Mike Martin

I defo wouldn't want to try and "bring them in" as I don't see it as really practical and I also feel that doing so would add credence to their "legendary histories". I would, however, like to see a proper education given to Freemasons about their actual origins so that they can make their own informed decision about whether they want to get involved with them.

Hi John, Welcome to the Forum.

Here in England we take a similar obligation as a Master Mason but it has caveats as to how far we need to go to assist a fellow MM. However and as I'm sure you must know not all organisations that style themselves "Masons" are the same thing. This is why Grand Lodges have their own criteria for which other Grand Lodges they will recognise based on what is practised in the name of Masonry, there is no trademark on the term and it is today applied to many things that were unheard of back in the 1600s.

Hi there and welcome to the Forum, it might be nice if you stick a little intro into the relevant section. I suppose that it's possible that where you are you do take an oath like that but here in England we do not take an oath to make anyone Masons in fact the closest we get to that is as an Installed Master we promise not to be involved with the making of women Masons. I'm not sure if you've misinterpreted the talk of "ashlars" as here it is related to ourselves and our efforts to improve ourselves so that we become a credit to ourselves and to Freemasonry. The treatment of the Ashlar in our First Degree lecture seems quite different to yours: "The Rough Ashlar is a stone, rough and unhewn as taken from the quarry, until, by the industry and ingenuity of the workman, it is modeled, wrought into due form, and rendered fit for the intended structure. This represents man in his infant or primitive state rough and unpolished as that stone, until by the kind care and attention of his parent or guardians, in giving him a liberal and virtuous education, his mind becomes cultivated, and he is thereby rendered a fit member of civilised society. The Perfect Ashlar is a stone of a true die or square, fit only to be tried by the Square and Compasses. This represents man in the decline of years, after a regular well-spent life in acts of piety and virtue, which can no otherwise be tried and approved than by the Square of God's Word, and the Compass of his own self-convincing conscience."

Hi Michael and welcome, The following link will explain how to verify whether your granddad was a Freemason and what Lodge/s he was a member of: https://museumfreemasonry.org.uk/family-history/

Greetings from London and welcome to the Forum.

Ha ha ha, I can just imagine those Georgian Freemasons complaining about these new fangled Victorian dress codes in Lodges

The G has been covered but I noticed that I'd missed your other points. Under the UGLE we have tie called the "Craft tie" which was designed to be worn both at Lodge meetings and also at normal work. It is covered in small S&Cs which when you are about 3 feet or more away become hard to distinguish. I have always wondered about the logic of buying jewellery that is only worn at masonic meetings as jewellery shows your affiliation to the Craft to others or reminds you yourself of it and it seems to my mind to become very redundant when you're at a meeting that only Freemasons can attend. If rings are dangerous at work you could always plump for a necklace, I have a pendant S&C necklace that I can close or open depending on what I'm up to. Regarding the forget me not, first you need to understand that it isn't really a masonic emblem and its legendary explanation is beyond deeply flawed but also be prepared to answer questions about the Alzheimers Society as they have been using the fmn for a long time

Snippet: Has the suit and tie had its day? Maybe, says M&S Suits you sir? Maybe it doesn’t any more. Sales of formal tailoring have taken a fresh dive as chinos and trainers replace suits and ties in the office. In a presentation to City analysts earlier this week, Marks & Spencer, the UK’s biggest menswear retailer, said it was cutting back its formalwear ranges and the space devoted to selling suits, pointing to a market-wide 7% fall in suit sales. Sales of ties are down by nearly 6% while blazers and formal jackets fell by 10% year on year, according to market analysts Kantar. Jacob Rees-Mogg may be hiding inside a giant ill-fitting suit, but the typical British man is not only unlikely to have to wear a jacket, tie and tailored trousers to the office but has also eased out of a suit for formal occasions. City banks such as Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, once bastions of sharp suits, have relaxed their dress-code to keep pace with rival employers such as tech giants Facebook and Apple, where the founders’ famously casual attire has become the mark of a modern workplace. Full article: http://www.msn.com/en-gb/lifestyle/style/has-the-suit-and-tie-had-its-day-maybe-says-mands/ar-AAIjoyE?ocid=ientp

It's hard to imagine what questions freemasons couldn't answer, other than those ones based on misinterpretations of what Freemasonry actually is, but the only way for us to find out is for you to ask them and then we can tell you.

Ha ha that's better. You'll see that this is a bit more refined compared to other arenas as it's actually based in England. Have a look around and feel free to start topics, ask questions and generally get involved.

Hello there from London. Any more to go on?

Welcome to the Forum, please don't be shy you're amongst friends here please do give more detail about yourself.

Hi there sorry to be blunt but I feel the question should be asked, to what end? What does it matter if your late grandfather, whose name you don't even know, was a Freemason 60 odd years ago?

This is an interesting article that seems to have slipped under the wire. The UGLE has several times in the past tried to engage with the authorities of various religious denominations in the UK regarding the actual (not imagined) content of our degrees and Lectures but to no avail. What a shame that they are not as sensible as their Australian counterparts. The news article: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/masonic-catholic-priest-claims-australian-bishops-approved-catholics-joining-freemasons Original article: https://www.lifesitenews.com/images/local/files/PDFs/Freemasonry_and_the_Catholic_Church.pdf Australian Freemasonry and the Catholic Church.pdf

More info: https://openhouselondon.open-city.org.uk/listings/436?

Oops that's a copy and paste faux pas.

Breaking news. after nearly 200 years the Library and Museum of Freemasonry in London has changed its name to the Museum of Freemasonry. Details and visit the new website here: https://museumfreemasonry.org.uk/

There are none so blind as those who will not see! snippet: The Bishops’ Conference of Cameroon (CENC) recently published a pastoral letter condemning Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, and sorcery, by which the conference called on all Catholics to oppose these groups and beliefs. The signing of this text appears to be one of the first public acts of the newly named president of the national bishops’ conference, Bishop Abraham Bialo Kome of Bafang (western Cameroon). All the other Cameroonian bishops also supported the text through their national conference. It comes after a similar initiative in the 1990s, when the Cameroonian episcopate first published a document condemning “esoteric sects.” Full story: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/african-bishops-blast-freemasonry-sorcery-in-new-pastoral-letter

I agree AND disagree as there is more than one "G" (3 at my last count) and no one, other than the GLoI, seems to be clear which one they are putting into the S&C.

It's for a temporary Manager of the shop: https://museumfreemasonry.org.uk/shop-manager

This will help as it is not actually a secret

It's up to your own personal choice really, personally I find S&C gloves a bit tacky. I do wear a ring though.

Snippet: In the parlance of freemasonry, Michael Walker, who has died aged 83, “served” no fewer than five grand masters of the order in Ireland as the grand secretary of the Grand Masonic Lodge of Ireland on Molesworth Street in Dublin. However, as the present grand secretary, Philip Daley, put it to The Irish Times last week, Walker “was effectively grand master” during his tenure from 1981 until his retirement in 2005, given that during that period, although not in recent years, the position of grand master had been one “of figureheads”. Full story here: https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/michael-walker-obituary-freemason-who-opened-up-masonic-lodge-1.3961487?mode=amp

Hi Jake and welcome to the Forum, You can ask questions here and most of the responses will be from English Freemasons