# When can I call myself a Mason?



## curt

I already know the answer to this, but I have been running into some fellows who seem to rejoice in getting ahead of themselves. So, I would appreciate it if some of the older, wiser and more informed Brothers would answer the question for those who are reading the post's. I know several entered apprentices who go around calling themselves masons, is it proper to do so? Or should a man wait until he is made a master mason, to call himself a mason?

Bro. C.W. Miles
Killeen, Texas


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## Frater Cliff Porter

An EA, in Colorado, is directed not to identify himself as a Mason to anyone with whom he has not sat in Lodge.

That being said, I understand how excited guys can get and we need to find a balance between good Masonry and kickin' some young guy in the giblets who is excited about being a Brother..which he is.  You made him a Mason.  So he is one.


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## JJones

Yes and no, if you ask me.  'Yes' in that they could call themselves Masons in the same way an apprentice electrician would call himself a electrician, 'No' in the way that they likely won't be able to handle many questions or much criticism they might face if they were approached about their membership.

What's worse are EA's and FC's that already know 80% of what to expect from the ritual and degree work thanks to research they've done on the internet (despite all the rubbish out there, it's possible, apparently).  I don't know about anyone else but I take no real satisfaction in putting on a degree when the candidate or brother already know what to expect. :/


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## curt

Im kinda in the same boat with you. My next question is, If a Bro. leaves the lodge because of non-payment of his dues, is he still considered a mason? So guys, me included, have had some pretty hard financial woe's. I have my own opinion, but I always like to hear others


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## Bro. Brad Marrs

curt said:
			
		

> Im kinda in the same boat with you. My next question is, If a Bro. leaves the lodge because of non-payment of his dues, is he still considered a mason? So guys, me included, have had some pretty hard financial woe's. I have my own opinion, but I always like to hear others



A Mason is a Mason until he is expelled, or choses not to be a Mason anymore. The best thing a Brother can do in times of financial strain, is to demit. That way you don't get suspended.


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## TSK

An brother once told me, " there  is a difference between beeing a freemason and being a member of a masonic lodge. That still got me thinking, because I like the work at the lodge and try to participate in letting the fraternity grow and shine, but than again it all comes down to work on your stone, and that work can actually be done with or without lodge. 
Fraternally greetings
Avantgarde Lodge AfuAM Berlin Germany


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## timd24

I was first made a Mason in my heart....therefore I considered myself to be one even before I was initiated. However i dont run around proclaiming to be one,to brothers or others


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## Mike Martin

timd24 said:


> I was first made a Mason in my heart....


I think if you check your Ritual (assuming it's not that different from mine) you will find that you were first PREPARED to be made a Mason in your heart, next in a convinient room BUT you were (ONLY) MADE a Mason in the body of a Lodge.


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## Mike Martin

curt said:


> If a Bro. leaves the lodge because of non-payment of his dues, is he still considered a mason?


Here in England we use the term "Unattached Mason" for a Mason who is not subscribing (paying dues) to a particular Lodge at any time.


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## Michaelstedman81

Frater Cliff Porter said:


> young guy in the giblets



Hahha You said giblets...lol



JJones said:


> thanks to research they've done on the internet (despite all the rubbish out there, it's possible, apparently).  I don't know about anyone else but I take no real satisfaction in putting on a degree when the candidate or brother already know what to expect.



I got initiated in 2006, so I had full access to finding Masonic information on the internet.  Thankfully, I didn't even take a look at what all I could find on the net until after I was raised.  I was told from the get go that I would be able to find just about everything on the internet and after I was finished my MM proficiency I did take a look to see what was out there.  Gotta love all the information that is available at your fingertips, but I do think that if candidates and the EAs and FCs start snooping around, they are going to ruin the experience for themselves.  I purposefully didn't look too deep into things when I was petitioning or while I was going through my degrees. I really didn't want to ruin any kind of surprise.  And the same with the Scottish Rite and York Rite.  I knew one day I would be going through both of them so I just basically went to the official site just to get information about where I can go to petition and that kind of thing.  I don't know why it surprises me when I see someone say what you did about a candidate or Brother knowing what to expect.


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## skidsareforkids

The night you are initiated you are a Mason.  Think about your EA proficiency it's in there.  In Alabama I am not allowed to display Masonic symbols until MM.  I choose not to broadcast that I am a Mason due to my current lack of knowledge, however I will not denounce that I am a Mason.


