# Master Mason Proficiency



## drw72 (Jan 7, 2016)

I am standing my Master Mason Proficiency tonight and it got me thinking, do other states do this as well?

Here in Florida it is optional but if you stand (and pass) your MM proficiency you are then presented with your apron, Bible, and certificate.


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## skas (Jan 7, 2016)

We present apron and Bible just after the MM degree.  I'm not aware of any certificate in my state.

We do proficiency by committee (typically) and won't provide a dues card until proficiency proven (and dues paid).


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## Dontrell Stroman (Jan 7, 2016)

You will be given a bible ? Is the certificate your speaking of the Master mason diploma ?


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## dfreybur (Jan 7, 2016)

Depends on the state.  In Texas it's mandatory.  In California it's optional unless you go into an elected chair.

In California I got my apron and Bible the night I was raised and a large frame-able and small wallet-sized copy of a certificate when I presented my MM proficiency a couple of years later.


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## drw72 (Jan 7, 2016)

I have not seen the Certificate but here is a picture I got from a post by 'levelhead'.


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## drw72 (Jan 7, 2016)

Travelling Man91 said:


> You will be given a bible ?



Yes, according to our Secretary.


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## Dontrell Stroman (Jan 7, 2016)

dfreybur said:


> Depends on the state.  In Texas it's mandatory.  In California it's optional unless you go into an elected chair.
> 
> In California I got my apron and Bible the night I was raised and a large frame-able and small wallet-sized copy of a certificate when I presented my MM proficiency a couple of years later.


What bible are you talking about ? I received my white lamb skin apron, my master mason apron, a master mason diploma, my monitor, and Constitution. Do y'all not receive a master mason diploma ?


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## Wheatfarmer (Jan 7, 2016)

Good luck , I too am doing mine as well on Friday night. So I can take a chair.


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## drw72 (Jan 7, 2016)

Wheatfarmer said:


> Good luck , I too am doing mine as well on Friday night. So I can take a chair.


Thank you Brother....and good luck to you as well.


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## Dontrell Stroman (Jan 7, 2016)

drw72 said:


> I have not seen the Certificate but here is a picture I got from a post by 'levelhead'.


Okay I see. I believe they are the same thing. Just worded a little different.


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## Brother JC (Jan 7, 2016)

In NM it's required to be elected to office or go on to Appendant or Concordant bodies.


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## MRichard (Jan 7, 2016)

dfreybur said:


> Depends on the state.  In Texas it's mandatory.  In California it's optional unless you go into an elected chair.
> 
> In California I got my apron and Bible the night I was raised and a large frame-able and small wallet-sized copy of a certificate when I presented my MM proficiency a couple of years later.



Mandatory in Grand Lodge of Texas as Brother dfreybur stated and must be done within 3 months, I believe. All the degrees have some type of limits.


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## Ripcord22A (Jan 7, 2016)

Brother JC said:


> In NM it's required to be elected to office or go on to Appendant or Concordant bodies.


Actually its not.  We just added it to Cerrillos' by laws a couple months ago.  In fact johnny just did his MM prof in nov i think after serving as JW and SW.


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## Ripcord22A (Jan 7, 2016)

In Oregon it is required of all MM


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## hanzosbm (Jan 8, 2016)

In KY, to the best of my knowledge, it isn't a requirement unless you want to sit in a chair (I'm not sure if it's all chairs, but I know that SD required it).  That being said, at least in my lodge, it was expected that you take it and there was definitely a stigma for choosing not to take it. 

