Masters Messages 2025

“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”
– General George S. Patton, United States Army

Brethren,

We move forward into the shortest month of the year. Withlimited time and colder temperatures, our attention is directed to labors inside, away from the elements. This is the perfect environment to look at things in a different wayand let imagination and ingenuity flourish.

Read more: Ingenuity

The ability to come together and find new ways to do things is something that we, as Masons, do particularly well. Masonry is a Brotherhood of men from all walks of life and all fields of labor. When a group of minds working towards a common goal comes together, the inventiveness and incredible ingenuity can be breath taking.

I was privileged, last month, to attend the 2025 Masonic Unity Day in Philadelphia, PA. A truly amazing event with an inspirational level of hard work and organization. I was able to see Masonry from different states, showing how we truly are the same, but with those important and interesting differences. The way the event was organized, the way the Brethren in the presentations worked so well together and the way the spectating Brethren played their roles so well reminded me of the symbol of the Beehive.

Like the bees in the hive who labor for the common good of the colony, we as Masons use our hearts, our minds, and each other to better the world. Our ingenuity in how we achieve this goal is inspirational to me and is a true example of how Masons help make men and the world better.

Fraternally,

WM William D. Bilbow, III

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Beginnings

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” -Lao Tzu

Brethren,

First, and foremost, I would like to say thank you and share a short anecdote about my Masonic beginnings.

As a child, I was fortunate enough to attend school on the opposite side of the town I grew up in. As a result, the bus I travelled on would pass a very singularly shaped building, so peculiar in fact, that it sparked an unwavering curiosity in me. As the years passed and I moved away from my hometown, the thought of the peculiar building stuck with me. It prompted me to do some research into the symbology of the building and I discovered that it was a Masonic Lodge. Asbury Jordan, as a matter of fact.

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