The
International Order of Job’s Daughters (I.O.J.D.) was founded in 1921 in
Omaha, Nebraska, as a “farm” for the Eastern Star.
Open to girls aged 11—20 who are related to Master Masons, it operates
internationally, though mostly in the United States. In 1994, there were 24,000
members in the United States alone. The order publishes the monthly News
Exchange.The International Order of Job’s Daughters was founded by Mrs. Ethel T.W. Mick, a member of the Eastern Star, using rituals written by LeRoy T. Wilcox of the Freemasons. As is usual with American Freemasonry, especially American Adoptive Masonry, there is a Christian bias. The title comes from Job XLII: xl: “And in all the land there were no women so fair as the Daughters of Job.”
The avowed intentions of the order are to inculcate in young girls a “love of home and country and reverence for the teachings of the Bible,” and to promote spiritual and character development.
The basic unit is the “Bethel,” which consists of a minimum of 20 girls, 19 of whom are elected or appointed officers. The officers wear pseudo-Grecian white robes with white or purple cinctures. Only members, their parents or guardians, and duly qualified Master Masons or members of the Eastern Star may be present at meetings.
The Bethel layout is basically Masonic, though the emblems of the order are the white dove, the cornucopia, and an urn of incense. The flowers are lilies of the valley.
In the ritual, which is Masonic at heart, the Honored Queen takes the place of the Master, and the more bloodthirsty aspects of the penalties for oath-breaking are omitted.