Dover Lodge #489

“You know, I always wanted to do that – but I never knew any Masons.”

“Forget being a Mason. If they don’t invite you, you’ll never get in.”

“Its a ‘Good Old Boys’ network. If you’re not in the inner circle, they ignore you.”

And so the misinformation goes surrounding Freemasonry. But what is the truth? You might be surprised to know that every one of the statements above are not only false, but are completely antithetical to the nature of our Gentle Craft. What is required to be made a Mason? Have a look at the list of requirements:

1. To join a Lodge in Ohio, you must be a resident of Ohio for at least the past six months.
2. You must be a male at least 19 years of age.
3. You must believe in a Supreme Being.
4. You must lead a good moral and social life.
5. You cannot be an advocate for overthrowing our government.
6. You must be able to read and write in the English language.

Seems simple, you might say. But here’s where it gets difficult – YOU MUST REACH OUT TO US FIRST. Masons never invite or seek out new members. Let us not minimize the difficulty of such an approach, because for many men this is very difficult. We live in a world of internet access and so-called “social” networks, where we can comfortably hide behind a computerized persona. We get comfortable in our homes, and we value our privacy above all else. Masons want to see you. We want to sit across the table from you, to look into your eyes and see what kind of man you really might be.

See, here’s the trick – even if you meet all of the qualifications above, you still cannot even begin the process of becoming a Mason without the recommendation of two Master Masons. That means we need to see you first. We’re going to invite you to dinner. We’re going to want to learn about your thoughts. We’re going to want to laugh with you. But you HAVE to come out first.

Interested? Then reach out. Come to our “Contact Us” page where we have our phone number and contact form, and either call us or email us.

Your life will never be the same.

As a man enters into the doors of Freemasonry, a vast world is opened to him that would take several lifetimes to fully comprehend. Sadly however, people tend to be attached more to the degree numbers than what is actually taught. This is especially true of those who are opposed to Freemasonry, who ignorantly surmise that if a 3rd Degree Master Mason is bad then a 33rd Degree Scottish Rite Mason must be the incarnation of evil.

General Albert Pike (pictured) was the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite for thirty-two years, and was responsible for completely revitalizing Scottish Rite Masonry from 1859 to 1891. A great philosopher, it is said that he “found Freemasonry in a cabin, and left it in a temple.”. Thought often maligned by anti-Masons, his words carry a great deal of power even to this day.

I ran across the following quote that Brother Pike delivered in a speech entitled “Address of the President” that I think speaks volumes. As Freemasons, we often try to make clear that there is no higher degree than that of Master Mason, or the “3rd Degree”. Although the 3 degrees of the Blue Lodge (or “Blue Degrees”) are the essence of Masonry while the “higher” ones are appendant bodies, this often falls on deaf ears as uninformed Masons rush through the Blue Lodge and into the Scottish Rite in the hopes that somehow the elusive 33rd Degree will be theirs. It also is ignored by anti-Masons and conspiracy theorists, who desperately cling to the notion that the “great secrets” are hidden in the 33rd Degree.

Albert Pike himself so eloquently states:

But, whatever else we may be, we are all Master Masons, and we all owe to the Masonry of the Blue Degrees our first and paramount allegiance. No man is without offence, who makes these Degrees mere stepping-stones by which to ascend to what he deems a higher level. If he does so, he is not worthy to wear the decorations of the Degrees to which he supposes himself to have ascended.

Sounds to me like Brother Pike has it right on the mark.