No TV, no reading materials other than ministry publications, no music other that way productions, very limited phone time, not allowed to leave the campus except with express permission - usually a couple hours on a Saturday, days spent working STS - way mag - present truth in study hall and then working crappy menial jobs....read work/study program. Hard edged and dangerous work projects like "harvesting" firewood from the Gunnison national forest. We were under constant surveillance by the corpse coordinator and other way corpse staff. We were isolated from the outside world and even the staff who worked at the campus. We were not allowed visitors or phone calls except for a little time in the evenings or on Saturday. This lifestyle was absolutely horrible. I came close to leaving so many times. The entire process numbs people down to mindless zombies who've learned when to genuflect and spew the necessary cliches to stay mercifully under radar.
By the time a person graduates they are changed.
This part, except for a few minor details, could well be a description of my experience in Fellow Laborers. Others' experiences may have, of course, been different.
no reading materials other than ministry publications
When I was in residence, I received a package from my dad. He had stuffed the box with newspaper for packing material. I pulled out the comics and started reading them. One was particularly funny, so I took it with me and started showing it to others who were free-will incarcerated with me. At a work break one day I was talking with my corps coordinator and I showed it to her too. She of course dutifully reproved me on the spot and told me that this was secular material.
Hard edged and dangerous work projects like "harvesting" firewood from the Gunnison national forest.
Yeah, I had the "dangerous" job of painting coffee cans red, and when dry, painting the word "butts" on the outside. They were for cigarette butts...we could smoke in the Corps back then. Soon I was promoted to walking around the campus changing lightbulbs. That was a true honor and prepared me for a job on the outside.
Great summation of what the in-rez program is and does to a person who comes in with some genuine heart and humility, and the silly notion that they will gain spiritual insight, a closer walk with God, and the ability to lead others if they just follow the program laid out before them...
It certainly changed me. (and not in the ways I had hoped)
Not to mention being in hell after you graduate because everything that happens around you that is bad is your fault because "You're Corps."
Not to mention that the despair of believing that the rest of your life consists of following orders, having no home base, menial jobs, vacationing only at Corps Week and the Rock, etc etc etc. I was so depressed when I graduated and saw NO WAY OUT. I condemned myself for being depressed because surely I was missing the greatness of being Way Corps.
What a relief to see that it wasnt' just me. What a relief to finally leave.
"By the time a person graduates they are changed. Changed to endure mental / emotional abuse and mindlessly follow orders. If you begin to exercise critical thinking skills that go against the board of dummies desires you will be punished in one way or another. Leaving the way corps and the way ministry seemed just damn near impossible at times. After all, I took a salt covenant. In retrospect I was in deep bondage to the board of dummies and a cult that promises the power of God and only gives heartless legalism to it's adherents."
I wonder if this was intentional or just reflected the darker side of human nature? Have you read about the Stanford Prison Experiment? In a nutshell, a class of undergrads are divided in half. Half will be the prisoners and half will be the guards. The experiment had be be stopped early because many of the guards became cruel and abusive and many of the prisoners appeared to be suffering serious emotional abuse.
As twisted as it might sound, I think there is some similarity to the Corps experience. I wasn't there, but I did get an eyeful on staff. Much of the leadership found it more important to get instant obedience than to have people work in a cooperative fashion.
I remember VPW saying back in the mid 70's that he wanted Corps applicants to have "natural leadership ability" because he was tired of trying to teach it. I didn't see much natural leadership ability. Unfortunately, VP had the same natural leadership ability as any successful dictator.
Hard edged and dangerous work projects like "harvesting" firewood from the Gunnison national forest.
Not only were some of the work projects dangerous but let's talk for a sec about some of the activities in the WC program.
When I went LEAD, we hiked along a trail along the edge of a mountain, and at one point there was a huge boulder in the way. We had huge, heavy backpacks on and had to hug this boulder to stay on the trail. One slip and we would have plunged down a cliff about 100 feet or so. I couldn't believe we had to do this, but oh so thankful that no one fell and died.
How about snowmobiling? Gunnison has several snowmobiles that the incarcerated WC are "privileged" to ride once in a blue moon each year. One year, some guy was going way too fast through a narrow opening between a fence and hit the fencepost. The driver, the guy, turned out okay, the the girl, his passenger, got pretty messed up. She was in the hospital for days and was lucky to be alive (although you can't say "lucky" in the way).
Another year, back when they had hitchhiking across the country as part of LEAD, some people were riding in a truck when the driver crashed. The girls got messed up bad.
