DO MASONS HAVE THEIR OWN SAVIOR?

Masons have been criticized for claiming to have their own savior. Since they claim that Freemasonry is a religion (which it is not) it would only stand to reason that they would have a savior. It has been asserted by some that Hiram Abiff is the great "savior" of all Masons. This really is absurd considering the fact that Freemasonry does not claim that Hiram was ever a real person. Yes, there were two Hirams in the Bible, but Solomon certainly didn't treat either one as having any connection with divinity, let alone considering them to be a savior.

It is quite true that certain religions prior to Christianity had their concept of a "savior" or "messiah." Albert Pike spoke of this in his book Morals and Dogma:

All believed in a future life, to be attained by purification and trials;
in a state or successive states of reward and punishment; and in a
Mediator or Redeemer, by whom the Evil Principle was to be overcome and the Supreme Deity reconciled to His creatures. The belief was general that He was to be born of a virgin and suffer a painful death. The Hindus called him Krishna; the Chinese, Kioun-tse; the Persians, Sosiosch; the Chaldeans, Dhouvanai; the Egyptians, Horus; Plato, Love; the Scandinavians, Balder.

The Website Ex-Masons for Jesus has strongly criticized Freemasonry for having a plan of salvation and for recognizing Hiram Abiff as the "savior" of Masons. Here is what they say:

It is impossible for an honest Christian to deny that anything that redeems a man from sin is a plan of salvation. Numerous portions of Masonic ritual instruct Masons how to get into heaven. The most blatant is the conclusion of the Legend of the Third Degree. The Worshipful Master closes the ritual with these words:

Then, finally my brethren, let us imitate our Grand Master, Hiram Abiff, in his virtuous conduct, his unfeigned piety to God, and his inflexible fidelity to his trust; that, like him, we may welcome the grim tyrant, Death, and receive him as a kind messenger sent by our Supreme Grand Master, to translate us from this imperfect to that all-perfect, glorious, and celestial Lodge above, where the Supreme Architect of the Universe presides.

This is the kind of tactics that they use to convince Masons and others, that Hiram is like Jesus. The above paragraph is not in all jurisdictions of Freemasonry. This phrase isn't familiar to me, but I will take their word for it that it came from one of our jurisdictions (although it could be totally false). The admonition to imitate Hiram Abiff was in three areas of life. The first was in his virtuous conduct. This something that should be taught to every man. The second was to imitate him in unfeigned piety to God. In the legend of Hiram Abiff he is characterized as a man who put God first in his life. Thirdly, he is seen as a man who had fidelity and trustworthiness. Now what is wrong with any of those traits? If every man in America would do these things our society would be so much better.

The second part of the paragraph says that "like him, we may welcome the grim tyrant, Death, and receive him as a kind messenger, etc. " We really don't know if Hiram welcomed the Death Angel or not, but assuming that he would have (if he actually lived), it would also be assumed that he was living a life pleasing to God. We must realize that Masonry does not prescribe how a person gets to Heaven. You may not believe that Hiram was doing enough to deserve Heaven, but had Hiram really lived (which was in the days of King Solomon) he probably was doing everything prescribed under the Law. If the newly raised Master Mason is a godly man (and Freemasonry doesn't give details on what that entails) he should welcome the Death Angel. Salvation is not by imitating Hiram Abiff, but by doing those things that God wants us to do. No Mason is guaranteed an entrance into the Heavenly Lodge just because he joined the Lodge. Our hope is that he will be follow what is proscribed in the Holy Bible and find salvation therein.

The Ex-Masons For Jesus also wants you to believe that Freemasonry claims Hiram as the "savior" of all Masons. To prove their point they have found an obscure article in an old Kentucky Monitor printed prior to 1946. The article is incorrect and is not contained in any other Masonic literature that I know of. Here is their statement :

The Kentucky Monitor removes any doubt about the meaning of Freemasonry’s symbolism. In the preface, beginning in 1946 edition and continuing through at least five editions, a discussion of various religions and their various saviors concluded that Jesus was a savior for Christians, while Hiram is a savior for Masons.

All believed in a future life, to be attained by purification and trials; in a state or successive states of reward and punishment; and in a Mediator or Redeemer, by whom the Evil Principle was to be overcome and the Supreme Deity reconciled to His creatures. The belief was general that He was to be born of a virgin and suffer a painful death. The Hindus called him Krishna; the Chinese, Kioun-tse; the Persians, Sosiosch; the Chaldeans, Dhouvanai; the Egyptians, Horus; Plato, Love; the Scandinavians, Balder; the Christians, Jesus; Masons, Hiram. (pages XIV-XV)

This really does seem incriminating doesn't it? Well, what they haven't told you (and maybe they never bothered to look) is that the above quote came from page 277 of Albert Pike's book Morals and Dogma . The great mystery in all of this is how the last five words got placed into the Kentucky Monitor. The words "the Christians, Jesus; Masons, Hiram" are NOT on page 277 of Morals and Dogma. Someone has misquoted Albert Pike's work.

In an effort to try to unsolve this mystery I contacted the Grand Lodge of Kentucky. They assured me that this is a misquotation from Morals and Dogma, but doesn't know why it was placed into the Monitor. The Director of Education in the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, William G. Hinton, 33 degree, gave this reply to my correspondence to him:

As to the Monitor, it was the project of Brother Henry Pirtle. To this day, it is not the official ritual of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky. It received tacit endorsement in the 1970's. However, it was not until 1995 that it was acknowledged for use as a monitorial reference. (Unfortunately, our official ritual Th Ky Rtl is a coded document.) ... Interestingly enough, Pirtle does not seem to have received much support or recognition from the Grand Lodge of Kentucky during his lifetime. Hence, the book was called Pirtle's Monitor or Pirtle's Kentucky Monitor for many years.

So, as you can see, the Monitor that the anti-Masons are quoting from is not the official Monitor, and it obviously was wrong about Hiram being a "savior" for Masons. The idea of Hiram being a "savior" is not found any rituals or legitimate Masonic literature that I know of. If that Idea were promoted by any Grand Lodge, or local Lodge, there would be a grand exodus of Masons leaving the organization.

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