The Grand and Royal Sign
"After the completion of the M.M. degree and before closing the lodge in the M.M. degree, the candidate should be instructed and given the opportunity to perform the G. and R.S. and repeat the words."
-- Guide Lines for Lodge Officers in the Mechanics of the Work (1985) p. 20
Bro. _______ It is my privilege to give you your first sixty seconds of Masonic Education as a Master Mason. The Third Degree is not the end, but rather the beginning of your life-long quest for further light in Masonry. During the ceremony you were first informed that there are three signs - two casual and one penal. Then you were told that there are in reality five, corresponding to the Five Points of Fellowship. Now I must tell you that there is another which has not yet been mentioned: It is the GRAND and ROYAL SIGN which is used by all the Brethren in the Ritual Opening and Closing of the Lodge in the Third Degree. You have already discovered that many of our rites and ceremonies refer to the construction by King Solomon of the Temple at Jerusalem. The Grand and Royal Sign comes to us from the elaborate Dedication of the Temple. The scriptural reference to the sign may be found in 1 Kings, Chapter 8, Verse 22: "And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven." In order that you may participate fully with us in the Closing Rites and Ceremonies, I will demonstrate the Sign and rehearse the Words that accompany it with you…