Free Masons

My husband is a 32nd degree Mason and his father was a 33rd degree Mason.
The 33rd degree is very special and is usually swore in by presidents or some other 33rd degree Mason. His father was also Scottish Rite. Hub mainly got his 32nd for his dad's benefit.

The Masons, as I understand it, is an organization set up to protect and serve in
times of emergency here in America. They help each other. They were usually comprised of business people in the community. There are Masonic homes where families of free masons can live out their elder days, if desired, and
the wives of free masons are members of the "Order of the Eastern Star". My MIL belonged to it.
 

Love this subject, thank you so much for posting it @FastTrax.
I knew it, I knew Prince Phillip was one.

I always thought the Stone Masons were derived from the Knights Templar, but perhaps they predate them.

I heard that there were instances of a Free Mason who had political influence who would take care of another member who had legal, criminal or financial problems. I also heard about the secret ring recognition, the secret handshake and such. I never saw this secret code thing but there could be something to this.
 
When he retired, he seemed to have little daily interaction with others...other than my Mother. He had little in the way of hobbies, or things to do around the house, etc....and seemed to be getting increasingly frustrated. Then, he joined the Masons, and there was a nice lodge just a couple of blocks from their house, and he found all sorts of activities with that organization. It settled him down and he became quite active with their volunteering programs, etc. It gave him a new perspective in retirement.
 
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I doubt that they predate them. It is true that in the Middle Ages stone masons, like other artisans, formed themselves into guilds and kept secret the important technology of their trade but Free Masonry mythologises its origin all the way back to the building of King Solomon's temple. Modern Free Masonry is nowhere near that old.
Wow, That's pretty old 957 BCE
 
Wow, That's pretty old 957 BCE
Did you miss the bit about it being a myth?
I think modern masonic lodges became popular with the growth of the middle class during the Industrial Revolution. In the middle ages a masonic lodge was the actual lodging place of the masons who were constructing cathedrals and other important buildings.

Don't quote me on any of this without checking first.
 
My father was a Free Mason and my mother was a member of the Eastern Star. As kids my brothers and I really
didn't understand what it was all about (secretive). Later in life my parents dropped out of active involvement. I do remember
though, at my dad's viewing, a large contingent of men with "aprons" came through to show their respect.
 
I never tried to become a Free Mason but did try for the Moose and the Elk organizations under pressure from my wife and her friends. There were good benefits for example my wife likes the ones that if parents would die the organization would take care of the children. Or if a member's family would lose all their possessions and money and had nowhere to live the organization would take care of the family even if it meant for the family to live in the buildings and the halls where the organization had their meetings and parties. What I could not do was to become a member of a secret society because when I was in the military, I hated the secret classification that I had and how the government used that to have total control of the people involved in it. I do not do secrets and have not been a member of a secret group since I got out of the military.
 
I never tried to become a Free Mason but did try for the Moose and the Elk organizations under pressure from my wife and her friends. There were good benefits for example my wife likes the ones that if parents would die the organization would take care of the children. Or if a member's family would lose all their possessions and money and had nowhere to live the organization would take care of the family even if it meant for the family to live in the buildings and the halls where the organization had their meetings and parties. What I could not do was to become a member of a secret society because when I was in the military, I hated the secret classification that I had and how the government used that to have total control of the people involved in it. I do not do secrets and have not been a member of a secret group since I got out of the military.
Hubby's grandfather was a railway worker and he and his family were provided with a railway cottage in a country town. He died of the Spanish influenza after WW I and the family had to vacate the railway house. His widow and their five young children moved down to Sydney to be close to other family but the widow was not able to secure a house to rent. The family was split up and my MIL was sent to live with her grandfather. Eventually a house was found for them all because the Masons were prepared to guarantee the rent. However, the rent was always paid on time, even during the Depression years, because it was always the first bill to be paid, even before food.

These days they run a few aged care homes and still help the children of widows with education expenses and scholarships.
 
Conspiracy!

R.6ecee050511bcc3cce42e6c05fa9d437





In "Proofs of a Conspiracy," Robison laid the groundwork for modern conspiracy theorists by implicating the Bavarian Illuminati as responsible for the excesses of the French Revolution. The Bavarian Illuminati had an inner core of true believers, who secretly held radical atheist, anti-monarchist and possibly proto-feminist views, at that time considered beyond the pale.



For those who are into conspiracy theory, this book is the Grand Daddy of them all:



https://www.conspiracyarchive.com/PROOFS_OF_A_CONSPIRACY_John_Robison.pdf
 
Good for some i suppose; however, it has the taint of elitism to me.
Don't all clubs? Why single out Masons as elite? They began as fraternity for Masons and helped the families of the members when necessary. Let's not label all clubs this way, please. What about the VFW, Lion's club and any fraternity or sorority? Many of these clubs do good work where needed. :)
 


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