My Freemasonry | Freemason Information and Discussion Forum
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I don't think it does. Just because they have a fancy and elaborately decorated lodge won't change the experience. It takes dedicated officers to impress the candidate with the true meaning & lessons of Freemasonry while conferring the Degrees. Also a well versed Masonic Education committee that can impart more Masonic Light on the candidates.
As the saying goes, " sometimes the best things come in plain packages".
I dont think that the money would matter. That doesnt mean that it would be bad to go to a Lodge with money, either. Small lodges and large lodges both have their benefits. Some brothers need the things that the large lodge offers and some brothers need the benefits of a small lodge. Some could need both once raised.
Its all in the content. I know lodges that have average buildings with little.money but make great Masons and I know lodges that have beautiful buildings with tons of money and make poor Masons. Its all about what you want from Freemasonry. If you want a certain type of Masonic experience, do the work and give yourself that experience. Dont let anyone tell you any different.
I will start by saying, I have no experience with any other lodge and I am less than a month into the craft. I have much learning ahead for me so please take this thought with the appropriate grains of salt. I truly believe that the brothers in the lodge make the greatest determination of the masonic experience. If you have brothers who are active and passionate about the craft, the lodge will be richer, regardless of the financial state of the jurisdiction. With that being said, might there be some perks or niceities in a better financed lodge, it would be silly to think otherwise. I do not feel that these worldly riches would outwiegh the brotherhood. I guess it really comes down to what a brother would rather have in his masonic experience.
I just want to say, that my lodge is chock full of active and passionate brethern. I have been amazed with the level of comradery at my lodge since day one. It was that comradery that assured me I had made the correct decision to join the craft.
Pomp and frill don't make masonry, education, and memorable work is all that's needed. Remember, in WW2, men who were in concentration camps, and prisons in nazi occupied Europe, managed to secretly have masonry, in a living hell hole.