The Entered Apprentince Degree teaches us that the Twenty Four Inch Gauge"is an implement used by operative masons in laying out their work", and that we make use of it in the proper expenditure of our time; that brief, precious gift of the Creator. The Twenty Four Inch Gauge is divided into twenty-four equal parts for measurement and it symbolizes the twenty-four hours of the day, which we are taught to divide into three equal parts. We should endeavor to give eight hours to the service of God and distressed worthy Brethren, eight hours for our usual vocations, and eight hours for refreshement and sleep.

The Common Gavel is an implement used by the operative mason to break off the corners of rough stones, the better to meet the needs of the builder. By the use of this "working tool" we are enabled to break off the rough edges of our lives; those vices and superfluities that prohibit us from being what God, the Master Builder of the Universe, has intended us to be.

The plumb was used operatively to raise perpendiculars. By the Plumb we are admonished to walk uprightly in every station before God and man. To walk uprightly signifies that we are just, equitable, moral, genuine, and true. The Plumb projects a straight and true lie which demonstates the line or our duty.

The square was used by the Operative Craft to square their work; the Speculative Mason squares his actions by the Square of Virtue. The law of the Square is that unless we live in obedience to the moral laws of God in the order of things, our lives will fall and end in a wreck. A man can construct his house in any manner he likes, but if his expectation is for it to stand and be his home, he must adjust his structure to the laws and forces that rule the material world.

The Level was used operatively to lay horizontals, but we are taught by it that we travel upon a level or course of time, to that Eternal Realm from which no one returns.We can be assured of only one aspect of this level of time; the present moment. We cannot consume our time thinking or worrying about past occurrences, we can't change the past. Nor is it prudent to be overly concerned with the future, for in mortal life it is promised to none. The Level teaches us to use the present moment constructively.

The Trowel was used by the Master Builder to spread the cement that unites the stones of a building into one common mass. The fraternity is bound together by the cement of Brotherly Love and affection, uniting the living stones, or Brethren, into a magnificent, stately, and honorable institution. How sad when those within our ranks exchange the trowel of Brotherly Love for the wrecking bar of distrust, suspicion, disagreeableness, and jealousy. Have you ever watched a wrecking ball crash into a building and rip the bricks apart. The same can happen, and has happened within the Order of Masonry. We must be ever vigilant in guarding against intruders of human frailty and error.