Freemasonry
Freemasonry, or Masonry, is one of the world’s oldest and largest fraternal organizations. It is a non-religious, non-political, and symbolic society that emphasizes moral and ethical lessons, personal development, and charity work. Freemasonry uses a system of allegories and rituals based on the tools and practices of medieval stonemasons as symbols to convey its teachings.
Freemasonry gets its organizational structure to the ancient lodges of operative masons, or stonemasons, and utilizes their leadership structure to this day. Freemasonry has since transcended its roots in operative masonry, and now utilizes the tools and lessons to aid in “making good men better.”
How does someone become a freemason?
The person who wants to join Freemasonry must be a man, at least eighteen years old, morally and mentally sound. He must be a person of good reputation in his community, and express a belief and a faith in a Supreme Being. How each man expresses that belief is only for him to decide.
He should believe in helping others, and that there is more to life than pleasure and money. He should be willing to respect the opinion of others, and recognize the right of others to political and religious freedom. Most importantly, he should want to grow and improve as a man, recognizing that we all have room to make ourselves better as husbands, fathers, friends, and members of the community.
Some men think that since no Mason has ever asked him to join the fraternity that they have been judged as “unworthy” of membership. That is not the case. For centuries, Masons have been prohibited from asking other men to join. We can talk to others about Masonry and our involvement. We can tell them about the purposes of Masonry and what we have gotten out of it. However, we cannot ask, much less pressure, anyone to join.
It is not that we are trying to be exclusive; in fact, Masonry promoted equality within the fraternity when the idea of equality was threatening to the established powers. It is that, deciding to become a Mason, is a very serious undertaking, a commitment to live life in certain ways. This is not a decision that a man should be “talked into.”
If you decide to be a Mason, you need simply to ask a Mason for a petition (application.) The completed petition will be taken to the Lodge, where the Master of the Lodge will appoint a committee meet with you to find out about you and to answer your questions about Masonry. This committee makes a report to the Lodge, who then vote on the petition. If the vote is positive (most are,) an officer of the Lodge will contact you to set the dates for initiation; first as an Entered Apprentice, then as a Fellowcraft, and finally as a Master Mason, a full member of the fraternity. You can trust that, despite any rumors you may have heard, nothing in any of the initiation ceremonies will be in any way degrading, embarrassing or harmful. In fact, you will probably find them to be a memorable moment in your life.
If you do not personally know a Mason from whom you can request a petition, you can simply inquire with the link at the top of this page, and a brother will be more than happy to connect with you.
More information is available in this downloadable e-book titled “What is Freemasonry?”