Posted by Mary [Joshua] on March 27, 1999 at 19:01:11 {Ihs.EqJaAwkmbgCnMrjoMWQSpdplHcja6}:
I was so disgusted after talking to a sister yesterday at the hall, that I felt like walking out....
Her daughter is working right now at Bethel. She's one of these girls that goes there for the soul purpose of finding a Bethelite to marry, and to brag about all the "elite" members of the organization that she is now "friends" with (apparently, working out in service with one of these guys' automatically makes you a friend).
This sister, quite unashamedly, admitted her desire for her daughter to marry a Bethelite, because "you get special treatment in the congregation if you marry a Bethelite." When I asked 'from who?' she replied "the elders, the pioneers and, well, the entire congregation!"
I was disgusted by this point and said that perhaps we shouldn't be pointing the finger at the churches about showing favourtism and rank, seeing as the exact same thing is going on in OUR organization. This didn't sit too well and the reply I got was "the difference is that the truth is still the truth, no matter what may be happening with imperfect humans within the organization."
"Oh really?" I said "And what happens if we apply that same sort of logic to another church?"
That statement was ignored of course, but this sister went on to say "...Look, I'm being totally blunt, and there's nothing wrong with wanting your daughter to marry someone from Bethel. It's no different than a young guy wanting to marry a pretty girl."
"Sure they do", I said, "but if that's the only quality a girl has to have, then he's most likely going to be in for a big shock after the wedding, when he finds out that she's conceited, can't cook or clean, has always been given everything handed to her on a silver platter, has never worked outside the home and has no intention of doing so. It's the same for a girl trying desperatly to marry someone from Bethel. If that's the only qualification the guy needs, than she'll be in for a big surprise too."
I further suggested that her daughter be looking for other qualities, such as a nice personality, a hard worker, someone who can think for himself, and who would make a decent father one day.
This was met with a roll of the eyes, as though these qualities mean absolutely nothing, as long as you have the title "Bethelite"......
What a joke.....