tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post3386375071220805411..comments2024-03-26T12:05:58.591-04:00Comments on Freemasons For Dummies: Memphis Masonic Temple For SaleChristopher Hodapphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04201859873755654395noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post-75734310634462129742020-02-16T13:56:17.766-05:002020-02-16T13:56:17.766-05:00So, and most respectfully, if you have discovered ...So, and most respectfully, if you have discovered a problem do you have a suggestion for a solution? Robert Streeter.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02294171511624557778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post-30420001225117979702020-02-12T11:26:41.679-05:002020-02-12T11:26:41.679-05:00Hmm. Yes. Cheaper. I'm just taking a stab at i...Hmm. Yes. Cheaper. I'm just taking a stab at it, but I'm guessing the Masons who suggested they build the Grand Lodge building in San Francisco in the 60s didn't really have 'cheaper' on their minds. They were making a statement. They were deliberately erecting a landmark. <br /><br />As the great essayist John Ruskin wrote, <i>“There is nothing in the world that some man cannot make a little worse, and sell a little cheaper, and he who considers price only is that man's lawful prey.”</i><br /><br />Quite literally ALL that has "changed" over the years since the 1960s has been the consistent lowering of Masonic standards, in ritual, proficiency, knowledge, behavior, comportment, dress, quality of management and leadership skills, and yes, our temple architecture - you name it. Not ONE standard of quality or requirement that existed up until at least 1960 has been raised instead of lowered over the last 60 years. Not one. Every single demand placed on Masons until six decades ago has been made simpler, cheaper, faster, sloppier, apologetic, accommodating, or otherwise lax.<br /><br />Why?<br /><br />And with that question, ask yourself if any or all of that might have anything to do with Freemasonry's diminished membership and outward prestige and reputation? And I can tell you that we have the example of hundreds of fraternal groups nationwide who all did this decades before us and died all that much faster than we did.Christopher Hodapphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04201859873755654395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post-78629676472905742842020-02-11T16:22:19.002-05:002020-02-11T16:22:19.002-05:00As a visitor, albeit years ago. to both temples I ...As a visitor, albeit years ago. to both temples I can confirm that both Memphis and Pomona were really magnificent buildings, well located and integral to their cities. Note the hideous aluminum doors that tastelessly mar the entrance in Memphis. Rather like the amateurish painting of donors in the House of the Temple: commentary on the loss of any sense of class or style. Bro. Paul Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06435030965629467739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25683662.post-53537755884659781052020-02-11T15:42:31.242-05:002020-02-11T15:42:31.242-05:00I have a real conundrum with these types of posts....I have a real conundrum with these types of posts. These beautiful building are definitely worth saving, but the cost associated with it sometimes are beyond what the local Lodge can afford. Look at us suckers here in CA, we have a Grand Lodge in the most expensive part of San Francisco, which is one of the most expensive places in the nation. We could sell that place, and build a new Grand Lodge somewhere cheaper, and save the Masons here money. As it is now, we pay, As each Mason $53 to the Grand Lodge. We can move away from that property to another place, and probably cut a great deal of that out. <br />Yes the historic value of the property should be preserved, but at the same time, if the building no longer meets the needs of the Lodge, the decision to improve or move can be a difficult one. <br /> <br />Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01916488517143100232noreply@blogger.com