WHY MASONS DON’T RECRUIT?
Joseph F. Lopena, DGL
One of the most important rules in Freemasonry is that which lays down that no missionary influence should be exercised to obtain candidates. The same stress should be laid upon the avoidance of any such influence to disseminate a particular interpretation of Masonic teaching. The attention of the Aspirant is drawn to this point on his first admission to the Temple and even before the ceremony of Initiation is commenced. The principle involved goes much deeper than is suspected by the majority of the brethren.
In the outer world almost every man holds strong convictions of some kind or another. Normally self-centered, he quite naturally feels that such as have proved helpful to himself must, ipso facto, be acceptable and helpful to others. He sets out to spread his glorious news, without thought that here, as in every sphere of human experience, “One man’s meat is another man’s poison.” He genuinely believes that he has a cure for certain ills and he proceeds to administer it to all and sundry, by fair means or foul and whether they be capable of digesting it or not.
One need only observe the volume of misguided enthusiasm and propaganda which has, in our own times, so often led to disastrous results, to get some idea of the driving force behind such obsessions. Time and again one meets self-styled missionaries who, with but little knowledge or real understanding of their own creed, and usually none whatsoever of that practiced or professed by those whom they presume to teach, rush in, doing much more harm than good, where those with a modicum of understanding fear to tread. Results, as is only to be expected, are chaotic, and we find, not only “the blind leading the blind,” but, as often as not, the blind imposing their ideas upon those who can see, and striving to lead them. From the outset I want to stress the fundamental need for adhering to the broadest possible principles and avoidance of anything which might lead to limitation of our outlook. (masoniceducation.com)