Are You or Your Husband Involved with the Masons?

My Dad is worshipful master (head guy) in the masons, and he has been a mason for many many years. My stepmother is in the female version, and they do stuff together all the time (the women are Easters stars)
It has never come up that there was a problem with taking time away from family, in fact family is stressed as very important. He doesn't keep anything secret from us, and never did, they do some ritualistic stuff like chanting and handshakes, but nothing too weird. My Dad knows A LOAAATTT of people, I mean he has so many connections it's unreal. It has benefited him, us and his life greatly.

Not a member of the Masons, but my daughter receives Orton Gillingham tutoring from the Masons. They have a wonderful program that trains teachers and other people interested in learning the specialized method for teaching kids with dyslexia to read. My daughter has received free tutoring from them for the past 3 years, she is in 5th grade and now even with dyslexia reads at a 9th grade level and loves to read. Thanks to the Masons!

My mother has Alzheimer's disease and she is in The Masonic Home, Mason owned nursing home. She receives wonderful care.

When I have extra funds, I will definately be donating to the Masonic Learning Center, I am so appreciative for all that they have done for my daughter and other children who have dyslexia.

So, I am not a Mason, but I have had many good experiences with them. The people that I have interacted with that are Masons have been kind and charitable in every way!

My husband is a Mason and has been about 25 yrs. His dad was one as well. Women are not Masons. The wives of the Masons are all very supportive (at hubby's lodge).

Masons are very family oriented. Yes it is a men's group but they are all very protective of their families.

It does not take from our family. There are some very good men involved in his lodge. My daughter and I have been to the lodge for functions. We volunteer as a family with the Masons in the community with things such as finger printing for children, Scottish Rite Hospital events, and last year, we ran the games events for the 4th of July celebration in our town. So it is not like it is some big secret because it was clear that the Masons were doing this.

It is true, they have rituals and there are things they do that we are not privy to but that does not bother me. I don't look at it as some secret he doesn't share with me.. Masons are a part of his life and I support him. Some people give the Masons a bad rap and say they are a bad cult, etc. I have never witnessed anything but the good they do for people in the community and especially children.

I was at his lodge a couple years ago and one of the very old members who was very high up showed me around and explained a lot of things to me as to whay they do what they do... without sharing any compromising info. If your husband is interested in becoming a Mason and you have concerns, ask his sponsor... they are very forthcoming with information and your concerns -- or at least they should be....

Yes, there is a special ceremony for a funeral. It is one of the rituals I do not understand and am not privy to but I see that it is very meaningful and comforting to the Masons as well as the family of the Mason who died.

I have heard from some of my family and friends that Masons are bad, etc but they are not involved, never have been involved so I take their opinion like a grain of salt....

I know what I know about what they do and how they serve their community. I enjoy volunteering with them on the occasions that the family is involved, sponsoring dinners, etc. Also, my daughter (17)receives community service hours for her time spent volunteering which is great for her because colleges like to see smart students but they also like to see involved students.

I am proud of my husband being a Mason and witnessing the good he does in our community.

ETA.... per the negative response which was not called for but expected because some people just can't walk away from a post they know nothing about.... Catholics are not Masons, ever.

There is no reason to put some scare tactic with biased website info on here to slam what others do choose to be involved with and be good community leaders. I bet (Negative Nellie) you would accept the help from a Mason if you needed it? So don't slam them.

The only thing I know is that my grandfather was a Mason. It never bothered my grandma or my Dad and Aunt. They also performed a ritual at his funeral, for me, it was quite moving and peaceful. He was a family man and a hard worker, so I doubt it changed anything in that regard. He was a great man.

My husband is a Mason, and is very involved in the Blue lodge, York Rite and Scottish Rite. He was invited to the Shriners, but declined because he just didn't have the extra time. The Lodge encourages Family first, Lodge after, but like someone else said, the Lodge becomes your family. A Mason will always strive to help a "Brother" in need.

I remember once when I was about 9 months pregnant with our little guy (now he's 4 years old), and we had some serious rain that washed out our driveway. My husband ordered some gravel to fill in what washed out, and the gravel company just dumped it at the bottom of our driveway - blocking our driveway.
When the kids got home from school, they called my husband and let him know that we would not be able to get up the driveway because of the gravel. He called around to other members of the lodge to try to find a bobcat or something so he could at least clear the driveway so I could get up it (too far to walk at 9 mos preggo). Long story short, word got out that a brother needed help, and before we got home from work (less than 3 hours after the first phone call to the lodge) the gravel was spread in the driveway, and what washed out was fixed!

