# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1944_S256
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

256 Intersynodical and Doctrinal ‘Matters

the inquiries which reached our offices were concerned with ap-:
proaches which had been made to our members that they join. some’
secret order. This seems to indicate a concerted program on the
part of the lodges of our country to expand their forces., Our.
pastors are not lacking in watchfulness. Both the number and the
tenor of the letters of inquiry indicate that our pastors are on the
alert, and there is also ample evidence to show that our members .
consult with their pastors before joining any secular society, secret
or otherwise. This is most encouraging. ,

’ There has been no significant change in the status of the secret
orders during the past three years. It was again disclosed that
some of the most prominent of the insurance orders are now
relinquishing the condition: of initiation by ritual and make the
insurance contract a simple business transaction. There is. no
change, however, in the attitude of Freemasonry and Odd Fellow-
ship toward the Church, and there is many a less important order
which contains the lodge spirit in full potency. We have also found
it necessary to warn our people against the secret societies being
organized for servicemen’s mothers. Not only do we regard as
a waste of money the membership in such of these ‘orders as we
have investigated, but the religion of the rituals is Unitarian,
unchristian.

In the fall of 1943 the Bureau directed a letter to all Presidents ,
of Missouri Synod Districts, from which the following sentences
are quoted: ; _

, “Occasionally we receive complaints to the effect that.in other
areas lodge men are freely admitted to fellowship in our congre-
gations. Whenever we have traced such reports in the past, we
have found them to be based on misinformation. This is not deny-
ing, of course, that there will always be problem congregations and
that we shall never have a ministry which scores one hundred per
cent in dealing with members of secret orders. But we consider
these cases to be sporadic, If, however, in your opinion, there is
‘reason to believe that the situation is not as favorable as we have
been led.to believe and that there is a tendency to overlook the
lodge issue, in our mission work, for instance, we would like to
receive from you a brief description of the over-all picture (not
limiting yourself to your District) as you see it.”

Replies were received from every one of our thirty District
Presidents, and without exception they declare that to their knowl-
edge the congregations of their District stand four-square on
Synod’s resolution. A number of the re lies contained statements
such as this: “There are a few isolated cases where the lodge has
been a problem for many years, but I know of no case where it is
dealt with in an indifferent manner.” “Though here and there the