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At age 11, I first
heard of the
International Order of
the Rainbow for Girls
from my friend who was a
member. The Rainbow
activities she described
sounded fun, but she
wouldn’t answer most of
my questions about it.
This didn’t deter my
interest, and I asked to
join. Six weeks later, I
was initiated. At age
13, I was elected to the
station of "Faith". I
was installed as Worthy
Advisor ("president") of
my local Assembly at age
15, and the next summer,
I was installed as a
Grand Representative of
Iowa Rainbow.
In all, there were
only a handful of the 20
regular and five
installing offices that
I had not occupied in my
Assembly during my
nine-year membership. My
Assembly bestowed an
honor and several awards
upon me. I excelled in
Rainbow and was given
special attention,
instruction, and
training by the adult
sponsors. It was
strongly "hinted" that
my name was on the list
to receive the second
degree of Rainbow, the
Grand Cross of Color.
At 18, I accepted
Jesus Christ as my
Savior and Lord.
However, I lacked
spiritual guidance and
maturity. Rainbow had
Bible-like sayings that
sounded "church-y", so I
perceived Christianity
and the teachings of
Rainbow to be the same.
How wrong I was. If a
person fully
understands Christianity
and fully
understands Masonry,
they will realize that
the two are like oil and
water – they just don’t
mix. They are NOT the
same and they are NOT
compatible. The god of
Masonry is NOT the God
of the Bible.
I wanted to know
specifically what was
wrong with Rainbow, but
no one I knew had any
answers. I was very
confused. I had spent
more than one-third of
my life in Rainbow.
Large investments of
time, money, and effort
were rewarded with the
friendships, fun,
leadership, direction
and opportunities to
excel that Rainbow
seemed to provide. My
confidence, both in
Rainbow and in Christ,
wavered. When I realized
God wanted me to leave,
I applied to my Assembly
for a demit (discharge).
Later, I saw an ad in
a magazine for a tape
entitled "Christianity
Versus Freemasonry". I
received the tape with a
letter urging me to ‘get
out of Rainbow – fast!"
It was the first
informed refutation of
the lodge I heard. He
put me in touch with
people who knew about
masonry and were
witnessing to masons.
But I lacked information
specifically on Rainbow.
I couldn’t see a
connection between the
atrocities that Masons
participated in with the
rituals of Rainbow,
which seemed so
beautiful. Spiritually,
the 16 oaths, vows,
obligations and pledges
I took at the Rainbow
altar had desensitized
me, numbed me and bound
me. I had memorized
Rainbow lectures and
spewed them back out
undigested. My attention
had been focused on
delivering the lectures
word-perfect instead of
scrutinizing the content
of the lectures. When I
asked the Mother Advisor
of my Assembly specific
questions about Rainbow,
I received vague
half-answers.
For nine years I fed
on a watered-down and
candy-coated version of
Freemasonry’s ungodly
doctrines. Matthew 7:17
says, "Every good tree
bears good fruit, but a
bad tree bears bad
fruit." Therefore,
Rainbow, being a product
of the un-biblical
Masonic body, could not
possibly be wholesome.
Spiritually, Rainbow
left me starving, but I
hadn’t realized how
critical it was until I
had fed on the Bread of
Life, Jesus Christ (John
6:35).
The age of 21 is
considered the age of
majority when the
Rainbow Girls are
conducted through their
final ceremony called
the Majority Service. It
is the graduation from
girlhood into womanhood
and from Rainbow into
Eastern Star (they
hope). It had been 22
months since I applied
for a demit, but my
Assembly wouldn’t grant
it. I was physically
out of Rainbow, but
emotionally and
spiritually, Rainbow
was not out of me. My
Assembly had pressured
me to hold my Majority
Service, and I was
really tempted, if only
to get them to leave me
alone. In another two
months, I’d be turning
22. One day I received a
letter. Inside was my
Majority Card – the
equivalent of an
honorable discharge. In
its own insignificant
way, Rainbow finally let
me go. I prayed that my
Assembly wouldn’t learn
of my father’s new
Masonic membership
because I feared that
this knowledge would
fuel their desire for me
to proceed in my
Co-Masonic involvement.
