I.
Brotherly Love
We regard the whole human family as one. A Mason meets a stranger as a friend not yet known, and treats every brother with patience, honesty, and care, the way he would wish to be treated himself.
What Masons Believe
A craft of character, squared by conscience.
Freemasonry takes good men and gives them the tools to become better: better fathers, better neighbors, better servants of the world around them. Here is what we hold to be true.
"And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother?" We answer that question with our lives: we are our brother's keeper.
II.
Relief
To soothe the unhappy, to sympathize with misfortune, to restore peace to a troubled mind: this is the work of a Mason. Charity is not an afterthought of the Craft; it is its heartbeat.
III.
Truth
Truth is the foundation of every virtue. We pursue it in our study, speak it in our dealings, and let it govern our conduct, knowing that a man's word should be as good as his bond.
A Supreme Being
Faith in the Grand Architect of the Universe
Freemasonry is not a religion, and it never asks a man to set his own faith aside. It does ask one thing of every candidate: a sincere belief in a Supreme Being, whom we reverently name the Grand Architect of the Universe. Within our walls, men of many faiths are welcome, and find that what unites them is far greater than what divides them.
"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." Psalm 133:1, King James Version.
The open Volume of the Sacred Law upon our altar is the rule and guide of faith and practice. From it we draw the moral instruction that turns symbol into character and ceremony into conviction.
From Rough Stone to Perfect Ashlar
We are builders, and the work is ourselves
The tools of the Craft are the tools of the stonemason, borrowed for a higher purpose. The rough ashlar is a man as he enters: full of promise, marked by the rough edges of habit and circumstance. Through labor, instruction, and the steady discipline of brotherhood, he shapes himself into the better version of himself, fit to take his place in a structure greater than himself.
This is the meaning behind our mantra, Builders of Civilization, Servants of Humanity. We hold that a man who builds himself well is then equipped to build up his family, his lodge, and his city. To build is our calling; to serve is our oath.
Heritage, Strength, Wisdom
The first pillar of our seal. We honor those who came before and carry their light forward with steady hands.
Unity, Legacy, Faith
The second pillar of our seal. We labor not for ourselves alone, but for the generations who will call our house their home.
Faith, Hope, Charity
The banner of our seal, and the three rounds of the ladder by which a Mason ascends from earth toward heaven.
The Name We Carry
Why Shem
We take our name from Shem, the son of Noah, through whose line the family of man was carried forward and the world renewed. "From Shem descend all the families of the earth." The name is a daily reminder that every person we meet shares a common origin and a common dignity, and that the work of building civilization belongs to all who will lift a stone.
Take the First Step
If these beliefs sound like your own
You do not have to be a perfect man to knock at our door. You only have to be a good one who wishes to become better.
Under the auspices of the Most Worshipful Isaac Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of Texas