Just found out my Dad was a Freemason apprentice

He was telling me about his initiation, and this is the first time i've heard about it. He mentioned that it is just like a big gentleman's club where people go and get plastered on meetings. He was telling me about the secret handshake he had to do which was fascinating but all in all being just an apprentice he wasn't told a great deal.

Anyone else had any family members keep freemasonry membership a secret? or does anyone have any questions they want me to ask my Dad? (Bear in mind he was only an apprentice and left nearly 25 years ago.)

Originally posted by TheGreatest
He mentioned that it is just like a big gentleman's club where people go and get plastered on meetings.

Was he initiated in New Jersey?

Originally posted by AugustusMasonicus

Originally posted by TheGreatest
He mentioned that it is just like a big gentleman's club where people go and get plastered on meetings.

Was he initiated in New Jersey?

United Lodge of England.

tell your dad that he's on a spiral staircase....

was the appeal that he feels like he's part of a gang...!!

hahah....funny ass shiz..

does he have a hidden master
does he believe in the lights struggle against the dark etc....

boyy, hope he aint bit more than he can chew....


one more thing...does that mean your dads in a particular pay bracket...or is he a legacy....?

peace

reply to post by TheGreatest


my friend claimed his dad is a free mason. i have asked my friend on several occasions to ask his dad about it but he wont, he says he dosen't want get involved, i actually think he was a little embarrased about it. i really don't like the idea of "secret societies" the world needs to be a much more open place.

reply to post by thePharaoh


He left a long time ago, he didn't become a full mason he left whilst he was an apprentice but he did have his uniform but not eh dagger or anything. He did complete the ritual with the noose around the neck and a dagger to the heart and the skull and bones.

reply to post by josephamccoy


It's a strange feeling, but my dad didn't get too caught up in it. He did mention the passwords given at each level correspond to a Columns in Solomon temple or something along those lines.

Originally posted by TheGreatest

Originally posted by AugustusMasonicus

Originally posted by TheGreatest
He mentioned that it is just like a big gentleman's club where people go and get plastered on meetings.

Was he initiated in New Jersey?

United Lodge of England.

so much for the secracy just found their webpage on google was like the second result.

Originally posted by josephamccoy

Originally posted by TheGreatest

Originally posted by AugustusMasonicus

Originally posted by TheGreatest
He mentioned that it is just like a big gentleman's club where people go and get plastered on meetings.

Was he initiated in New Jersey?

United Lodge of England.

so much for the secracy just found their webpage on google was like the second result.

Lol I said the same thing when I first found out, he responded by saying "It's not a secret society but a society with secrets". Pretty evasive answer

Originally posted by josephamccoy
so much for the secracy just found their webpage on google was like the second result.

Yeah. Freemasonry isn't a secret society. There are a few dozen Masons here on ATS, myself included, and there are at least a half-dozen mods that are Masons here too. Really not that big a deal.

If anything, I'd ask why he decided not to go further with it, but I've seen guys drop out for any number of reasons... it's not like we're going to kill you for quitting so you have more time to spend with your family or something.

reply to post by TheGreatest


crazy stuff but the website looks like they've gotten rid of a lot of the secracy, they even say on their that you can hire the freemason hall for functions! unless they want to be seen to be more open and it's just a front for whatever they are really about? drinking? who knows?

My deceased great-uncle was a mason, very interesting guy. He never talked about it to my knowledge, though it was mentioned in his obituary.

Did your father have an incentive to join? Was he recruited?

I'm not entirely sure how the application process works, so please forgive my ignorance.

reply to post by JoshNorton
aha i see i guess that a lot of bad media and monty python sketches can lead you to a pre determined opinion, i always assumed that it was very secretive and almost a sort of cult thing, i guess not but it still leaves me with the question: what if any is the purpose of freemasonry?

reply to post by TheGreatest

very evasive! i am quite interested now to know: what is the purpose of freemasonry? if there is anyone out there that has got any idea what the freemasons do and why?

