🚀 go-pugleaf

Ron Boutwell writes:

> The misconception comes from the fact that Shriners know the fastest
> way for a Master Mason to become ellligable for the Shrine is to go
> Scottish Rite vs. York Rite.  Why?  Because in most cases (in the US)
> a Master Mason can be made a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason within a
> single weekend wheras it takes months and sometime a year to become a
> Knights Templar in the York Rite.

I believe that there are places where the York Rite also offers "quick"
degrees.

In my Valley, every degree is exemplified twice a year.  Many men choose
to attend all of the degrees (each Thursday night from September through
December, or January through May).  These classes culminate in a one-day
class, where the required degress are exemplfied and the others
"communicated," and all participate in the exemplifcation of the 32nd
degree.  (It is a trying day for those of us "behind the scenes" doing
wardrobe, or sound, or lighting for everything.)

> In many cities the local Shrine
> will always schedule their Shrine degrees to follow the Scottish Rite
> Degrees on the same weekend.  In my fathers case, he was handed two
> petitions at the same time.  One was for Scottish Rite, the other was
> for Shrine.  he filled them both out and gave them back to his
> sponsor who sponsored him into each one on the same weekend decades
> ago.  It would not serve the recruitment goals of the Shrine to
> encourage or even mention to a Master Mason that they CAN go through
> the York Rite Degrees instead of the Scottish Rite Degrees in order
> to become elligable for The Shrine.  The candidate would take way to
> long to get up to Knights Templar.

There are instances of SR one-day degrees immediately followed (the same
day) by a "Soft Sands".

My personal experience, FWIW, was to become a Master Mason, _ask_ for
a petition for Scottish Rite, do that, then _ask_ for a petition to
the Shrine.  I even had to ask for a petition to the local Shrine Club.