January 2022 Trestleboard

The Lodge Secretary endeavors to keep our roster as accurate as possible. If you are moving, changing your mailing address, phone number or email address, please update your information in GrandView or notify the Secretary so that your information can be kept current.
Twin Peaks Lodge Secretary

The Trestleboard is an official publication of Twin Peaks Lodge No. 32, which is a legally constituted Masonic Lodge operating under charter granted by the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of Utah. The Trestleboard is published for the sole and exclusive use of the members of Twin Peaks Lodge No. 32, and any other use is expressly forbidden. The editor of The Trestleboard is Glen Van Steeter. Submissions of educational articles or other announcements may be sent to the editor at [email protected], and if selected for publication, will be given full attribution. All submissions are subject to the approval of the Worshipful Master of Twin Peaks Lodge No. 32 and the editor of the Trestleboard.

Stated Meeting

January 3rd @ 7:30 pm. The meeting will be held on the Entered Apprentice Degree.

Other Mondays

January 10^th at 6:30 PM. Ritual practice.
January 17^th at 6:30 PM. Officer’s Meeting
January 24^th at 6:30 PM. Meetup at R&R BBQ located at 7171 South Bingham Junction Blvd, Midvale, UT.
January 31^st: Activity to be determined.

Holidays and Observances

January 1^st: New Year’s Day
January 17^th: Martin Luther King Jr. Remembrance Day

Sickness and Distress

Brethren All,

I hope you have had an enjoyable Christmas and holiday season with family and friends. We have a few brethren that are not in good health. Please remember them while on the second point of fellowship.

Lee Rodgers had a severe sinus infection on Friday the 24th and was later admitted into the ICU on Christmas Day with COVID. Today they had to intubate as he wasn’t getting enough oxygen. He is in critical condition right now and is really fighting to recover. He is currently not allowed visitors and he is also under “paralytics”, meaning they have him heavily sedated because he becomes agitated when awake because of the intubation and intravenous lines.

His wife Linda is staying strong as she continues to visit him. She was worried that she may have been exposed to Covid as well but fortunately has tested negative. I’m sure she would appreciate your prayers and messages of support during this time.

Leland Nielson has had a long road to recovery since his stroke. He cut his cornea and rolled his wrist. He is looking pretty beat up but seems to be in good spirits all things considered. He is still in the VA recovering and if all continues to go well, he should be released home on January 4th. Please visit him if you are able.

Brother Steve Horman lost his mother last week. He and the family are at peace but it’s always difficult to lose a close family member. Know that our thoughts go out to him.

Brothers, please reach out and let them know that we are here for our brothers and their ladies. If there’s anything you need to bring to my attention, please don’t hesitate to call at any time.

Your Friend and Brother,

Ephraim Sng

Brethren all, if you are aware of any member of this Lodge who is suffering from ill-health or other adverse circumstances, or you yourself are suffering the same and you feel that it would benefit the member to be contacted by members of the Lodge, please reach out to the Secretary, and let him know!

From the East

Happy New Year Brethren. I hope all of you had a Merry Christmas and wonderful holiday season with family and friends.

I am very excited for this new year to be serving Twin Peaks Lodge and working with a great lineup of officers. I have met many of you, but there’s still a few who I haven’t. I thought I would start off with a little introduction about myself:

I was born in Hawaii to immigrant parents. My father is from Singapore and mother from Hong Kong. But I was raised in Texas pretty much my whole life. I came out here to Utah in 2010 for school where I graduated with my degree in Information Systems. Since that time, I have started a few businesses: manufacturing essential oil diffusers, action cameras, heated jackets, and cryptocurrency mining. Currently, I am the CTO of Viori, an online company that manufactures and sells rice-based shampoo bars.

