Let’s sort through some of the misconceptions regarding joining a masonic lodge and becoming a freemason and explain how you can connect with a lodge in your area and perhaps begin your journey into self-improvement through freemasonry first you don’t need to be related to a mason but you do need
To ask a mason about joining a lodge you see masons don’t recruit we want people to join because they want to join not because someone has talked them into it it’s why masons use the phrase to be one ask one so is anyone you know a freemason a friend a co-worker even a
Casual acquaintance when it comes to joining a lodge a person you know personally is always going to be the best resource so ask around and i bet you’ll be surprised at who you know that is in fact a freemason but what if you really don’t know anyone
Who is a mason well don’t worry we can help you out with that first let’s explain the requirements and a little bit about the petition process one thing to be aware of is that every lodge is governed by a grand lodge who sets the rules in their state or
Province or country in which that lodge is situated so in the united states there is one grand lodge for each state and one for the district of columbia and puerto rico and they all operate independently from each other so there will be some slight differences in the
Rules and processes from place to place for instance in some grand lodges you need to be 21 to join a lodge in others you only need to be 18. whatever the age is in a lodge we say that a man needs to be of lawful age so that could be 21 it
Could be 18 it depends on what the grand lodge says in that state or province you also need to believe in a higher power now this doesn’t mean that you need to be in church every sunday or that you need to subscribe to one particular religion you need to believe in a higher
Power period so there are masons who are christian jewish muslim hindu buddhist virtually any faith you can think of someone in that faith is a mason they’re all treated as equals and welcome in a masonic lodge you need to be a man of good moral character if you’ve got an
Extensive criminal history it’s pretty unlikely that you’re going to be allowed to become a mason in masonry our goal is to make good men even better not to be a reform school so if you’ve got some outstanding legal issues you definitely want to take care of those before you
Consider joining a masonic lodge now once you connect with a masonic lodge and ask to join you’re going to have to fill out a petition this is simply a membership application your name your address birthday what you do for a living all of those things and of course
You’ll have to pay a petition fee nothing in life is free and masonry isn’t free either but don’t worry it is not terribly expensive in most cases it’s a few hundred dollars for initiation and includes a few things that you’ll need once you become a mason it also usually includes your first
Year’s dues oh by the way there are yearly dues which is just the fee you pay every year to be a mason if for some reason you’re not accepted into the lodge at that initiation process that fee is returned to you once you turn in your petition a few
Things will start happening behind the scenes first in many grand lodges they will perform a background check to make sure that you don’t have any of that criminal history that we were worried about just a little bit ago so if you had some kind of minor issue from years before
It’s best that you just go ahead and disclose that ahead of time on your petition there will definitely be a space for that next your name is going to be read out in lodge and sent to every member of the lodge in the monthly newsletter so that
Every brother in the lodge knows exactly who it is that is asking to join after the background check and your name has been read in lodge you’re going to be contacted by the lodge and the investigation committee is going to come and visit with you now this is not as
Scary as it sounds basically a few brothers from the lodge are going to meet with you at your convenience and usually in your own home this is not only a chance for those guys to get to know you a little bit but it’s also a chance for you and your family to
Ask as many questions as you want about freemasonry about the lodge itself about the petition process about all of those things so this is a really good chance for a give and take type of dialogue that investigation committee it sounds scary but actually it’s a really great
Experience and the guys who came to investigate me when i became a mason are now some of my best buddies after all of those steps are complete all the members of the lodge will vote on your petition for membership it only takes one negative vote to keep you out of the
Lodge this is because masonic lodges are all about harmony so if one member thinks that you’re not a good fit then you’re not going to be invited to join the lodge that’s why every member needs to be informed about who’s joining so if you do happen to know someone in that
Lodge and maybe somebody has a problem with you maybe you stole somebody’s girlfriend in the eighth grade or something like that now is probably a good time to straighten that out or perhaps consider petitioning a different lodge however once that vote has been taken and you have been elected to
Receive the degrees of freemasonry you’ll get a letter from the lodge telling you about your upcoming initiation with all the details of when you need to be at the lodge what time and what you need to bring with you and that’s pretty much it here are a couple of tips to keep in
Mind first you’re going to need to exercise some patience the process of joining a lodge can take a little while usually a few months summertime and holidays they can be especially slow so be patient and don’t get discouraged but make sure you follow up every couple of weeks to see where
Your petition is in the process finally to make that whole process as easy as possible you need to check out be a freemason.org this is a website that has been set up by three of the largest masonic organizations in the united states to help men connect with freemasonry and
Get started on their journey it is a one-stop site to answer all your questions get legitimate information and take that first step believe me there is a lot of fake information on the internet i know you’re surprised but if you go to be a freemason.org i guarantee you’re going to get the right
Information and get connected with the grand lodge in your area so if you’re really interested in masonry go to bffreemason.org the link is in the description below and also at the end of this video if you’ve got some specific questions about becoming a freemason drop them in the comments below or email
Podcast scottishrite.org remember to subscribe to the channel like the video and share this with your friends good luck in your journey into freemasonry [Applause] You
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