Welcome!
I usually say to 'Jump in and stir up some discussion..." but you already have! [Have you been reading ahead?]
When I was in grade school (back when we cyphered on pieces of tree bark with charred sticks!
), we got released an hour a week to troop down to the local church for bible study. The week we were told to bring a Bible from home, Mom got out Primm's (GrandMa-Ag's 2nd husband) Masonic bible and put black tape over the Emblem on the cover, explaining we didn't want to give the wrong impression, since Dad was not a Mason.
I wondered for years about the power of the design of the Square & Compasses...
Many friends and acquaintances in the Navy and in jobs often used unusual phrases, with a knowing glance to other Masons, that I heard over and over.
After joining, I found I enjoyed the ritual and repetition of opening and closing the Lodge...which lead me back to the rituals of the Lutheran Church, which I had abandoned as a teen.
S&F