One time a big guy (over 200 lbs.) was assigned to a top bunk and during the night he fell out and broke his arm.
These are just a few that I can think of off the top of my head. That program is just waiting to get shut down, doncha think?
These are just a few that I can think of off the top of my head. That program is just waiting to get shut down, doncha think?
There is a real good reason that things are kept so incredibly confidential. Should enough sunlight get into board of dummies closets that place would be mothballed quickly.
Not only were some of the work projects dangerous but let's talk for a sec about some of the activities in the WC program.
When I went LEAD, we hiked along a trail along the edge of a mountain, and at one point there was a huge boulder in the way. We had huge, heavy backpacks on and had to hug this boulder to stay on the trail. One slip and we would have plunged down a cliff about 100 feet or so. I couldn't believe we had to do this, but oh so thankful that no one fell and died.
How about snowmobiling? Gunnison has several snowmobiles that the incarcerated WC are "privileged" to ride once in a blue moon each year. One year, some guy was going way too fast through a narrow opening between a fence and hit the fencepost. The driver, the guy, turned out okay, the the girl, his passenger, got pretty messed up. She was in the hospital for days and was lucky to be alive (although you can't say "lucky" in the way).
Another year, back when they had hitchhiking across the country as part of LEAD, some people were riding in a truck when the driver crashed. The girls got messed up bad.
One time a big guy (over 200 lbs.) was assigned to a top bunk and during the night he fell out and broke his arm.
These are just a few that I can think of off the top of my head. That program is just waiting to get shut down, doncha think?
I was about to say that I believe the hitchhiking was the most dangerous of all. I heard of women getting raped while hitchhiking to LEAD. I also heard a guy was killed while hitchhiking. I guess he tried to run across the freeway to retrieve his wallet and was killed in front of his wife.
I thought it was a great place......for anyone who wanted to get the life sucked out of them and then have their @@s handed to them on a platter.
I remember one time we had forty people with rakes on a little piece of ground. I had the audacity to ask my leadership why we had so many doing a job that a couple of people could do. One quess what happened. Boy did I get a speech. Never did understand what he said but it was "real spuritaul".
In retrospect, one of the dumbest d@mn choices I could have made with respect to higher education.
What? You don't see the asset in having an Associate of Theology degree?
hahaha ... my certificate is so valuable that it's in the attic in a bin just waiting there for when I have the time to recycle it ... into a firepit, or a craft project, or ... any other ideas?
yes plenty of ideas but i don't want to get put on probation here
yes, a 7th corps fellow died hitching with his wife. 7th!!!!! how many years did hitchhiking go on after that?
a 10th corps girl got raped and i believe her partner who was probably afraid of losing his life never was the same nor the lovely girl who used to post on here
and then we have the bus accident
ohmygod
the most horrible thing -- not only did these things happen -- but how they were handled afterward
it's very sick
--
ps. erkjohn, i'm sure i need to meet you in the "sonlight" room to reprove you for something pppfffffttttt
By the time a person graduates they are changed. Changed to endure mental / emotional abuse and mindlessly follow orders. If you begin to exercise critical thinking skills that go against the board of dummies desires you will be punished in one way or another. Leaving the way corps and the way ministry seemed just damn near impossible at times. After all, I took a salt covenant. In retrospect I was in deep bondage to the board of dummies and a cult that promises the power of God and only gives heartless legalism to it's adherents.
Yeah.....twi kept MOVING the goal posts.
Once inresidence....the game of endurance begins. Read Dale Carnegie books, memorize the list of sales techniques, learn a bunch of ludicrous 'memory pegs,' blocks of classes to attend, assigned to a twig and a certain branch, a 4 hr/day work group, a branch responsibility, dorm assignments, attend early morning teachings - 5:20am, respond to any 'red alerts' or fire drills, or wierwille's arrival, etc. etc.
Once you graduate....the game continues. The field/staff corps assignments have uniquely different rules, but the oversight and confrontation goes on. One is monitored by reports, by leadership, by corps meetings attendance, by class attendance, by the yearly pilgrimage to corps week/roa, etc.
The goal posts keep moving.......enough is never enough.
No corps exits twi gratiously. Twi will not allow it. Highly respected corps get trashed the most......to instill fear, to stifle questioning, damage control cult-style.
I left under the cover of the Poop Paper and never showed up for my interview. Made my final exit in the great purge of '89 and joined a splinter group. Courageous soul that I was. Yup! really took a mighty stand!