In 1988 I graduated
from Christ Unlimited
Bible Institute, an
intensive training
program designed to
firmly ground people in
Teen Evangelism and the
Bible. During my time
there, God re-sensitized
my heart. From the
Bible, I could see where
Rainbow (and Masonry)
was in error. Ephesians
5:8-11 says, "For you
were once in darkness,
but now you are light in
the Lord….Have nothing
to do with the fruitless
deeds of darkness, but
rather expose them."
Matthew 10:26-27 says,
"So do not be afraid of
them (I thought of the
Rainbow vows of secrecy
I had made). There is
nothing concealed that
will not be disclosed,
or hidden that will not
be made known. What I
tell you in the dark,
speak in the daylight;
what is whispered in
your ear, proclaim from
the rooftops.
I felt called to
specialize in cults. The
CUBI training was
immensely valuable in
replacing the false
teachings of Rainbow
with the teachings of
God. In Rainbow, I had
held to a form of
godliness but denied
it’s power. I
recognized my
participation in Rainbow
as sin. I repented
of it and
renounced my support
of Rainbow. I rebuked
the effects it had upon
me. Then I received
God’s forgiveness and
was set free. I traded
in my "religion" for a
growing, intimate
relationship with a
living, loving and
forgiving God.
I continued to
research Masonry, but
initially found very
little pertaining to its
junior orders including
Job’s Daughters and De
Molay. Eventually my
collection grew, and I
wanted to "pave the way"
for others who were also
searching by making the
information I found
readily available.
Rooftop Ministries was
formally founded in
1989. ROOFTOP is an
acronym for Rescued
Out Of
Freemasonry: Testimony
Of Prayer.
I minister mainly to
teenagers and women,
especially those who are
affected by the lodge or
another cult. Rooftop
acts as a type of
clearing house that can
provide, locate or
recommend information
and assistance to
address almost any need
on a continuum related
to cults (ie:
prevention, aspects and
results of
participation,
counseling or witnessing
to a cultist, exit
counseling, follow up,
etc.). I conduct
research, teach, collect
and distribute
literature, consult with
inquirers, make
referrals, and network.
I focus mainly on
Freemasonry, which has
at least 82 allied
organizations and more
than 833 additional
degrees. I’m also
interested in Masonic
philanthropy. I’ve
acquired rituals for
about 20 of the 55+
women’s and children’s
Co-Masonic groups that
I’ve identified,
including the Eastern
Star, White Shrine,
Job’s Daughters, De
Molay, etc.
Numbers 30:3-5 says,
"When a young woman
still living in her
father’s house makes a
vow to the Lord or
obligates herself by a
pledge and her fathers
hears about her vow or
pledge but says nothing
to her, then all her
vows and every pledge by
which she obligated
herself will stand. But
if her father forbids
her when he hears about
it, none of her vows or
the pledges by which she
obligated herself will
stand; the Lord will
release her because her
father has forbidden her."
Our Heavenly Father has
forbidden us to make
pledges. James 5:12
instructs us to "not
swear – not by heaven or
by earth or by anything
else. Let your "Yes" be
yes and your "No," no,
or you will be
condemned."
God has blessed me
with many teaching
opportunities, local,
national and
international. Whether
I’m assisting a
professional, youth
worker, clergy, teacher,
cult member or their
friends and relatives, I
find the counter-cult
ministry to be a great
privilege and a
tremendous
responsibility. Each
opportunity to minister
is given special
attention.
I am a member of
Evangelical Ministries
to New Religions and
Ex-Masons For Jesus. I
received my Bachelor of
Religious Education from
Covington Theological
Seminary in 1997.
Soon after Masonry
began, anti-Masonic
groups formed to expose
and extinguish Masonry.
Today, there are many
devoted people carrying
on this task, leading
Masons and Co-Masons to
Jesus and away from the
lodge. II Timothy
2:24-26 poses a major
guideline for me, "And
the Lord’s servant must
not quarrel; instead, he
must be kind to
everyone, able to teach,
not resentful. Those who
oppose him he must
gently instruct, in the
hope that God will grant
them repentance leading
them to a knowledge of
the truth, and that they
will come to their
senses and escape from
the trap of the devil,
who has taken them
captive to do his will."
Contact Lora Burton by
email. |