Originally posted by sebatwerk

Originally posted by OpenSecret2012
BTW I know that 31 and 32 degrees is suppose to be the highest degree in Freemasonry. After some one reaches 31 or 32 degrees, they go through a back door, and enter another secret society. Only people who've reached 31 or 32 Degrees in Freemasons are elegible to become members of the next secret society. (I'll find out its name by this Monday. Can't remember off my head.)
Then again, maybe "3rd Degree" is short for reaching 32 degrees? Since 11+11+11 kinda sorta is close to 33 degrees?

Dude! Can you stop spreading bulls#@t?!?!? Nothing that you said above is true, it's ridiculous. There's numerous 32nd degree masons here and they've never been through a "back door" where they enter another secret society. Please don't post things you know nothing about in a forum full of people who do.

In New York City, in lower Manhattan, there's a FREEEKIN HUUUUGE Freemason temple. I mean its HUUUGE! The whole front looks like dark gold, or copper, or maybe bronze. I've been by it twice. It has pentagrams on the outside, and other stuff if you know what to look for. Security in suits and ties and beefy looking guys. (I never tried to enter cuz I don't want to dissapper.... yet LOL!)

I've never heard of a masonic temple with security in it. And just about eveyr masonic building that exists will give you a guided tour if you ask for one. Again, what you are saying is bulls#@t.

I don't mean to be a dick, but I really dont like people spreading falsities about the fraternity I love, and about men who spend their entire lives trying to help other people. These rumors that were generated by men with THEIR OWN interests in mind do nothing to help any of us, so please stop.

I've noticed in your posts on other threads you "brag" about being a Freemason. Sooo... what degree are you? What level are you? Secret societies are set up like a pyramid. You only know about what's directly below you and maybe above you. You will never ever know about what goes on at the top of the pyramid, or even a few levels up above you.

That Freemason temple I saw in Manhattan, NYC is still there. So you can call what I say alllll the names you want.

Originally posted by OpenSecret2012
Secret societies are set up like a pyramid. You only know about what's directly below you and maybe above you. You will never ever know about what goes on at the top of the pyramid, or even a few levels up above you.

That's not exactly true. In fact, it isn't true at all.
In the UK, any Master Mason can go to Grand Lodge in London and sit in on the business meetings held there. Many do and it's normally a full house. There, Freemasons can partake in the running of their Order and see exactly how things are done - every decision is viewed by it's members.
As for the actual structure? Well there's no secret there and Freemasonry probably has the most visible structure of any fraternity. If you ponder for a moment on the number of books that are out there which study Freemasonry in depth (no other society has ever had so much literature written about it), imagine what a Freemason who is actually a member of the Order is party to when he can actually see the structure at work. It's a pathetic argument to say that people who aren't Freemasons know the structure, but Freemasons themselves don't. Do you think Freemasons can't read? Or maybe you think that once you join Freemasonry you are told something else? That rather defeats the purpose of Freemasonry and it's principle of Truth, don't you think? It also totally disregards the fact that some of the most inquistitive human minds have belonged to Freemasonry. The people who join Freemasonry tend to be the same people who want to find out about everything - especially about the Order which they have joined. To suggest that scientists, teachers and scholars would join Freemasonry, discover new theories about life, invent new objects, thoroughly investigate who and what they are, yet not even turn to study the Order to which they belong is just plain ignorant.

And the "levels" that are only a "few up above you"? Well the people who are in those "levels" are also in the same "levels" as everyone else. We know them as our brothers both socially and within Freemasonry. There is no bar on joining degrees. Once you are a Freemason you can go onto join whichever "level" you want to - normally because you have friends in those degrees already. There's no suspicion and no shady organisation lurking in the shadows just above a Freemason's head. To say that there is defies logic and common sense.

So to recap. Freemasons know the structure of their Order because they create it, study it and play an active part in it's day to day running.

Originally posted by OpenSecret2012
I've noticed in your posts on other threads you "brag" about being a Freemason. Sooo... what degree are you? What level are you? Secret societies are set up like a pyramid. You only know about what's directly below you and maybe above you. You will never ever know about what goes on at the top of the pyramid, or even a few levels up above you.

