The Grand United Order of Odd Fellows in America, under the jurisdiction of the Committee of Management, England, organized and created for the purpose of aiding and assisting each other, when but for the helping hand of a brother and friend sorrow and misery might sojourn and remain for a long period in our midst; for this as well as our great brotherly love and charity to all mankind, we have banded ourselves together by solemn ties, promising to act at any and all times, and to each other as brethren, extending the helping hand to all in the time of need, in the hour of sickness, sorrow, or suffering, and thus, having by our mystic tie the power of knowing and discerning the pangs of poverty and how to relieve them; the despondency of sickness and how to alleviate the same and in the hour of mortal dissolution render less terrible and sorrowful the surroundings by the friendly and brotherly aid of the members of our mystic circle, who, uniting together for the common good of all, enable ourselves to guard against the unforeseen casualties which all are liable to encounter in this life; and having taken upon ourselves the mission of uniting and consolidating in one grand harmonious combination our entire Order in the sacred work of promoting the highest interest of humanity, as well as develop and elevate the mental and moral character of our brotherhood, by a liberal support of science and art, the inculcation Of the loftiest and most pure principles of philanthropy, honor, patriotism, and justice  and, above all, to promulgate and disseminate the true principles of friendship, love, and truth; preserve and diffuse the faith of the founders of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, and of society at large. as the embodiment of all the dictates of the human heart, as well as to place our Order, from the lowest to the most exalted branch, in one comprehensive working system.