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## Brother Maples

JJones said:


> Yes and no, if you ask me.  'Yes' in that they could call themselves Masons in the same way an apprentice electrician would call himself a electrician, 'No' in the way that they likely won't be able to handle many questions or much criticism they might face if they were approached about their membership.
> 
> What's worse are EA's and FC's that already know 80% of what to expect from the ritual and degree work thanks to research they've done on the internet (despite all the rubbish out there, it's possible, apparently).  I don't know about anyone else but I take no real satisfaction in putting on a degree when the candidate or brother already know what to expect. :/



I was raised a little over a year ago and had access to the net but did not research nothing, glad I did. With each degree the only thing I knew was that each brother before me did the exact same thing I was doing, don't tamper with untempered mortar.


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## Hermes

I am not a mason but part of my family are masons, and they never told to anyone that they are or were masons. I have been reading many different books about mason's history, symbols and philosophy (I am not belong to any religion but I do believe in God). I do respect the rules of freemasons. I am not a mason (yet), but my heart is telling me that I should be part of. I went to get my petition, and because I am not from US and I am still a US resident, I haven't fill it out. 

 Should I wait to be a US citizen?


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## Txmason32

I was raised Feb 21st,2002 but became interested in 1996 ... I spent 4 yrs researching everything i could on the internet and asking people i knew to be masons about the fraternity and to make sure it did not interfear with my Christian beliefs . No matter what i saw ,read or was told diminished the experiences i had in any degree ... It was nothing like i expected .... when i was scared and sweating and in darkness i forgot anything i had read or saw... The real beauty of the degree came after the degree when i was bonding with brothers and gaining my own interpetation of what i went thru and realizing how special what i had just done was and who came that way b4 me . If i really think about it i would say i have always been a mason I just had to profess it thru the ritual to be held accountable to God and my Brothers . 

Ricky


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## kenlew25

how do you know yourself to be 1


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## Pscyclepath

Think back to your proficiency/lecture for your degree...  There's a question somewheres toward the front end, "What makes ..."

Your answer's right there.


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## Bill Lins

Hermes said:


> I went to get my petition, and because I am not from US and I am still a US resident, I haven't fill it out.
> Should I wait to be a US citizen?



There's no need to wait, unless you just want to. All that we require is that you're in this country legally.


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## Nate Riley

Pscyclepath said:


> Think back to your proficiency/lecture for your degree...  There's a question somewheres toward the front end, "What makes ..."
> 
> Your answer's right there.



Thats right!


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## VinnyC

I am only an EA, and just like all of us, we are masons at heart. I do not let people know that I am a mason because I feel I am not well educated on the craft. The only guys who know are brothers from the lodge and also a select few who are masons from other lodges. But in my heart, I am a Free and Accepted Mason.


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## bstew12

Well- Technically and by the Rit, you were made one on your first step! Some say, when your able to travel!  As Freemasons we try, square, and prove our work and to me that determines if your a Mason! Question: How do you know yourself to be?


Bro. Bruce Stewart
Celestial Lodge #231 Dallas, Tx  PHA
MWPHGL of TX


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## scialytic

Sorry...the learning curve for this forum is made worse by only using my iPhone. Fat thumbs = Typos


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## scialytic

Txmason32 said:


> I was raised Feb 21st,2002 but became interested in 1996 ... I spent 4 yrs researching everything i could on the internet and asking people i knew to be masons about the fraternity and to make sure it did not interfear with my Christian beliefs . No matter what i saw ,read or was told diminished the experiences i had in any degree ... It was nothing like i expected .... when i was scared and sweating and in darkness i forgot anything i had read or saw... The real beauty of the degree came after the degree when i was bonding with brothers and gaining my own interpetation of what i went thru and realizing how special what i had just done was and who came that way b4 me . If i really think about it i would say i have always been a mason I just had to profess it thru the ritual to be held accountable to God and my Brothers .
> 
> Ricky


 
I was hoping somebody would say that. I've been researching off-and-on for several years. I really feel like I am just scratching the surface because I don't have the proper context. Without the key (Light) it is not complete. Your experience gives me hope that when I am initiated as an EA, FC, and ultimately MM...it will be just as beautiful and transformational as if I hadn't read any books or history on the Craft.


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## promason

In each of us lies a temple and a light,Masonry is a way to discover and develop that temple to make the neophyte a better individual,good for society and humanity


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## promason

In each one of us lies a Hiram and a Solomon


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