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T-Bone
As Waysider said - what wierwille did to folks was in NO way petty. Sorry to take offense at you suggesting folks leave vengeance to some higher power - ha ! AS IF folks revealing all the lies, m
OldSkool
While I can only speak for myself and my limited observations, I will endeavor to give a glimpse of what happens to a person who goes corps. When I was new to the way ministry I had the beginnings o
waysider
VP (You know he wasn't really a doctor, don't you?) Wierwille wanted them to HAVE it.He just didn't want them to USE it. I learned how to sprout Mung Beans and make my own salad dressing. :(
waysider
No TV, no reading materials other than ministry publications, no music other that way productions, very limited phone time, not allowed to leave the campus except with express permission - usually a couple hours on a Saturday, days spent working STS - way mag - present truth in study hall and then working crappy menial jobs....read work/study program. Hard edged and dangerous work projects like "harvesting" firewood from the Gunnison national forest. We were under constant surveillance by the corpse coordinator and other way corpse staff. We were isolated from the outside world and even the staff who worked at the campus. We were not allowed visitors or phone calls except for a little time in the evenings or on Saturday. This lifestyle was absolutely horrible. I came close to leaving so many times. The entire process numbs people down to mindless zombies who've learned when to genuflect and spew the necessary cliches to stay mercifully under radar.
By the time a person graduates they are changed.
This part, except for a few minor details, could well be a description of my experience in Fellow Laborers. Others' experiences may have, of course, been different.
Edited by waysiderLink to comment
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What About It
When I was in residence, I received a package from my dad. He had stuffed the box with newspaper for packing material. I pulled out the comics and started reading them. One was particularly funny, so I took it with me and started showing it to others who were free-will incarcerated with me. At a work break one day I was talking with my corps coordinator and I showed it to her too. She of course dutifully reproved me on the spot and told me that this was secular material.
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Broken Arrow
Yeah, I had the "dangerous" job of painting coffee cans red, and when dry, painting the word "butts" on the outside. They were for cigarette butts...we could smoke in the Corps back then. Soon I was promoted to walking around the campus changing lightbulbs. That was a true honor and prepared me for a job on the outside.
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excathedra
very well summed up, oldskool. i was in the 9th - i think you were in one of the 20s
i wanted to be more -- i wanted to help people -- i bought the BS
the way corps program f'd me up
i met some nice people -- glad i did
some of my sponsors said "don't change"
thank you for sharing erkjohn :)
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Broken Arrow
I was in the 11th...you were my "Senior Corps".
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OldSkool
Thanks!
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TheHighWay
Great summation of what the in-rez program is and does to a person who comes in with some genuine heart and humility, and the silly notion that they will gain spiritual insight, a closer walk with God, and the ability to lead others if they just follow the program laid out before them...
It certainly changed me. (and not in the ways I had hoped)
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outandabout
Not to mention being in hell after you graduate because everything that happens around you that is bad is your fault because "You're Corps."
Not to mention that the despair of believing that the rest of your life consists of following orders, having no home base, menial jobs, vacationing only at Corps Week and the Rock, etc etc etc. I was so depressed when I graduated and saw NO WAY OUT. I condemned myself for being depressed because surely I was missing the greatness of being Way Corps.
What a relief to see that it wasnt' just me. What a relief to finally leave.
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Jim
"By the time a person graduates they are changed. Changed to endure mental / emotional abuse and mindlessly follow orders. If you begin to exercise critical thinking skills that go against the board of dummies desires you will be punished in one way or another. Leaving the way corps and the way ministry seemed just damn near impossible at times. After all, I took a salt covenant. In retrospect I was in deep bondage to the board of dummies and a cult that promises the power of God and only gives heartless legalism to it's adherents."
I wonder if this was intentional or just reflected the darker side of human nature? Have you read about the Stanford Prison Experiment? In a nutshell, a class of undergrads are divided in half. Half will be the prisoners and half will be the guards. The experiment had be be stopped early because many of the guards became cruel and abusive and many of the prisoners appeared to be suffering serious emotional abuse.
As twisted as it might sound, I think there is some similarity to the Corps experience. I wasn't there, but I did get an eyeful on staff. Much of the leadership found it more important to get instant obedience than to have people work in a cooperative fashion.
I remember VPW saying back in the mid 70's that he wanted Corps applicants to have "natural leadership ability" because he was tired of trying to teach it. I didn't see much natural leadership ability. Unfortunately, VP had the same natural leadership ability as any successful dictator.
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waysider
VP (You know he wasn't really a doctor, don't you?) Wierwille wanted them to HAVE it.He just didn't want them to USE it.
