Ask a Mason, page 4

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reply posted on 13-7-2008 @ 10:45 PM by Malevolent_Aliens

reply to post by emsed1

Can you please share with us your opening and closing prayers?

Also can you please share with us the oath one makes upon joining?

Word for word please.

Thanks

reply posted on 13-7-2008 @ 10:56 PM by Anonymous ATS

reply to post by emsed1

The First 3 to 5 degrees of freemasonry are recieved in the local small or BLUE lodges The lower level of masons know absolutely nothing about the much higher levels. The higher level masons allow the lesser ones to assume that they in fact know everything about the organization, YES they worship statan. This is a hard core fact. My uncle was a 33th degree level freemason. one of the highest level passwords is 'tubalcain' this is also a fact. Yes, they serve only Satan, Allmost all the presidents of the u.s. were in fact freemasons. The free refers to the fact that during the 1880.s for a long time they did not charge dues, irgo, freemasons. The pope is the highest level freemason. Do the reshearch you will see i speak the truth. A large number of the higher level ones are phedofiles. I think this is misspelled..............Don,t believe me do the research you.ll see.

reply posted on 13-7-2008 @ 10:59 PM by JoshNorton

Originally posted by Malevolent_Aliens
Can you please share with us your opening and closing prayers?

Also can you please share with us the oath one makes upon joining?

Word for word please.

To write the obligation would be a violation of the obligation. So I'll just point you to one of the hundreds of places it's readily available online.

www.sacred-texts.com...

Prayers, on the other hand, are fair game. In the 1st degree,

Vouchsafe Thine aid, Almighty Father of the Universe, to this our present convention; and grant that this candidate for Masonry may dedicate and devote his life to Thy service, and become a true and faithful brother among us! Endue him with a competency of Thy divine wisdom, that, by the secrets of our art, he may be better enabled to display the beauties of brotherly love, relief, and truth, to the honor of Thy Holy Name. Amen.

Prayer at Opening

Most holy and glorious Lord God, the Great Architect of the Universe: the Giver of all good gifts and graces: Thou hast promised that where two or three are gathered together in Thy name, Thou wilt be in the midst of them. In Thy name, we assemble, most humbly beseeching Thee to bless us in all our undertakings, that we may know and serve The aright, and that all our actions may tend to Thy glory and to our advancement in knowledge and virtue; and we beseech Thee, O Lord God, to bless this our present assembling, and to illuminate our minds by the divine precepts of Thy Holy Word, and teach us to walk in the light of Thy countenance; and when the trials of our probationary state are over be admitted into the temple "not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens." Amen.

From The Monitor of the Lodge

(There are others as well, but I'm not going to bother typing them all.)

Edit to link to a bunch of others:
www.masonicsites.org...

[edit on 7/13/2008 by JoshNorton]

reply posted on 13-7-2008 @ 11:29 PM by re22666

1) is there ever a reason for someone to asked to leave the masons, or be forced out - whatever that might entail?

2) in a very general sense, what would disqualify you for membership?

3) are there different "breeds" of lodges? if so, any expanse on that would be awesome.

thanks in advance

reply posted on 13-7-2008 @ 11:49 PM by JoshNorton

Originally posted by re22666
1) is there ever a reason for someone to asked to leave the masons, or be forced out - whatever that might entail?

Could happen for a number of reasons: failure to pay dues is pretty common, though reinstatement is generally easy if that's the reason you're kicked out. Being found guilty of commission of a felony might be grounds for immediate expulsion, but I'm not sure on the actual procedure involved. Likewise, one could have charges of "unmasonic conduct" lodged against them, in which case a Masonic trial would be held. (There's a whole book on Masonic jurisprudence...) Failure to comply with the laws or constitution of the Grand Lodge of which you are a member, or the bylaws of your particular lodge. The Grand Master could kick you out because he had a stick up his... well, you get the picture.

So yeah, lots of ways you could either screw it up for yourself, or get someone who's really gunning to get you to make things difficult for you.

2) in a very general sense, what would disqualify you for membership?

Being an atheist. Being a woman. Being a criminal. Wanting to join for the wrong reasons. Lying on your application.

3) are there different "breeds" of lodges? if so, any expanse on that would be awesome.

Any lodge is likely to have its own character and personality. Mine is pretty progressive, with a few openly gay members, a large number of young members who get along well with the old-timers, etc. There are still lodges that won't accept blacks, whether it be official policy or unwritten good 'ol boys rule. Sad, but true. I'd never knowingly sit in a bigoted lodge, and the reason I chose the lodge that I did was because one of my friends was a member and he knew enough about the other lodges in my city to steer me to the one he thought I'd fit best with.