I've told this story elsewhere, but at the time of my raising, I had a LOT going on in my life and couldn't dedicate the time to study.  I had planned on coming back to it when things settled down.  That being said, those chairs need to be filled, so I was forced to "give" my proficiency, which was a joke, so that I could serve.  Now, obviously, I take Masonry seriously enough that I can study on my own after the fact, and I've done so, however...I've never found anyone willing to take the time with me to learn it since then.  Who wants to spend months teaching something mouth to ear for a man who has been in the craft for years and who technically already holds his proficiency?  This wouldn't be a huge problem with the EA or FC degrees; you can just study the monitor and it seems like lodges are putting on the degrees all the time.  But the MM is different.  The two monitors I have don't give everything, and the degrees are often done in a non-typical setting (i.e., outdoors, at a different lodge, etc) so they are more difficult to get to.  To this day, while I consider myself well educated on the EA and FC degrees (but always still learning), I am weak in the MM degree.

Long story short, do your MM proficiency and REALLY learn it, don't just go through the motions to get the piece of paper.


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## dfreybur (Jan 8, 2016)

Travelling Man91 said:


> What bible are you talking about ? I received my white lamb skin apron, my master mason apron, a master mason diploma, my monitor, and Constitution. Do y'all not receive a master mason diploma ?



http://www.masonicsupplyshop.com/products/Masonic-Altar-Bible-V.S.L.html

That's the Bible presented to newly raised MMs in most lodges I have been to in all three of my current jurisdictions and in all the US jurisdictions I've attended MM degrees in.  It's on my shelf at home.

You were presented both lamb skin and MM aprons?  Cool.  I've seen personal MM aprons but didn't get a second personal apron until my PM one.

California offers a frame sized diploma for MMs but none of the lodges in my mother district give them out.  My wife saw one at GL and ordered it for me for Fathers Day one year.


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## Dontrell Stroman (Jan 8, 2016)

dfreybur said:


> http://www.masonicsupplyshop.com/products/Masonic-Altar-Bible-V.S.L.html
> 
> That's the Bible presented to newly raised MMs in most lodges I have been to in all three of my current jurisdictions and in all the US jurisdictions I've attended MM degrees in.  It's on my shelf at home.
> 
> ...


That is awesome. We have that bible at our alter, but we did not receive one after we was raised. Maybe funding, I don't know. Yes I received both aprons. We only wear the white lambskin apron when teaching a newly EA how to wear it and teaching on the FC. After that it's only worn for funerals or special occasions. Other than that we were our master mason apron with a blue border around it with the square and compass and the all seeing eye on it.


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## Brother_Steve (Jan 9, 2016)

MM proficiency is required in nj.

We get a lambskin apron during our EA degree and a bible after being raised. We only get a dues card after our MM exam.


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## Companion Joe (Jan 10, 2016)

In Tennessee, a man gets his apron when he are raised. The MM lecture is optional, but if you give it in open lodge, you get a certificate.


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## Dontrell Stroman (Jan 10, 2016)

Companion Joe said:


> In Tennessee, a man gets his apron when he are raised. The MM lecture is optional, but if you give it in open lodge, you get a certificate.


Did y'all receive a bible in TN ?


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## Companion Joe (Jan 10, 2016)

That's up to the individual lodges. Some lodges do, some lodges don't, some lodges do if a friend/family member paid for it. It's not automatic or guaranteed.


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## Dontrell Stroman (Jan 10, 2016)

I'm in the MWPHGL and it is the same. That's why I asked. Me don't give a bible but the apron is presented to the Master mason. I like how both Grand lodges operate close to each other.


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## Companion Joe (Jan 10, 2016)

My lodge used to give a Bible all the time, but for some reason, we discontinued the practice (cost maybe?). Last year, I proposed raising our fee for the three degrees and resuming giving the Bible, but several people didn't want to hear of it. I pointed out that unless they planned on taking the degrees again, it wouldn't cost them anything or we weren't raising it just for the sake of raising it, but it still didn't fly. "Raise the fee? The Horror. The HORROR!"


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## Dontrell Stroman (Jan 10, 2016)

RJS said:


> Hi everybody!  For all the new guys it is great to have you and for all the regulars welcome back!


