DeMolay is a youth group for young men incorporating important life
lessons, while still guaranteeing lots of fun. Open to boys ages 12-21,
DeMolay offers a wide variety of activity to all its members, including
sports, service, and social activity.
This organization is a Masonic
youth group, meaning it is primarily sponsored by Freemasonry. This
offers service opportunities toward Masonry, as well as plenty of
support from its vast network of members. Chapters meet in Masonic
lodges and perform ceremonies similar to those of the Masons.
More than
just a gathering of boys, DeMolay is the largest high school fraternity
in the world. It was started in 1919 by Dad Frank S. Land, a Mason who
assembled the original 9 boys and spread the organization across the
country. Within each chapter, the boys are not just friends; in many
ways, they become brothers.
Perhaps more important than its role as a
social group, DeMolay fosters certain moralistic beliefs which we
believe most effectively prepare young men for the years of manhood.
Among these beliefs, we live by seven cardinal virtues which should
dictate our behavior: filial love, reverence for sacred things,
courtesy, comradeship, fidelity, cleanness, and patriotism. These
virtues imply only three true requirements for membership:
- That the young man is of the appropriate age
- That he is an upstanding member of the community and intends to emulate these virtues.
- That he acknowledges the existence of a divine being.
DeMolay holds no creed or
religious affiliation. The bond between our brothers instead exists
within our shared experiences in fun and fellowship.
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