Steven L. Harrison

Steven L. Harrison

Brother Steve Harrison, 33°, is Past Master of Liberty Lodge #31, Liberty, Missouri. 

He is also a Fellow and Past Master of the Missouri Lodge of Research. Among his other Masonic memberships are the St. Joseph Missouri Valley of the Scottish Rite, Liberty York Rite bodies, and Moila Shrine. He is also a member and Past Dean of the DeMolay Legion of Honor. Brother Harrison is an emeritus member of the Midnight Freemasons authors group and has written for several other Masonic publications. 

Brother Steve was editor of the "Freemason" magazine for a decade and has been a regular contributor to the Whence Came You podcast. Born in Indiana, he has a master's degree from Indiana University and is retired from a 35-year career in information technology. Steve and his wife Carolyn reside in northwest Missouri. 

A frequent speaker at Masonic events, he is the author of dozens of magazine articles and four books, including "Freemasonry Crosses the Mississippi," "Freemasons—Tales From the Craft," and "Freemasons at Oak Island." His latest book, "The Imperfect Storm," reveals new, never before published information about the William Morgan Affair and has won acclaim from outside the fraternity as well as from nationally-known Freemasons. 

The Imperfect Storm

In 1826, a man named William Morgan announced he was writing a book that would reveal the secrets of Freemasonry. In a failed attempt to prevent the publication of that book, a group of renegade Freemasons abducted him. Morgan disappeared and speculation about his fate has been debated ever since.  A new book by Steven L. Harrison, The Imperfect Storm, takes a fresh look at what has become known as "The Morgan Affair."

For two centuries, books, articles, and presentations have speculated about Morgan’s disappearance. This book explores well beyond that existing Morgan literature. It examines the root causes that led to western New York Freemasonry sinking to the point that it admitted unworthy Brothers. It analyzes the state of anti-Masonry prior to the Morgan affair, which took it to a boiling point, almost destroying the Craft in the United States. After following Morgan's journey in captivity, the reader learns about the aftermath of those events including the trials of the accused and the many conflicting confessions by men claiming to have killed Morgan.

The Imperfect Storm looks objectively at new information about Morgan sightings and,  using 21st century scientific methods solves part of the crime, forever putting to rest one of its major theories. At the same time, it unearths new clues, lost for decades, that lead to additional speculation about what really may have happened.

Finally, it explores the significant impact these events had on Freemasonry, American history, and, perhaps most importantly, the lessons we can learn from the mistakes of our misguided Brothers.

Published by the Missouri Lodge of Research and distributed to all of its members in 2025, this important 424-page hardcover book, according to one reviewer, “changes everything.”