Your not the only one. Our lodge has never have out bibles. To be honest I don't know of any Prince Hall lodges that do. I'm sure there somewhere though. Please don't talk about raising dues, mine are already high enough and high when I joined ha ha


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## Companion Joe (Jan 10, 2016)

That's the same argument and frustration I faced:
Fee - a one-time expenditure paid by a new candidate receiving the three degrees.
Dues - paid annually by members.

No one suggested raising dues. The fee is something entirely different.


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## Dontrell Stroman (Jan 10, 2016)

Companion Joe said:


> That's the same argument and frustration I faced:
> Fee - a one-time expenditure paid by a new candidate receiving the three degrees.
> Dues - paid annually by members.
> 
> No one suggested raising dues. The fee is something entirely different.


Your lodge cause probably go up a little on the fee and it wouldn't matter. You raise it up on a lodge like mine and you are paying nearly 300 dollars


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## Glen Cook (Jan 10, 2016)

The Utah Masonic Foundation provides our Bibles


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## drw72 (Jan 11, 2016)

Thanks for all of the replies. Just to catch everyone up, I passed my MM Proficiency. I will be presented my Apron, Bible, and Certificate at a future meeting.

Apparently Florida (not sure if GL or just my lodge) stopped giving out the Bibles and certificates for several years. According to our secretary they just started giving them out again this past year (2015).


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## Browncoat (Jan 12, 2016)

In Ohio, upon returning your MM proficiency (in open lodge):

Receive lambskin apron (has dates of degrees on inside flap)
Receive Bible (was used @ all 3 of your degrees)
Receive dues card once dues are paid
Receive copy of New Member's Guide to Freemasonry (gift from GL)
I also received a few goodies from members: a small S&C and a lapel pin. The book is a re-title of S. Brent Morris' _Complete Idiot's Guide to Freemasonry_.

For me, the most impressive item was the Bible. I knew I would get an apron, but the Bible was a nice touch. The one my lodge gives out is very, very nice with gold trimmed pages and an incredible leather cover. It's also a very large Bible, and the pages that were open during my degrees are bookmarked, with the passages noted.


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## drw72 (Jan 12, 2016)

In Florida:

“The presentation of the apron as part of the ritualistic work of the Entered Apprentice Degree is purely symbolic, and the short form set forth in the Florida Monitor shall be used. The presentation of a lambskin apron to keep permanently is optional with the Lodge, but if a lambskin apron is to be presented it shall be done in the long form set forth in the Florida Monitor after the Brother has passed satisfactory examination upon the catechism of all Three Degrees. The presentation of an apron may be made in a public ceremony at the option of the Lodge.” - Masonic Law of Florida (38.15)


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## Warrior1256 (Jan 12, 2016)

In Kentucky you can advance no farther than Senior Deacon in the officer line unless you have done your MM proficiency. You have to have it to occupy the chairs of JW, SW and WM.


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## MBC (Jan 15, 2016)

In England and Wales we do not have MM proficiency, only EA and FC just before you being passed and raised. The MM apron is presented within the ceremony of raising.


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## Dontrell Stroman (Jan 15, 2016)

That's how MWPHGL of TN is.


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## Warrior1256 (Jan 15, 2016)

MBC said:


> In England and Wales we do not have MM proficiency, only EA and FC just before you being passed and raised. The MM apron is presented within the ceremony of raising.


Cool!


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## Bro. Brett (Jan 16, 2016)

I received my Lambskin apron and Bible, but that was all.


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## Randy81 (Jan 16, 2016)

To my knowledge, there is only EA and FC proficiency in my jurisdiction, however, once you're raised you can get a proficiency certification from the grand lodge if you prove proficiency in all three degrees. That includes everything though.


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## Dontrell Stroman (Jan 16, 2016)

Randy81 said:


> To my knowledge, there is only EA and FC proficiency in my jurisdiction, however, once you're raised you can get a proficiency certification from the grand lodge if you prove proficiency in all three degrees. That includes everything though.


Which jurisdiction are you in ?


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## Randy81 (Jan 16, 2016)

Louisiana... I'm not yet a master but from what I've been told, I believe I'm right.


