What is A Mason?

What is A Mason?

What Is A Mason?

That’s not a stunning question. Although Masons (Freemasons) area unit members of the biggest and oldest fraternity within the world and although nearly everybody contains a father or gramps or uncle UN agency was a Mason, many of us are not quite bound simply UN agency Masons area unit.

The answer is easy. A Mason (or Freemasons) could be a member of a fraternity refers to as Masonry (or Freemasonry). A fraternity could be a cluster of men (just as a society could be a cluster of women) United Nations agency be a part of a long because:       

  • There are square measure things they need to try and do within the world.
  • There are square measure things they need to try and do “inside their minds.”
  • They relish being along with men they like and respect.

    Masonic History
                             Masonic History

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A MASON

To be a Mason means to be a father who encourages his son to make good decisions, to be a business leader who brings morality to his workplace, and to be an individual who is thinking about the tough issues in his life.

What’s Masonry?

Masonry (or Freemasonry) is that the oldest fraternity within the world. Nobody is aware of simply however recent it’s as a result of the particular origins are lost in time. Probably, it arose from the guilds of stonemasons UN agency engineered the castles and cathedrals of the center Ages. Possibly, they were influenced by the Knights Templar, a bunch of Christian someone monks fashioned in 1118 to assist defend pilgrims creating journeys to the Promised Land.

An Old Freemason
             An Old Freemason

In 1717, Masonry or Freemasons created a proper organization in England once the primary Grand Lodge was shaped. A Grand Lodge is that the unit answerable of Masonry in some geographic area. Within the U.S., there’s a Grand occupy every state and therefore the District of Columbia. In Canada, there’s a Grand occupying every province. Native organizations of Mason’s or Freemasons are referred to as lodges. There are lodges in most cities and enormous cities sometimes have many. There are concerning thirteen, 200 lodges within us.

How did Masonry reach America if it came from Britain?

In a time once travel was by horseback and sailing vessel, Masonry unfold with superb speed. By 1731, once the author joined the fraternity, there have been already many lodges within the Colonies, and Masonry unfold a chop-chop as America enlarged west. Additionally to Franklin, several of the institution Fathers men like George Washington, silver worker, Joseph Warren, and John Hancock–were Masons. Masons and Masonry content half within the Revolutionary War and an excellent additional important half within the convention and also the debates close the approval of the Bill of Rights. Several of these debates were a command in Masonic lodges.

What’s a lodge?

The word “lodge” means that each a bunch of Masons or Freemasons meeting in someplace and also the area or building during which they meet. Masonic buildings are typically referred to as “temples” as a result of a lot of the symbolism Masonry uses to show its lessons comes from the building of King Solomon’s Temple within the geographical area. The term “lodge” comes from the structures that the stonemasons designed against the perimeters of the cathedrals throughout construction. In winter, once buildings had to prevent, they lived in these lodges and worked at carving stone.

The arrangement of lodge rooms today is similar to the diagram above although there are some variations from state to state and country to country.

Like several artisans these days, stonemason’s centuries agony wore animal skin aprons to hold their tools and to guard themselves against flying chips of stone. Thus, electronic equipment Masons or Freemasons wear a lambskin or fabric apron, generally intricately embellished or decorated, to indicate their pride in being members of a fraternity with so long and great a history.

Masonic Lodge Diagram
                                              Masonic Lodge Diagram

Since Masonry came to America from a European nation, we tend to still use nation plan and English titles for the officers. The Worshipful Master of the Lodge sits within the East. ‘Worshipful” is an associate degree English term of respect which means an equivalent factor as “Honorable.” He is the Master of the lodge for an equivalent reason that the leader of the associate degree orchestra is  the “Concert Master.” It’s merely an associate degree older term for “Leader.” In different organizations, he would be known as “President.” The Senior and Junior Wardens are the primary and Second Vice-Presidents.

In the United States and Canada, lodges display a “Volume of the Sacred Law.” Almost always, the Bible is on the altar.

