i am very suspicious about the freemasonry all u mansons in yahoo tell me the truth ?

I'll try to keep this as short as I can. But it is a big question...

There are only Three Masonic Degrees, period. Different organizations, usually called "Rites" which are affiliated with Masonry (in other words they are independent clubs that are open only to Masons) sometimes have their own Degree systems. The York Rite for example has a system of degrees divided into chapters, and each degree and chapter has a name. In most cases York Rite organizations do not refer to their degrees by numbers. The Scottish Rite also has their own degree system, these degrees also have names but are usually referred to by their number. Thus, such numbered degrees (IE 32nd degree) are automatically known to be Scottish Rite Degrees. Note here I used the term Scottish Rite Degrees, and not Masonic Degrees, because the 4th-33rd Degrees are not Masonic Degrees, they are Scottish Rite Degrees, there is a difference. A Mason may choose to belong to either the York Rite or the Scottish Rite, or both, or neither. Belonging to the Rites is not a rank system within Masonry. What the Rites amount to is taking the basis of Masonry, and studying it from different points of view. Think of it this way- once graduating medical school a doctor may choose to become a specialist, maybe he will study the heart, maybe the brain, or maybe he will choose to to remain a general practitioner. No one class of doctor necessarily "out ranks" another, they all remain doctors, taking the same exact knowledge and information as the others and simply applying it in different ways. In the case of Masonry, The York Rite studies and applies Masonry from a Chivalric prospective, and the Scottish Rite does so from a more spiritual, philosophic one. On that note, while most York Rites progress through their degrees at a slower pace, nearly every Mason who joins the Scottish Rite becomes a 32nd degree in just a day or two. That "all powerful" 33rd Degree? it is simply a service award, not an actual degree. It is given to persons by the Scottish Rite who have made a significant contribution to their community, particularly in education. You do not have to be a member of the Scottish Rite to get it, and in fact you do not even have to be a Mason. Many non Masons have been awarded the title of 33rd Degree of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. Further on that note, the 33 degree system is primarily an American contrivance. Elsewhere, different systems are often used, some include only 25 degrees, some even have 34.

All of that should clear up some of your confusion and questions. to address other specific questions;

Freemasonry does not worship anything, it is not a religion so has no specific belief system as far as that goes. A Mason as an individual worships according to his own individual religious devotion and by the dictates of his own conscious. Freemasonry only holds each member should believe in and place his faith and trust in that there is a single supernatural Creator (Creator being a key point here) of all the universe. Disbelievers (atheists, agnostics), those denying the supernatural being of the Creator (pagan sects or "natural" religion devotees) or those failing to hold their faith and trust in the Creator (satanists, etc.) cannot rightly become legitimate Freemasons. Freemasonry is about social morality. Tolerance (not necessarily acceptance, there is a difference) of others despite difference of religious or political beliefs, and despite differences in race, creed, color, social or economic standing etc. Freedom form persecution over such differences, promotion of liberty and education, patriotism and the sovereign rights of independent nations, charity, etc. Freemasons do not hold themselves above others. If anything, a Mason realizes he is subject to temptation and failure, and recognizes the weak and fragile nature of the individual and his efforts which can be emotionally and spiritually buoyed within a society of like minded individuals.

There are literally hundreds of symbols, some are common through Masonry, many others are used and understood only regionally. Nearly all of them existed culturally long before Masonry even existed. I can offer explanation of almost any Masonic symbol used anywhere in the world, but to generally explain all of them would take up a book the size of the entire Encyclopedia Britannica.

Lastly, Masonry does not hold, nor does it claim to hold any special hidden knowledge or secret. "Masonic Secrets" are individual learning experiences, different for each and every Mason. Masonry is not a secret society, it is not even a society with secrets as is sometimes cited. It is an organization, like any other club, business, individual, etc. that has things of a private nature. If anyone thinks this is evil, that nothing should be kept private, please e-mail me your credit card numbers, SSN, bank account number... Or are those things none of my business?

You should be more suspicious of men who are NOT Freemasons. At least I know a Freemason knows what honor, duty, tolerance, prudence, justice is, just to name a few.

The girl you belittle is right on the money. If you meet a Freemason, chances are they will be one of the best people you know. As all Freemason are on a search for light or enlightenment, knowledge you are right as all questions are valid questions. You are free to question any Freemason. Although there are a few things that a Freemason is honor bound not to repeat, except to another Freemason. This is a test of trust and in the days of Freemasonry's origins, trust was paramount. A slight against another could get you called outside for a duel to the death. Today if a Freemason cannot be trusted to keep a simple secret like a password or a handshake, then he cannot be trusted with anything.