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## Warrior1256 (Jan 16, 2016)

Bro. Brett said:


> I received my Lambskin apron and Bible, but that was all.


All I got was the apron and a Kentucky Monitor.


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## Radical540 (Jan 16, 2016)

In Michigan, (no offense), but it's like the wild wild west, and every lodge seems to do whatever they Damn well please, and whatever the "good ole' boys" of the lodge feel like. No consistency whatsoever!


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## Randy81 (Jan 16, 2016)

It would make sense that it varies by lodge and/or district jurisdiction. Each varies in the cost of the degree work. I've heard of lodges having a cost per degree, etc. whereas it was $110 for me and that covers all three degrees. I believe I will only receive the apron and monitor when I'm raised.


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## Dontrell Stroman (Jan 17, 2016)

Radical540 said:


> In Michigan, (no offense), but it's like the wild wild west, and every lodge seems to do whatever they Damn well please, and whatever the "good ole' boys" of the lodge feel like. No consistency whatsoever!


Hey brother, you might want to bring your concerns up in the next MM meeting. You seem to be a little distasteful with freemasonry. When you speak on "good ole boys" are you talking about certain brothers that have formed cliques within the lodge and govern themselves by "I got you, you got me" behavior ?


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## Radical540 (Jan 17, 2016)

Travelling Man91 said:


> Hey brother, you might want to bring your concerns up in the next MM meeting. You seem to be a little distasteful with freemasonry. When you speak on "good ole boys" are you talking about certain brothers that have formed cliques within the lodge and govern themselves by "I got you, you got me" behavior ?


I'm not distasteful about freemasonry in it's true intended form, but what I am distasteful about is when it starts to take on deviations that particular lodges are ok to "run with".    
Yes...the cliques of "good ole boys" that block any type of advancement or progress- that type of behavior is disheartening!


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## AndreAshlar (Jan 21, 2016)

I've a brother in my lodge that was raised 3 years ago and remains without a MM certificate because he hasn't proven proficient...


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## drw72 (Jan 21, 2016)

Randy81 said:


> It would make sense that it varies by lodge and/or district jurisdiction. Each varies in the cost of the degree work. I've heard of lodges having a cost per degree, etc. whereas it was $110 for me and that covers all three degrees. I believe I will only receive the apron and monitor when I'm raised.



I had to pony up $100 per degree.


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## Dontrell Stroman (Jan 21, 2016)

Which jurisdiction are you in ?


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## AndreAshlar (Jan 21, 2016)

drw72 said:


> I had to pony up $100 per degree.


Seems steep to me but every jurisdiction is different...


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## Dontrell Stroman (Jan 21, 2016)

Steep ain't even the word brother. I dint get why PH is so high


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## Warrior1256 (Jan 21, 2016)

drw72 said:


> I had to pony up $100 per degree.


I paid $125.00. This included the three degrees and my first year dues.


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## Dontrell Stroman (Jan 21, 2016)

Warrior1256 said:


> I paid $125.00. This included the three degrees and my first year dues.


I paid more than that.


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## Randy81 (Jan 21, 2016)

Warrior1256 said:


> I paid $125.00. This included the three degrees and my first year dues.


Same for me! I think it was $130 total for all three degrees, and $20 was for a background search. This also includes my first year dues.


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## Glen Cook (Jan 21, 2016)

Radical540 said:


> In Michigan, (no offense), but it's like the wild wild west, and every lodge seems to do whatever they Damn well please, and whatever the "good ole' boys" of the lodge feel like. No consistency whatsoever!


The other way to view it is that the GL allows Lodges to govern themselves. 

The positive view is that there is diversity.  Which inconsistency bothers you?


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## AndreAshlar (Jan 22, 2016)

Warrior1256 said:


> I paid $125.00. This included the three degrees and my first year dues.


I paid $150.


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## drw72 (Jan 23, 2016)

Travelling Man91 said:


> Which jurisdiction are you in ?


