You may not want to petition now but I would suggest at least stopping by and tell them you plan to and meet brothers as you will need recommenders when you decide to petition
I couldn't agree more. You can't become a Mason on the internet. If that's what you want even if it's a while away, get the ball rolling and you will have an easier time of it over all. If nothing else, find out when the Lodge will be doing degree work. That takes a minimum of three months.
Before you can even start your first degree, you need to submit your petition. It will be read at the next Lodge meeting. This can take another month if your timing is bad. Then, the investigative committee has to do its work and the Master Masons in the Lodge need to vote on the petition if a favorable report is returned by the committee, another month. If there are holidays or the lodge goes dark or you submit your petition after the degree cycle in the lodge has started during any portion of this process as is often the case, you can add up to another three months to the process. So, in the worst case it can take five months from the time you submit your petition to the time you start your first degree. Then three months minimum for the three degrees if you put in the effort.
Millions of men have done this before you. There are men I know of who take years to become a Master Mason. If you don't want it to take that long, take our advice and get started now. The worst that will happen is you will make some new friends.