That Freemason temple I saw in Manhattan, NYC is still there. So you can call what I say alllll the names you want.

I'm not necessarily sure it's "bragging" on the part of any of us on the list, although those of us who are Freemasons are PROUD of our membership. As for degrees I'll throw a few of mine out so you know that I know what I'm talking about. First and foremost, I'm a Master Mason, also Past Master of my Lodge. In the York Rite I'm a Knight Templar and member of the York Rite Sovereign College, the Allied Masonic Degrees and the Knight Masons (the last three are separate Masonic groups in which membership is by invitation and predicated upon membership in the York Rite Chapter of Royal Arch Masons. In the Scottish Rite I'm a 32nd Degree-Knight Commander of the Court of Honor (K.C.C.H.) which is a designation received only in the Southern Jurisdiction of the U.S.A. (and for some reason in the Phillipines) it's basically an honor bestowed upon some Scottish Rite Masons for dedication to the Order and is the step between the 32nd and 33rd Degrees (although obtaining the KCCH is no guarantee that one will ever receive the 33rd Degree) I'm also a Shriner and a member of several other Masonic and fraternal societies.

That being said, ditto to what was posted earlier that there is no "back door" to another secret society...not the New World Order, the Illuminati or any other such nonsense. Regarding security at the Masonic hall you mentioned, it's possible that it, like many Masonic edifices is located in a down-town area (as many were) and security was there to keep the visitors safe, not out. We have security guards on our parking lot at the Scottish Rites in St Louis and Memphis for this very reason. The surrounding neighborhoods have declined through the year and it doesn't take very many muggings to induce one to hire security.

I'll be happy (as will other Masons on the list) to help you clear up any other misconceptions about the Craft you might have. However if you'd prefer to arm yourself with yet MORE misconceptions and blatant untruths, send a U2U to akilles or MrsNecros. They'll be happy to fill your head with their garbage. An ATS search for their posts will show you what I mean.

Regards

In the Lodge where I was a DeMolay there were several "back doors" they were
most useful. One went to a back hall where the storage rooms for the various
organizations were. One went to a "waiting or preperation room". The Last
was the most useful of all, and I would like to suggest the admins of this board
consider the installation of a similar one here. This one led from the rear of the
kitchen area out the back to the refuse bin ( dumpster).

I'm just going to stick to the main topic of this thread. And not get into any arguements over if the ruling structure of the Freemasons is like a pyramid.
Does a certain English saying have any Freemason history behind it?

Others have answered the original question of this thread. And I thank them.

Originally posted by OpenSecret2012
I'm just going to stick to the main topic of this thread. And not get into any arguements over if the ruling structure of the Freemasons is like a pyramid.

Fair enough. But like Senrak said, you have the choice of what/ who to believe: guys who read books and conspiracy websites, or the guys who are actually in the fraternity, who have been for years, who are 3rd degree and 32nd degree masons, and part of just about every appendant body, who have been masters and officers, etc etc.

Nothing we masons have ever said on this forum has ever contradicted itself. Either we are all trained to tell people the same lies about the fraternity (which would be VERY difficult given the wide range of topics we talk about and the detail to which we speak about them), or what we say is really true. You decide.


[edit on 19-3-2005 by sebatwerk]

Originally posted by sebatwerk

Fair enough. But like Senrak said, you have the choice of what/ who to believe: guys who read books and conspiracy websites, or the guys who are actually in the fraternity, who have been for years, who are 3rd degree and 32nd degree masons, and part of just about every appendant body, who have been masters and officers, etc etc.

Nothing we masons have ever said on this forum has ever contradicted itself. Either we are all trained to tell people the same lies about the fraternity (which would be VERY difficult given the wide range of topics we talk about and the detail to which we speak about them), or what we say is really true. You decide.

Sebatwerk, Excellent post!


Now if only the ol' troll akilles and Mrs Necros could understand that, but alas....