My Masonic journey has been a great one. I joined in Grapevine Lodge #288 in Grapevine, Texas when I was 18 years old. I knew it was going to be something special and have had a large impact in my life – which it has. In my travels, I have had the fortunate opportunity to attend lodges around the US, in Hong Kong (English, Irish, and Scottish Constitutions) Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, India, England, and Scotland. I am also a member of a lodge in Sydney, Australia. Many of my closest friends I have met through the fraternity. I have seen firsthand how Freemasonry is indeed the world oldest, and largest brotherhood, which unites men who might have otherwise remained at a perpetual distance.

As we begin the new year, we often make resolutions: “New Year, New Me” as the saying goes.

Right alongside that in Freemasonry, we talk about “Making Good Men Better,” I believe the principles taught and the social structure we have, provides us a great opportunity to improve in every way: physically, mentally, spiritually, financially, and socially. From wherever you currently are in life, to improve to the next level. I am going to encourage you to be open, maybe even a little vulnerable, to share your goals with a trusted friend, and perhaps a brother, to help you in achieving those goals. We will be working on a few things this year together as a lodge. May we resolve to become better men by applying the working tools taught us in our degrees. Not just at the beginning of the year, but every day is a new opportunity to start afresh and become better. Just as Solomon’s temple wasn’t built in a day, we can build our lives, brick-by-brick, to represent the handiwork of the Great Architect.

By the Square,

Ephraim Y. Sng, PM
Worshipful Master – Twin Peaks Lodge #32 F&AM

On the Secretary’s Desk

Brethren,

First off, if you have not read the Sickness and Distress article above, please stop and go read that. We have a number of brethren who are ailing. Your thoughts, prayers and cards are appreciated. As WB Lee Rogers has recently moved, I am providing his temporary address below so that you can send get well cards.

We very regretfully had to suspend three brethren for failure to pay dues. In each of these cases, they were in arrears since either 2020 or 2019. Many attempts were made to reach out to them, including phone calls, emails, letters (some sent as registered mail), and articles in previous copies of the Trestleboard. Now is as good a time as any to remind all of you that if you find yourself in financial stress brought on for any number of reasons, and you think you will not be able to pay your dues for the upcoming year, please contact either the Secretary (me) or the Worshipful Master. We have tools that can help relieve the burden, but only you can initiate that process. We keep your name in the strictest confidence to avoid embarrassment.

If you are interested in attending the 150^th Anniversary celebration of Masonry in Utah, you have until January 5^th to register. There is an announcement in this Trestleboard that will give you the details. Additionally, the Grand Lodge of Utah Annual Communication will be held on February 4^th and 5^th. I have included the registration form for the Annual Communication later in this Trestleboard. Lunches are included in the registration form. There is a lady’s program for additional cost. Additionally, there is the Friendship Banquet and the Grand Master’s Banquets, both of which are also at additional cost. The deadline to register for Annual Communication is January 20^th. They will be checking dues cards, so if you are interested in attending Annual Communication and you do not have your 2022 dues card, please either submit your dues promptly OR if you think you have paid your dues but not yet received your 2022 dues card, then get a hold of me right away!

With the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus now responsible for the majority of new infections in the United States and which has also been confirmed in Utah, you should practice safe and prudent measures when you are visiting public spaces or attending Lodge meetings and events. However, as of the writing of this article, the Grand Lodge of Utah has not sent any new guidance. Some things to keep in mind: 1) Wear an N-95 mask. This is more to help keep you from infecting others rather than protecting yourself, but some barrier is better than nothing. 2) Avoid personal contact. 3) Practice social distancing (6 feet between you and others). 4) Finally, if you feel unwell, you should avoid Lodge meetings, but the Secretary and Master would sure appreciate a regret, especially if you an officer.

Finally, I hope that your holiday season was all that you had hoped for, with an opportunity to visit loved ones and close friends, and that the new year will bring you happiness, health and prosperity.

Fraternally and cordially,

Glen Van Steeter, PM
Secretary

150th Annual Communication of the M.W. Grand Lodge of Utah

Brethren all,

The 150^th Annual Communication of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Utah will commence on February 4^th and conclude the following day at the Salt Lake Masonic Temple (650 E. South Temple, SLC, UT). You are cordially invited to celebrate this special sesquicentennial event.

