First, why would a Freemason write an article about how to become a Freemason if we don't solicit membership?
This blog posting is intended to clear up a few issues that a man might have about how to join, if he already is inclined to do so. No question about it, we prefer to dissuade men from joining rather than swell the ranks with men who stay for awhile and then, having satisfied their profane and idle curiosity, leave the fraternity.
If you are reading this blog post and especially if you have been following it, the thought of joining has probably entered your mind. If so, and you aren't quite sure what to do next, you have come to the right place.
You may have already seen some bumper-sticker slogan with a Masonic Square & Compass that reads "2BE1ASK1." While that pretty much sums it up, I don't like "thinking" that is only as deep as a bumper-sticker is thick, so let's put a little substance into that statement.
Let's assume you've done some reading, including some on the internet, which is often highly inflamatory or sensational. If you already know someone who is a Mason and he's approachable, all you have to do is tell him you're interested in joining. Ask him for a "petition" and tell him you'd like to meet the men in his lodge. It's always interesting to us to learn why a man is interested in joining and as you move closer to that moment, you'll be asked that a lot. In many ways, we are "testing" you to see whether you're joining for the right reasons.
Your Mason friend will probably let you know when his lodge has dinner before its meeting and invite you to come by and join them. They may have some other thing going on besides dinner. Each lodge has its own "culture" -- or chemistry. Some are more social than others, some have a lot of sports fans, or hunters, fishermen... and then there's demographics about age and profession, education, and so on. At any rate, let him know that you understand that you can't stay after dinner or whatever the even is because Masonic meetings are strictly closed to all but members. By telling him that, you'll spare him the anxiousness some men feel when they have to tell a non-Mason friend that they can't come upstairs.
Depending on how well you know each other, he may ask you if you believe in a Supreme Being and an afterlife. These are not questions that require lengthy answers and it is highly unlikely that he will probe any further than to find out that you do.
Atheists cannot be Masons. That said, you don't have to be a church-goer or belong to any particular church or have any particular religion. So relax about that, so long as you can honestly answer that you believe in a Supreme Being -- no matter what your conception of that Being might be. One of our goals is to bring men together who might have otherwise never associated with one another -- because religion is a topic that often divides the world in bitter ways.
I remember when I was asked that question. The fellow was an elderly Jewish man, a retired Chicago police officer. When I started to launch into my personal religious autobiography, he cut me off politely and said that for Masons, those details are a person's private business.
The same goes for politics. Sure, we talk politics and religion -- outside lodge meetings. Inside, those two topics are strictly forbidden. It's a divisive subject.
You'll get a petition to fill out with some basic information about yourself. You'll have to pay the initiation fee -- which varies from lodge to lodge, even within the same Grand Lodge. Local lodges in each state in the US are under the oversight of a Grand Lodge.
Once you've filled out the petition, paid your fee (refundable if for some reason you're not approved for membership), your petition will be read in lodge and a committee assigned to meet you. Sometimes they want to meet your wife, to be sure she understands a little more about your involvement and knows about the time commitment. This is typically one or two nights each month, but often lodges have events and dinners for the whole family.
The committee members sometimes meet with you one at a time, depending on local custom or just realities of schedules. They will almost always want to know what you know, or think you know about Freemasonry, how you came to be interested, what you are looking for. They'll let you ask questions. Masons love to talk about the fraternity to people who are respectfully interested, so be sure to make some time and find a place where he can talk more openly.
As you move toward a decision about the organization, it is only fitting that you should seek out reliable books, such as W. Kirk MacNulty's Freemasonry: A Journey through Ritual Symbol. It has beautiful pictures and an educated, well informed narrative that explores many aspects of the ritual, without revealing what cannot be revealed.
The committee makes its report and the lodge ballots or votes on your petition. The approval must be unanimous. When we consider a man for membership, we always ask ourselves whether the fraternity and the man are a good match for each other and whether he will make a positive contribution to the group's dynamics and to the organization as a whole.
I've met a few men whom I have referred to other lodges -- I'll be honest here -- one I recall was a vegetarian and a total non-drinker. That's fine, but we eat a lot of steaks in our lodge and drink wine. I liked the guy. He was talented, but I realized he would be more comfortable in a lodge where I happened to know there were several veggans, so I was honest with him and introduced him to a man from that other lodge.
Once you're approved, you are no longer a petitioner, but a candidate for the degrees of Masonry. You'll be contacted and a date will be set for you to be initiated as an Entered Apprentice, the first of the three degrees of Ancient Craft Freemasonry.
It takes about three to five months to do become a Master Mason and the procedure for preparing for the next degree varies from lodge to lodge. There is always some measure of "memory work" -- material that has to be well learned. I saw a photocopy of George Washington's Masonic record. He was initiated in November, passed to Fellow Craft in December and raised as a Master Mason in January. It made an impression on me because those were the same months in which I had made those same steps.
Perhaps you're interested in joining but apprehensive about joining something that you can't really find out much about until you join -- commit to, in fact. That can be disconcerting, but it need not be. Freemasonry does not ask or require that you forsake your commitments to family, religion or your country. In fact, it encourages you to keep them.
I hope this posting has helped you if you have been sitting on the fence. Either way it pushed you is fine. We want strong, committed members who want to make friends and connections that last a lifetime. I can say without hesitation that my experience in this fraternity has been, next to my family, the most rewarding of associations.
