How to become a Mason

• Be a man, [Note: there are other organizations in Masonry that accept both men and women];
• In Oklahoma, you must be at least 18 years old
• Have a belief in a Supreme Being (of any faith. No particular religion or faith is required or excluded. All are welcome.)
• You should be someone who does, or wants to learn to, enjoy the company of other men from all different social classes, faiths, backgrounds, races, countries, etc. Masonry is universal in its ideals.
• If you are a family man, Masonry considers that your family obligations come FIRST, so you must be sure that:
  • You have the time to participate (usually two or three evenings/month at first for meetings and instruction, and then at least one evening per month for meetings from then on --often more if you get involved in lodge activities.)
  • You can afford the initiation fees and the annual dues without hardship to yourself or your family.
  • You should be coming to Masonry "of your own free will and accord", to learn to improve yourself and to enjoy the company of other good people, not because someone keeps pestering you to join or because you think it will help you "get ahead" in business.

To join a Masonic Lodge all you have to do is ask a Mason:

• Masons are in all walks of life, Preferably someone you know or at least who lives or works nearby.
• If you think that you don't know any Masons in your area, you could call the Oklahoma Grand Lodge and ask them who to contact in your area.
• You can probably find nearby lodges listed in your phonebook. (White-pages listings for lodges may be under "Masons", "Freemasons", or "Masonic Temple", and the Oklahoma Grand Lodge is located in Guthrie at 405-282-3212").

What happens after I petition a local Masonic Lodge?

The Largest and Oldest Fraternity in the World!

• The petition is read, for the benefit of the membership, at the next regular Stated Communication ("Business Meeting"), and the Master of the Lodge (the "C.E.O. of the organization") will appoint an investigating committee (usually three members of the Lodge), who will contact you and find a mutually-convenient time to meet with you, to talk to you, and to determine if you meet the prerequisites for membership.
  • The Prerequisites for membership are that you are an honest and upright man, who conducts his affairs with dignity, and treats all mankind fairly and decently ... they will then report their findings to the Master. (Since it is not practical that you meet each person who will be balloting on your petition, the "committee" interviews you and reports their findings, through the Master, to the entire Lodge.)
• The time period between the petition being read in Lodge and when it can be read and voted on by the lodge is 28 days.  This gives the committee and you time to get together.
• The petition will be read at the next Stated Communication after the proper amount of time has passed, and it will be voted on by the membership present.
• If you are accepted as a member, you will be contacted by the Secretary of the lodge or another member, and a date is worked out to report for your "First Degree" - that is the "Entered Apprentice Degree" - at which time the Lodge will confer the Entered Apprentice Degree upon you.
• After the Degree, there will be some study on your part with another Masons, to commit parts of what happened to you and with you that night to memory and recite it before the Lodge. 
• After this you will then go on to the “Fellowcraft Degree” and then on to the “Sublime Degree of a Master Mason”.
• You can meet no finer group of men than those you will find in a Lodge of Free Masons - and no higher ideals to hold yourself to.