The Friendship Banquet will be held at the Salt Lake Masonic Temple at 7:00 PM on February 3^rd. A tour of the Salt Lake Temple will be provided beginning at 6:00 PM. Casual attire is encouraged. The Grand Master’s Banquet will be held at the Sheraton Salt Lake City on February 4^th at 7:00 PM with a no-host social beginning at 6:00 PM. Formal attire is requested.

As this is the single annual event that brings all our Lodges together, the registration fee for this year includes lunches for both Friday and Saturday for attending Masons. We hope this will encourage you to spend that time of labor to refreshment by strengthening fraternal bonds with your brethren from around the Jurisdiction and those who have travelled from foreign Jurisdictions.

For those who require lodging, a group rate of $129.00 per night has been made available at the Sheraton Salt Lake City hotel (150 West, 500 South). This group rate includes breakfast for each morning. You can follow this link to book your reservations.

It is my sincerest hope that you will be able to attend as we celebrate 150 years of Masonry in Utah.

If you have any questions, please contact me or the Grand Secretary.

Sincerely and fraternally,

Daniel J. Lawes
M.W. Grand Master
(801) 673-6375
[email protected]

Lorenzo E. Tibbets, PGM
Grand Secretary
(843) 720-7671
[email protected]

You can download a copy of the registration form here.

R.W. Moore Chapter DeMolay Installation

RW Moore Chapter of the Order of DeMolay will hold a public installation of officers on January 9^th at 5:00 pm at the Midvale Masonic Temple. Dress is business formal.

Masonic Birthdays

The following Brethren have anniversaries of their being raised to the Degree of Master Mason this month.

Brother Kevin Royce Brown, raised on January 27, 2003 and has 19 years of service.
Brother Craig H. Smith, raised on January 21, 2008 and has 14 years of service.

Happy Birthdays

The following Brethren were born this month.

Brother Edward Kordas, born on January 1.
Brother John Christopulos, born on January 7.
Brother Michael Martin, born on January 10.
Brother Austin Stoker, born on January 11.
Brother Robert Jones, born on January 29.

On Brotherhood of Man

In Freemasonry we speak of the bond which holds men together in common endeavor as the “Mystic Tie.” It is quite impossible to describe or explain that tie. Those who know what it is by experience, do not need it to be defined. There is something of private friendship in it, for I believe that the majority of Masons have a feeling toward brother Masons that they do not have towards outsiders; and there is something of the purpose of co-operation in it. It is a mixture of these two things, plus many other things.

However, we may define it, it is true that what we mean by that tie is really the hope of the world. It is only as men are bound by it, whether they are Masons or not, that the race can go on towards happiness. For after all is said and done the world is a unity, and the race is one. That is the nature of mankind and mankind can never be happy in living until all act in harmony with their nature. Those who make sport of the aspirations toward racial unity, internationalism, and such endeavors to bind man closer to man, and woman to woman, know not of what they speak, for, though they know it not, it is they who are misguided by sentimental illusions, and imaginary mirages, not the men who work to build life on the foundations on which life was intended to rest.

In proportion as a man understands brotherhood and acts in conformity with its demands, he will always work for human unity. In his lodge he will not be a dividing and distracting force. In his community he will be a good citizen who knows that the community has a right to demand many sacrifices on the part of its children. He will uphold and maintain the principles of his country and oppose every influence that makes for its degradation and division. He will everywhere use his efforts to break down racial antipathy, religious differences, and class hatred. War, fanaticism, national jealousies and unjust ambitions, the base intrigues of false statesmen, and the public connivance in public vices, he will everywhere and always oppose. It is his task as a true soldier of brotherhood.