What goes on in a lodge?

The following explanations of why men become Masons would be a good place to repeat what we said earlier:

  • Their world is full of things they would like to do.
  • In their heads, they have a lot of things they want to do.
  • With men they like and respect, they enjoy spending time together.

The Lodge is a center of such kinds of activities.

Inside Masonic Lodge
                        Inside Masonic Lodge

Masonry does things in the world

Masonry teaches that every person includes a responsibility to create things higher within the world. Most people will not be those to search out a cure for cancer or eliminate the financial condition, or facilitate produce world peace, however, each man and lady and kid will do one thing to assist others and to create things a touch higher. Masonry is deeply committed serving to people-it spends over $1.4 million greenbacks a day within the US, simply to create life a touch easier. And also the nice majority of that facilitate goes to folks that don’t seem to be Masons.

How does a man become a Mason?
                           Masonry Things

Some of these charities area unit large comes, just like the Shriners Hospitals for youngsters and Burns Institutes. Also, Scottish ceremony Masons maintain a nationwide network of over one hundred Childhood Language Disorders Clinics, Centers, and Programs. Every helps youngsters afflicted by such conditions as a brain disorder, dyslexia, unarticulated and connected learning or speech disorders. The Grand Lodge of FL supports the Masonic Medical workplace associate degree internationally recognized medical specialty analysis institute.

Some services area unit less noticeable, like serving to a widow pay her invoice or shopping for coats and shoes for deprived kids. And there is regarding something you’ll be able to think about the middle. However with comes giant or little, the Masons of a lodge try and facilitate building the planet a higher place. The lodge offers them how to mix with others to try and do even a lot of smart.

Masonry does things “inside” the individual Mason

Grow or die” could be a nice law of all nature. Most people feel a requirement for continued growth as people. They feel they’re not as honest or as charitable or as compassionate or as warm or as trusting or similarly informed as they got to be. Masonry reminds its members over and once more of the importance of those qualities and education. It lets men keep company with different men of honor and integrity WHO believe that things like honesty, compassion, love, trust, and data square measure vital. In some ways that, Masonry could be a support cluster for men WHO try to create the proper selections. It’s easier to follow these virtues after you recognize that those around you think that they’re vital, too, and will not taunt you. That is a significant reason that Mason’s fancy is alone. 

Masons enjoy each other’s company

Lodges have picnics, habitation journeys, and plenty of events for the complete family. For members solely, 2 basic styles of conferences come about in a very lodge. The most common could be a straightforward business meeting. To open and shut the meeting, there’s a ceremony whose purpose is to cue the United States of America of the virtues by that we tend to be imagined to live. Then there’s a reading of the minutes; selection on petitions; coming up with for charitable functions, family events, and different lodge activities; and sharing data regarding members World Health Organization are unwell or have some kind of would like. But each lodge serves over its members. Examples are Ladies’ Nights, “Brother Brings companion Nights.” public installations of officers, cornerstone birth ceremonies, and different special conferences supporting community events and addressing topics of native interest.

What’s a degree?

As you’ll see, the names area unit taken from the craft guilds. In the middle Ages, once someone wished to affix a craft, like the goldsmiths, carpenters, or stonemasons, he was 1st unfree. When he had proved his skills, he became a “Fellow of the Craft” and once he had exceptional ability, he was called a Master of the Craft. The degrees area unit plays within which the candidate participates.

Freemasons
                         Masonic Degrees

Each degree uses symbols to show, even as plays did within the Middle Ages and as several theatrical productions do these days. The Masonic degrees teach the good lessons of life-the importance of honor and integrity, of being someone on whom others will swear, of being each trusting and trustworthy, of realizing that you just have a religious nature also as a physical or animosity, of the importance of self-control, of knowing the way to love and favor of knowing the way to keep confidential what others tell you so that they’ll “open up” without concern.

Why is Masonry so “secretive”?

