Earlier today I asked Twitter if they'd be interested in reading
the paper I wrote on the church's official position on suicide. I got a few
responses, all in the affirmative, so here it is. I will be posting 3 parts:
the summery/conclusion, which is a summary of the quotes I found; personal
insights, which are reasons why I choose this topic (I could choose anything to
look up the Church's position); and sources of all my quotes. I had to have at
least two quotes by Presidents of the Church, the combined first presidency, or
other official church sources (LDS Newsroom, Church Handbook of Instruction,
etc.). I could then supplement with quotes from other general
authorities (and I did).
Conclusion/Summary
From the attached research, I find
the position of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the issue of suicide to be:
The Church is against
suicide, but it recognizes that those who commit suicide aren’t always in their
proper state of mind and as such may not be held responsible for their
decision.
President Spencer W. Kimball said,
“It is a terrible criminal act for a person to go out and shorten his life by
suicide” (1982). However, he also said, “To commit suicide is a sin if one is
normal in his thinking” (italics added). Far too many people fall into
depression and don’t get help, either because they do not recognize what is
happening, they don’t think they need help, or they can’t afford it. All of
these are tragic, and any of them could lead to suicide.
Unfortunately,
many family members and friends of those who commit suicide believe that all
hope is lost and that their loved one is stuck in the telestial kingdom forever
(Ballard, 1987). But this is not true.
The Church Handbook of Instruction,
states: “It is wrong to take a life, including one’s own. However, a person who
commits suicide may not be responsible for his or her acts. Only God can judge
such a matter” (2010).
Elder Bruce R. McConkie, formerly of
the Quorum of the Twelve, defined suicide as “the voluntary and intentional
taking of one’s own life, particularly where the person involved is
accountable and has a sound mind” (1966). With this definition, it’s hard to
know exactly how many people are taking their own lives have a sound mind, and
thus are condemned. It’s good to take this all into consideration.
D&C 138: 57-59 discusses those
who die “under the bondage of sin,” stating that “after they have paid the
penalty of their transgressions, and are washed clean, shall receive a reward according
to their works.” This points to a situation where someone might have been a good
member of the church, following the commandments, doing what they’re supposed
to, and if they fall victim to depression and kill themselves, their good works
will not be for naught.
Personal Insights
I have a very personal reason to
research this topic. As you may remember, I took your class in the fall of 2009
but had to withdraw at the end of October. My granddad had died, and I went
over to England to help my mom go through his house and properly dispose of his
belongings. But even before that, I was struggling. You see, in September of
that year I was diagnosed with depression, and I spent the rest of the year
severely depressed and suicidal (luckily in January I was able to see a
psychiatrist and things have gotten better). During those few months, every day
was a challenge. And so back then, I decided to research this for my paper,
mainly to see what would be my fate if I choose to do such a thing.
To me, this information is both a
comfort and a warning. If my depression comes back so bad and so fast that I do
lose clarity of mind, and decide that the world would be better without me, I
would not be automatically damned for committing suicide. On the other hand, if
I decide today that life is just really hard and I just don’t feel like
completing this earthly test, I would be held more accountable in that state of
mind. In neither instance is suicide in any way a good thing, or endorsed, but
in the first one it is more understood.
Research
Official
Statements:
“It is a terrible criminal act for a person to go out and
shorten his life by suicide”
“To commit suicide is a sin if one is normal in his
thinking.”
Teachings of Spencer W.
Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982, p. 187.)
It is wrong to take a life, including one’s own. However, a
person who commits suicide may not be responsible for his or her acts. Only God
can judge such a matter.
Church
Handbook of Instruction, 2010
“I beheld that the faithful elders of this dispensation,
when they depart from mortal life, continue their labors in the preaching of
the gospel of repentance and redemption, through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten
Son of God, among those who are in darkness and under
the bondage of sin in the great world of the spirits of the dead.
“The dead who
repent will be redeemed, through obedience to the ordinances of the
house of God,
“And after
they have paid the penalty of their transgressions, and are washed
clean, shall receive a reward according to their works, for they are heirs of
salvation.”
Other sources:
“Suicide consists in the voluntary and intentional
taking of one’s own life, particularly where the person involved is
accountable and has a sound mind. … Persons subject to great stresses may lose
control of themselves and become mentally clouded to the point that they are no
longer accountable for their acts. