When we see a book or even a person, we automatically evaluate many things from what data we have, mostly visual. This is natural and fine. But the cover can be a poor representation of the person or the book, depending on many factors.

The empowered volunteer must always approach someone who could be a candidate for their group with an open mind.

The person before you could be very wealthy and just not displaying their high status at the time you meet them, if they ever display such status. In your SWOT analysis you should have addressed this subject so you already know what to do.

If favors are what you need, ask for it directly but politely. If you are looking for positive actions, make sure you are specific. Remember, wealthy people are very passionate people already. They made their wealth through that passion if they are self-made, so show yours for your cause and they will more than likely respect that part of your presentation. Stay optimistic even if they are multitasking as you are making your presentation. Keep the faith in knowing that what you offer can help them every bit as much as a lower status person. Rich or poor, everyone sees health benefits from volunteering.

Treat every person as important and worthy no matter how they speak, look, or act. Obviously don’t solicit memberships from locked up criminals or other parts of society where the person may have challenges that prevent them from participating fully in your group. But otherwise, be open minded to everyone.

Consider in the caption above the leather bound book of poems from 1721. For a book in the hands of one who doesn’t own fancy books in glass cases and special atmospheres, this may look out of place in a normal home. Most people who are not wealthy don’t own such old books.

However, the cover is the best part of this old book. Once you open it, a page is torn, writing from when it was transferred between owners is reflected in the inside cover, in short it is not worthy of a collector’s attention even if it is old. It has no collector value at all. It is neat to hold a book that was printed before Ben Franklin signed the Declaration of Independence but neat is pretty much the value of this book, beyond family memories or other intrinsic values it could have.

Bill Walton, of Wal-Mart fame was well known for driving an old pickup long after he became very wealthy.  If you did not know it, his dress and car did not give away his status or wealth on many occasions if you met him on a weekend somewhere.

Never prejudge a person by any outward appearances. They may be rich or they may be drowning in debt while looking and driving really fancy cars and owning a great home in a high status neighborhood. You don’t know and if they are willing and capable of volunteering, you really don’t care. Either way your offer helps them in many ways, so be proud and offer them the opportunity to volunteer.

You should also understand that to a high degree, those that are wealthy are also involved in raising funds for charity.

In his fascinating book in 2000 The Millionaire Mind, Thomas J. Stanley, PH. D. noted, “that nearly 2/3 of the millionaires (64%) engaged in this activity in the past twelve months, and there was a very positive correlation between their activity and net worth”. The take away is, as an empowered volunteer you may be setting yourself up with many who have had or are on their way towards real monetary success. Successful people are drawn to noble pursuits in many cases.

Dr. Stanley further writes, “Financially successful people and the next generation of economically productive people volunteer”.

He expounds on the notion that most of those who attain high wealth were volunteering long before they attained their status or wealth. Bill Clinton, former President of the United States wrote a book written in 2007, Giving, How Each of US Can Change the World, which told of his life long history of volunteering. I doubt you will run into Bill Clinton in your empowered volunteer prospecting, but a young up and coming person could be sitting at the next place you stop!

To drive this point home just a bit further we will dip into Thomas J. Stanley’s 2004 next book, The Millionaire Women Next Door which details the difference between men and women of high wealth and status. He writes, “Women are more likely, however, to be involved in community or civic volunteer work (77 percent versus 67 percent). Overall, within the same age groups and income cohorts, businesswomen are less likely than their male counterparts to demonstrate patronage habits that advertise their status”.

The Rifleman’s Rifle 1982

Now consider the above caption, a book leather bound, pulled from next to a series of Time Life books on The Old West, with covers that resemble this book when casually handled. This book might fool you in its worth, it is fairly rare and is valued, depending on who is publishing the review at over two thousand dollars! Yet it doesn’t look to be much more than the Time Life books of the same size! The topic is narrow and for many people not particularly interesting.

Never judge a book by its cover, just as you should not judge a person!

Why does this matter? Everyone is the same when it comes to volunteering from the empowered volunteer point of view, right? Wrong on all fronts is that line of thinking. Wealthy people can be of huge help to your cause if you are open minded, with their high social capital and robust networks. Remember in earlier posts the rule to always ask for referrals? Wealthy people usually have networks as worthy as their status. Now think about that. If their status is high, they often can provide insight for you to people who are open to your message even if they are not.

People who can also engage their networks effectively are a unique brand and they are also unique for your offering! Taylor your offer accordingly. Ask for their help if their time can’t be given.

I am not saying target wealthy people. I am saying that they operate on different wavelengths and as an empowered volunteer you need to adjust your message for them. If they can’t help by directly being involved perhaps they can make some calls to suggest referrals who are up and coming as they once were?

These referrals are often as valuable as gold because the wealthy often know who can and will do things. They tend not to waste time on wild goose chases so they provide solid referrals. Treasure these if you manage to get some from a high status person.

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Freemason’s Ben Franklin with author and Freemason Rudyard Kipling books in background,  both reflect successful lives even by today’s standards.

Rebuilding America’s volunteer groups can easily start with these ten steps to success in rebuilding America.

One of America’s Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin decided he wanted to be more socially visible when he was young, while pursuing success. This was for reasons pertaining to his business where he wanted more printing work as well as his aspirations of higher social climbing. He created, according to his biography a group called the Junto club.

It was a social club, which met to discuss topics and books of interest to the group. Eventually Ben joined the Freemasons and became a prominent member in short order, rising to a fairly high level within a few years. Since this was an organization of prominent and successful merchants and tradesmen, he was able to make connections, which benefited him both professionally and in later life as our Ambassador to France.

Keep in mind Ben Franklin was the originator of the volunteer fire department idea, volunteering was even at that time highly regarded and useful in the building of American society! This revolutionary and highly successful model is still used today in many parts of America. 

By the end of Ben Franklin’s life he had become the most widely recognized American in the eyes of the world.

This was quite a successful accomplishment for a person who had so many obstacles to overcome in his quest for social capital and improved social status over a lifetime. Perhaps today the obstacles faced by an empowered volunteer might seem small in contrast to Dr. Franklin’s.

How should the empowered volunteer start the process for membership building? Excellent question, because rebuilding America seems like a daunting task. The answer is one step at a time, one volunteer at a time, for one group at a time.

Use these ten steps for empowered volunteer success.

First, the empowered volunteer needs be certain that they are supported within the group. This is simple, ask folks to support your efforts and let them tell you how they plan to do it. Request specific information and clarify the details. Put the highlights in writing with names attached to each detail that an individual agrees to complete and if necessary a date which completion is required. Your support staff is now ready to go.

Second, the empowered volunteer should ensure that the leadership for the group is prepared to deal with new members. This sounds simple, but if new members are needed, there must be a position or need which they can be expected to address if you want success in energizing them for the group. Most new members want to feel associated and needed soon after joining. They are usually willing to lend a helping hand. They are not likely to be happy if all they provide to the group is their dues and their name on the roster. Have a need they can fill or a place for them to become active participants and you will see the results you are looking for.

Third, keep the group involved in your efforts to find new members. They will be better able to support your efforts and also to lend comfort to you in your encounters with rejection. Make no mistake about this task you have taken on, membership building involves rejection and lots of it. Rejection is why so many individuals stay away from membership recruiting. It is hard work, and not fit for everyone. When you find success, and you will if you follow the proper course outlined in other posts from this blog, refine your technique until you produce a successful pattern or steps that work for you.

Forth, make a plan. It does not have to be elaborate. But a volunteer who says they will just go out and try is already doomed for dismal results, if they encounter any results at all. If you fail to make a plan, you are planning to fail. Have your personal business cards ready to hand out liberally. Consider some incentive on the back to capture e-mails or some other form of involvement for a prospective member. Get information however you can!

Fifth, set a long-range time frame for judging the success or failure of the plan, some of which will be carried out by those who follow you as the empowered volunteer. The recommendation for a reasonable plan is for at least one year, with a second long range plan of five years. Remember, the decline in membership has occurred over the span of several years, usually since the 1960’s. It would be unwise to plan to rebuild a membership by doubling it in six months. If that jump in membership happens, then great. Put the new members to work with the new opportunities, which were on hold due to membership constraints. This plan should address the four elements in a SWOT analysis in approaching prospects for membership.

Sixth, solicit feedback (read data) from those that reject your message and from those that accept your message as well. Keep a form for compiling your rejections. Sort the rejections into categories, which can be analyzed. You will find trends as you gather enough rejection data. This is invaluable information in helping you decide on future prospecting based on your trends and instincts. It can also be valuable to cross check the data from your rejections with the two parts of the SWOT analysis, weaknesses and threats. You may be able to either drill down into on of the sections of them or add to one of them, based on your rejection list.

Seventh, present a formal quarterly feedback report. Make sure it is data driven and that it is professional in the presentation method with which it is delivered. This is necessary to reflect to the group that you are committed to the group, dedicated to the cause of membership building, professional in your approach to this cause, and open to group participation through feedback in your efforts to achieve your goals. It is best to send the report out ahead of time so that members can digest it and be ready for the presentation as well as constructive feedback for you. Having the presentation group buy into your efforts by “helping” you with feedback is also valuable. It is more of a team effort.

Eighth, share the successes and testimonials with the group and with potential candidates. Build on your successes with a past of success. If you don’t have any when you start, look some up on the internet or the national website for the group. Select the testimonials that reflect your values first and if possible leave the others for another time. It is best to always align with your personal value system if possible for testimonials.

Ninth, build a group of individuals who can “bird dog” for you. In sales terms these are called centers of influence (COIs). They can be any influential citizen who is willing to promote your cause and has sympathy for solving the issues your group specializes in assisting. This particular aspect of sales is time consuming and needs attending to frequently for it’s potential to be realized. It is hard work, but the payoff can be incredible when the groundwork is laid with care.

Tenth, groom your replacement. Few individuals want to be the membership building chief forever. It is easy to become tired and burn out. This is why many folks do not enter the field of sales. It is very demanding if one is to survive. Find someone who is perhaps reluctant but willing if they could just experience success while under some tutelage. Have them participate, silently at first by watching and over time let them build up confidence by taking portions of the presentation and presenting the message under your watchful eye.

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Ben Franklin with Will Rogers book in background, both were Masons

Groups, where only the dues fees are paid and no interactions are required have very little benefit as far as social capital goes for the individual. Freemasons just to attain membership must do much more than pay their dues fees. They must memorize passages from the Old Testament relating to the group. This level of commitment is rare for most groups.

The photo above shows a statue of Ben Franklin, a man from a very large family who had to make his own way in the world. He used fraternal groups for introductions to prominent members of Philadelphia and through connections he managed to expand his printing business.

The book on the far right is of Will Rogers, an interesting character who used rope tricks from the cowboy rodeo shows to engage and entertain crowds. He was also known for humor, with many quotes still attributed to him.

The last thing this photo shows is Langhorne’s Plutarch series of books,1826. This set of books could often be found in the few books that traveled west in America’s expansion during the early 1800′s with the explorers and settlers. The reason may be found in the in depth contrast and comparison Plutarch conducted between high status people in the ancient world.

The study of such people’s lives was still considered important centuries later and for the settlers this book set for many, along with Bibles owned by nearly every family would find its way on the frontier. Books were considered important and worth the weight to bring along. Status and accomplishments go hand in hand. History records high status individuals more often than those less known. You may not be recorded into the history books, but you can make an important contribution towards your favorite group if you take the empowered volunteer route.

One premise of this site is that an individual in a group can make an impact on the growth of that group. A few sales techniques and some old fashion pressing the flesh as well as just plain spreading the word will help most groups over a period of time bring in new members. The use of the approach and techniques in this set of posts will take the empowered volunteer far beyond mere chance, allowing for some aspect of control over the time spent prospecting verses the results expected.

Keeping members engaged and happy once they do join will take more than just asking them to join and then forgetting about them. Some groups today exhibit serious issues concerning membership retention, which place them out of touch with today’s potential members. These issues will require leadership and remedies if retaining members recently brought in is desirable. Perhaps any issues impacting retention should be addressed before sending out an empowered volunteer?

This site will address several issues facing a recruiter and some facing individual groups. A business methodology will be presented to provide a format for analysis of the issues involved in an organization at the local level. Techniques from sales will be evaluated for use by the recruiters. Examples from researched success stories will be presented to demonstrate how effective membership building can be conducted in even the least agreeable situations.

Concrete ideas for building memberships and overcoming tough issues will be dealt with using real life examples. Finally, a listing of organizations will be presented along with their respective issues. Many of these groups will reflect a drastic population drop over the last few years.

This site is not intended to be the universal instant answer book on membership building. It is intended to provide the empowered volunteer with the tools and methods to start the ball rolling. If a group of individuals should decide to take on the task of building membership, so much the better as long as cooperation among members is maintained.

The individual or group will have to complete their own analysis of the issues at their level and then focus on the potential solutions within their scope of authority. This will truly be a situation where what you put into the effort is what potentially you will get out of it. Put another way, garbage in from a half hearted or lazy analysis will almost always yield garbage out in the form of diminished or inadequate results.

This site will review many fraternal, civic, and Veterans groups. It is suggested that the group use the SWOT analysis, an example of which is provided as a guide only and not as a definitive work which is ready to implement for every case. Very few outsiders not currently located within the local group can assess the group’s issues as well as one of their own should be able to do.

Michael Marmot is a professor of epidemiology and public health at University College London, where he is also the director of International Center for health and Society. He also serves as an advisor to the World Health Organization. His premise concerning our topic from his book, The Social Status Syndrome: How Social Standing Affects Our Health and Longevity  is that someone who has higher status will be statistically more likely to live longer, feel less stress, find themselves more in control of their life than another individual with less social status. This information is the result of nearly 30 years of research he has conducted.

The key to improving the status of an individual is the amount of control one has over one’s life and the ability for an individual to fully participate in society.

Furthermore Marmot writes “Americans are divided in their sports affiliations along class lines—the smaller the ball, the higher the social rank: golf, baseball, football, and basketball”.

An individual who has a lack of control over their life or job function, like those of low rank in the US Military reflect low social status. Playing golf, simply because it is associated with high social status is not enough by itself to automatically pull an individual out of the low status social position if, for example they still live on board the ship rather than off base in a house, possess only a bicycle for transportation rather than a decent vehicle, all while living from pay check to pay check. In short, status is determined by the total package of the individual’s life, not simply one aspect of an individual in isolation.

Another example of social status lies within the military. A person might be of low social status seemingly due to low rank, perhaps enlisted rank 3 (E-3). This is the third step in rank for enlisted members and it is often granted to individuals who sign up for a long training school, without any further criteria. On the other hand, a person who is from the fleet and has “earned” this rank of E-3 before attending school will carry much more status over the instant E-3 if both individuals compete for a position head to head.

In order to further to convey the aspect of status imagine another fleet E-3 has the coveted “SEAL” insignia on his breast, his status is now beyond the reach of the instant E-3 or the fleet E-3, all other circumstances being equal. I can imagine only irregular circumstances where this status comparison would not be true. If the fleet E-3 without the SEAL insignia was perhaps a former E-6 who is near retirement and was for some reason reduced in rank, perhaps his cumulative knowledge and social capital might balance the status of the SEAL.

This is a very rare situation, one I have heard of occurring in the Army once in a while when an officer is allowed to stay in the service but due to manning levels has been reduced in rank (riffed, it is called). I personally have only seen this happen once in my Navy career, to an officer with the rank of Lieutenant who was reduced to an E-6. She was a high status women recruiter division officer who was passed over for promotion and then opted to finish her career of 20 years rather than throw away the last two or three years needed to obtain a pension.

Methods for raising one’s social status vary, but a few include education, relative position of rank or placement in employment hierarchy, monetary compensation for employment, status perception of employment (professor verses teacher, electrician verses electrical engineer), and to some extent perceived esteem between neighbors and friends.

In an analogy on status and inequality one military member of the Navy, an enlisted person with the rank of Petty Officer First Class (E-6) bought a house in a subdivision where his surrounding neighbors were all junior officers or senior enlisted or retired military. He was treated by his neighbors in a “hands off” manor due to his low rank and corresponding lower status as perceived by the neighboring officers and their wives. The neighboring wives ostracized his wife due to her husbands enlisted rank. He had neither the social capital nor the status to contend or balance out the neighbor’s perceptions of inequality.

Status is relative though, from this persons piers he was viewed as high status due to where he lived since they didn’t know of the social stigma associated with being and enlisted man in an officer dominated housing area. In this case, bringing in his high status network companions from volunteer activities to functions at his house eventually neutralized the negative status as viewed by his neighbors, though this happened over considerable time. This is a true story.

To continue our military analogy, perhaps the E-3 obtains a college degree in a soft major, such as psychology. His or her status is certainly raised when compared to other E-3’s without a college diploma. However, when compared to an E-6 of 7 years who is contending for an officer position and has a high GPA in a hard major, say in electrical engineering the comparison reflects the E-3 as lacking comparable social status due to both time in rank and perceived prestige of each one’s respective education.

Even if the two were of equal rank and time in service, the prestige of a hard major usually supercedes the perception and prestige of a soft major. If furthermore the person with the hard major was adapt at social capital and networking, this person would be more statistically likely to live longer and face the other positive health benefits associated with higher status relative to the lower status individual.

Two military officers meet, it is normal for the senior one to receive a salute if they are in uniform. Then it is customary to notice if one or both have one of the military academy rings. If both have one, this ring “knocking” is said to cement a bond between the two that is worth while, more so than if one or both were not members. This action can occur between members of other colleges as well when they meet.

The individual implications here for the status disparity that is noted are far more than simply to take up golf to get ahead. If someone wishes to position themselves in a potentially higher status  position, they would be well served to broaden their social capital by increasing the opportunity of their networking accomplishments, with an emphasis of quality network members. The time spent increasing the quality of a members network has been shown to yield tremendous results. Many famous individuals have experienced this networking perspective, quality beats quantity in nearly every instance.

The prolific business book author, syndicated newspaper columnist, and multimillion dollar business owner Harvey Mackay in his book Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty: The Only Networking Book You’ll Ever Need says in chapter 19 on volunteering, “Lesson? You don’t need a Harvard MBA—sometimes referred to as a yuppie union card—to find a network that gives you access to important people in your community. The nominating committee of almost any civic organization is an open season to your community’s leadership.” If you have access to important community leaders in your network (high quality contacts), your climb in status (high quality yield) is sure to follow.

The empowered volunteer must understand that the people he or she helps will increase their social capital and thus increases the likelihood of the many health benefits the studies show are usually associated with joining  and participating in groups. Status and social capital are closely intertwined and often very difficult to separate. They are however, something the empowered volunteer must keep in mind when they are positioning themselves to help their group. This is a great selling point if the empowered volunteer can convey the concept sincerely to their potential new members.

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Freemason ball cap

Freemasons, the oldest and largest fraternal organization in the world has a long history.

This group of like minded men have been around so long that way too many stories embellished with questionable circumstances have been circulated. From some of these imaginations we get the movie, National Treasure. So many books, both pro and con have been written about Freemasons that I can’t even think of covering all of the material here in one post. I will try and condense the material into a useful amount so that the reader can at least decide if they have an interest in becoming a member or becoming an empowered volunteer for one of the many groups associated with Freemasonry.

First off, Freemasonry is a fraternal organization.

It is different from civic groups like the Lions Club or the Kiwanis or Rotary International. The difference is more legal than anything. Fraternal groups can have closed memberships requiring votes for entry. Civic groups are much more open, with restrictions being limited to well defined sectors such as the Rotary and the business sectors represented for each section within the local club. Civic groups can’t legally exclude any sectors of the public for instance. There have been a few court cases that have settled this in the past.

Freemasons started in the current incarnation we see today in the year 1717 in England. The past beyond that for the group traditionally included the masons building the great Roman Catholic Churches and buildings going back several hundred years. Some claim masons go back to the times of the Crusades even. However, today’s groups can only trace their current form to the creation of Freemasons in 1717. Before that, so many things were different that the linage is very hard to prove and for our purposes we really don’t care.

Freemasons in the United States are open about their membership and members often openly wear the affiliated symbols openly and proudly. However, Masons are one of the most persecuted of groups in modern times. Freemasons were not welcome under dictatorships or in Germany under the Nazi party. It is a little known fact that masons were included in the rounded up groups sent to the concentration camps.

Jews, gypsies, gays, and masons were all included in the concentration camp round up in Germany prior to and during WWII.

Masons, fearing the hostile government of Germany took to wearing a small lapel pin of a forget me not, a purple flower to distinguish themselves to others in the groups, much like the fish symbol was used by Christians during the time after Jesus in Rome.

Freemasonry today is a wide branch of a tree containing many different sections of groups, all with a Masonic connection. Think of this collections of groups like a high school in the United States. For a member of the school to join associated groups is normal. But you can’t join the base ball group of another school if you don’t live there. You have to stay in your area. It is the same with Freemasons. Once you have petitioned and been fully initiated into the local lodge as a Master Mason, which is also called the third degree of Masonry, you are at the top of the ladder. You can go no higher, only adding other groups.

Like a high school has many clubs and groups, so does the Master Mason confront many potential groups who will happily put him to work for the cause they support. You can’t just skip to the supporting group and skip the process of becoming a mason though, just as you can’t attend a school group without belonging to that school, home schooled children exempted.

Order of the Eastern Star

Once you have joined the local Freemason’s lodge your are usually allowed to consider the other groups as you see fit. Such groups as the Shriners, Tall Cedars of Lebanon, the Order of the Eastern Star are all for adults. The Order of DeMolay is a boys youth group. Rainbow Girls is a youth group for girls. There are other groups associated with masons.

Eastern Star is for ladies as well as men, all the lady has to show is a relationship to a mason.

Shriners

The purpose of Freemasonry in today’s society is stated as, “To make good men better”. This is simple and yet very complicated. The voting process for membership entry is supposed to ensure that only men of high character are allowed to join. There is a group that meets with you and your spouse to ensure she will not be unhappy if you join. Masons promote harmony both in the lodge by banning any conversation regarding religion or politics, but also at home by ensuring that spouses are secure that their men are attending functions which reflect positively on their reputations and that of their respective families.

If you do a search engine request on Freemasonry you will get many replies. Some of them will not be positive. Some will claim that Freemasons are a “secrete” organization which is unChristian. This is simply false. I am a Freemason, I have been in the group in many different states for over 20 years now. I have been in several of the associated groups as well. We do not have any deep dark secretes like the movies show, nor do we do sinister things during our initiations. Lastly, we are completely compatible with most Christian and many other religions.

I will put it this way, the group that has issues with Freemasonry must base their objections on either false or misleading information in order to compromise Christian values as they view them in some way.

Religions for the most part are happily aligned with the tenants of Freemasonry, since most of the initiation wording comes straight from the Old Testament part of the Bible, specifically the part involving King Solomon in first and second Kings. The idea is to use the symbols from this story as a pattern for building one’s moral character. Very simple, easily remembered rules from Bible stories help teach the new Mason his requirements and expectations.

Freemasons use rules and symbols that are put into a kind of story surrounding the building of Kind Solomon’s temple as an allegory for every mason to build his own personal spiritual temple here on earth. In other words, take the many lessons from the Bible verses that are memorized and make yourself a better person.

Freemasons don’t preach salvation, we only claim that we live on after we die here on earth.

How that is done and the surrounding issues are left to the individual and his church if he attends one. In America, most Freemasons attend a church of their choice. Many attend on a regular basis. However Jews are also welcome along with many from the other major religions of the world.

The key is to believe in a Supreme Being, usually called God.

Many famous people were Freemasons. Here is a site which lists some of them. http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/famous-freemasons.html

Some famous Masons are remembered for behavior which was not very Masonic, meaning not of good character. Likely the most memorable of these was Benedict Arnold, famous for betraying his Commander General George Washington during the Revolutionary War.

Other memorable divisions between Masonic Brothers in American history involved Davy Crockett in his opposition to the Native American policies of President Andrew Jackson and the Korean War division between General Douglas MacArthur and then President Truman firing his general for insubordination.

These high profile episodes reflect and refute the notion that Masons will not enforce laws between themselves. Davy Crockett was so distraught with his treatment by his Brother Mason that he left his home and went to Texas to fight in their revolution, with several Brother Masons also involved and where he seemed to find better treatment as well.

The public perception that Masons will refuse to deal with fellow members as needed when in public office should now be dead from these examples.

The internet is full of stupid sites making so called historical claims that Freemasons do many creative and lowly things. I can tell you from personal experience they are simply not true. There are only a very few things which Freemasonry members promise not to reveal to the public. To that end, in 1723 a book was published which claimed to give out all of the secretes of the fraternity. To this day none of the so called secretes have been changed due to that violation of the authors oath when he published them.

It simply doesn’t matter if someone learns the hand grip or the gesture or whatever. To be a Mason starts in the heart with the right attitude and goes from there. It is not in gestures or hand shakes. So the liars on the internet can continue their negative crusade, but it will not stop good men from continuing their good works on behalf of society and in the name of the Holy Saint’s John.

To be a Mason you need to believe in a Supreme Being, usually called God. This allows the three religions stemming from Abraham of the Bible,including Jewish followers of most variations, Christian followers in most instances, and the followers of Mohammad as well as a few of the other religions of the world that are in alignment with the idea of a supreme being can apply to join Freemasonry.

Many famous Masons, such as Ben Franklin were Deists during the age of enlightenment, meaning that they were not Christian any longer, even if they were raised that way. George Washington was another Deist. Deists were not Christian, rather they believed God was a kind of watchmaker who wound up the universe and then stepped aside to let matters unwind. Since Deists believe in a Supreme Being or God, they too are welcome to join the ranks of Freemasonry. This is mentioned to set the example that very good men such as these were also Freemasons and history has not judged them harshly for either characteristic.

Atheists are not welcome to join Freemasonry.

If you take a look at some of the more famous Freemasons, you should be able to detect the true nature of the group as judged by the overall tone and character of the past members. Many of the more famous members were famous not for being masons but for their contributions to society. I will let you review the list for yourself and come to your own conclusions.

In the future I will write about many of the other Freemason groups and their respective traits.

For now, Freemasonry is a worthy group for the consideration of the empowered volunteer. It has a vast amount of space to enjoy and explore. Enjoy this group if you choose to spend your time in such good company. So mote it be!

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