I'm interested in becoming a Mason

I've done some studying on my own, off and on over several years about Masonry. I even went to one of the largest Scottish Rite Lodges in my area and sat down with a Mason and asked him questions and tried to discern for myself if I truely wanted to be associated with them. I'm still of the opinion that they are as they represent themselves to be, a fellowship of like minded men who associate with each other and believe in the moral and ethical improvement of themselves. I have also witnessed and been party to alot of anti-masonic talk and conjecture. I've not been too impressed with the vitriolic tone and condensending attitudes of these folks. They grate on my nerves.

I'm interested in getting some guidance and direction from the Masons who post on this site, who are sincere, and I'm not really interested in any of the anti guys, because frankly the condition of my immortal soul is pretty much my business and not theirs. I'm sure they mean well but they are bit too overzealous for me and I'm enlightened enough to my own satisfaction that their input would be univited and unnecessary.

I know the real guys will read this, and if your so inclined, I would appreciate some additional sources of study and information about the Masons. If you want to private message me, feel free to do so. I would greatly appreciate your help.

SHARKMAN

I'm afraid I can't reply to your message because I have fewer than 20 posts. But you can email me for now.

I'm getting your U2U's, but I'm afraid that i'm under 20 posts so I can't reply. Thanks.

Sorry if I have missed something but what is your email?

Originally posted by sharkman
I know the real guys will read this, and if your so inclined, I would appreciate some additional sources of study and information about the Masons. If you want to private message me, feel free to do so. I would greatly appreciate your help.

I'm VERY happy to see a level-headed person thinking for himself and asking questions like he should. Your POSITIVE interest in the fraternity is what makes masons happy to answer questions.

If you have questions, just go ahead and ask. You can ask directly on this thread if you wish, I wont tell you anything I wouldn't tell anyone else. Or if you'd rather, give me your email address and you can ask me questions privately.



[edit on 27-2-2005 by sebatwerk]

From my understanding each Lodge will have it's own way of doing things, but from what I can gather it works by invitation and referral from at least two members.

I think one of the most important factors is WHY you want to become a Mason.

Most call themselves "TruthSeekers", so that might help with your application.

Originally posted by mickmeaney
From my understanding each Lodge will have it's own way of doing things, but from what I can gather it works by invitation and referral from at least two members.

I think one of the most important factors is WHY you want to become a Mason.

Most call themselves "TruthSeekers", so that might help with your application.

Nobody is invited to become a mason. Masons are forbidden from inviting or otherwise recruiting new members. Someone interested in joining must ASK a mason, hence the saying "2 B 1 ASK 1". But you are correct, the petition must contain signatures of two masons, but if one doesn't know any, he can just ask the lodge secretary and master to sign for him. That's what I did.

And every lodge does things the same way. There is a standardized process for taking in petitions, investigating candidates and voting on them. This system has been in place for hundreds of years.


[edit on 27-2-2005 by sebatwerk]

billmcelligott, it's [email protected]

mickmeaney, I've been on a personal journey of spiritual inquiry and advancement for quite some time and I've become interested in the way this fraternity of men has gone about that. I know very little about them except what I have managed to read and glean from some websites over the years. I also have some limited personal experience with some men who I know are Masons, and I never once had a bad experience with any of these individuals. It was through my observations and inquiry that I found out that they were Masons, not their own advertising. Everyone of them always treated me well in dealings with them.
I started my inquiry years earlier before I was ever on the web, probably some 12-15 yrs. ago.
I know that there are a great many noteworthy and honorable names in their lists from history. This in particular has kind of facinated me. It seems rather strange that so many honorable and trusted men in our country's history have been associated with the Masons. I don't believe in coincidence, but I do believe in Providence.
I've come to place in my life that I believe it is time to further my growth and inquiry. I can think of worse groups to spend my time with.

CG, Thank you for your prompt response. I was quite shocked at the speed at which you answered.


