FRATERNAL REVIEW

Editor - Ralph A. Herbold         (4-1-94)                        No. 689

DONNER PARTY - ONE MORE MOUNTAIN
Robert Kalb, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Illinois, in his Message in
their December 1993 Grand Lodge Newsletter, had an item of interest to us in
California:

Recently I was contacted regarding the production of a film, "One More
Mountain," which is being produced by ABC Television as a Mini Series for
viewing this winter.  They were seeking information about James Frazier Reed.
James Reed was famous for being one of the survivors of the famous Donner party.
In the spring of 1846, Brother Reed and his family set out with all their
worldly possessions on a journey to California.  This is a story about his life,
and his Masonic affiliation seems to be one of the most important facts
portrayed in this film.  Reed was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason
on March 12, 1840 in Springfield Lodge No. 26, which, after the organization of
our current Grand Lodge, later the same year, became Springfield Lodge No. 4.
Reed was a well known individual in the Springfield and Sangamon County area of
Illinois.  Before he left on his journey, he was presented with a medal by
Springfield Lodge.  This medal will play an important part in the movie and we
were asked to find out as much as we could about its origin.  The actual
medallion was located in the Sutter Fort Museum at Sacramento, California and is
being replicated for the movie.  Since Masonry will play such an important role
in the movie, it might be a must watching for all Masons.  I will try to keep
you informed about when it will be shown, however, I would suggest that you
watch for "One More Mountain" in your TV Guide.  (Was on ABC March 6th)

Reading this sent me to One Hundred Years Of Freemasonry In California for
possible mention of Brother Reed.  Hit the jack-pot.  Found ten references,
including a five page story, including his picture, on this one of three who
broke through to Sutter's Fort and came back with relief.

ANTI-MASONRY
Both as an idea and as an announcement, the 1994 Spring Lecture Series are
being held at the Livingston Masonic Library's Manhattan facility.  The April
26th lecture features Dr. David Hackett, Associate Professor, Departmemt of
Religion, The University of Florida, speaking on "Jonathan Blanchard, the
National Christian Association, and Late Nineteenth Century Anti-Masonry.

ISRAEL
From the message of M.W. Bro. Itzhak Barzilay, Grand Master, in the 4-1993
Haboneh Hahofshi of the Grand Lodge of Israel:

Masonic writers who investigated the first Masonic activities in our country
discovered four Lodges created in the l9th century, during the years 1868-1891.
The first Lodges worked in French and English.  The first Hebrew-speaking Lodge
was founded in Jaffa in the yar 1906.:  This was Lodge "Barkai," which
appropriately means "Dawn."  After that came "Carmel" Lodge, founded before 1914
and other Lodges founded after World War I, which worked under charters issued
by different foreign Grand Lodges.  In 1933, seven Hebrew and Arabic-speaking
Lodges organized themselves into the National Grand Lodge of Palestine, which
continued its existence until the creation of the Grand Lodge of Israel, twenty
years later.

Forty years ago, then, on the 20th of October of 1953, at the Y.M.C.A. hall in
Jerusalem, the Grand Lodge of the State of Israel was consecrated in ancient and
due form by a delegation of Grand Office bearers from the Grand Lodge of
Scotland, headed by Brother the Earl of Elgin and Kincardine, Past Grand Master.
Immediately afterwards, Bro Shabetai Levy was installed as the first Grand
Master of the newly-constituted Grand Lodge.  Five Lodges which had worked until
then under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Scotland and 15 Lodges
belonging to the National Grand Lodge of Palestine, returned their charters and
were formally received into our Grand Lodge.  The 30 Masters of these Lodges
then swore fidelity to the Grand Lodge of the State of Israel in the name of
their respective Brethren.

Brother Leon Zeldis, editor of the Haboneh Hahofshi, recently authored "Masonic
Chronology in Context."  It starts B.C. 1030 with "David founds the kingdom of
Israel and ends with the founding of the Grand Lodge of Rumania in 1993.  It has
the advantage of being indexed.

W C FIELDS
One of our members, David T. Rocks, 4034 Oceanview St., Orange CA 92665,
authored W.C. Fields - An Annotated Guide, 128 pp, $27.50 library binding.

RITUAL
Under Resolutions adopted in the December 1993 Oklahoma Mason:

Perhaps the most important is a major change in the way Grand Lodge Officers
are elected.  If a Brother wishes to be considered for the offices of Grand
Warden, Grand Secretary, Grand Treasurer, or Grand Lecturer, he can do so by
filing a form provided by the Grand Lodge with the Grand Secretary.  He must be
a Worshipful Master or Past Worshipful Master of an Oklahoma Lodge.

One word was added to the Obligations of the E.A., Fellowcraft and Master Mason
Degrees.  The change wiII be explained to the Lodges by the Lecturers.   In
addition, a paragraph was added to the Third Section of the Monitorial
explanatory lecture of the E.A. Degree, immediately following the first
paragraph as it is now printed.  The paragraph reads as follows:

"The penalties by which you have symbolically bound yourself to fulfill your
obligations are ancient in Masonry.  No man is certain of their origins.  But
they were probably added to the ritual at a time of great persecution, when the
very lives of Masons depended upon the secrecy of their Brothers.  The only
penalties Masonry inflicts are reprimand, suspension and expulsion.  We retain
the ancient penalties, not to frighten or disgust, but because they are
important symbols in the tradition and in the study of the fraternity.  At the
very least, they make plain the torture and agony of conscience any good man
should feel at the thought that he had violated his sworn word - for the good
and honest man is ever his own most severe judge, censor and critic.  We may
escape the judgment of others for our misdeeds, but never the condemnation of
our own conscience.  In the symbolism of the penalties, as in all things
Masonic, let the wise man seek for further enlightenment."


