The Fraternity of Freemasonry is the oldest, largest and most widely-known fraternal organization in the world. Freemasonry is found throughout the civilized world even in oppressed countries where it is not allowed to exist openly. Volumes have been written about Freemasonry, yet to many people it remains a mystery.

Freemasonry tends to men to be strictly obedient to its precepts. Through its fundamental belief in the Brotherhood of Man and the immortality of human soul, it seeks to make a good man a ‘better man.’ It is an organization formed and existing on the basic tenets of Brotherly Love, Relief of the distressed and Truth in all things. These tenets are ethical principles acceptable to good men everywhere. It teaches the universality of man, regardless of race, creed or nationality. It teaches tolerance of all mankind.

History
Freemasonry traces its antecedents to the associations of operative craftsmen, the builders of Gothic cathedrals, which history records were introduced into England as early as 674 A.D. and flourished during the Middle Ages.

Due to their professional knowledge and skills, master craftsmen were accorded special privileges, including that of traveling and working in foreign countries freely to employ their craft. In order to protect their associations from intrusion by outsiders, these craftsmen developed secret means of identification and recognition – the secrets of the guilds.

Between the 17th and early 18th centuries as cathedral building came to an end, guilds of stonemasons began to accept as members other good men not directly connected with the builders craft, terming them Speculative of Accepted Masons. Gradually, Lodges came to be composed almost entirely of Free and Accepted Masons, and from these groups the Freemasonry of today had its origin.

Freemasonry teaches the universal principle of unselfish friendship and promotes those moral precepts which are in keeping with all great faiths. In pursuing this doctrine; the following though not exclusive, is considered to be basic:

Masonic Beliefs:
•  Mankind was created by one God.
•  This one God is the author of all life.
•  God ‘s existence is revealed to man through faith and the Book of Holy Scriptures.
•  The Book of Holy Scriptures is the Ultimate Authority or Great Light of Freemasonry.
•  The soul of Man is Immortal.
•  Man’s commitment to Divine Providence determines his destiny.
•  Man’s reverence for God is best exemplified by his actions toward his fellow man.

Considering the universality of Freemasonry, it teachings cannot be defined by any single statement or established profile. The following is considered to be representative of its fundamental precepts and constitutes basic:

Masonic Teachings
Man’s first duty to is to love and revere God, implore His aid in all laudable undertakings and seek His guidance through prayer, embrace and practice the tenets of religion, extend charity and sympathy to all mankind, shield and support the widow and orphan, defend virtue, respect the aged, honor and bonds of friendship, protect the helpless, lift up the oppressed, comfort the downcast, restore dignity to the rejected, respect the laws of government, promote morality and add to the common stock of knowledge and understanding.

2B1 Ask1-To be One, Ask One-- Among millions of Masons, for hundreds of years, it was not lawful to invite a friend to apply for membership. Our code of conduct prevented it. Thus, no faithful Mason could invite you to join. Hence, to be one, you have to ask one. You must first ask yourself if you're suitably prepared to enter the gentle craft of Masonry to become a brother in the world's most exclusive fraternal order. Few men are intellectually or spiritually prepared to understand or appreciate even the most apparent meanings of Masonry. Do you reflect on the nature of man's purpose in life and will you make obligations to God, your family, and yourself?

--- If such ethical and moral questions hold little interest for you, then you will gain little benefit from the teachings of the Craft. But if you seek a more meaningful quality of life and the spirit of charity and good fellowship which flow from it then Freemasonry has much to offer. We want the world to know what we believe, how we act, and what we do and, then, should you become a Mason, we want you to be proud of our Fraternity and to participate in our work. Only those who desire membership because of their favorable impression of us should seek a petition to join. What We Ask of You? Any man who is twenty (20) years of age or older and of good moral character, who comes well recommended, and who believes in a Supreme Being and in the immortality of the soul may petition to become a Freemason.