What are the degrees in Freemasonry? Is it like a reward for doing something at your lodge?

No. The degrees are Entered Apprentice which you receive after your petition has been received and accepted by unanimous vote. This is your entry into Freemasonry. After receiving this degree you are a Freemason but have limited rights and cannot sit in a regular Lodge meeting. After receiving this degree you must pass a proficiency. This is a piece of memorization that differs in content from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. After successfully presenting your proficiency (again the format varies) you are eligible to receive the Fellowcraft degree which furthers your Masonic teaching. After this degree you must return another proficiency relating to the lessons and content of the Fellowcraft degree. After successfully doing so you are eligible to be made a Master Mason. This degree I am told is the most beautiful, after which you are considered a full member of the fraternity with all the rights thereof.

The degrees do not constitute a reward for service to your Lodge. The reward for such service is simply the satisfaction of having helped your brothers and the fostering and growing of fraternal affection.

I applaud your interest in Freemasonry and encourage you to look at the FAQ section of this site.

Good luck in your search.

Thank You Martin

That is one of the best explination I have read.
I will be attending the open house this Saturday in my town.

Ken,

You are welcome. The open house is a great place to get started. you can read as much as you want online but there is no substitute to actually going out and meeting real Masons face to face.

There are Brothers on this forum who possess a wealth of Masonic knowledge and many years of experience in Masonry. I am just starting out but already I have been enriched by Masonry. You will find as you begin to research our fraternity, especially if you conduct much of that research online, many anti-masonic sites. What these sites preach is pure hogwash. Freemasonry is a positive force in an increasingly cynical and emotionally bankrupt world. One of the brothers in my Lodge likened it to the rock a drowning man can cling to in a torrent. One of the most apparent aspects of the fraternity is the genuine affection the brothers have for one another. Certainly Masonry can make a good man better, its lessons are beautiful and timeless and its fellowship beyond compare.

Anyone who is considering joining for the status they believe it might impart, or for the business contacts they might meet is entirely missing the point and will doubtlessly be disappointed.

The anti mason websites and or vids I have watched have been totally off the wall. I know someone who is a big anti mason and his arguments have always been out there as well.

It really is amazing what they come up with out there, I know of 2 freemasons and they both are your normal everyday person, not the evil person these anti mason web site claim them to be.

JE89, a little further explanation of the word “degree”. It actually has two meanings. The original meaning was that of a level, or stage, of membership. For example, we say that Ancient Craft Masonry has three degrees: Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason. It didn’t take long for this meaning to be extended to the ceremony by which one attained the various levels, so that more often, when we refer to the Fellowcraft degree, we are talking about the ceremony of promoting an Entered Apprentice to the degree of Fellowcraft.

Martin, being still in the process of completing the Ancient Craft degrees, does not address the other degrees of Masonry. I avoid using the term “higher degrees” as all loyal Masons are in agreement that the Master Mason degree is the highest degree; all others are additional. The York Rite consists of 7 degrees and three “orders” (which are the same thing as a degree). The Scottish Rite consists of the 4th to the 33rd degrees. The 32nd is normally the highest degree conferred; the 33rd is reserved for those who have made great contributions to Masonry or to their community, state or nation. Thus, the 33rd is actually a sort of reward or distinction granted in recognition of excellence, as you asked about in your inquiry.

There are also three degrees in the York Rite which are conferred only on those who have been elected to preside over one of the bodies. The Past Master degree is conferred, either shortly before or during the Installation of Officers, on a new Master-elect and is required before he can be installed in office. There is an equivalent degree in the Royal Arch Chapter, where the High Priest-elect must be Anointed, Consecrated, and Set Apart to the Order of High Priesthood in a Council of Anointed High Priests (this does not exist in all jurisdictions). And a similar degree, the Past Thrice Illustrious Master Degree, conferred on a new TI Master of the Council of Royal and Select Masters. (This also does not exist in all jurisdictions.)

As I said, there are brothers on here with far more experience than I have. Brother Young is a prime example. The additional degrees in Masonry cannot be received without of course receving the three degrees of the Symbolic Lodge. Then there are other bodies associated with Masonry, but independent from it such as the Shrine and the Grotto.

I haven’t been able to say thanks for replying to my question. Thanks! :)