Masonry has played a great part in bringing about these conditions, and the part it is yet to play “is more that the twelve labors of Hercules.” It is a great thing for the world that at a time when everywhere the spirit of strife and division is so rampant there should be a powerful international body of men who preach and emphasize the need for unity, harmony and international comity. I like to think that the Fraternity is a kind of great school in which men learn brotherhood by practicing it towards fellow Masons, because he who practices it towards fellow Masons will come sooner or later to practice it everywhere. And I like to think that Freemasonry is a world inside the world, and that in Masonry those habits of fraternity are developing which will one day take root everywhere. While the winter winds are raging the gardener plants his seeds in the protection of his hothouse. After a while the plants will be carried outdoors to live under the sky. Similarly, inside the protecting arms of the Fraternity is growing a spirit which, as rapidly as conditions permit, must make itself felt everywhere. The great work of the world must be done by the combined and co-operating efforts of all the men of the world. At present that world lies dismembered about us, bleeding at every pore. That does not mean that brotherhood is a failure. It means that a world without brotherhood is a failure. Brotherhood is the only practicable means of healing the hurts of mankind. Every individual who learns in the lodge the lessons of brotherhood and who goes through life everywhere practicing that lesson is helping towards the new order of things wherein will dwell peace for all men.

A thing that must achieve such a work as this cannot be a puny growth of private sentimentality. It is a world power capable of gigantic efforts. Those who think of it merely as a handclasp and a slap on the back are dealing with it like children. It is a world law, destined to change the earth into conformity with itself, and as a world power it is something superb, awe-inspiring, god-like.

This article is taken in whole from Brother H. L. Haywood’s treatise “What Is Meant by Brotherhood of Man,” originally published in 1921. Any errors or omissions from the original are mine alone.

This educational was presented by Worshipful Brother Robert Hartman at the December 6^th, 2021 stated meeting of Twin Peaks Lodge No. 32.

Why does Parliamentary Law not apply to a Lodge of Masons?

This article was taken from 101 Questions About Freemasonry, a Masonic Service Association of North America publication.

Parliamentary law which governs the usual body of men assembled in any organization cannot govern a Masonic lodge. A Master may put a motion which has not been proposed or seconded. He can close debate at his pleasure. He does not have to put a question even after debate if he does not desire to do so. He entertains no motion to “lay on the table” or to “postpone” or “to adjourn.” No one can “move the previous question” in a Masonic lodge, and so on.

The reason is found in the responsibility which is the Master’s. The Grand Lodge and the Grand Master hold him responsible for everything that happens in his lodge. There are certain things he cannot do without lodge action (permission), such as spend lodge money. He cannot open before the time stated in the by-laws for a regular communication (stated meeting). But the lodge cannot dictate to him what can be discussed, and if, in his judgment, something should not be discussed or acted upon, it is for him and only for him to say that it should or should not. Were it otherwise, a lodge might “run away” with him, and in enthusiasm do that for which the Grand Lodge or Grand Master would censure or punish him. Therefore, the Master has full control of debate, and work, and acts; ordinary parliamentary law, which might interfere with that control, does not apply.

This is not to say that parliamentary law, or more appropriately, the Rules of Order by which regular lodges perform their work, is not to be used in a Masonic lodge. Far from it for an amended version of Robert’s Rules is an excellent tool by which a Master can expeditiously present, debate and resolve the business that regularly comes before such lodges. But even such a convenient tool as Robert’s Rules cannot legitimately be used to circumvent, for whatever reason or motive, the Master’s authority in conducting his lodge.

A True Story

Submitted by Glen Van Steeter, PM

This happened back in 2002 or 2003 in the late spring. I was employed in downtown Salt Lake City, and I was enjoying the evening commute back to my home. While driving south on Interstate 15, I happened to notice a tractor-trailer in front of me that had a blue license plate with the following letters in white: “AFAM”. I immediately suspected that this truck was being driven by a brother of the Craft. Since my truck had a number of the little plastic Masonic medallions on the tailgate, I figured I’d pass him on the left to get in front of him and then make my way back over to the right lanes in preparation for exiting the highway on my major cross street. I did as I planned. Once back in the right lane and as I was slowing down, I glanced over my left shoulder to see if the trucker had noticed my Masonic medallions. He had. He was wearing a red plaid shirt, had a graying mustache and was wearing a black ball-cap. And he was asking me a question, which was: “Have you seen a little black dog with a red ribbon around his neck?”

