Free Will and Working for the Brotherhoods Another question considered that every person has free will, yet on the other hand there is the tightly-knit organization of the Brotherhoods who direct how Their programs should be carried out. This seems to pose a paradox in some people’s minds as to how it is possible to exercise free will and at the same time submit to the Brotherhoods’ instructions while aiding Their work. Richard explained that an individual decides by his own free will whether to give himself whole-heartedly to the work of the Brotherhoods, There are many people in the world who do good works but who are not members of the Brotherhoods nor even aware of Their Program; yet they help mankind toward the goal set by the Brotherhoods. Aligning oneself with the work of the Brotherhoods is a matter of consciously yielding to the direction of those individuals who are literally one’s better. We might as well face up to the fact that there are persons who are superior and whose insight into what human beings are and should be surpasses our own. A second Degree Brother definitely takes instructions from a Third Degree Brother and is happy to do so; for his assignments are also learning situations which he has earned the privilege of experiencing. Each higher degree of Brother is more qualified than the last, and a Master knows everything there is to know about the physical plane plus a total insight into human psychology. Because of the natural hierarchy resulting from the progressive degrees of advancement, a close system of instruction and authority has been established in the Brotherhoods. With advancement comes a true humility and an honoring of those who have progressed even further along the path to perfection. But a Brother will never impose his will on another Brother. At the time an individual is initiated into a Brotherhood, he is asked whether he will follow certain rules which have worked well in the Brotherhoods for thousands of years. If he agrees, then he is judged by how well he lives up to the rules. A Brother is, per se, a mature individual who does what he says he will do and who will carry out an assignment to its planned completion. Richard said that the whole matter really consists of making one’s will coincide with God’s will (and thus with the will of the Brotherhoods) rather than being a tool of God. When we understand God’s laws, then we understand His will. A person must question until he understands’ however, a person of First Degree cannot perceive all the complexities of the overall plan for developing the Nation of God, although he may be assigned a portion of the work which he is able to understand or which it is foreseen that he will grow to understand. (09-1969)
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