The Meaning of Masonry

FREEMASONRY has had many great scholars who devoted their time and talents to the philosophical exposition of the character of the Craft, the meaning of Craft symbols, and the religious aspects of the Fraternity: Albert Pike, Robert Freke Gould, Fort Newton, Albert Gallatin Mackey, and W. L. Wilmshurst.
Walter Leslie Wilmshurst (1867-1939) was a mystic with a practical knowledge and profound understanding of the religions of the world. The Meaning of Masonry discloses the real purpose of modern Freemasonry and clearly states the true body of teaching and practice concerning the esoteric meanings of Masonic ritual.
Freemasonry is based on the three great principles: brotherly love, relief, and truth. Over the years, brotherly love and relief have been so stressed that the Craft is in serious danger of becoming primarily a social and charitable organization. Truth, the most difficult principle to recognize and thus the most difficult to achieve, has long been neglected. Wilmshurst carefully places his designs upon the trestle board to build his thesis that the alpha and omega of Freemasonry is not the repetition of the ritual nor the safeguarding of secrets, but the regeneration of the Brethren.