Story about Friend in Accounting Department Getting Kicked out of Bethel

A post I read here reminded me of a friend who was invited to a Bethel branch, became an elder, and 2 years later was asked to join the accounting department.

I was visiting him and we were having a couple of beers when he starts talking bad about some of the brothers in his branch committee. I just listened. He mentioned that they waste so much money. They were constantly going on trips and finding an excuse to spend an hour or two at another branch so they could get the whole vacation compensated. Want to go on a week long trip to Italy? Contact their legal department and ask if you could consult them about a similar legal issue in your country. It’s now a “business trip”. After a one-hour meeting, you spend the rest of the week on the beaches. It’s last minute and no more room at the branch? No problem, just get a hotel room (a resort is even better). When I was working for the writing department I was actually encouraged to do this sort of thing.

I remember him mentioning that one brother’s reimbursements for Starbuck’s coffee alone was greater than the average Bethelite’s allowance.

After that he started to change. He got very critical and started to sound very conceited. I didn’t like being around him anymore. Looking back I think he was dealing with a lot of things mentally that were frustrating him. Imagine getting the measly stipend while you see the brothers above you going on all-paid vacations every month or two, all while getting praised for living a “simple life” for the sake of the Kingdom.

But there were some other things happening too. That particular branch always had issues with scandals. You had a lot of homosexual brothers who stayed single “for Kingdom interests” but would get married when rumors started getting out of control. They usually ended up with best looking girls, who ended up sexually frustrated. Another factor that added to the tension is that a lot of brothers were on heavy anti-depression/anxiety meds which caused problems in their marriages as well.

My friend ended up getting involved with a wife in this very situation and was eventually disfellowshipped straight out of Bethel.

Bonus story, which I may have already told in this sub before:

A zone overseer was visiting the Bethel I was assigned to at the time. We were up late talking and he mentioned that he had just spent a week at a beach in one exotic country, showed me some beautiful pictures too. I didn’t think much of it at the time.

The next day, he gave a zone visit talk in which he encouraged families to cancel vacations to pioneer instead and not be jealous of worldly people who take extravagant vacations “because this life is all they have.”

The evening after the talk we met up with him and a group of his friends. I overheard him talking about how he was on his way to a week’s vacation on the beach in exotic country #2 before heading back to his home branch. I remember feeling jolted at the blatant hypocrisy.

Disclaimer: this was my experience at Bethel and not every branch is like this. But a lot are.