Originally posted by gdmfs2200
...i was asked to join the freemasons by my grandpa ...

Having been made a Mason myself was also indirectly a result of my grandfathers influence. Holding true to the standards of "to be one ask one", he sent my grandmother to tell me to ask him about the lodge and how to join. Masonry has always been apart of my family and I was relatively familiar with what it means to be a Mason, I did not know that I had to ask to petition. As most people I was under the assumption that when my time came or if they wanted me to join they would make the first move. Well, it doesn’t work that way. From the time I was a kid admiring his ring, and the similar emblem worn on my fathers ring, I knew one day, whatever it was and whatever it meant, that I would wear it too. And I proudly do, but if you are unsure of what it means to be made a Mason, or if you have any reservations about it, I would suggest talking to him about it first. Find out if it is something you would even be interested in, but always remember that the only secret in Masonry is that there are no secrets!

As an outsider, it seems there is a loose definition/practice behind the motto "2b1ask1". It seems more like "to be one, you must join of your own free will", which is extremely reasonable yet distinctly different from the literal definition to the words of the motto.

This perspective of mine was formed exclusively by reading claims from both the initiated and uninitiated.

i for one am surounded by freemasons ,family members one of them a soon to be potenttai* in two or four years not really sure and i had always asked them about it and thay wouldent tell me much at all. nothing close to what ive read on these boards.

but in all those years not one of them have ever asked me to join
take it for what you will
OP you have a lot to consider
fallow your hart, mine has goten me this far in life .