Again, nobody's saying becoming a Mason makes you a saint over night. We're all human, and as such, we all have flaws. The best we can hope for is to recognize that, work on our own selves, and whisper good council in the ear of our brothers who may fall astray.

reply posted on 14-7-2008 @ 12:06 AM by re22666

so how might you find out what the different lodges are like without first petitioning?

reply posted on 14-7-2008 @ 12:19 AM by RuneSpider

reply to post by re22666

Most lodges that I am aware of have a website that will list some general info about itself, a calendar of events, and a way of getting in touch with the members, generally through phone or email.
You could try checking the schedule and seeing if you have time to make a sponsored event, and talking with the members there, or establishing an email conversation with one of them.
EditL Forgot to mention , a little bit of google work can do you good, I found a register of the ldges in Florida, and more specificaly the ones in my home town. You should have something similar, from there it's pretty much up to you to decide how to approach the members, I would recommend not announcing yourself along similar lines as "Hi, I want to join to find out if you guys really worship Satan/to take advantage of all of business and monetary gains you guys have." Dunno how good their sense of humor may be.

[edit on 14-7-2008 by RuneSpider]

reply posted on 14-7-2008 @ 12:19 AM by JoshNorton

*sigh* I thought mods were suppose to actually read this Anonymous drivel before letting it through. They should know better than to let this one pass:

Originally posted by Anonymous ATS
The First 3 to 5 degrees of freemasonry are recieved in the local small or BLUE lodges

Well, that would be the first 3. There is no 4 or 5 in the Blue Lodge.

The lower level of masons know absolutely nothing about the much higher levels.

That would be because there's no such thing as higher level Masons. 3rd Degree is the top of the game.

The higher level masons allow the lesser ones to assume that they in fact know everything about the organization, YES they worship statan. This is a hard core fact.

Actually, it's a soft-core lie. (It doesn't even show any of the good stuff...)

My uncle was a 33th degree level freemason.

That's nice. My great uncle is J.D. Salinger. Does that make me an expert on Catcher in the Rye? No, so your lineage is nothing to brag about when it comes to your so-called "facts".

one of the highest level passwords is 'tubalcain' this is also a fact.

It's such a big secret that in CT they hold the Two Ball Cane Golf Classic

Yes, they serve only Satan, Allmost all the presidents of the u.s. were in fact freemasons.

1 4 out of 43. Less than 1/3. I guess that counts for "almost all" now days?

The free refers to the fact that during the 1880.s for a long time they did not charge dues, irgo, freemasons.

Early operative Freemasons, unlike virtually all Europeans except the Clergy, were Free - not bound to the land on which they were born. The various skills required in building complex stone structures, especially churches and cathedrals, allowed skilled masons to travel and find work at will.

History of Freemasonry

The pope is the highest level freemason.

And yet the Catholic Church wants to excommunicate any of its members who become Masons?

Do the reshearch you will see i speak the truth.

I've done the research, and proven you a liar.

A large number of the higher level ones are phedofiles. I think this is misspelled..............Don,t believe me do the research you.ll see.

Thanks for your encouragement not to believe you. Still not sure why you bothered making the post, though.

[edit on 7/14/2008 by JoshNorton]

reply posted on 14-7-2008 @ 12:27 AM by RuneSpider

reply to post by JoshNorton

''Cause it's more fun to believe and make up lies than to study and learn about life and reality."
That's more of a paraphrase than a direct quote, but the gist is still there, it's why ATS get's half the traffic it does.
Oh yeah, paraphrased from a book by Dean Koontz/

reply posted on 14-7-2008 @ 12:52 AM by re22666

wow, that is some scary stuff. i never heard the one about the pedofiles but these days, thanks to MSNBC pedofiles are everywhere. thanks again for opening this thread, i found it quite interesting and a nice place to have a peaceful exchange of info. i am afraid the low tolerance level i see for this excludes it from being an example of good board ideas to come.

reply posted on 14-7-2008 @ 01:06 AM by JoshNorton

Originally posted by re22666
wow, that is some scary stuff. i never heard the one about the pedofiles but these days, thanks to MSNBC pedofiles are everywhere. thanks again for opening this thread, i found it quite interesting and a nice place to have a peaceful exchange of info. i am afraid the low tolerance level i see for this excludes it from being an example of good board ideas to come.