Masons or Freemasons certainly do not make a secret of the fact that they are members of the fraternity. We wear rings, lapel pins, and tie clasps with Masonic emblems like the Square and Compasses, the best known of Masonic signs which, logically, recall the fraternity’s early symbolic roots in stone-masonry. Masonic buildings are dearly marked and are usually listed in the phone book. Lodge activities are not secret, picnics and other events are even listed in the newspapers, especially in smaller towns.

 But there are some Masonic secrets, and they fall into two categories. The first is how a man can identify himself as Mason grips and passwords. The second group is harder to describe, but they are the ones Masons usually mean if we talk about “Masonic secrets”. They are the changes that happen to a man when he really accepts responsibility for his own life and, at the same time, truly decides that his real happiness is in helping others. That’s why sometimes they say that Masonic secrets cannot be told. But if Masonry is a secret society, it’s the worst-kept secret in the world.

Is Masonry a religion?

The answer to that question is simple. No!

We do use rituals in meetings, and because there is always an altar or table with the Volume of the Sacred Law open if a lodge is meeting, some people have confused Masonry with a religion, but it is not. That does not mean that religion plays no part in Masonry—it plays a very important part. Members of the P.T.A. believe in the importance of education.

They support it and assert that no man or woman can be a complete and whole individual or live up to his or her full potential without education. These people don’t try to tell people what they should study or what their major should be. In much the same way, Masons believe in the importance of religion.

What is a Masonic Bible?

Bibles square measure trendy gifts among Masons or Freemasons, frequently given to an individual once he joins the lodge or at different special events. A Masonic Bible is that an equivalent book anyone thinks of as a Bible (it’s generally the King James translation) with a special page among the front thereon to jot the name of the one World Health Organization is receiving it and conjointly the occasion thereon it’s giving. Generally, there’s a special index or data section that shows the person wherever among the Bible to hunt out the passages that unit of measurement quoted among the Masonic ritual.

Old Freemasonry Books
                      Old Freemasonry Books

So, is Masonry education?

Back within the Middle Ages, faculties were commanding within the lodges of stonemasons or Freemasons. Masons or Freemasons started a number of the primary public faculties in Europe and America. We tend to encourage our members to grant volunteer time to their native faculties.  Purchase schoolroom provides for academics, facilitates with acquisition programs, and does everything. They’ll assist assure that every person, adult or kid, has the most effective academic opportunities potential.

What does Masonry teach?

Masonry teaches that: Since God is that the Creator, all men and ladies area unit the youngsters of God. Even once we area unit tempted to stinginess, we tend to should be charitable. We discover that religion in our homes of worship, not in Freemasonry. However, Masonry perpetually teaches that a human religion, no matter what it should be, is central to a decent life. So, Freemasons or masons are the men who learned to help society in a better way.

Masonic Teachings
                         Masonic Teachings

What are the requirements for membership?

The one that needs to affix Masonry should be a person, sound in body and mind, World Health Organization believes in God, is a minimum of the minimum age needed by Masonry in his state, and incorporates a smart name. . But there square measure others, not thus formal. He ought to believe there’s additional to life than pleasure and cash. He ought to be willing to respect the opinions of others.

How does a man become a Mason?

Some men square measure stunned that nobody has ever asked them to become a Mason. They’ll even feel that the Masons in their city do not assume they’re good enough to hitch. We can tell them concerning what Masonry will do. We can tell them why we tend to fancy it.

However, turning into  Masons or Freemasons could be a terribly serious factor. Connotation Masonry is creating a permanent life commitment to measure inbound ways. So, once a person decides he needs to be a Mason, he asks a Mason for a petition or application. If the vote is affirmative–and it invariably is–the lodge will contact the person to line the date for the Entered Apprentice Degree.

So, what’s a Mason?

A man who has learned that he feels good about himself and all other masons or Freemasons. He is always concerned about the future as well as the past.  And he does whatever he can, both alone himself and with others. He always tries to make things good for everyone in present and in the future.

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