All powerful 33rd degree...methinks you have been watching way too many UBoob videos.

See here: http://www.masonicinfo.com/33rdsrule.htm

It's actually logical that many men who are movers and shakers in this world are Freemasons. Freemasons have a duty to leave this world a better place then they found it.

As such I think you also confuse secrecy with privacy. Freemasons meet in private. Just like companies that have a board of directors for example. You could not just walk in and listen to a companies board meeting, they would show you the door, quite quickly.

As JR said there are hundreds or maybe even thousands of books that explains the symbols used in Freemasonry and this is not the forum to explain them in full.

Freemasons don't feel any more superior then you do. They just do something about it instead of ranting about what someone else is doing.

The greatest duty of a Freemason is to aid and assist any member of the human family that they deem worthy and can do so without injuring themselves of family.

It seem your question about worship and beliefs have been answered quite well by another, but I will add, that a Freemason worships nothing in a lodge as that is not the purpose and the Lodge cares not what faith you have, just that you have some faith in a Supreme Being. A Freemason believes the same things as everyone else does, there is no teaching that states that Freemasons must believe the same thing.

There are things that the public at large does not know, but it is nothing nefarious. And if anyone wanted to know a 5 minute search on the Internet would answer that question. I am honor bound not to reveal what I know.

Lastly you mention the Illuminati. This kinda pegs you as a conspiracy theorist or at worst ignorant. You see the Bavarian Illuminati was started in 1776 by Adam Weishaupt in Ingolstadt Germany. He was a Jesuit trained non-ordained professor at the University. He at some point began to surmise that having the Church so intertwined with government was a bad thing (separation of Church and State), sound familiar. Then he went even further and said that monarchies were bad too. In a time and place where monarchies were still the norm and most were absolute monarchies, this if said out loud could get you jailed or worse. So he decided to join Freemasonry and used it as a recruitment tool. He was quickly discovered and his own people turned him in and he fled for hi life and the Illuminati was no more, completely disappearing by 1797.

So I would like to point you to a few authoritative books on the subject to further enlighten you. After you read these works I think you will have a very different opinion. You may still not trust or like Freemasonry but you will understand it better and know that the wacky theories floating around in cyberspace are just that.

Freemasonry for Dummies by Chris Hodapp (now a 33rd degree Freemason)

Is it true what they say about Freemasonry by Art DeHoyos and S. Brent Morris

Solomon's Builders by Chris Hodapp

A Pilgrim's Path by John Robinson

These works will help you get a better understanding in today's terms as most are modern works.

If you want more of the spiritual side I would recommend The Builders by Rev. Joseph Fort Newton (Baptist Minister)

1.) The 33rd degree is just an honorary degree, rarely given out. Contrary to how it appears, a 33rd degree mason is not higher than a 3rd degree mason, think of it like one having a few extra merit badges than the other.

2.) what do we believe in? The same things you do

3.) do we believe we are superior? In what way? Intellectually? monetarily? Perhaps, some of us can be jerks I guess, but not because we are part of something someone else isn't.

4.) Explain to you the symbols? No. That information is for members only, try joining.

5.) Who do we worship? We are allowed to worship whatever god we would like. For most Americans, this refers to the Christian God and Jesus Christ.

6.) Secret Society: We're more like a society with secrets

If you are truly interested in joining the freemasons, look online for the nearest lodge in your state. Then email that lodge to have someone send you some information on freemasonry. They will help you from there. I strongly encourage you to do some more research on the Freemasons and maybe decide if it is for you.

Contrary to what you have heard or been led to believe, any degrees higher than a third degree will not have any additional information about freemasons than a third degree will. As far as the questions that you are asking in regards to the masonic symbols, the best way to find out about them is to make the attempt to become a mason yourself, however with all of the misconstrued information that you seem to believe in, for example, believing that we, as masons have much more knowledge than others or the thought that we believe we are superior, it is highly doubtful that any actual lodge will be willing to bring you in and no one will want to petition you.

I am a Master Mason myself at my lodge, have held the position of Junior Steward and am currently in the position of Secretary. There is much to understand about Freemasonry, however in order to be able to fully understand it or to find out about any symbols or sayings requires becoming a mason.

The biggest thing to understand about freemasonry is that it is mainly a belief in certain morals and ethics. Along with this, while believing in a higher power is required, it is not religion based nor are any religions superior to others. Primarily this is a place where men of different statuses, religions, and financial status meet together as the same, on the level. As far as any further information about masonry that you would want to obtain will actually require earning the right to it by learning it all.

