How To Identify A Freemason?

In this blog, we get readers’ questions, that is How to identify a Freemason? And How to find out if someone was a Freemason? If They’re outside of the Lodge. So today, we will discuss this topic.

Read more: How To Become A Freemason?

How To Identify A Freemason?

Absolutely not. You cannot, and there are several reasons why number one, I’m just going to come right out of the gates with it. We’re all trying to improve ourselves. We did not say that we had figured it all out. Even outside of the Lodge, you can find a brother myself included that might behave in a way that makes you go.

Now we all like to think that we’re getting past those things, and I certainly hope I am, and I hope all of you are. But the fact of the matter is we’re trying to be the ideal that we holed up inside of ourselves. We’re trying to continually look inside ourselves and see what we can do better, judge ourselves, and see if we’re meeting the standard. We’ve set for ourselves.

No, I don’t think that you can always tell second a man could be a Mason and have no insignia on him whatsoever to signify it. Nothing on his car, nothing on his person, no rings, no watches, no big emblems on a shirt and walk around all day long and be the best Mason that you could have ever met. But you just didn’t know.

So know third, you could walk up and see somebody with a ring, a big thing on his shirt, a sticker on the back of his car, and guess what he could have bought it all off Amazon and not be a mason whatsoever.

So no between those three things. No, you cannot know if somebody is a Mason outside of the Lodge just by seeing them.

Now, are there ways to identify him? Yeah, there are. So I give you a case in point.

I was at a hotel here in town was eating breakfast at a hotel in town and saw a man who had a Masonic ring. I would have no clue if he were actually a freemason. I have no real reason to doubt that he was, but when I was done eating my meal before leaving. I went over, and I shook his hand, and I said, hey brother, I saw your ring good to see, I hope everything’s doing well, sorry to bother your breakfast. I’ll let you go. I just wanted to say hello, and I walked away.

He has no idea if I really was Mason. I have no idea if he really was amazing. But there are ways for us to have discovered that we could have gone into a private place and we could have used what are called generally the modes of recognition and we could have determined that he really is and I really am.

We also both probably had on us our dues card from our lodges. So I could have shown him my dues card that says what Lodge I’m at, and how much I paid to be a member. And when it’s good – it would have had the secretary of signature with his seal or embossed on top of his signature, and he could have looked at that and said yeah looks real to me.

We could have called each other’s Grand Lodge and said: hey, I’m sitting here with John Smith, and he says he’s a Master Mason, and I’m trying to check that he is before we start talking masonry. And I could have verified him that way.

There are ways to verify that somebody is a Master Mason and talk to them outside of Lodge. But there is indeed no way to know a hundred percent that guy you just saw walking is a Mason.

So there you go. I think there’s probably a fourth item worth mentioning. Just because I know I’ve seen this come up in other places too and in comments on other topics.

Masons like to think that we really are bettering ourselves inside and holding ourselves to a higher standard. But people can do that without being a Mason.

So I would think number four would be that just because you see somebody who’s really shipshape and keeping their stuff in order and seems to have a really good grasp on morality and actually holds themselves to that standard. So that person doesn’t have to be a Mason. They could be a good person all on their own, believe it or not.

So there’s no way you’re going to know just by seeing them. You’re going to have to step through the modes of recognition that were taught to you in Lodge. And if nobody has taught those to you, then goodness gracious yet got to learn them. I mean, that’s something that we talk to people about in my Lodge as soon as they’re made Master Masons is okay.

You got this nice little card, and everything now you got this, you know we give them a bunch of different things that you know. You’re a Master Mason, we know that, but you go to a lodge the next state over. And they don’t know you from Adam while you’re working on this proficiency for your master’s degree. Let’s also learn how to be tried going through that process to let somebody else try you and verify that you are a Master Mason.

So if that’s something that you haven’t done and you’re a Master Mason. I would say stop just about any other Masonic learning that you’re doing and go to whoever you trust the most in your Lodge or whoever you’re close to in masonry and say: hey, I’ve never learned how to be tried I’ve always gone to lodges. I know or lodges where other people can vouch for me because they’ve sat with me.

I’ve never had to be tried how do I do that even if you never ever think that you will Travel out of your jurisdiction. Do it because you have no idea who might be traveling and running to you. And they need some help, and you need to be able to try them. And in doing so, they’re going to have to try you as well, and you need to make sure that this man is a brother, and you need to show him that you really are as well.

So don’t let it fall to the wayside. Just because you don’t think you’re ever gonna be a traveling man learn it. Because it might just be very valuable to you in the most unexpected moment.

Conclusion

So I hope that answers your questions and folks let me tell you. Now I’m running kind of low on questions. If your question hasn’t been answered, it’s probably because you’ve asked a question about something that I’m not a part of. And I’m having to do an exorbitant amount of research to learn about it like an MD. I’m not a member of the Allied Masonic Degrees. I haven’t been invited into any of those things. So I don’t know a thing about them, anything. So there’s a bunch of questions that just can’t be answered right now. But if you have questions, by golly, I need them. So please, and if you’re reading to this, leave your comment. I will get the comment I’ll get notified about it and if it pertains to the topic. It doesn’t matter. Leave the question, and that’ll help me build up my Q&A Bank.

So thank you all so much for taking the time to read. we’ll see you next time bye.

by Bro. Andre M. Noble