I wouldn't sweat it too much. The Anonymous coward only said that the highest level masons were phedofiles, and everyone knows that PHED stands for "Precision Home Entertainment & Design". What Mason wouldn't want a good entertainment center to better play-back their mind control signals?

But you're right about those MSNBC correspondents. I hear their favorite pickup line now days is "You're not going to kill yourself, are you?"

reply posted on 14-7-2008 @ 01:20 AM by scarecrow58

Thank you for this opportunity to ask some questions.

1. Would a younger mason feel out of place at all? (ie is the lodge more for older men at which one of roundabouts 18-22 years of age would not quite fit in well with)

2. Without having any personal masonic contacts, how would one go about becoming a mason?

3. Do you have any regrets with becoming a mason (or wish you would have become one earlier than you did)?

4. About how much are the dues? Would one with a rather low income (let us say a struggling college student) be able to afford them?

5. How often are meetings and during what time do they usually take place (ie would meetings interfere with work or school) and what happens if you miss a meeting?

Your answers much appreciated!

reply posted on 14-7-2008 @ 01:23 AM by re22666

Originally posted by JoshNorton

Originally posted by re22666
wow, that is some scary stuff. i never heard the one about the pedofiles but these days, thanks to MSNBC pedofiles are everywhere. thanks again for opening this thread, i found it quite interesting and a nice place to have a peaceful exchange of info. i am afraid the low tolerance level i see for this excludes it from being an example of good board ideas to come.
I wouldn't sweat it too much. The Anonymous coward only said that the highest level masons were phedofiles, and everyone knows that PHED stands for "Precision Home Entertainment & Design". What Mason wouldn't want a good entertainment center to better play-back their mind control signals?

But you're right about those MSNBC correspondents. I hear their favorite pickup line now days is "You're not going to kill yourself, are you?"

thats too funny. i am not sweating it, i was just taken aback by that one. i guess i want to be a phedofile too. I have been interested for at least a decade but really have not gone out of my way to research until recently. i have gone to the library and read some books but then i was never sure who wrote what and who to believe. I do not know any masons so i could never ask anyone to help out. i think this is great, and so far, its pretty funny too. i am sure i will come up with more questions.

to the anonymous poster- what point would be made if there were pedofiles among the ranks of freemasons. find me a group, industry, any collective where you cannot find that members have comitted sins. if thousands of child molesting priests do not make the catholic church an outright kidsex factory, then how many masons would have to be pedofiles for it to be a factor of the group and not just individual deviants hiding their sins?

reply posted on 14-7-2008 @ 01:36 AM by roxaz

you presented masons as friendly suburbans that do gatherings and spend quality time, that never forget their friends and act only with good intentions. do you rly expect us to fall for that? i should admit that i rly dont know much about masons. however its enough for me to see that masons are distributing RFID for children (!) and its enough to understand what you are rly up to. i assume you will say that those chips are not meant to do harm. k, my question: why are you distributing those chips then? (you can skip security crap, it does not sound real at all)

reply posted on 14-7-2008 @ 01:44 AM by ALightinDarkness

Originally posted by scarecrow58
1. Would a younger mason feel out of place at all? (ie is the lodge more for older men at which one of roundabouts 18-22 years of age would not quite fit in well with)

I joined the lodge when I was 21, and most of the members of my lodge are older. However, I don't feel out of place at all. I guess that just depends on how used you are to being around people that may not be in you age range. Also, since I've joined, we've had A LOT of younger members join. I'd say the median age among the membership for my lodge has dropped 15 years since I've joined.

Originally posted by scarecrow58
2. Without having any personal masonic contacts, how would one go about becoming a mason?

Just ask. Contact a lodge near you and tell them you are interested in learning more about them and maybe applying for membership down the road. They'll give you a tour, invite you to open events, etc. If your not sure what lodge is near you, contact your state's grand lodge and they can direct you to one.

Originally posted by scarecrow58
3. Do you have any regrets with becoming a mason (or wish you would have become one earlier than you did)?

I wish I would have joined earlier, at 18 or so. I would have had more time in college than I do in my PhD program to spend as much time on masonry as I would like. As it is, I'm lucky to make the meetings and help out with some of the charity. I'd like to join a research lodge and throw myself into the philosophy side of things down the road.

Originally posted by scarecrow58
4. About how much are the dues? Would one with a rather low income (let us say a struggling college student) be able to afford them?

I am a struggling PhD student, and was a few years ago a college student, so I know what its like! It shouldn't be a problem - dues depend on the lodge, but at mine they are $60/year. You will have to pay a one time fee to cover your initiation, which varies amongst jurisdictions but could cost $100-200. That fee pays for your apron, and upon raising, your masonic bible (before the anti's freak out: its just a regular bible with some masonic stuff in the front).

