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Organizations exist whose avowed purposes are to aid men in mental, moral, and social development. These organizations have not swayed from this mission over a century. These organizations have been building better men and making them better leaders throughout their existence.
Membership in these groups is and will always be based not for wealth, rank, or honor, but for personal worth and character. Most of these organizations do not solicit for members. A man must seek them out and express a desire to join in their mysteries. Before being accepted into the group, a man must pass an investigation of his character and motives. Those selected become part of the wonderful tradition of fraternalism.
The benefits of such association are great. Not the least of these benefits is the lifelong association that is formed with men of superior character and values. The bonds of brotherhood are strong: The essential elements of true brotherhood are love, charity, and esteem; love that binds our hearts with the study cords of fraternal affection; charity, that is impulsive to see the virtues in a brother and slow to reprove his faults; esteem, that is respectful to the honest convictions of others and that refrains from treading upon that which is sacred to spirit and conscience; these are the triple obligations of every brother in the bond.
Modern men seeking social integration and greater community, who want to join hands with other men and practice volunteerism, should embrace the fraternal societies that were so well known to their fathers and their father's fathers before them.
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