The brightest, most qualified elder I know, and a personal friend, still had to go by the society's policy and disfellowship my son even though he had previously attempted suicide when his girlfriend went to the elders behind his back; he was petrified of being df'd and cut his wrists and took over 120 aspirins.
He survived, thankfully, because the aspirin were coated.
But that episode was not enough to stop him being df'd.
Tht brother has since moved away, I have too; in his new congregation he is not an elder or MS, and has no desire to do so and feels no need to.
Believe me, he is the best and brightest, and now he is gone.
THAT is where the good elders have gone, they just can't take it.
And you know the rest: it isn't cream rising to the top, it is the scum.
In that horrid little cesspool I left, they have appointed a pathological liar, a company man, ONE exbethelite who picks his way carefully, one nice guy type, one asshole of a military man type and now they have a rule nitpicker moving in.
I would rather have my fingernails pulled one by one than be in that congregation, it is the one where they had 2 suicides in 3 years.
The problem is no matter how good you are, the org is corrupt AT THE TOP. That is the culture; how can you have anything else at the other levels?
they cut off all creative thought, input and local management.
If this were any other corporation, it would be defunct.