The Three Steps Youth:

In our youth we should be learning the lessons of The Supreme Architect of the Universe as told to us in his Holy Whitings. Manhood: As men we should be living our lives as shown to us by His Son Old-age: As old men we should be living in peace with the knowledge that we lived our lives as men of God and the Supreme Architect has an eternal home made in Heaven for us as our final resting place.

The Pot Of Incense Symbolizes man, the pot being the physical body, the Incense being the mind of man, and when they are lit, the heat given off being the spirit of man as given to him by God.

The Beehive Symbolizes unity of purpose, with just one leader, for life and just one goal, the betterment of the hive. Each Grand Lodge should be as the Beehive, with a unity of purpose, with just one Leader, and just one goal, the betterment of the order. The fact is in most Grand Lodges, the only similarity to the Beehive is that they have only one Leader.

Today all Grand Lodges have one Grand Master, but most of them have members who want to become Grand Masters, this in itself divides the unity of purpose. Now you have those Grand Masters that are trying to get reelected, those Grand Masters that are not eligible for reelection, and those members that are trying to become Grand Masters. Now the main goal of our members becomes getting the man they want for Grand Master elected and the goal of the betterment of the order is put aside or even forgotten about.

The Anchor And Ark

The Anchor is an emblem of Jesus Christ who gave his life to ensure us a safe harbor to find rest in. The Ark is an emblem of God, that divine ark that carries us through a lifetime of trials and tribulations, and finally to our Heavenly home.

The 47th Problem of Euclid Is commonly excepted to represent the physical body, the psyche, and the spiritual, and this figure being the complete man. Let us just suppose the 47th problem of Euclid represented the life spirit, the human spirit, and the divine spirit. The life spirit being Friendship, the human spirit being Morality, and the divine spirit being Brotherly Love. This figure could represent the perfect man.

The Hour Glass Is an emblem of human life. Like the hour glass, when the first grain of sand falls it is a fact that the last grain of sand will fall too. When man is born it is a fact that he will also die. The difference being that man has control over how he lives his life and the sand only falls down.

The Sword Reminds us that we should be ever watchful and guarded in our thoughts, words, and actions, because all of these will be recorded in the Great Book of Life, that all men are judged by when" they die.

The Scythe Is used as an emblem of Death but it is in reality an emblem of transition from one life to another. Because as this mortal life comes to an end it brings with it the beginning of a spiritual life.

Conclusion As Jesus Christ had his Judas among His disciples, so does Masonry have its Judas among its members. Just as Judas thought his beliefs were better than Jesus' teachings so today many Masons believe that their beliefs are better than the teachings of Free Masonry. The Bible tells, us in the end Judas learned that the lessons of God were the only true lessons to be learned and as it was then so it is still so today.

The third degree teaches three main lessons:

1. That all men will die.

2. That we should all live our lives according to the teachings of the Supreme Architect of the Universe.

3. A firm belief that if we do #2 we will live again in that heavenly home made for us by our Father in Heaven.

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