the Masonic approach to ritual, education, and ethical decision making. The text closes with a discussion of the philosophy of Freemasonry as well as comments and suggestions regarding Freemasonry’s future. The last chapter is a Scottish Charge appropriate to all men, not just Freemasons.

In Freemasonry in Context: History, Ritual, Controversy editors Arturo de Hoyos and S. Brent Morris feature work by renown Masonic scholars. Essays explore the rich and often times controversial events that comprise the cultural and social history of Freemasonry.