My Grandfather was a freemason before he stopped paying dues. Some of my other family members were too. He showed me his mason triangle belt which was like the one George Washington wore when he laid the capstone for some building. I think he made it to the 12th degree. Usually he is a pretty easy going guy but when I asked him about being a freemason his face turned dead serious. Like I just asked him if he'd witnessed a murder.

reply to post by TheGreatest


My dad never kept his membership secret, but he did not flaunt it either. He wore no Masonic ring or had a emblem on the back of his car.

I only knew he was a mason because of an argument he and my brother once had, and when I asked him what my brother was talking about he explained it to me.

So, he never denied it, but he has always downplayed it.

Was it a secret? I guess it depends on how you define "secret" it was known within our family, but I do not think his non mason friends and co workers ever had a clue he was a mason. Why he did not flaunt it more, I do not know.

Maybe because we lived in the bible belt and many Christian churches had a distrust of freemasonry, and he had to interact with those people on a regular basis?

well the website lays out what freemasonary is and its all seems very good and meaningful, too meaningful and good but hey any way here is the websites own description of what they do.

Freemasonry is one of the world’s oldest secular fraternal societies. The following information is intended to explain Freemasonry as it is practised under the United Grand Lodge of England, which administers Lodges of Freemasons in England and Wales and in many places overseas. Freemasonry is a society of men concerned with moral and spiritual values. Its members are taught its precepts (moral lessons and self-knowledge) by a series of ritual dramas - a progression of allegorical two-part plays which are learnt by heart and performed within each Lodge - which follow ancient forms, and use stonemasons’ customs and tools as allegorical guides. Freemasonry instils in its members a moral and ethical approach to life: it seeks to reinforce thoughtfulness for others, kindness in the community, honesty in business, courtesy in society and fairness in all things. Members are urged to regard the interests of the family as paramount but, importantly, Freemasonry also teaches and practices concern for people, care for the less fortunate and help for those in need. The Three Great Principles For many years Freemasons have followed three great principles: Brotherly Love Every true Freemason will show tolerance and respect for the opinions of others and behave with kindness and understanding to his fellow creatures. Relief Freemasons are taught to practise charity and to care - not only for their own - but also for the community as a whole, both by charitable giving and by voluntary efforts and works as individuals. Truth Freemasons strive for truth, requiring high moral standards and aiming to achieve them in their own lives. Freemasons believe that these principles represent a way of achieving higher standards in life. Charity From its earliest days, Freemasonry has been concerned with the care of orphans, the sick and the aged. This work continues today. In addition, large sums are given to national and local charities.

ha i answered my own question!

Originally posted by TheGreatest
Lol I said the same thing when I first found out, he responded by saying "It's not a secret society but a society with secrets". Pretty evasive answer

Evasive, but standard. I've heard that phrase many times. There's nothing secret about a society that builds huge buildings in nearly every city in the western world and adorns them with masonic symbols. BTW, you have to ask to be a Mason, though sometimes the lodges cheat a bit. Around here they once commissioned a newspaper insert that talked about the Masons and prominently displayed the fact that you have to ask to be a Mason, but that it was really easy to ask and so forth, kind of a veiled "Please ask" campaign. This was because the Masonic Lodge is much smaller than it used to be. At one time in the US a large percentage of the male population were Masons. Today people are not as much "joiners" so the "club" is smaller than it was.

I believe there are several current Master masons who frequent ATS and are willing to answer questions. No offense to your Dad, but an apprentice Mason 25 years ago is not going to be a definitive source for contemporary information.

From what I understand, getting to apprenticeship isn't anything too exciting if you know the right people. Going up into the higher tiers though is something else altogether.

That is pretty much verbatim what I was told by someone that claimed to be one.

Since he didn't ask if I wanted to join, I assumed I wasn't the right material.

Originally posted by Hierophantesque
My deceased great-uncle was a mason, very interesting guy. He never talked about it to my knowledge, though it was mentioned in his obituary.

Did your father have an incentive to join? Was he recruited?

I'm not entirely sure how the application process works, so please forgive my ignorance.

A friend of his who worked with at the time was a mason and he went about it that way. Not quite sure how it works in the modern day though.