The Grand Orient of the United States: Facts & Fictions

The Grand Orient of the United States: Facts & Fictions by Bro. Jeff Peace There are many facts and fictions floating around the Interne...

A brotherhood without boundaries

A Brotherhood without Boundaries by Bro. Jeff Peace I had the distinct honor and pleasure of sitting with the brothers of Lafayette Lodge No...

We all shine on: Jeff Peace

Longtime Freemason Bro. Jeff Peace tells us about himself in this our 16th glimpse into the lives of our readers in the series "This is...

Guest editorial: Who made who?

Who Made Who? by Bro. Jeff Peace When was your lodge charted by the Grand Lodge of your jurisdiction? It may have been relatively recently o...

Bro. Jeff Peace responds to Bro. Theron Dunn's 'Masonic Malcontents?' article

"Nobody got anywhere in the world by simply being content." — Louis L'Amour Bro. Theron Dunn recently posted to his blog a pie...

Guest editorial: 'Halcyon Lodge: Moving Freemasonry Forward'

The Burning Taper welcomes guest editorials, essays and papers from Masons and non-Masons. If you have a paper or editorial you'd like t...

Guest editorial: Rebuilding lodges

Rebuilding Lodges by Bro. Jeff Peace American Freemasonry began to decline back in 1963. Since that time the number of Masons in America ha...

The Ghosts of Halcyon Lodge No. 498

In what can only be called a moment of synchronicity, just as I hitting SAVE on the previous story about Masonic funerals and death, Bro. J...

The Ancient Landmarks revisited, part 2: How Freemasonry lost its way

The Ancient Landmarks Revisited, part 2: How Freemasonry Lost Its Way , by Bro. Jeff Peace In Part 1 of this paper I asserted that the Anci...

Widow's Son responds to the Drama King

Bro. Ed King has made an online career the past eight or nine years of debunking anti-Masons and "fake" Masons. Once upon a time I...

The truth about the Rite of the Rose Cross of Gold and the erasure of 15 Master Masons

If you've followed the Burning Taper with any regularity, you've read many of Bro. Jeff Peace's articles, and you probably know...

Why are you still a Mason?

Why are You Still a Mason? by Jeff Peace Has anyone ever asked you “why did you become a Mason?” It’s a common question but I think there ma...

Freemasonry: A conflict of interests

Freemasonry: A Conflict of Interests by Bro. Jeff Peace In the beginning of speculative Freemasonry a type of mission statement was put fort...

The Ancient Landmarks revisited

The Ancient Landmarks Revisited by Bro. Jeff Peace, PGM, Exalted High Priest of the Ancient & Honorable Order of the Thorn in the Ass, a...