The process of becoming a Mason begins with selecting a Masonic Lodge you want to join (most likely near the community in which you live), contacting a friend or a member of that Lodge, and filling out a petition to begin the process.
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Will you be asked to become a Mason? The answer is no. For hundreds of years, Masons have been forbidden to ask others to join the fraternity. We can talk to friends and seekers about Masonry. We can tell them about what Masonry does. We can tell them why we enjoy it. But we can't ask, much less pressure, anyone to join. Becoming a Mason is a very serious thing. Joining Masonry is making a permanent life commitment to live in certain ways--to live with honor and integrity, to be willing to share with and care about others, to trust each other, to respect others beliefs, to help others without reward. No man should be talked into making such a decision.
Traditionally a man must ask to be made a Mason. He must seek the recommendation of a Mason to become a brother and join the fraternity. He asks for and fills out a petition (an application). He fills it out and gives it to the Mason, and that Mason takes and presents it to the local Lodge.
A committee is appointed to visit with the man and find out a little about him and his family, why he wants to be a Mason, and answer his questions about Masonry. The committee reports to the Lodge and the Lodge takes a vote on his petition. If the vote is affirmative--and it usually is--the Lodge will contact the man to set a date for initiation to the Degree of an Entered Apprentice. There are three Degrees of Masonry in which one needs to become proficient. When a man has completed all three Degrees, he becomes a Master Mason and a full member of the fraternity.
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Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Matthew 7:7
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