The Book of Jared

Time to get a grip...

Time to get a grip...

Galations 2:9 refers to the "right hand of fellowship." Modern freemasons have "grips" or handshakes that are taught to initiates, and Latter-day Saints have similar grips in our temple ceremonies. What are these grips, what is their purpose?

Christopher Hodapp, in his book "Freemasons for Dummies" [amazon.com], identifies the masonic grips as "A special identifying handshake used by Masons to identify each other, different for each degree." These handshakes were used, according to tradition, by ancient stonemason guilds to identify members that had been accepted into the different levels of the guild, and also to identify where in the hierarchy they fell.

Brigham young said this of Temple endowment, and the tokens (grips):

“Your endowment is, to receive all those ordinances in the House of the Lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, being enabled to give them the key words, the signs and tokens, pertaining to the Holy Priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation in spite of earth and hell.” (in Journal of Discourses, 2:31).

This is very different than how Freemasons use grips, for identification, but I would suggest that there is a common use of these grips, that of determining trustworthiness.

In Luke, chapter 16, verse 10, in the parable of the unrighteous steward, Christ says:

He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

I would argue that there is very little in our lives that is less important than keeping a handshake secret. It is a trifling thing with which to be entrusted. With that said, if someone will not keep a simple thing secret, once they have promised to do so, they can not be trusted with anything greater.

By keeping the small things secret (Masonry) or sacred (Temple), we show our trustworthiness, and prove ourselves worthy of the greater light we all seek.

Written by Jared on Friday December 16, 2022.

Permalink - Categories: Doctrines, Masonic

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