Like TF said, ladies are not Masons. It is a Man's organization. It can be beneficial in your lives and others. My boyfriend is a Mason and also involved in the Shrine Center, which you have to be a Mason to be a Shriner. So I'm very involved in the Shrine because ladies are welcome to more events. I'm also very active in the Daughter of the Nile as a Clownette "Ditzy", which is the ladies portion of the Shrine.
So we volunteer alot of our time, it just depends on how much you want to give to your community. Shriners wear the Fez a/k/a red hats. We do the the Shrine Circus and visit the Shrine Hospitals for the Children and parades.
There are a lot of different areas that he can go into after becoming a Mason. It is a good thing. And their rituals are really inspiring. You can look most of them up online but yes several things are left out.
My son will become a Demolay once he reaches the age, so he can get a head start of being a Mason.
It is awesome to see the smile on a childs face and know that you had just a little bit in making them smile.
I absolutely love clowning for our crippled and burn children.
If you ever want to chat more about the Mason / Shrine / D.O. N just look me up.
Oh and Lodge is never before your family....they actually become your family.

My FIL is a Mason. He is a priest and also was a police officer. He was in the military until he retired. He is very much "serve the public" kinda guy. Very loving, family oriented, and very much into doing what is right. The Masons seem to add to that and he enjoys being one very much. He loves the history involved. My husband has said that he would like to be one someday. He loves history and always wants to know more, and doesn't belong to any such thing, so it interests him. NOW, because of the secrets involved, I don't know much about them. The whole unknown, the good things I hear, and the brotherhood and all, it sounds very intriguing!

My mom does not like them because of the ritualistic stuff, and says that in ways it contradicts Christianity. BUT, she's against a lot of stuff, sometimes on false grounds... so... eh...

My grandfather was also a mason. I am not close to that side of my family, but I know that they only have positive things to say about the masons.

Many people bad mouth Masons but few have been members. My husband is a Mason, my father is a Mason. Women are not Masons. They are supporters or can be Eastern Star members. Both Men and Women can be Eastern Star members. Young people can be Rainbow Girls, Jobs Daughters and DeMoley for the guys. In all of these groups family is first, but many find that they become part of your family as stated before.

If you really research these groups they all get their bases from the Bible. King Solomon's Temple, Job, Noah and the Covenant, and so much more.

Most of our founding fathers were Masons as well as being Christian's. The Masons are also the founders of public schools and are known for laying the cornerstone of buildings

My stepdad was a Mason. I don't recall missing out on anything or him being gone and my mom fretting about it, on the contrary, she was proud that he was a Mason.
It's more like an elite club for men, unlike a drinking lodge like the Elks, or the Moose or the Clampers.
They do help with many things in the community.

My FIL was a mason until he passed last year, VERY involved and I think it enriched his life. My hubby is a mason but hasn't been active since before we met. According to him, it is a great networking tool and they do a lot of good in the community, etc but HE is concerned about the time away. I have very little practical knowledge, just what I know from my FIL and my hubby, but my take is it that is really better for men whose children are a little older and less "needy". At this stage of our lives I'd be upset if he spent a night or two a week and weekend or two a month away from the family, but as the girls get older and more independent I wouldn't mind him having the involvement.

Hi. This is a really important decision for you. My husband was a demolay and invited to join, but he researched it more and decided against it. Like everyone said it has strange rituals and chants that are not compatible with Christian beliefs. I would implore you to research the origins on the internet and be very careful. Secrets of any kind aren't good in marriages, but even beyond that there are some pretty rough beliefs they hold. Just do research on your own. Anyone you talk to that is involved with it is only going to say the good stuff so take that into consideration as well. It really is super important for you to research and decide for yourself.

We're non-denominational Christian and are very involved in our church. Our church laws (can't think of what they're actually called right now, but you have to agree to them to be a member of our church) forbid church members from being a member of any "secret society". That would include the Masons. I don't know a lot about them as a group and I appreciate that they may do some charitable work for their communities. All I can say is there are a lot of organizations that have done good things for their communities. That doesn't mean that the organization is all on the up and up. I wouldn't trust any organization that does things in secret. Just not something I'd want my husband to be involved in.

My husband was invited but declined the offer. He is just not that kind of guy.

~I thought it would have been a good idea, my Grandfather was a Mason and I don't recall it causing any grief for my Grandmother and their kids?