Aside from personal development (which I am very interested in and have been doing for many years), do Free Masons learn craftsmanship skills?

Is it more about personal development and conduct, or do you go through training in carpentry, etc...?

Thank you in advance

Speculative Freemasonry, is based on the ancient Stonemason’s guilds, which were established to train stonemasons, to work on the cathedrals, and public buildings of Europe.  Modern Speculative Freemasonry, does not teach carpentry skills, nor how to cut and lay stones.

Our Craft teaches good men to be better. Instead of teaching building skills, we teach self-improvement, discipline, ethical and moral conduct, and how to make our lives to be properly fitted to be used in the structures of life.  We teach many different lessons; Brotherly love, relief, and truth are among them. Relief to the poor, the sick, the widow and the orphan are central to our being. Masons (and Masonically-affiliated organizations) contribute about $2.6 million dollars per day, to various charitable causes. This does not include “sweat equity”, and the millions of man-hours that individual Masons donate to their communities on various projects.

I encourage you to visit:

http://www.masonic-renewal.org/freemasonry_explained.htm

for an excellent “capsule description” of modern Freemasonry.

Lenny: Great question!  One of the skills often overlooked is kind of related to personal developement. Yet, as many civic organizations can lend you a hand at that subject, Masonry expands in several additional areas. One area the Masonic Lodge
excels in is related to understanding the teacher/mentor relationship to the newest mason. The ability to learn to champion public speaking is taught by the mentors. There are several jobs in the organization of a Lodge: i.e.: Treasurer, Secretary, Junior Warden,(organizes dinners and such), Stewards,(maintains the supplies and regalia of a Lodge) and others.  Each lodge gives the opportunity to members to volunteer there expertice to train others in the Charitable Work of a Lodge.  In all, while Hammers and chissels aren’t being used, hands on skills are the backbone of a well-run lodge.  Ron Doucette- Moderator

Thank You.

I’ve been reading a lot about Free Masons through a book by a Mason that I mysteriously found.

Much of what you have written has been covered so far.

I love everything you said.  I am part of a Spiritual Path that is about growth and self improvement.  I go to seminars and courses on it every other month.  I’m about to go to a Public Speaking training next month.

Everything I do now, is all about improving myself, and improving the world, making it better.  So I think this membership would be perfect for me.

Still, I was hoping to learn craftsmanship through this.  But it is ok if it’s not part of it.  I can learn that stuff in other ways.

Thanks again for the reply.

Parindra - 24 March 2008 01:16 PM

Still, I was hoping to learn craftsmanship through this.  But it is ok if it’s not part of it.  I can learn that stuff in other ways.

Learning craftsmanship may still be a possibility, though in a more indirect way.  Masons come from all walks of life and all professions.  Several of my lodge brothers are contractors and work in other trades.  I’m sure that is the case for every lodge.  While the lodge itself may not impart those skills, talking with individual brothers may open opportunities for such learning.

Good luck,

Is it safe to say, then, that people of all walks of life can become Freemasons?  I work in a silicon plant as a simple operator.  There isn’t much about my job that imparts philanthropy or theology, or anything along those lines, although I do consider myself to be a good person, of positive moral value and upbringing.  Would someone in my boat have issues becoming a mason?

Men of all different backgrounds, and from many different professions and trades, join our Fraternity. Day laborers, college teachers, astronauts, factory workers, engineers, movie stars, plumbers, bus drivers, all types of men join our fraternity as brothers. Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny, and all the great cartoon characters, was a Mason.

I am a telecommunications engineer, working on an isolated camp, in the middle of the Iraqi desert. There is very little in my academic or professional background, which imparts theology or philanthropy.

Here is a partial list of some of the more famous men who have been masons.

http://masonicinfo.com/famous.htm

Masonry exists to make good men better. We teach certain lessons, in morality, personal conduct, and virtues, from which all men may learn. You can think of Masonry as a “self-improvement course”. When you become a Mason, you will embark on a voyage of self-discovery, and you will examine and view your life, and the world around you in new perspective. Plato said “The unexamined life, is not worth living”.

I encourage you to consider carefully, if Masonry is right for you. If you decide that this journey will be of benefit to your life experience, I certainly encourage you to make a favorable decision, and ask for a petition.