The Investigation Committee

Why this matters

A petition lands on the Secretary's desk. A man you may or may not know wants to be a Mason. The Master appoints two or three brothers to visit him at his home, sit in his living room, meet his family, ask him plainly why he wants in, and verify what he wrote on the petition. They report back in writing. The Lodge then votes. The visit is the most important fifteen minutes in the published making of a Mason.

The Investigation Committee is the moment when the published standard of the Craft (good repute, sound character, free will and accord) gets pressure-tested against an actual man in his actual home. If you ever serve on one, you are deciding for the Lodge whether to add a brother who will outlive the men who voted him in. If you ever sit for one as a candidate, knowing the published shape of the visit makes it easier on both sides.

What this chapter is

After a candidate signs a petition, a committee of brethren is appointed to interview him, verify his statements, and report back to the Lodge. The published procedure is straightforward and the same in essentials across mainstream US jurisdictions.

How to practise it

A lesson walks the same seven steps every time. Read the intro, study the material, then drill it through Quick Fire, Matchup, Sequence, Flashcards, and the Mix capstone. Each step opens to the next; no choices to make in the middle of the work.