CLC - ENTERED APPRENTICE - 05.22.17

days when stonemasonry involved lifting of heavy blocks of stone, the climbing of ladders and working at high levels. The perfect youth was not one without imperfections but one capable of doing the work as a stonemason. As Freemasonry passed from the operative to the speculative, this provision acquired a symbolic meaning. as the human body is a symbol of a temple to Deity, a candidate for Freemasonry must be capable of that service. In California, a candidate for the degrees must be a man who is eighteen years. As educators have shown that we sometimes learn better when separated by gender, Freemasonry being about self-improvement is limited in our lodges to adult men. A candidate must be a believer in a Supreme Being and a future existence, thereby acknowledging that something transcendent and timeless measures his compliance with his Masonic obligations. He must be of good moral conduct and thereby capable of the service required of Masons. Finally, he must be without physical or mental impairment that would prevent him from learning and practicing the principles of Masonry. The question as to the physical or mental acceptability of the applicant is left to the sound discretion of the Lodge. Under this rule, men who are hearing and/or sight impaired and/or of limited physical mobility have been made Masons. Precepts . A principle or instruction intended especially as a general rule of action.

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