Freemasonry Basics

12 Questions

What is the name of the lodge mentioned in the passage?

Worshipful Lodge

What was the condition to gain admission to the Worshipful Lodge?

Being a man, free born, of good report, and well recommended

What was the candidate taught during the initiation ritual?

That the recollection of the sharp implement piercing the naked left breast should be to the mind and conscience, should one ever presume to reveal any of the secrets of Free Masonry unlawfully

What was the candidate asked during the prayer ceremony?

In whom I put my trust

What was the purpose of the candidate's journey around the lodge?

To answer the same questions and provide the same answers as at the door

What was the final act of the initiation ritual?

The candidate was made an Entered Apprentice in due form

From where did you come as an Entered Apprentice?

From a Lodge of the Holy Saints John of Jerusalem.

What is the purpose of an Entered Apprentice in the Masonic fraternity?

To learn, to subdue my passions, and improve myself in Masonry.

What is the basis of a Mason's obligation?

My obligation.

How does a Mason know themselves to be a Mason?

By having been often tried, never denied, and being ready to be tried again.

What are the perfect points of an Entered Apprentice's entrance?

The guttural, the pectoral, the manual, and the pedal.

How was the Entered Apprentice prepared to be made a Mason?

By being divested of all metallic substance, neither naked nor clad, barefoot nor shod, hoodwinked, with a cable tow once around my neck.

Study Notes

Initiating a Mason

Entered Apprentices are initiated in a Lodge of the Holy Saints John of Jerusalem.
They come to learn, subdue their passions, and improve themselves in Masonry.

Becoming a Mason

Masons are made in a just and regularly constituted Lodge of Masons.
The obligation is what makes someone a Mason.

Identifying a Mason

Masons know each other by certain signs, a token, a word, and the perfect points of their entrance.
Signs include right angles, horizontals, and perpendiculars.
A token is a friendly or brotherly grip, used to recognize another Mason in the dark or light.
The perfect points of entrance include the guttural, pectoral, manual, and pedal.

Preparing to be a Mason

Candidates are prepared in their heart and then in a room adjacent to a Lodge.
They are divested of all metallic substance, neither naked nor clad, barefoot nor shod, hoodwinked, with a cable tow once around their neck.

Admission to the Lodge

Candidates are conducted to the door of a Lodge by a friend, who is later found to be a brother.
They gain admission by three distinct knocks and answering questions from within.

Admission Questions

The questions include: "Who comes here?" and "Have you come of your own free will and accord?"
The candidate must affirm they are worthy, well qualified, of lawful age, and properly vouched for.

Receiving Admission

The Worshipful Master directs the candidate to enter the Lodge in the name of God.
The candidate is received upon the point of a sharp implement piercing their naked left breast.
This is to teach them that the recollection of their oath should be to their mind and conscience.

Proceedings After Admission

The candidate is conducted to the center of the Lodge and caused to kneel for the benefit of prayer.
They are asked, "In whom do you put your trust?" and respond, "In God."
They are taken by the right hand, ordered to arise, and follow their conductor, fearless of danger.

Circumnambulation

The candidate is conducted once regularly about the Lodge to the Junior Warden in the South, then to the Senior Warden in the West, and finally to the Worshipful Master in the East.
At each station, the same questions are asked and like answers returned as at the door.

Final Disposition

The Worshipful Master orders the candidate to be reconducted to the Senior Warden in the West, who teaches them how to approach the East.
The Worshipful Master in the East then makes the candidate an Entered Apprentice in due form.