Morals and Dogma
The book entitled Morals and Dogma, the Mason’s Bible, was written in 1871 by Albert Pike the Sovereign Grand Commander, (The Masonic equivalent of a President of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry from 1859 to 1891. He was born in 1809 and died in 1891. He became a 32nd Degree Mason in 1853, and a 33rd Degree in 1857 (these terms will be discussed later)
It might be helpful for the reader to know one particular fact about Mr. Pike’s activities during the time he was writing the rituals. Henry Wilson Coil, another 33rd Degree Mason, with the assistance of three other 33rd Degree Masons, wrote Coils’ Masonic Encyclopedia in 1961. Hne adds this biographical insight into Mr. Pike’s past on page 610: “In May 1866, a group of returned veterans and other young men of Pulaski County, Tennessee, undertook to organize a social or recreational society, the name “kuklos” (Greek for band or circle) being suggested, which was promptly converted into Ku Klux, and Klan naturally followed.
About that time, a body of bad Negroes and worse Whites had begun a career of outrage against Southern Whites, and the unusual social conditions prevailing cause Ku Klux Klans to be organized in adjoining states, and the development went into its second stage in which it revenged some wrongs and committed others of its own. Albert Pike was the Chief Judicial Officer of the K.K.K.”
Mr. Coil does not say it, but the purpose of the Ku Klux Klan was not to be a “social or recreationalsociety,” but was to be the organizer of an effort to create a second Civil War after the first one failed to achieve the goal of the bankers (read that Jewish Bankers, the Rothschilds) who had created it.
For those wishing to know about the involvement of men like Albert Pike and Jesse James, the famous outlaw and also another 33rd Degree Mason, additional details about this period are included in the “Secret Societies and the New World Order” and “The Unseen Hand,” by Ralph Epperson, Publius Press, Suite C, %3100 South Philamena Place, Tucson, Arizona 85730, (520) 886-4389) So Mr. Pike had an interesting past.
His book entitled Morals and Dogma is 861 pages long, and appears to have had an index of 218 pages added in its 1927 edition. When compared to the original 1871 edition with a 1927 edition, the two books appear to be identical, except for the index.
The book consists of 32 “chapters,” each one of which was written to explain one of the 32 degrees of the Masonic Order. There are drawings included, but they generally seem to have been added only as a filler, rather than for assisting the reader in understanding the writins of the book.
One reason that few Masons and othes have read the book is because it is boring and difficult to read, but it must be read because there ar enough meaningful quotes inside it to show the reader just why the Masons consider it a valuable work.
It might be helpful to the student to examine the number of the “degrees” and some of the various organizations inside the Masonic fraternity. There are two basic organizations inside the male only Masonic Lodge system: The Scottish Rite and the York Rite. Both of these organiztions have as their base an organization known as the Blue Lodge of Masonry. This organization required the new member to go through three separate initiation ceremonies, called Degrees, and once the Mason has completed all three ceremonies, he can sto there should he choose to do so. He can remain a Blue Lodge Mason, meaning that he has completed three degrees inside the Blue Lodge.
Should one wish to go further, he may, but he has an option: he can go into either, or both, should he choose to do so, of the two Rites; either the york Rite or the Scottish Rite. The York Rite has ten more degrees for a total of 13, and the Scottish Rite has 29 more for a total of 32. These degrees are earned by the initiate, and ther is one more degree on the top of both organizations, called the 33rd Degree. That degree is honorary, and the member must be invited to become a 33rd Degree Mason. He cannot ask to become a member of that degree.
The Council of the 33rd Degree masons organization claims to be the parent organization that controls both of these two Rites.They call themselves the Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree, and their literature syas that they are “The Mother jurisdiction of the World,” or the “Mother Council of the World.” So this organization claims to control all of worldwide Masonry.
The title page of the book Morals and Dogma says that it was “prepared for the Supreme Council of the Thirty-Third Degree for the Southern jurisdiction of the United States and published by its authority.” So it can be inferred from thse claims that what this book teaches the Mason can be considered to be the official position of all of Freemasonry.
In addition, many historians, both inside and outside of the Order, consider Mr.Pike to be one of the greatest Masonic writers of all time. This comment by Albert G. Mackey, also a 33rd Degree Mason, and the author of the authoritative encyclopedia entitled “An Encyclopedia of Freemasonry,” (see page 564 of that Encyclopedia for this quote) is somewhat typical of those made by Mr. Pike’s fellow Masons: “His standing as a Masonci author and historian, and withal as a poet, was most distinguished, and his untiring zeal was without a parallel.”