I am a Freemason

A Master Mason, Past Master, Knight Templar, 32nd Degree, and a Noble of the Shrine

The song is WHISPER. Us the control to adjust or stop.

Not only that, but I am very proud of that fact. Some of you may wonder what an ordained Minister is doing in a fraternity like this. My answer would be: why aren't all Christians Masons?

But more of you are probably saying: "yes, I've heard of them, in fact my (father/grandfather/uncle/friend) is one." And the biggest question: "WHAT is a Freemason?"

Because of the questions, and some confusion over Masonry, I put this page up to help answer some questions, and stop much confusion. Hopefully, your most important questions will be answered. I know, however, some Christian Churches are VERY against my fraternity. I cannot stop bigotry--and I won't try. But I will offer some explanation of our stance. Maybe hearing it "from the horses mouth" will help.

Masonry (more correctly "Freemasonry") is a society of friends and brothers who ban together to try to make themselves better. They are united in that cause, and others. We, as a worldwide fraternity, (the largest in the world) give over 2 million dollars per day to charitable causes.
We have an ancient history, which was revealed to the world in 1717 when the Grand Lodge of England came out publicly. Before that, some say we go back to the masons who built King Solomon's Temple. Others say we came from the Historical Knights Templar. Be that as it may, we can claim to be the worlds oldest fraternal institution.

There are only a few requirements to become a Mason:

You MUST believe in a Supreme Being
You MUST be of lawful age in the State you reside
You MUST be of good moral character
You MUST ask to join--no one will ask you!

Here are the most commonly asked questions about Freemasonry:

1. What God must you believe in??
That is entirely up to you. 90% of Masons in the U.S. are Christian. I believe the Worldwide statistic is about 85%. There are Jewish Masons, Muslim Masons, and others. Masons make NO judgment of a person's personal religious belief--the only requirement is that you believe in one.

2. I am an Atheist. Can I join?
NO! No atheist can become a Mason. You MUST believe in a Supreme Being. The reason is simple--without a belief in a God, our obligations would be of no effect. When you see a Mason, you are looking at a God-fearing Man.

3. Isn't Masonry a religion?
Absolutely NOT! We have no fraternal Savior, offer no plan of salvation, promote no scripture, and have no prophets. All Master Masons are encouraged to worship at the Church/Synagog/Mosque, or house of Worship of their choice. Masonry has NEVER been a religion, nor does it want to be. It also NOT a substitute for one.

4. But you PRAY at your meetings, don't you--that means you are a religion!!
So do the Boy/Girl Scouts, the Senate, House of Representatives, some sporting events, well--a lot of institutions offer prayer. Are THEY religions? Absolutely NOT! and neither are we. We are composed of RELIGIOUS MEN, so it would be natural that we pray.

5. But you don't pray in the name of JESUS/MOHAMMOD/insert your deity....
No, are prayers are generic. Why? BECAUSE WE ARE NOT A RELIGION! We are not in the business of offending our brothers. We are a Universal Fraternity--not a Christian/Jewish/any other fraternity.

6. Well, then, you are all pagans and are lost/going to hell/are infidel--insert your own damnation
How can we answer that? We are NOT a religion. Never have been. If the above is true, then all the Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts, are all pagan and are lost. Reason goes spinning!

7. How about all those weird symbols? Do they mean anything?
Yes, they do. The most common one is the Square and Compasses--the most recognized of our emblems. The reason we use symbols is to teach. In the old days, when folks could not read, symbols were used to teach. Are our symbols secret? NO! Here's the explanation of our Square and Compasses: The square teaches us to "square" our actions with the "square of virtue." The Compasses (the instrument used to draw circles) teaches us to circumscribe (draw a circle around, as a boundary) our passions. And the "G"----considering our belief in a Supreme Being, what do you THINK that means? Really pagan, isn't it? All of our symbols are that easy--just take a look at them, and think!

8. But you take BLOOD OATHS, don't you?
We take obligations. They are symbolic also. All of Masonry is illustrated with symbols. Most Protestants look upon the Communion/Lord's Supper as symbolic, and no Mason is accusing them of Cannibalism! Yes, that is extreme, but so are some of the accusations against Masons.

9. Masonry is a plot--you are out to take over the world with ONE NEW WORLD ORDER!! You are all rich, and are out to get us all!
This is so ludicrous I shouldn't respond to it. My little Lodge is barely hanging on, and we are going to take over the world---yeah, right! Mason's come from all walks of life--construction workers, Teachers, Sanitation Workers, you name it. Yes, there are also movie stars (Ernest Borgnine, John Wayne etc) Astronauts (John Glenn) Lawyers, and so forth. There are Ministers (Norman Vincent Peale) and the list goes on! Take over the world! Here are some of the others....George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, Davy Crockett....shall I go on? Please stop the nonsense!
Not patriotic? Well, lets stop saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag--after all, it was written by a Baptist Minister-----who was a Mason. While we are at it, that flag was sewn by Betsy Ross. Burn it! Her husband asked her to sew it, and HE was a mason!!! And PLEASE stop singing God Bless America! Why--it was written by a Mason. And all Christians must stop singing Onward Christian Soldiers, for it too was written by a Mason!

10. But you just CAN NOT have one God for everyone!
And we are not trying to. Rather, we are seeking a means by which all men who believe in a God can join together for the good of all mankind. Simply that, and nothing more. Freemasonry does not seek to make bad men good, but to make good men better.

11. Come on now, Rev. Gary, Masons do have secrets!
Yes, we do. Our modes of recognition and our ritual work are secret. And so are your finances, business contacts, and your networking techniques. I had a fellow preacher ask me once about our secret work, and I gave him the standard answer: "Sorry, that's our fraternal secrets." "See" he said, "Your satanic!!!" "Well" I asked, "tell me about your church contributions!" "Sorry, your not a member of our church" he replied "So that's none of your business." He was right, of course, it was none of my business. But he thought about that for awhile, and never asked me about our rituals again. Our business is our business, yours is yours. If you were EVER a member of a college fraternity, I know you completely understand.

HOW DO YOU JOIN?

To be one, ask one. Simply find a Mason (you probably know one already) and ask about how to join. If you really don't know any, look in the phone book under "Fraternal Organizations" or "Freemason". One will get you a petition right away. Fill it out and return it. At their next meeting, the Master of the Lodge will appoint a few men to visit you. This is to determine your character. They will ask you a number of questions--one will be: "why do you want to become a Mason?" If you are married, they will talk to your wife, also. We want her to know what kind of an organization you are joining. Nobody is kept in the dark! We also want her to know about the dues you will pay (anywhere from $30-60 per YEAR, depending on where your lodge is or will be), and the time involved (one or two meetings per month). At the next meeting, the committee will report on their visit to the lodge--who will then vote on you. If you pass, the secretary of the lodge (or someone appointed by the Master) will contact you and inform you of when your first degree ceremony will take place.