Originally posted by scarecrow58
5. How often are meetings and during what time do they usually take place (ie would meetings interfere with work or school) and what happens if you miss a meeting?

This also varies between jurisdictions. Anywhere from once to twice a month is normal. Some lodges also "go dark" during the summer months. The more affiliated bodies you join, the more meetings you can have. Scottish Rite meets once or twice a month, York Rite I assume meets once or twice a month, etc.

Upon receiving the first degree all masons are told that while your attendance is of course sought out, your life - school, work, family, church, etc. - comes before masonry. I've missed months at a time due to being in the midst of writing a thesis, and it wasn't an issue. If you miss a meeting? Not a big deal.

reply posted on 14-7-2008 @ 01:52 AM by ALightinDarkness

Originally posted by roxaz
you presented masons as friendly suburbans that do gatherings and spend quality time, that never forget their friends and act only with good intentions. do you rly expect us to fall for that?

Well, I usually expect that people will look at the evidence and come to their conclusions. Seems like a pretty reasonable expectation to me.

Originally posted by roxaz
i should admit that i rly dont know much about masons. however its enough for me to see that masons are distributing RFID for children (!) and its enough to understand what you are rly up to.

No offense, but your right, you really don't know anything about the masons. There is no RFID for children program run by the masons. Never has been, never was. What you did was see an advertisement for the Masonic Child Identification Programs (CHIP) and jump to conclusions based on the acronym. This is not a RFID program, its a program offered by many charities where a child's identification information (finger prints, hair, etc.) are collected and then given to the parents of the child to keep. In the event that their child is lost, the parent can give that information to the police in order to help locate the child. Nothing sinister about it.

Originally posted by roxaz
i assume you will say that those chips are not meant to do harm. k, my question: why are you distributing those chips then? (you can skip security crap, it does not sound real at all)

As there are no chips, its hard for them to do harm or be distributed.

reply posted on 14-7-2008 @ 01:56 AM by re22666

Originally posted by roxaz
you presented masons as friendly suburbans that do gatherings and spend quality time, that never forget their friends and act only with good intentions. do you rly expect us to fall for that? i should admit that i rly dont know much about masons. however its enough for me to see that masons are distributing RFID for children (!) and its enough to understand what you are rly up to. i assume you will say that those chips are not meant to do harm. k, my question: why are you distributing those chips then? (you can skip security crap, it does not sound real at all)

this seems like an incredibly ignorant and empty statement. based on what are masons evil or up to no good? what is this RFID for kids program. im here to hear all sides but at least substantiate something if you are going to make a statement.

reply posted on 14-7-2008 @ 02:21 AM by RuneSpider

reply to post by roxaz

Tell me, lad, since you obviously spend so much work in your... not researching Masons, how exactly have you come to determine that Masons are evil?
The RFID tag you seem to be talking about, if anything but. But please, prove me wrong, show me what you mean.

reply posted on 14-7-2008 @ 06:03 AM by Mahilum

More questions for you guys, and thanks in advance:

1. What is the link between Masonry and Rosicrucianism?

2. What is the justification for handing out a Masonic Bible when no one religion is supposed to be chosen over the others?

reply posted on 14-7-2008 @ 06:16 AM by ALightinDarkness

Originally posted by Mahilum
1. What is the link between Masonry and Rosicrucianism?

None, besides how it is used in the Rose Croix (18th?) degree in the Scottish Rite. Its a beautiful degree, but really, that is all it is. I think - although I do not know - that there might be some masonic styled Rosicurcian orders. To my knowledge, they are all "minor" side orders. Masonry has so many minor side orders its very hard to keep up with.

Originally posted by Mahilum
2. What is the justification for handing out a Masonic Bible when no one religion is supposed to be chosen over the others?

Not everyone hands out a masonic bible (I think this is something which varies by lodge), however I do know my lodge does. It is not an endorsement of Christianity, but simply a recognition that the context and mythology behind the blue lodge degrees is found in the Old Testament. King Solomon's temple is used to teach the lessons of the degree, and so in the case of my lodge I believe the members thought it was prudent to hand out the text from which we draw those teachings. I don't think there would be an objection to handing out any other holy book, although I have not seen a masonic Koran or Torah.

Honestly, my masonic bible is so huge it really can only be used as a coffee table book - which is where it is, by the way, buried underneath all my other coffee table books.

[edit on 14-7-2008 by ALightinDarkness]