No man has a right, at any time, to lay aside his reason and conscience and allow himself to be “guided passively” by others.  Every man is bound to see and decide for himself in every case of duty and morals.  We should not let the church of Christ even decide for us in such matters, much less some association, composed, it may be, of infidels, Mormons, Jews, Mohammedans, and all sorts of men except atheists. (See pages 37, 31.) A band of such men may have secrets very immoral in character, and which it would be a violation of God’s law to preserve inviolate.  To promise beforehand that any “mysteries” which they may see fit to enact and practice shall be forever concealed, is to trifle with conscience and morality.  It is useless to plead that a member can withdraw as soon as he discovers any thing wrong in the regulations and usages which he is required to obey.  Every one who joins such an association as those under consideration must make up his mind to do so before he knows what “the mysteries” are, and he must promise (either with or without an oath) that he will preserve them inviolate before “the brethren” will intrust them to him.  The possibility of dissolving his connection with the association afterward does not exonerate him of promising to do he knows not what—­of laying aside his own conscience and reason, and yielding himself “passively” to others.  The promise of secrecy and of obedience to unknown regulations and customs, required at the initiation of candidates into such associations as we are considering, is, therefore, a step in the dark.  It involves the assuming of an obligation to do what may be morally wrong, and is, therefore, inconsistent with the teachings of the Word of God and the principles of sound morality.

CHAPTER IV.

THEIR PROFANENESS.

1.  Another evil connected with secrecy, as maintained by the associations the character of which is now under consideration, is the profane use of sacred things in ceremonies, celebrations, and processions.  This evil has, perhaps, no necessary connection with secrecy, but has generally in fact.  The “secret societies” of antiquity dealt largely in religious ceremonies.  It is the frequent boast of Masons, Odd-fellows, and others, that their associations correspond to those of ancient times.  There is, indeed, a correspondence between them in the use of religious rites.  Those of ancient times employed the rites of heathenish superstition; those of modern times are, perhaps, as objectionable on account of their prostituting the religion of Christ.  The holy Bible, the word of the living God, is used by Masons as a mere emblem, like the square and compass.  The pot of incense, the holy tabernacle, the ark of the covenant, the holy miter, and the holy breastplate are also employed as emblems, along with the lambskin and the sword pointing to a naked heart.  At the opening of lodges and during initiations, passages