Holy crap, this story is so good, already in chapter 5.
Anyone else an Ex Bethel "volunteer"
by BackseatDevil 127 Replies latest jw experiences
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mythreesons
Sosoconfused - you have a pm
I was there mid 90's too!
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Gayle
jeesh,,Am I the oldest one on this thread?, hate that happening so often anymore. I was there '69-'74. It was a 4-yr commitment back then. That 4-yr commitment was "shackling" for most. Then, they changed the 4 -yr thing because most were leaving within a yr. anyway. Thankfully, I got pregnant there,,so very thrilled about that in itself, but a close 2nd was that I was leaving Bethel. A housekeeper the whole time,,was asked after a few years, if I wanted to work in the factory but I enjoyed the time to myself, that though housekeeping was not a great choice either, but I had a quieter environment there that way. I was single there for the 4 yrs and then married there (Knorr officated).
I had 4 roommates while there before marriage. One left after I left, with a near breakdown (there were 3 other gals that had nervous breakdowns that I know). Poor thing. Another roommate married there also and later left Bethel, & she left org. altogether later. Another married there but I think left Bethel but lost track. One is still there, she was hillarious, she spoke of Knorr, as the "pope" several times to me and I would get hysterical with laughter with her.
My brother was at Bethel two years before me. He had been at the Farm with construction for his 1st year. Someone on this thread commented about the drinking at the Farm. There was a gin maker somewhere on the Farm back then, was suppose to be a secret. My brother didn't take himself so seriously there at Bethel and was just a lot of fun and more of a 'free spirit.' He g-jobbed there on his 'free' time.
Later my other brother came to Bethel a few months before I left, finished his "4" in '77 and came out freely, calmly, then stated to me that the "holy spirit" had nothing to do with the "GB." I was floored, reeling, but had a lot of re-evaluations myself, enough, but still in a quandry. My sister, also, married a Bethelite and was accepted to join him at Bethel. They left in '78.
It's only a guess but I think many to most of Bethelites have left the organization. Some stuck there because of family, but they 'know' TTATT.
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BackseatDevil
@ Gayle "Someone on this thread commented about the drinking at the Farm. There was a gin maker somewhere on the Farm back then, was suppose to be a secret."
That got the biggest laugh out of me. Thank you for sharing this. I actually met quite a few brothers and sisters that were in the 4-year program... and it was back when they were taking sister too.
But oh my goodness... a gin maker. love it.
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Julia Orwell
Sounds like booze is the only way anyone can cope at bethel.
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Satanus
Speak about booze. One of the service overseers took me to a bros place that needed some wallpaper hung. The bro used to be in bethel and now had a fair sized business. Anyhow, the booze flowed freely, throughout the job. Not sure how well it was done. And, he gave me a bottle of red johnnie walker to go.
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BackseatDevil
geez @Satanus! score? I guess.
I wasn't a big drinker at the time. our room only had alcohol on Fridays and even then, it wasn't all the time. My neighbor had full liquor cabinet, across the hall my other neighbor had his entire mini-fridge dedicated to beer, and during the housekeeping training I noticed many Bethel elders had at least some bottle of something and little tumbler glasses or something out (normally be against the rules). Drinking... was an issue. It wasn't a big issue, but it was an issue.
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Sammy Jenkis
Never was a bethelite but was definitely hammered about the prestige and honor it would be to go there. This thread is awesome and I can't wait to read the full story.
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Black Man
Yep - checking in! Was there in the middle to end of the 90s. Worked in cleaning, tape duplication, press room, etc!