Number of Traveling Men in group?

You are not invited.

You find a lodge or mason on your own, and ask about Masonry.

After asking, you are told what Masonry is, etc.

You must express an interest to join, otherwise, nothing will happen.

At the Lodge open houses I attended, some of the attendess were confused because no Mason there offered to sponsor or help anyone. So after the meeting, everyone just stood around. The someone asked: Well how do I join, then? The response: ask.

Intrerviews will follow, and at some point you need to ask for an application, if you think all is going well. That's your formal petition. If the Masons interviewing you like you and feel alright with you, then they will offer to sponsor you, if you so wish.

Eventually your application as well as the Mason's opinions are passed on to the Lodge, as well as the Grand Lodge of your state/province, and it's put to a vote.

[edit on 9-9-2004 by LTD602]

Originally posted by lost
ok theron. i dont want to offend, but like you said i am entitled to my opinion, and my opinion might end up offending. advance apologies.

would you theron be willing to share (if its no secret of course).. where does that 762 million come from?

That's a fair question. The money comes, primarily, from masonic investments that have accrued over time, and through our other fund raising efforts, shows, theatre, musicals, dinners, lunches, public dontaions to the cause etc. Masonry is OLD, and one of the benefits of time is that investiments grow. Often, when a mason dies, he has left a portion of his estate to the fraterntiy, or to the Shrine. These funds are invested, and the proceeds from these investments is used to run the charities.

is a secretive fraternity necessary to make that money?

No, HAVING secrets has nothing to do with raising the money. This whole "secret" thing is a misnomer/misconception, since our lodges are all listed in the phone books, on the internet, and most members wear their masonry proudly. If you met me on the street, you would know instantly that I am a mason, or if you followed my vehicle down the street.

Masonry is a fraternity that HAS secrets, and the secrets are internal to the organization, and have no effect on society as a whole, except for the folks that obsess over not being allowed to KNOW the secrets... and then to know them, all you need to do is join, else you are not entitled to know them.

also, could you give specifics on how YOU have become a better person through study, work, charity and fellowship via masonry?

I can do that with a SIMPLE example, the others could take pages to illustrate and explain. As part of the lectures/lessons of freemasonry, a man is told to do nothing that could harm our ancient and honorable fraternity, and to keep in mind brotherly love, relief, truth, temperance, fortitude, prudence, Justice, Faith, Hope and Charity.

In my day to day life, I keep the tenets of freemasonry foremost in my mind, and circumscribe my desires and actions accordingly. This awareness causes me to examine my actions, how I speak, what I say, what I do, how I plan, what I will and will not do in my business accordingly. I am not a perfect man, but I endeavor to live as a moral and upright one, a man that is a credit to masonry and to the principles, tenets and standards that it has set.

That is a simple and straightforward example. I could give you many others, but I hope that this helps.

could you have achieved that 'betterment of person' without masonry?

Perhaps, but the issue is that I and millions of others HAVE achieved it, or are working to achieve it (it is a constant struggle) THROUGH Masonry.

lastly, i may be incorrect but you have to be invited to join no? its not like one can walk up to the lodge and sign up?

Actually, you are NEVER invited to joinl. The tradition in masonry is that YOU must ask to join. Call a local lodge, tell them you want to join, and they will put a petition in your hand, but no one asks anyone to join.

Even this, my answering the questionis on the forum isn't recruiting... I am trying to achieve two goals here, 1) to refute and offer the truth as opposed to the misconceptions and outright lies that are told about masonry, to inform the public about who we are and what we do 2) to get our name out in front of people, so that if someone is interested in something more, something greater, something to give back to the community, that they will know who we are and will then ASK to join.

So I am not recruiting, but I am making it known HOW a man CAN join.

i am all for charity and fellowship, but i believe those are just fronts to the public for masonry and any other fraternity for that matter. deep down i believe the people who join fraternaties do it not for 'betterment of person' or 'charities' but mostly for 'fellowship' because they themselves are feeble and without friends. the same reason kids join gangs. they need something to lean on... but what do i know........

-lost

Well, you are, as I noted, entitled to what you believe, however, I would think that a rational man, an enquiring mind, a mind intent on DENYING IGNORANCE would want to seek out truths and not subsist on FEELINGS, but what do I know?

As for why men join, how hard is it to accept the personal testimonies of the men that ARE masons? I do not need something to lean on, but something to SPUR me on to be the best that I can be... and anything that does as much good as masonry does, both in services and on a personal level, CAN'T be bad.


[edit on 9/9/04 by theron dunn]

quote: lost
i am all for charity and fellowship, but i believe those are just fronts to the public for masonry and any other fraternity for that matter. deep down i believe the people who join fraternaties do it not for 'betterment of person' or 'charities' but mostly for 'fellowship' because they themselves are feeble and without friends. the same reason kids join gangs. they need something to lean on... but what do i know........