Known or Suspected Freemasons who were Signers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence

Benjamin Franklin – 1 of 13 Masonic signers of Constitution of the U.S. member of St. John’s Lodge, Tun Tavern, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Past Provincial Grand Master of Pennsylvania.

Elbridge Gerry, member of Philanthropic Lodge, Marblehead, Massachusetts.

John Hancock, made a Master Mason, at the age of 23, in 1760, in Merchants Lodge No. 1, Quebec City, the first civilian Lodge established in Canada after the Conquest. In 1763, he went to Boston, Massachusetts, where he affiliated with St. Andrew’s Lodge.

William Hooper, member of Hanover Lodge, Masonborough, North Carolina.

Richard Stockton, charter member, and first Master of St. John’s Lodge, Princeton, New Jersey.

Matthew Thornton, made a Mason in a Lodge attached to a British Regiment of Foot during the Siege of Louisburg, Canada, in 1745, serving in a New Hampshire Colonial Regiment as a surgeon. Baron Von Steuben, while at Valley Forge, is said to have conferred the higher Degrees on him and to have been the only Signer who attained the 32nd Degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite.

George Walton, member of Solomons Lodge No. 1, Savannah, Georgia.

William Whipple, member of St. John’s Lodge No. 1, Portsmouth, New Jersey.

The following named Signers have been referred to as members of the Fraternity by various Masonic writers, and in Masonic publications, but their Lodge affiliation is not known:

Roger Sherman, claimed to have been made a Mason prior to the American Revolution. A Masonic Apron said to be worn by him is in the collection at Yale University.

Josiah Bartlett, one so named is listed as a charter member of King Solomon’s Lodge, Charlestown, Massachusetts. Descendants, however, say he was not a member of the Craft. There is doubt that this Bartlett is the signer, and records of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts do not show his Lodge affiliation.

Philip Livingston, often referred to as a Mason, but this is open to debate. Records of the Grand Lodge of New York do not disclose his name. Several members, named Livingston, are noted in the records of Holland Lodge No. 8, New York City, New York.

Joseph Hewes. Records of Unanimity Lodge No. 7, Edenton, North Carolina, show his name as a visitor on St. John’s Day, December, 1776.

Robert Treat Paine, member of a Massachusetts Lodge. The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts records do not show his affiliation He was said to be present at the celebration of St. John’s Day, Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, in June, 1759.

Thomas McKean, noted as a frequent visitor to Perseverance Lodge No. 2l, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The McKean genealogy has stated he was a Mason, although his name is not found on the records of the Grand Lodge of Delaware, which was not organized until the close of the American Revolution. A brother, Samuel McKean, was a member of the Fraternity.

John Penn, known to have attended Lodges in North Carolina, but his Masonic affiliation is not known.

Lyman Hall, claimed to have been a member of Solomons Lodge No. 1, Savannah, Georgia.

William Ellery, claimed as a member of a Lodge in Boston, Massachusetts.

Thomas Nelson, Jr., claimed to have visited Lodge No. 9, Yorktown, Virginia, after the Siege of that place was lifted in the Revolutionary War, accompanied by Lafayette and Washington.

Absence of definite proof of the Masonic affiliation of the Signers named in the foregoing paragraphs, precludes the possibility of knowing.

This is also the case with Thomas Jefferson; John Adams; Benjamin Rush, Robert Morris; John Witherspoon; George Wythe; Francis Lightfoot Lee; Richard Henry Lee, and others. Caesar Rodney, of Delaware fame, had a son Caesar Augustus Rodney – a member of the Craft. George Read, another Signer from Delaware, had a son – George M. Read – who was Grand Master of Pennsylvania. Samuel Huntington had a son who was Grand Master of Ohio.