Yes — but with a distinction that matters.
Freemasons do not recruit in the commercial sense. There are no membership drives, no quotas, no incentive programs. What exists is something far more deliberate: the extension of fellowship to men who have already demonstrated the qualities the Craft seeks.
A Brother who meets a man of upright character, sound judgment, and sincere spirit may recommend him to the lodge. This is not recruitment as the world understands it. It is the recognition of a kindred soul and the invitation to walk a shared path. The lodge then investigates, deliberates, and votes — unanimously — before any man is permitted to kneel at the altar.
This practice was codified as early as 1723 in Anderson’s Constitutions, which declared that no lodge should “receive any candidate without a due inquiry into his character and capacity.” The lodge’s duty is not to fill seats but to guard the West Gate. Every man who enters must be worthy of the trust placed in him.