We’re glad that you are interested in the Masonic Fraternity, and we’re willing to share it with you. Inside this Petition you will find several questions. They are not asked out of idle curiosity. When we accept a man as a Brother, we make a sincere promise to him that we will trust him completely and will treat his needs and his interests just as if they were our own. This petition, and the visit some Lodge Brothers will make with you will begin a process of sharing information which is vital if both you and we are to be comfortable in the relationship.
You have already taken the first step in becoming a Freemason by asking for a Petition for the Degrees. Filling out this petition truthfully, completely and candidly, and giving it to a Mason to be taken to the Lodge is the second step.
When the Lodge receives the Petition, the Worshipful Master will appoint a committee to visit with you and your family. They will report to the Lodge, and the Lodge will vote on the Petition. If the vote is affirmative, the Lodge will contact you to set a date for the first Degree—the Entered Apprentice. A Degree is a ritual in the form of a play. The Degrees are serious and beautiful. They contain nothing whatever of “horse play.” After you receive the first degree, you will be assigned to a teacher, who can help you become proficient in the material in that Degree. When that is finished, you take the second Degree (Fellow Craft) and then the third (Master Mason). At that point, you are a full member of the Fraternity.