Allow me to take this one...

I am a 32* Scottish Rite Mason. I belong to Lodges within the Grand Lodge of California, as well as the Grand Lodge of Colorado. I am a member of the Scottish Rite here in Denver & with the Shrine (Al Bahr) in San Diego. (Having recently moved, I havent moved my affiliation to El Jebel Shrine in Denver.

<< i want a 20 degree or higher to explain to me the purpose of the freemasons.>> Each man that comes to the Masonic Lodge brings with him a desire to make the world around him just a little better. One of the symbols you might see is a circle with a dot in the middle. The dot is the man & the circle represents the "area" we are taught "to circumscribe our desires & keep our passions within due bounds". Symbolically, we use the Compass for this. One reason you often see or hear of Freemasons involved in government, etc is because we feel it is our duty to make things better (not take over the world). Thru the symbolism of the builder's tools, we symbolically build ourselves into better human beings.

<<and what u belive in ??. Who do u worship ??.>> This is an important question to understand. Freemason believe that each person has the right to worship as HE decides. The only requirement is the belief in a Supreme Being & the everlasting soul. Whether you call that being, God, Allah, Jesus, Buddha, etc. That is YOUR right. It is not enough for me to merely tolerate this, but to fight for YOUR right to worship. Think a moment: how often has peace & harmony been disrupted because people couldn't agree on religious questions? The ALL-SEEING EYE isn't only a Masonic Symbol But has been used by MANY religious groups over the last 1000 years+. But for Freemasons, it reminds us that when we die, we will be held accountable for our actions. TAKE NOTE: FREEMASONRY OFFERS NO SALVATION OF THE SOUL. THAT IS FOR THE INDIVIDUAL TO SEEK AT HIS CHURCH, TEMPLE, SYNAGOGUE,ETC.

<< do freemasons belive they are superior to others in this world >> Absolutely not. We feel everyone is capable of the same expectations. Often however, people would rather be lazy point the finger of accusation at others rather than get up & get involved with the world around them.

<<Explain to me all the symbols !!!>>There a lots of books that discuss this. Freemasonry used symbols as a way to teach when most of the population couldn't read. Generally, people ask about the Square & Compass: The square might be thought of your Feelings & Desire. The points of the Compasses represent Right & Reason. When a man reaches the 3rd degree the points are elevated ABOVE the square. This represents Right & Reason being in control of Feelings & Desire. The "G" in the middle represents that GOD should be at the center of all we do & the beauty glory & perfection with which GOD created the universe. Other countries, you may not see the "G" as they may not be english speaking.

<< As a being in this world like the rest of the 6 billion people here on this world i belive we should know the truth theirs nothing to hide . Its not really a secret society is it ????>> We have a few poorly guarded secrets. Anyone with 5 minutes on the Net can figure out what we do in Lodge. Besides the business of running a club (like any other) we perform ritual work that is meant to teach a life-lesson: the 1st degree reminds of change/re-birth, etc. The person has left behind his petty habits, etc. the 2nd degree rem inds us to educate ourselves thru the seven liberal arts & sciences. We are of no use ignorant. The 3rd degree reminds to prepare ourselves for the inevitable passing.

This is only a small sampling of information as I tried to focus on your questions. I encourage you to visit the sites listed. I also hope you make a decision to trust what I've told you. Do your own homework.

Safe Travels!

I am a Mason, I am the Junior Deacon at my lodge. We believe in freedom, we worship the God of our choice, we allow Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and every other religion in and they are free to worship the God of their choosing. No we do not believe we are superior, we as humans are all equal. The symbolic allegories I can not answer. We are a society with secrets, everything that we do, all of the answers can be found online.

Never said you did want to be one, whats wrong with you?

its a public forum. anyone with an account can answer, and getting an account is so easy. you cant restrict what answers you get.

and freemasonry is generally full of very well guarded secrets. its doubtful that you would get any real answers on here any way.

does that mean you shouldnt trust them? no. i know a few freemasons (one of their meeting places is literally down the street from my office) and aside from not saying what they do, they are really nice people.

You will never receive the answers you seek, unless you join and agree to keep those secrets safe with the society. That is part of their brotherhood, to keep their traditions to themselves.

Do you really think you will get the answers you want on this matter ? LOL You will never find out from any true Mason do you think they would just tell you what you want ? , And you will never be a Mason So I guess your out of luck !

Unions. None exist anymore free masons since people quit working with stone by hand.