The Elks Motto and Four Cardinal Principles

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks organizes its identity around four cardinal principles — Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love, and Fidelity — and a motto that has remained unchanged since the Order's formalization in the late 19th century. These aren't decorative phrases on a letterhead. They function as the operating framework for lodge conduct, membership expectations, and charitable mission — structuring everything from ritual ceremony to grant decisions affecting thousands of families annually.

Definition and Scope

The BPOE motto is "Elks Are Never Forgotten." Often rendered in ceremonial contexts as part of a longer verse, it carries particular weight during the 11 o'clock toast — a ritual observed at precisely 11 PM in lodges across the country, when members pause to remember absent brothers and the dead. The phrase isn't aspirational marketing; it's a liturgical anchor.

The four cardinal principles sit at the core of the Order's constitutional identity. The BPOE Grand Lodge enshrines them in the Order's ritual materials and membership obligations. Each principle carries a distinct scope:

  1. Charity — the commitment to tangible aid, expressed through financial giving, volunteer programs, and structured philanthropy such as the Elks National Foundation, which awarded over $3.29 million in scholarships in a single program year (Elks National Foundation, published program totals).
  2. Justice — fair treatment among members and in civic life; the principle prohibiting arbitrary or discriminatory conduct within lodge proceedings.
  3. Brotherly Love — mutual regard and practical support among members, extending to families and communities served by local lodges.
  4. Fidelity — loyalty to the Order, to the United States, and to the obligations taken at initiation.

These four are not interchangeable or ranked. Lodge ritual treats them as equal pillars, each named in turn during initiation ceremonies.

How It Works

The principles operate on two tracks simultaneously: the ceremonial and the administrative. On the ceremonial track, initiates take explicit obligations tied to each principle during the initiation ritual — a structured process described in detail through Elks rituals and ceremonies. The obligation to Fidelity, for example, includes a specific pledge to the United States, reflecting the Order's deep historical alignment with patriotic service, particularly through veterans programs that date back to World War I.

On the administrative track, the principles inform how lodges are evaluated at the state and national level. The Elks national body measures lodge performance through programs directly tied to Charity (grant disbursements, community service hours) and Brotherly Love (member welfare, visitation programs). A lodge seeking recognition at the Grand Lodge convention must demonstrate activity across these dimensions — the principles translate into measurable program categories.

Justice, the principle most easily misread as abstract, has practical teeth inside lodge governance. It governs trial procedures when a member faces disciplinary action. The BPOE constitution establishes formal procedures for charges, hearings, and appeals — a framework that distinguishes the Order from informal social clubs with no internal adjudication mechanism.

Common Scenarios

The principles show up in recognizable situations across lodge life:

Decision Boundaries

Where the principles provide clear guidance, they're applied directly. Where they conflict or where external context complicates them, the BPOE's history shows the tensions plainly. Brotherly Love and Justice were simultaneously invoked — and in tension — during the Order's long and painful process of racial integration, a history documented in Elks racial integration history. The BPOE maintained racially restrictive membership policies for most of its first century, even as Justice and Brotherly Love were proclaimed as core values.

The more useful distinction is between principles as aspirations and principles as enforceable standards. Fidelity and Charity function closer to the enforceable end — they're tied to specific ritual obligations and program metrics. Brotherly Love functions more as aspiration, since no mechanism formally compels a member to assist another, though social expectation within a functioning lodge carries its own weight.

The motto, "Elks Are Never Forgotten," occupies a category apart from the four principles. It's a statement of identity rather than conduct — it describes what the Order is, not what members must do. That distinction matters because the principles are obligation-bearing; the motto is memorial-bearing. Both are visible on the Elks emblems and symbols page, where their visual representations in lodge décor reflect how seriously the Order treats symbolic language.

For a broader orientation to how these principles fit within the Order's overall structure, the home page provides a full scope of the BPOE's national presence across more than 1,900 lodges.

References

Read Next

The Elks 11 O'Clock Toast: Meaning and History What follows is one of the most distinctive rituals in American fraternal life — a brief, solemn toast to absent members that... The Elks National Foundation: Grants, Scholarships, and Mission Understanding how the Foundation is structured — what it funds, who qualifies, and where the money actually goes — matters for... Elks Rituals and Ceremonial Traditions Explained These ceremonies range from the well-known 11 O'Clock Toast — observed at precisely 11:00 PM in lodges across the country — to...