[edit on 27-2-2005 by sharkman]

[edit on 27-2-2005 by sharkman]

[edit on 27-2-2005 by sharkman]

Originally posted by sebatwerk
Nobody is invited to become a mason. Masons are forbidden from inviting or otherwise recruiting new members. Someone interested in joining must ASK a mason, hence the saying "2 B 1 ASK 1". But you are correct, the petition must contain signatures of two masons, but if one doesn't know any, he can just ask the lodge secretary and master to sign for him. That's what I did.

My source was in a Mason book over 30 years old, I could have misread it as I wasn't allowed to study it for very long, in which case I found the right place to post.

CG, I was asked where you were from, not by WM M but from another ivdividual. WM M was not there at the time I went by. I visited this Lodge several years back and sat with a gentleman for some tome and asked him questions, but I didn't fill out an application at that time. Not enough support on the home front then. Things have changed.
Anyway, I believe you are in bush country if I'm correct. U2U me, If you can.

Okay, I'm interested in finding out about when Masons reached this continent and who they were. Also, were they tied to the english lodges, I suppose they were seeing that one of the primary places the founding fathers and their fathers were from is england mostly in the begining.
I'm going to do some reading on the web, but alot of this stuff may be questionable. Whatever sources you can steer me to I'll check them out.

I want to become a mason, I am of free mind and spirit and would like to know more?

Originally posted by jay111
I want to become a mason, I am of free mind and spirit and would like to know more?

Contact your local lodge.

Its very good to have a goal Sharkman.
Good luck in your quest.
Lets us know how it goes for you? That would be interesting indeed.

I'm sorry to be ignorant and pessimistic, but I've sort of been researching the history of the Masons and historical figures who were Masons. I find many, many admirable qualities in the Masons I've researched but as expected, I've also found that Masons are responsible for some things that upset me (go figure). I used to work at Barnes and Noble for two years and left recently to find real work. When I was at the bookstore, I used my position to do research on the things that interested me; I still have a hard time separating fact from fiction. I knew from the time that it came out that "The DaVinci Code" was bull and I never read it.
While I am INCREDIBLY jealous of the secrets held by this fraternity, I am forced to admit that some of the things that the American Masons have done were good for America, but bad for humanity. We like to call our government a democracy but we are, if not ruled, heavily influenced by the upper class. Doesn't this make us a sort of backdoor aristocracy? I'd be nice to have an equal number of conservative parties to liberal parties but we are all so afraid that a minority party may take control of our country that liberals will vote for Democrats who don't actually have Democrat-ideology and conservatives will vote for Republicans who have also forgotten what it means to be a Republican. I want to go to the streets and cry that it's not fair that George W. Bush is the president and not me. It's not fair that he's a Mason and I am not. It's not fair that he knows secrets and truths that I've yearned for all of my life. It's not fair that he, like so many, inherited a fortune that he did not earn. And it's not fair that Masons gave him advantages that they haven't offered to me. It is my philosophy that, try as man might, he cannot wield great power without abusing it. Why do we start a war in one nation when we are threatened by terrorist attack from another? Why am I constantly told to be afraid of something I've never seen? I am not currently, nor have I ever been afraid that a terrorist will kill me. But the media has excellent control over the mob and the upper class has excellent control over the media. I don't like being manipulated, especially when I'm being manipulated by a country that I love and respect. I know the Masons have many legitimate community outreach programs but the pessimist inside me tells me that those programs are for just for good show and only with a small amount of the money that could actually go into them. Wealthy people don't stay wealthy by giving away more than they can afford and I don't know many wealthy people who’ve offered to give up their luxurious lifestyles to benefit the least of us in our society.
I wish we made our paper from hemp. It's strong and it's cheap and it doesn't require decimating our rainforests. I know a couple of important Masons who printed some important American documents on hemp paper. I think the problem is that there is not enough money to be made by offering hemp paper. The more tree-paper we make, the fewer the trees, the more the value of paper. Cannabis seed oil is a machine-grade
lubricant which is natural and non-petroleum based. It is also free and
doesn't need to be drilled out of the earth with expensive polluting
machinery. Hemp is also stronger and longer lasting than cotton. I think the first Levis jeans were made out of hemp, weren't they?
"Dupont's chief financial backer was Andrew Mellon of the Mellon Bank of Pittsburgh, in which he was the owner and largest stockholder. Mellon, in his role as Hoover's Secretary of the Treasury, in 1931 appointed his future nephew-in-law Harry J. Anslinger to be head of the newly reorganized Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, which evolved into the DEA. Anslinger was one of the main proponents of criminalization of Hemp / Marijuana. William Randolph Hearst newspaper chain promoted "yellow journalism" using racism and lies to turn the public's mind on what they called a "new drug threat". Weyerhauser (Skull and Bones) and their control of the Lumber Industry" (www.freedomdomain.com...)
I believe the Rockefeller family had something to do with the scheduling of marijuana being that they've always controlled the AMA. The AMA supported the use of marijuana until Harry Anslinger started prosecuting doctors who prescribed the stuff. Let's face it. Anyone who's tried it knows that it's not really as intoxicating as alcohol and is less habit forming.
How much of all of that is incorrect, or warped or twisted or taken out of context, I don't know. But I believe that Masons are responsible for keeping the gap between classes (not only in America) wide and unclosable.
I'm extraordinarily impressed with the fraternity, but I fear that some of the upper degree brothers may use their positions to a morally and philosophically objectionable end. Am I wrong? I don't know any Masons personally. Masons, please email me and correct anything that you believe to be wrong in the above post.
-Tristan ([email protected])
P.S. I think all the 13's and Stars of David that Ben Franklin put on the back of the one dollar bill are really cute.
P.P.S ANNUIT ^ COEPTIS. No one wants to tell me if the Star of David made from (King Solomon's "temple"?) the pyramid's inverse transposition purposefully points to the letters A, S, N, O, and M, or if it's some kind of beautiful coincidence.