Florida


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## Pscyclepath (Jan 23, 2016)

$120 for the three symbolic degrees in my lodge.  Included is the lambskin apron presented during the EA degree, a small symbolic coin used in the same degree, and a Masonic Bible presented at raising.  In our lodge, you get your Monitor, calligraphed and with a lodge seal, when you turn in your MM proficiency.   Dues are pro-rated from the month when you're raised.


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## Warrior1256 (Jan 24, 2016)

Pscyclepath said:


> $120 for the three symbolic degrees in my lodge.  Included is the lambskin apron presented during the EA degree, a small symbolic coin used in the same degree, and a Masonic Bible presented at raising.  In our lodge, you get your Monitor, calligraphed and with a lodge seal, when you turn in your MM proficiency.   Dues are pro-rated from the month when you're raised.


Mine included also the apron and Kentucky monitor.


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## AndreAshlar (Jan 24, 2016)

Warrior1256 said:


> Mine included also the apron and Kentucky monitor.


My $150 covered the blue lodge degrees, apron and ritual.


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## mrpierce17 (Jan 24, 2016)

Ours was 160$ it includes apron ,ritual ,bylaws , constitution , 1st years dues , MM patent & dues card


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## Cootr68 (Jan 25, 2016)

Ours are $50 petition fee (back round check). Then $140 covers all 3 degrees, Bible and lambskin apron (presented at raising). And year of dues. Proficiency not required, but if done in open lodge you get a certificate from GL.


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## Radical540 (Feb 5, 2016)

Glen Cook said:


> The other way to view it is that the GL allows Lodges to govern themselves.
> 
> The positive view is that there is diversity.  Which inconsistency bothers you?


There really is no FULL self governance granted by Grand Lodge. They step in when the cause suits them (usually with regard to finances or money) and prefer to "ignore" when there is no monetary vested interest for them.


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## Radical540 (Feb 5, 2016)

Cootr68 said:


> Ours are $50 petition fee (back round check). Then $140 covers all 3 degrees, Bible and lambskin apron (presented at raising). And year of dues. Proficiency not required, but if done in open lodge you get a certificate from GL.


Is it "real" lambskin?  Ours were more like a cheap vinyl or Naugahyde.


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## Radical540 (Feb 5, 2016)

AndreAshlar said:


> I've a brother in my lodge that was raised 3 years ago and remains without a MM certificate because he hasn't proven proficient...


They've got them on eBay. Just do a search. On nice parchment paper; less than $10 & shipped free!


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## Glen Cook (Feb 5, 2016)

Radical540 said:


> There really is no FULL self governance granted by Grand Lodge. They step in when the cause suits them (usually with regard to finances or money) and prefer to "ignore" when there is no monetary vested interest for them.


Okay, but that wasn't the issue being discussed.  The issue being discussed, was:

The other way to view it is that the GL allows Lodges to govern themselves.

The positive view is that there is diversity. Which inconsistency bothers you?


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## acjohnson53 (Feb 5, 2016)

Back when I was raised back when Moses was still carrying the tablets, I was presented with and Apron, a Ritual, Masonic Birth Certificate..and a life time of unforgettable Memories...


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## dfreybur (Feb 5, 2016)

acjohnson53 said:


> Back when I was raised back when Moses was still carrying the tablets, I was presented with and Apron, a Ritual, Masonic Birth Certificate..and a life time of unforgettable Memories...



Back when I was raised we got mastodon aprons because sheep had not yet been domesticated.  ;^)

AND upwind each way.  Or was it uphill?  No, gotta be upwind because I'm older than dirt and the hills are made of dirt.  ;^)


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## Cootr68 (Feb 6, 2016)

Radical540 said:


> Is it "real" lambskin?  Ours were more like a cheap vinyl or Naugahyde.


Tube says real lambskin from jp Luther. Whether it is real or not I do not know.


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## acjohnson53 (Feb 6, 2016)

I'm not old as dirt yet, but close to, how bout Mud


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