I learned how to sprout Mung Beans and make my own salad dressing. :(
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OldSkool
Natural leadership ability - whatever the hell that is. <_<
So what he was really saying was he wanted people who were already charismatic that would be plausible in selling the classes.
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What About It
Waysider, you crack me up!
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What About It
Not only were some of the work projects dangerous but let's talk for a sec about some of the activities in the WC program.
When I went LEAD, we hiked along a trail along the edge of a mountain, and at one point there was a huge boulder in the way. We had huge, heavy backpacks on and had to hug this boulder to stay on the trail. One slip and we would have plunged down a cliff about 100 feet or so. I couldn't believe we had to do this, but oh so thankful that no one fell and died.
How about snowmobiling? Gunnison has several snowmobiles that the incarcerated WC are "privileged" to ride once in a blue moon each year. One year, some guy was going way too fast through a narrow opening between a fence and hit the fencepost. The driver, the guy, turned out okay, the the girl, his passenger, got pretty messed up. She was in the hospital for days and was lucky to be alive (although you can't say "lucky" in the way).
Another year, back when they had hitchhiking across the country as part of LEAD, some people were riding in a truck when the driver crashed. The girls got messed up bad.
One time a big guy (over 200 lbs.) was assigned to a top bunk and during the night he fell out and broke his arm.
These are just a few that I can think of off the top of my head. That program is just waiting to get shut down, doncha think?
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OldSkool
There is a real good reason that things are kept so incredibly confidential. Should enough sunlight get into board of dummies closets that place would be mothballed quickly.
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Broken Arrow
I was about to say that I believe the hitchhiking was the most dangerous of all. I heard of women getting raped while hitchhiking to LEAD. I also heard a guy was killed while hitchhiking. I guess he tried to run across the freeway to retrieve his wallet and was killed in front of his wife.
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polar bear
I thought it was a great place......for anyone who wanted to get the life sucked out of them and then have their @@s handed to them on a platter.
I remember one time we had forty people with rakes on a little piece of ground. I had the audacity to ask my leadership why we had so many doing a job that a couple of people could do. One quess what happened. Boy did I get a speech. Never did understand what he said but it was "real spuritaul".
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waysider
Re: The L.E.A.D. references
HERE is a thread that new arrivals may find of interest.
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chockfull
In retrospect, one of the dumbest d@mn choices I could have made with respect to higher education.
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What About It
What? You don't see the asset in having an Associate of Theology degree?
hahaha ... my certificate is so valuable that it's in the attic in a bin just waiting there for when I have the time to recycle it ... into a firepit, or a craft project, or ... any other ideas?
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excathedra
yes plenty of ideas but i don't want to get put on probation here
yes, a 7th corps fellow died hitching with his wife. 7th!!!!! how many years did hitchhiking go on after that?
a 10th corps girl got raped and i believe her partner who was probably afraid of losing his life never was the same nor the lovely girl who used to post on here
and then we have the bus accident
ohmygod
the most horrible thing -- not only did these things happen -- but how they were handled afterward
it's very sick
--
ps. erkjohn, i'm sure i need to meet you in the "sonlight" room to reprove you for something pppfffffttttt
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skyrider
Yeah.....twi kept MOVING the goal posts.
Once inresidence....the game of endurance begins. Read Dale Carnegie books, memorize the list of sales techniques, learn a bunch of ludicrous 'memory pegs,' blocks of classes to attend, assigned to a twig and a certain branch, a 4 hr/day work group, a branch responsibility, dorm assignments, attend early morning teachings - 5:20am, respond to any 'red alerts' or fire drills, or wierwille's arrival, etc. etc.
Once you graduate....the game continues. The field/staff corps assignments have uniquely different rules, but the oversight and confrontation goes on. One is monitored by reports, by leadership, by corps meetings attendance, by class attendance, by the yearly pilgrimage to corps week/roa, etc.
The goal posts keep moving.......enough is never enough.
No corps exits twi gratiously. Twi will not allow it. Highly respected corps get trashed the most......to instill fear, to stifle questioning, damage control cult-style.
<_<
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waysider
It was all just part of a cleverly crafted scam that was run by a dirty old drunk with a twisted, sadistic mind.
(In my opinion)-----
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OldSkool
See, if I could have just posted that succinct little statement (that puts it all in perspective) I coulda saved a lotttta words in the opening post.
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Broken Arrow
I left under the cover of the Poop Paper and never showed up for my interview. Made my final exit in the great purge of '89 and joined a splinter group. Courageous soul that I was. Yup! really took a mighty stand!
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