Grand Master Hiram Abif was traveling through the borderlands of Tyre, trying to recruit more workmen for the Temple. In one town there lived a priest of Baal who was uncomfortable with his king’s fraternal bonds with the men of Israel, and was particularly doubtful of the wisdom of Masonry. He called upon Hiram so that he might test the illumination of this renowned Master Mason.
When Hiram arrived, the priest demanded, “Tell me of the Masonic light.”
Hiram replied, “You see it right now.”
The priest closed his eyes. “And now?” he asked.
“Yes, even now,” said Hiram.
“Then where is this light?” asked the priest.
“Where is it not?” replied Hiram.
The priest thought Hiram was playing him for a fool, and in that moment he imagined slapping Hiram for his insolence. When he opened his eyes, he saw that Hiram had already stepped back out of reach, and he was amazed.
Hiram said, “As we stand here speaking of the light, a dove is perched in the entryway, dogs run in the street, a merchant calls passersby to come see his goods. All of these things are happening in the light and can be seen by the mind, just like your desire and thought of violence.”
“Why then did I not see all these things when my eyes were closed?” the priest demanded.
Hiram replied, “Not only your eyes, but your mind was closed. Thinking light and darkness, right and wrong, imagining struggle and conflict, you put up walls and build a house in the midst of a beautiful garden, leaving yourself only one window through which to see.”
The priest thought he understood, and so he praised Hiram. “You are a wise man indeed, and I have learned something of the light from you. But how can a man of Tyre bind himself to those Israelites who do not worship Baal?”
“If I would not divide my mind into dark little rooms and say ‘I am in this room and not the others,’ then how much more foolish would it be for me to try dismembering the One God and say ‘He is here and not there,' or 'He is with me and not them?’ Is my mind worthy of more reverence and love than I would give to God?”
The priest was so taken by Hiram’s instruction that he too joined the mystic band of Masonry, became a workman on the Temple, and remained a faithful priest of Baal.