Originally posted by sharkman


I know the real guys will read this, and if your so inclined, I would appreciate some additional sources of study and information about the Masons. If you want to private message me, feel free to do so. I would greatly appreciate your help.

SHARKMAN

Join my friend but be ready to get up at 3 in the morning to help put on about 3 hundred chickens for a fund raiser. There is nothing synester in Masonry at the local level, there might be way up the ladder but I seriously doubt it.

Servo I think you touched on some very important points here. It has come to my knowledge that some of the things youve said have some truth to them

Originally posted by sharkman
I've done some studying on my own, off and on over several years about Masonry. I even went to one of the largest Scottish Rite Lodges in my area and sat down with a Mason and asked him questions and tried to discern for myself if I truely wanted to be associated with them. I'm still of the opinion that they are as they represent themselves to be, a fellowship of like minded men who associate with each other and believe in the moral and ethical improvement of themselves. I have also witnessed and been party to alot of anti-masonic talk and conjecture. I've not been too impressed with the vitriolic tone and condensending attitudes of these folks. They grate on my nerves.

I'm interested in getting some guidance and direction from the Masons who post on this site, who are sincere, and I'm not really interested in any of the anti guys, because frankly the condition of my immortal soul is pretty much my business and not theirs. I'm sure they mean well but they are bit too overzealous for me and I'm enlightened enough to my own satisfaction that their input would be univited and unnecessary.

I know the real guys will read this, and if your so inclined, I would appreciate some additional sources of study and information about the Masons. If you want to private message me, feel free to do so. I would greatly appreciate your help.

SHARKMAN

a person only speaks for the response it illicits...

so whats the deal with the star of david and soloman's temple on the one dollar bill, coincidence or not?

Servo. Your post seems to indicate that you think that Freemasonry is the problem with politics today.
That's not true. As you indicate, the good old days were when Freemasonry had an influence. America was founded on a good, moral foundation. It didn't always work out that way, but the intention was definitely there. The modern day situation is totally different though. Unfortunately, there are very few Freemasons who are involved in politics now.
Why? Well some think the same as you do. Politics has become corrupt. Why should they take part in corruption? There are individuals that try to fight it, but unfortunately again, they are outnumbered by those who are only serving their own interests.

Freemasons just don't seem to get involved in politics any more.
If you take my country (the UK) there was a time when the majority of the House of Commons would have been Freemasons. Now, there are less than a dozen members. Freemasonry isn't the problem with politics - politics and politicians of today aren't connected with the Order.