Because I Chose To Be

I’ve sat in many Masonic meetings in my thirty years as a Mason.  There have been times during a meeting during Masonic education or just sitting around after a meeting in the dining room, the question has been asked of me and other Masons.  “Why did I become a Mason?’

There’s always the generic stand by answer “sounds like fun.”  If you consider standing in front of a sink load of dirty pots and pans from the many Masonic dinners and fundraisers that I have done over the years fun then I guess to each his own.  Or the “I want to be part of a civic organization that makes a difference in the community.”  Or the other answers, “I want to be Shriner or be a part of another Masonic order.”  There are many civic organizations in the community that do many great things and many of the appendant Masonic bodies go and do great things in the world and the Shriners are the greatest with all the hospitals that go to help children.  I reflect on the question over the years and the many times that I have been asked that question, and these are the reasons that I joined the Masonic order.

First, it’s part of a family tradition.  My grandfather and his brother on my mother’s side were both Masons.   My father joined the Masonic Lodge and was Worshipful Master three times.  My mother and my aunt were both Job’s Daughters, and my sister, a past Honored Queen,  was the Grand Guardian in Wyoming.  Both of my nieces also had the experience of being in Job’s Daughters.  One of my nieces is a past Honored Queen and a past Miss Wyoming Job’s Daughter. My brother and I are both Senior DeMolays, Past Master Councilors, and Chevaliers, which is the highest honor that an Active DeMolay can receive.  My brother joined the Masonic Lodge two years after I did.  So, I can honestly say that the Masonic order and its appendant bodies are a family tradition.  

Secondly, I joined DeMolay when I was fourteen,and I can say that I have been influenced by many honorable men that I have met in my travels in DeMolay and in the Masonic Lodge.  And I can say that they are the most influential men in civilization.  As I listened to some of the speeches that they made at public appearances, as leaders in Lodges or in leadership positions in other Masonic appendant organizations, and just talking to many of these men that they exemplify the Masonic ideals of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth.  I have tried to live up to those ideals that they were talking about in those speeches.  So being influenced by those men and mentors that I looked up to influenced me to become a Mason.  

And finally, like most credit cards, I’m accepted anywhere.  Masonry is the oldest and largest fraternal organization in the world.  Most Grand Lodges are recognized worldwide, and if I am looking for a good meal and good company I know that I can find a Masonic lodge somewhere in the community I’m in.  I also know that if I need help and I know the Brothers in the community, I know that they will do their best to help me.  On the flipside, I know that there are some Masons that I don’t get along with, but we put our differences and disagreements aside and met in peace and harmony.  Although we may disagree on things, we accept that we are brothers and we took the same obligations as all other Masons have done before.

So why did I become a Mason?  Family tradition for both my immediate and extended family.  Being influenced by the best people of society and that I can go to any Lodge in the world and be accepted regardless of ideals and opinions that they have of me or that I have of them, but the real reason I became a Mason is because I chose to be.