Some of you know the connection I have to the Freemasonry. My friend Matt sent this to me and I thought that it was a wonderful share. Matt is a Mason and LOVES it, along with my hubby, dad, uncle, and grandpa. I was a part of the girls youth orignization a long time ago and hope to get my daughters into the orginization someday. Matt was also part of the guys youth orginization . My uncle, dad, and granpa belong to an assortment of the different branches including: Heros of 76, York Rite, Scottish Rite, and of course the Blue Lodge. There are several branches to some of these and I know that I will screw up WHICH branches they have all belonged to so I will the bigger of them. Here is the link to the Grand Lodge of Missouri. It is a great originization and I loved being a part of it. So does the rest of my family. Anyways, here is the article Matt sent me. Thought that it was a good read :o)

Dwindling Freemasons hope to attract new blood

By Mark Hazlin, USA TODAY

Freemasons say reports that they're trying to take over the country are greatly exaggerated.

But they are having a recruitment drive.
The Free and Accepted Masons, a fraternal organization whose roots may stretch back to the Middle Ages, has long been a popular target of conspiracy theorists. It figures prominently in the movie National Treasure.
Nicolas Cage's character learns about a legendary treasure protected by the Freemasons, the location of which is hidden in a map etched on the back of the Declaration of Independence.
The movie perpetuates both good and bad stereotypes about the group, including the notion that it has been involved in a centuries-old plot to run the country.
Freemasons are now trying to change those perceptions with advertising and public relations campaigns. And, for the first time, some Masonic lodges are engaging in recruitment drives.
Historians say the modern era of Freemasonry began in England in the early 18th century as a union of stonemasons. Others link the Freemasons' origins to medieval times, as far back as the Crusades and the infamous Knights Templar.
Conspiracy theorists often cite circumstantial evidence to support their belief that Freemasons secretly wield great power and influence. According to Freemason Web sites, nine of the Founding Fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence were members, as were 14 U.S. presidents, eight vice presidents and at least 35 Supreme Court justices.
Members have historically shunned publicity; they use symbols and rituals that members vow not to reveal; and they hold closed meetings. The story goes that President Theodore Roosevelt, a member, couldn\'t even get his Secret Service agents in. \\r\n\"We prefer to use the word \'private\' instead of \'secret,\' " says Robert Leonard, a public relations specialist hired to help recruitment efforts. "Secrecy came from the initial thing where a password or secret handshake was exchanged so people would know they were professional stonemasons. Now we use it as part of our tradition."\\r\n\Grand Master Richard Fletcher, executive secretary of the Masonic Services Association in Washington, D.C., points to the organization\'s charitable work. He says Freemasons raise about $750 million annually nationwide for nursing homes, day care centers, educational facilities and other programs. "That\'s a lot of money (just) to lull somebody into thinking you are a good person," Fletcher says. \\r\n\But officials may be more concerned with their membership numbers than their Hollywood image. Organization data show that U.S. membership peaked in 1959 at 4.1 million. New York Grand Master Edward Trosin says: "We had this huge quantum leaps-and-bounds growth in World War II. ... It was a generation of joiners."\\r\n\That number has dropped steadily over the years to about 1.6 million this year, many of them older members. To refill the ranks, Masons are looking to appeal to the 21-to-55 age group, says New Jersey Grand Master Daniel Wilson. \\r\n\To do so, lodges in New York and elsewhere are taking steps such as cutting the year-long initiation procedure, in which members must pass the first three (of 33) Masonic "degrees," down to a two-week course. California has launched two support programs intended to help its 355 individual lodges sign up at least five new members each year.\\r\n\But the organization will change only so much. The one key requirement is that each man must believe in one Supreme Being, "the Grand Architect of the Universe."\\r\n\In most lodges, women are excluded from the inner sanctum, although there are affiliated organizations that women can join such as The Order of the Eastern Star. \\r\n\"I don\'t think you\'d want to change the organization just to fit the times," Leonard says. "Brotherhood is an important part of being a Mason."\\\\\",1]
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Members have historically shunned publicity; they use symbols and rituals that members vow not to reveal; and they hold closed meetings. The story goes that President Theodore Roosevelt, a member, couldn't even get his Secret Service agents in.
"We prefer to use the word 'private' instead of 'secret,' " says Robert Leonard, a public relations specialist hired to help recruitment efforts. "Secrecy came from the initial thing where a password or secret handshake was exchanged so people would know they were professional stonemasons. Now we use it as part of our tradition."
Grand Master Richard Fletcher, executive secretary of the Masonic Services Association in Washington, D.C., points to the organization's charitable work. He says Freemasons raise about $750 million annually nationwide for nursing homes, day care centers, educational facilities and other programs. "That's a lot of money (just) to lull somebody into thinking you are a good person," Fletcher says.
But officials may be more concerned with their membership numbers than their Hollywood image. Organization data show that U.S. membership peaked in 1959 at 4.1 million. New York Grand Master Edward Trosin says: "We had this huge quantum leaps-and-bounds growth in World War II. ... It was a generation of joiners."
That number has dropped steadily over the years to about 1.6 million this year, many of them older members. To refill the ranks, Masons are looking to appeal to the 21-to-55 age group, says New Jersey Grand Master Daniel Wilson.
To do so, lodges in New York and elsewhere are taking steps such as cutting the year-long initiation procedure, in which members must pass the first three (of 33) Masonic "degrees," down to a two-week course. California has launched two support programs intended to help its 355 individual lodges sign up at least five new members each year.
But the organization will change only so much. The one key requirement is that each man must believe in one Supreme Being, "the Grand Architect of the Universe."
In most lodges, women are excluded from the inner sanctum, although there are affiliated organizations that women can join such as The Order of the Eastern Star.
"I don't think you'd want to change the organization just to fit the times," Leonard says. "Brotherhood is an important part of being a Mason."