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From a Lodge, erected to God, and dedicated to the Holy Saints John of Jerusalem.

To subdue my passion and improve myself in Masonry.

I have been so taken and accepted by those who have gone this

In my heart.

In a room adjacent to a lawfully constituted Lodge of Masons.

By being divested of all mineral and metallic substances, being neither naked nor clad, barefoot nor shod, hoodwinked, with a cable tow once about my neck. In this condition I was led to the door of the Lodge and caused to give three distinct knocks upon the door.

Who comes here, and what is the cause of this alarm?

A poor blind candidate, who has long wandered in Masonic darkness and now comes seeking a part of the lights, rights and benefits of this worshipful Lodge, erected to God, and dedicated to this Holy Saints John of Jerusalem.

If I made this request of my own free will and accord, if I was duly and truly prepared, worthy and well qualified and properly vouched for, all of which were answered in the affirmative.

By what further right or benefit did I hope to gain this high and honorable distinction?

By being a Man, of lawful age, and coming under the tongue of a good Masonic report.

To bide my time with patience until my request had been made known to the Worshipful Master in the East, and his answer returned.

Since this candidate comes so well endowed with all the necessary and essential qualifications, it was his order that I be admitted into the Lodge and received in due and ancient form

I was received upon the point of a sharp, metallic instrument, the moral of which was to teach me as this is an instrument of torture to the flesh, thus should it be to my mind and conscience, should I ever reveal any of the secrets of Masonry unlawfully.

To the center of the Lodge for the benefit of Lodge prayer.

In whom do I place my trust?

In God.

My trust being in God, my faith was well founded. I was told to follow my guide and fear no danger.

Once about the floor of the Lodge, halting at the Junior Warden in the South, Senior Warden in the West and the Worshipful Master in the East where like questions were asked and answers given, as at the door.

He ordered me re-conducted to the Senior Warden in the West with orders to teach me how to approach the East on this my first step in ancient craft Masonry.

By taking one regular, upright step with my naked left foot, bringing the heel of the right to the hollow of the left, thus forming the first angle of an oblong square, body erect, facing the Worshipful Master in the East.

He made me an Entered Apprentice Mason in due and ancient form.

Kneeling at the sacred altar on my naked left knee, my right knee forming the angle of a square, my left hand supporting the Holy Bible, Square and Compasses, my right hand resting thereon. In this position I received my most solemn, serious and binding obligation of an entered apprentice Mason.

Yes.

• Obligation
• I ___________, in the presence of Almighty God, and this Worshipful Lodge, erected to God, and dedicated to the Holy Saints John of Jerusalem, do hereby and hereon, most solemnly and sincerely, promise and swear, that I will always hail, forever conceal, and never reveal, any of the secret arts, parts or points, of the hidden mysteries of Masonry have I have received, am about to receive, or may hereafter be instructed in, to any person or persons whomsoever, unless he be a Brother Mason, or within a just and lawfully constituted Lodge of such, and then not to him or them until by strict trial, due examination, or lawful Masonic information, I shall have found him or them to be as lawfully entitled to receive the same, as I am myself.
• I furthermore promise and swear that I will not write, paint, stamp, stain, cut, carve, hew, mark, indent or inlay them on anything movable or immovable, capable of receiving the least impression of a sign, word, letter, syllable or character, whereby the secrets of Masonry may thereby become known, due to my unworthiness.
• To all of this, I most solemnly and sincerely, promise and swear, to keep and perform the same, binding myself under no less penalty than having my throat cut from ear to ear, my tongue torn out my the roots, and buried in the rough sands of the sea, a cable tow’s length from shore, where the tide ebbs and flows twice in twenty-four hours, should I in the least, knowingly or wittingly, violate or transgress, this my most solemn, serious and binding obligation of an Entered Apprentice Mason, so Help me God, and may he keep me steadfast, in due performance of the same.

My cable tow, since I was bound to the fraternity by ties stronger than a one-fold cord.

What I most desired.

Light.

I did.

The three Great lights of Masonry; the Holy Bible, the Square and Compasses, aided by the representatives of the three lesser lights.

• The Worshipful Master approaching me from the East, upon the step, and under the due guard and penal sign of an Entered Apprentice Mason. He then extended his right hand of fellowship and with it the word and grip of an Entered Apprentice Mason on behalf of the Brethren present and those throughout the world.
• Communicate the same to me. (Candidate communicates word to Lecturer).

To arise, salute the Junior Warden in the South, the Senior Warden in the West, and the Brethren present, to show that I had been duly obligated as an Entered Apprentice Mason.

That I make strict search on my person for a mineral or metallic substance, not for its intrinsic value, but to be laid up in the archives of the Lodge as a memorial that at this time and place I had been made a Mason. I found myself entirely destitute. The Worshipful Master explained that this was not done to trifle with my feelings, but to demonstrate my poor and destitute condition and teach me that should I ever meet another person in like destitute condition, particularly a Brother Mason, I should contribute to his relief as liberally as I can afford, without material injury to myself or those depending upon me.

A lambskin, or white leather apron, which is an emblem of innocence, and the badge of a Mason.

To the Senior Warden in the West, who taught me how to wear my apron as an Entered Apprentice Mason.

With the bib turned up, and the skirt flowing free.

The working tools of an Entered Apprentice Mason.

• The twenty-four inch gauge and common gavel. The twenty-four inch gauge is an instrument made use of by the operative Mason to measure and lay out his work, but we as Free and Accepted Masons make use of it for a far more noble and glorious purpose, that of dividing time. The twenty-four inches upon the gauge is emblematic of the twenty-four hours of the day. When divided equally gives us eight hours for the worship of God and helping a distressed worthy Brother, eight hour for our usual vocation and eight hours for sleep and refreshment.
• The common gavel is an instrument made use of by the operative Mason to knock off the edges of rough stones, thereby better fitting them for the builder’s use. We as Free and Accepted Masons are taught to make use of it for a more noble and glorious purpose; that of divesting our minds and consciences of all the vices and superfluities of life, thereby better fitting our minds as spiritual stones for that house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

In the Northeast corner of the Lodge, representing the newest Entered Apprentice Mason admitted into the Fraternity and the corner or foundation stone of an intended building. The Worshipful Master informed me that I stood as a just and upright man and Mason and charged me to ever walk and act as such.

Back to the place from whence I came, there to be reinvested of all I had been divested of, and await further instruction.