# Why you shouldn't become a Freemason.



## JJones (Apr 18, 2014)

Ya, this article was definitely titled to be an attention-getter but I think the author makes some very good points.  Here's think link:

http://braden168.wordpress.com/2014/04/17/why-you-shouldnt-become-a-freemason/

I'm looking forward to some enlightening debate on this.  At least I hope.


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## jjjjjggggg (Apr 18, 2014)

Yeah, good article. I agree with his assessment.


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## vangoedenaam (Apr 19, 2014)

Found it on reddit earlier. Its very good indeed. The craft is not for everyone. 


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## Brother JC (Apr 19, 2014)

I thought it was pretty spot on. A lot of men come to Freemasonry expecting a service organization, and that isn't what it's all about. Or shouldn't be, at least.


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## goomba (Apr 19, 2014)

Whenever people ask about Masonry I have publications I give them.  I think will now be included in  the packet.


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## Pointwithinacircle (Apr 19, 2014)

OK. I read the article, and I read the responses.  My reaction was agree, agree, agree agree.  I especially liked Daryls comment that their needs to be "a culture of shaping and fitting living stones".  Of course I have slightly modified Daryls comment, I have removed the word "we".   In the 14 years that I have been a Mason I have belonged to three Lodges in three different cities (we move for work about every five years).  In every lodge there have been a few individuals who are involved in the process of creating "a culture of shaping and fitting living stones".  However, the Lodge, _as an institution_, has always seemed poorly equipped to handle this task.

What I am saying is that the shaping and fitting living stones appears to me to be task best suited to an individual, not to an institution.  It is my job, not the lodges job, to create better men.


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## BroBook (Apr 19, 2014)

Good stuff!!!


Bro Book


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## MarkR (Apr 20, 2014)

Pointwithinacircle said:


> What I am saying is that the shaping and fitting living stones appears to me to be task best suited to an individual, not to an institution.  It is my job, not the lodges job, to create better men.


Ah, but it is the job of the lodge to point you in the right direction, to provide support for your work, to answer your questions when you think you've run into walls.  And we need to be better at that.


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## Pointwithinacircle (Apr 20, 2014)

MarkR said:


> Ah, but it is the job of the lodge to point you in the right direction, to provide support for your work, to answer your questions when you think you've run into walls.  And we need to be better at that.



Well said Brother.  While I am not an education officer, I am chairman of the membership committee.  I find that pointing in the right direction, providing support, and answering questions works very well at keeping Masons interested in attending Lodge as well.


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## RyanC (Apr 20, 2014)

MarkR said:


> Ah, but it is the job of the lodge to point you in the right direction, to provide support for your work, to answer your questions when you think you've run into walls.  And we need to be better at that.


I could not agree more with what you said. A book I just read made this statement I'm going to paraphrase it,'new members today are coming into the fraternity more read and informed than Brothers in the past, and with more exceptions of what they want out of Freemasonry. In many cases these new members are disappointed when they discover the knowledge and fellowship they seek is not their'. The author also said that we need to do more to help this new brothers, even though I myself am very new to freemasonry I agree with what he said, so far for me this has been a lonely journey. I should be raised to a MM next month, I have already asked to help next year with the education of new members. My goal will be to start a educational program that can be used for years to come, to help teach, guide, point, and steer new brother in the right direction. I am also forming some ideas on a program/lecture on the Old Charges, that will hopefully be fun and enlightening, if it works out I'll try to do some more for later in the year.
The key to this is we need to be willing to change the culture and short comings that many lodges have. Freemasonry teaches we need to change from within, the lodge should be no different we should be looking to create that prefect ashlar their as well. If we want more than the old that is how it has always been done, we need to be the ones that help make those changes.


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## Brother_Steve (Apr 21, 2014)

I read this as well and sadly I think that if I read this in Lodge some of the Brethren might take offense because this is why they joined...


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## Mac (Apr 21, 2014)

Online, I have read these same ideals in many different forums. In person, I have yet to see then carried out to completion. How many of us are trapped in the established order of minutes and bill-paying making up the majority of the mandatory meetings we attend twice a month? 

Of course, the opposite side if the coin has its own particulars that warrant caution on our part. Many brothers have seen the lack of education in lodge and stepped up to fill that gap. We need to ensure that their lessons are accurate and that the lectures we attend are indeed Masonic and not a mixture of conjecture and personal interpretation. Those qualities have their place, but they should not comprise the entirety of the teaching. 

We are at a point where brothers are "seeing the light," and effecting change. Now we need to ensure that that change stays a good thing by managing it appropriately. 


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## Warrior1256 (Apr 21, 2014)

Informative article, particularly since I am being initiated tonight as an EA.


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## Squire Bentley (Apr 22, 2014)

This was published 5 years ago:

[h=1]Five Reasons NOT TO BE A Freemason & One To Be One[/h]http://www.freemasoninformation.com/2009/03/five-reasons-not-to-be-a-freemason-one-to-be-one/


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## Panzertech (May 11, 2014)

Wow I really enjoyed reading that. Honestly I can't tell you how many people have asked about freemasonry and then told me that it sounds really corny. Maybe I present it wrong but a lot of guys really think you can get something out of nothing these days. However maybe if they are looking for something that freemasonry is not it. My last brother that I brought into the fraternity was and is perfect, he is active in lodge as much as a soldier can be between field exercises and deployment loves the history and even as a FC volunteers for ritual parts. Sometimes the perfect Seeker finds you, it's nice to be reminded that the Fraternity is not for everyone nor should it be.


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## Panzertech (May 11, 2014)

Warrior1256 said:


> Informative article, particularly since I am being initiated tonight as an EA.


Welcome to the craft, Brother.


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## cacarter (May 12, 2014)

I sent this article to my best friend who had shown "interest" in freemasonry for the connections that could come with it since he moves about every 18 months to a new job in a new city.  As much as I would love to be able to call him a brother, I felt his reasons were a little too mercenary.  Maybe some day, but in the meantime the Rotary Club would better suit him.


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