After completing the Master Mason degree, the new member of the Masonic Fraternity is presented with a Bible by the Worshipful Master of the Lodge or other Lodge officers. This Bible is presented to him during a Master Mason Bible Presentation Ceremony.
It is a great privilege for any Master Mason to be awarded this Master Mason bible. The ceremony marks a new beginning of the Trestle Board of life for the Master Mason within the Masonic fraternity.
Masonic Bible Presentation
Brother, you have served your full apprenticeship as a hewer of stone in stone quarries and a bearer of loads. You have sojourned and risen to the noble position of a Master Mason which makes you an overseer of work. You are now a Master Mason that is free to travel to other countries, work and receive the wages of a Master.
You have been given all the tools that you need, and you have been taught their uses. You have been taught how to use the 24-inch gauge to divide your time appropriately. This will help you have 8 hours to rest and 8 hours for the service of your fellow man and the worship of your Creator.
The common gavel has been given to you to rid your conscience and your mind of all superfluities and vices of life. This will help you stand in your proper place in the eternal Heavens and not in a house made with hands when the time comes.
The plumb has been given to you to teach you how to square your actions by the square of virtue and how you can meet and work on the level. The trowel has been given to you to spread brotherly affection and love that binds the Freemason fraternity together. This love cements us together and makes us a Brotherhood that is known worldwide.
But there is something else that you need. Something that all workmen need. You have not yet been given your set of plans. You have not been given your Trestle Board. It is a privilege and honor to present this Trestle Board to you. This is the Masonic Bible on which your hands were placed and which you kissed when you were taking your three Masonic obligations at this Masonic altar.
This Bible is your book of plans. It is the most complete set of plans that can be given to any man. This Bible contains plans to sustain you, guide you and comfort you in all weather, in sorrow, in joy, in sickness, in health, in riches, and in poverty. You will find all the answers that you need in this Bible.
You can use this Bible anyhow you want to. We are not the ones to tell you how to use it. You must find out how to use it yourself. You might decide to find light in the ten commandments handed to Moses or the acts of the apostle, or the words of King Solomon or the records in the book of Exodus or the wisdom that comes from the proverbs of King Solomon.
You might find the answers you seek in the words of that humble carpenter who lived a perfect and humble life 2000 years ago. No matter what you decide, turn to this great book for help, and you will find your plan. You may fail this book, but the book will never fail you.
We hereby present to you this Trestle Board, this Book of plans with great blessings and wishes. This Trestle Board is yours to guide and serve you in your business, social and family life.
Now that you have been fully equipped with your Trestle Board, we implore you to go forth and do your work as a Master Mason and a Man.
NB: This is a Bible presentation ceremony, but you can replace it with any Holy book from another religion.