Wow, so you know us all? Feeble would probably be the last word someone would use to describe me. And yes, I have plenty of friends. Joining an orginization for fellowship isn't feeble, feeble is sitting behind a keyboard calling people that you don't even know, feeble. Surrounding yourself with god, honest, and caring individuals can only enrich your life. If your comfortable in your circle of friends, good, we are happy for you. Because people do not share your social habits doesn't make anyone feeble, it makes us different, something we embrace, you however, seem to demean anything you do not understand.

Also, comparing us to gangs shows your ignorance, at the same time showing how little you know about the world outside your little bubble.

And to answer your last question. Nothing..... You make that obviously clear.

posted on 8-9-2004 at 12:03 AM Post Number: 785875 (post id: 806569)

slam dunk for DarkTalon!
it is official! member 'lost' knows NOTHING!
and the crowd goes wild......lol
DT slaps hands with compadres as he waltzes back to defence.

re-read buddy, keywords "i believe." and no, i do not know all of you. in fact the few that i do know are good people. however i did not and still do not understand why people join frats other than fellowshiping and cutting corners later in life because of all the 'connections' they have acquired. all other reasons are void in my book because they can be achieved without masonry. if you decide however that masonry is for you, go with it.

also, i didnt compare the masons to gangs. i compared the motives for joining to those of kids who join gangs.

to theron: thanks for the polite and informing answers to my real questions.

-lost

[edit on 10-9-2004 by lost]

Dont feel bad lost, my reply to LTD602 regarding preemption , his signature, and Amendment4 was totaly wiped out.(erased)




Lets see if it gets wiped out again, shall we?


LTD602:

Pre-empt sounds awfully familiar

pre�empt or pre-empt ( P ) Pronunciation Key (pr-mpt)
v. pre�empt�ed, pre�empt�ing, pre�empts
v. tr.
To appropriate, seize, or take for oneself before others. See Synonyms at appropriate.

To take the place of; displace: A special news program preempted the scheduled shows.
To have precedence or predominance over: To gain possession of by prior right or opportunity, especially to settle on (public land) so as to obtain the right to buy before others.

I can see the significance of Skull and Bones Ch 322
Genesis 3:22
And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

Amendment 4? The Hush Law..."do not speak of the secrets for they must never know."

And last but not least: Your signature betrays you.
signature
"'I must know the real truth, the truth beyond magic.'
'There is no truth beyond magic,' said the king. "
(The Magus, 1965)

Udate Nice Order of the Snake) crest on the profile,,or is it the Brazen Serpent?


[edit on 10-9-2004 by project_pisces]

And ??

What are you implying with all of that ?

If it is for the purpose of personal attacks and character defamation, then by all means proceed. But you do so at your own risk.


(It was erased for a good reason, I bet.)

Enjoy.

Originally posted by lost
re-read buddy, keywords "i believe." and no, i do not know all of you. in fact the few that i do know are good people. however i did not and still do not understand why people join frats other than fellowshiping and cutting corners later in life because of all the 'connections' they have acquired. all other reasons are void in my book because they can be achieved without masonry. if you decide however that masonry is for you, go with it.

also, i didnt compare the masons to gangs. i compared the motives for joining to those of kids who join gangs.

-lost

[edit on 10-9-2004 by lost]

lost,

People join various groups for different reason. I've known people who've run for an office on the local school board who have no kids. Their reasoning was that our public school system is very important and they believe they could make a difference. People have associated in groups probably from the dawn of time. Even members of religious groups often have "side" groups. My local Parish has a "Men's Group" We get together, socialize, have a nice meal, a beer or two (or three) raise money for the church for improvements, trips for our youth, etc.

Masonry can be much the same. As stated by another earlier, I too could hardly be described as "feeble" I joined when 21 and still in college. I had a host of friends then, as I do now...many of whom have joined the Lodge after I did. I joined because I LIKE to associate with other people and I LIKE to have a common goal. We don't go out and raise money every meeting night...we have our business meeting then go downstairs to the dining hall, eat, drink aluminum-flavored coffee and socialize with one another. We genuinely enjoy one anothers company. And when I meet another Mason while I'm traveling, I immediately have something to talk about with him. There's a part of our "Monitorial' (non-secret) work that says "Masonry unites men of every country, sect and opinion and conciliates true friendship among those who might otherwise remained at a perpetual distance."

This being said, Masonry is NOT for everyone and we (Masons) don't want EVERY man to become a Mason. Obviously you're not interested in a fraternal society, so likely Masonry is not for you. But not everyone feels this way. This, however, doesn't make them "feeble" or 'without friends" of course, you're certainly free to believe that, as you say, but it "just ain't so"

Regards