The origins of Freemasonry are not quite known to anybody alive. The truth gets lost somewhere in between the details of the historical and legendary stories of the craft. It's legends take us back to the building of King Solomon's temple in Jerusalem circa 1000 BC; history teaches that the first lodges emerged from the stone masons' guilds of the middle ages in Europe; there are stone engravings of the square, compasses, level, plumb, and trowel (the working tools of Freemasonry) excavated from Egyptian archaeological sites that date back to 3000 B.C. 

Masons are a group of men that meet in a Lodge (or Temple) regularly to study Masonry, share their experiences in Masonry, and build the future of Masonry together. Through these activities, the brothers of a lodge learn to take responsibility for their lives and to look after one another. They grow in manhood, in leadership, in mentorship, and in their sense of duty to God, neighbor, country, and family. 

Such, my brethren, is the subject on which I have been requested to address you. Some who have the interests of Masonry at heart, have thought it was possible to say something upon this subject that might tend to remove erroneous impressions, to increase union and harmony among Masons, and to persuade society at large that its well-being and progress are, to some extent, involved in the advancement and prosperity of Masonry. They have demanded that I should say that something; and, though unaffectedly reluctant to do it, my obligation as a Mason bars against me all the avenues of escape, and compels disinclination to yiels to the imperative mandate of duty.

It would need no argument to show that to the Masonic Order itself, as to any other order or association, however unpretending and unimportant, intestine dissentions, struggles for the possession of power, jealousies and heart-burnings must necessarily be harmful, retard its growth and progress, repel those who, if it were at peace with itself, would seek to approach its doors; and at first diminish and ultimately destroy its capacity for usefulness. If this were all that I desired to establish, I might say so much and at once conclude...

Freemasonry, though not a religion, is essentially religious. Most of its legends and allegories are of a sacred nature; much of it is woven into the structure of Christianity. We have learned to consider our own religion as the only inspired one, and this probably accounts for much of the misunderstanding in the world today concerning the place occupied by Freemasonry in the spiritual ethics of our race. A religion is a divinely inspired code of morals. A religious person is one inspired to nobler living by this code. He is identified by the code which is his source of illumination. Thus we may say that a Christian is one who receives his spiritual ideals of right and wrong from the message of the Christ, while a Buddhist is one who molds his life into the archetype of morality given by the great Gautama, or one of the other Buddhas. All doctrines which seek to unfold and preserve that invisible spark in man named Spirit, are said to be spiritual. Those which ignore this invisible element and concentrate entirely upon the visible are said to be material. There is in religion a wonderful point of balance, where the materialist and spiritist meet on the plane of logic and reason...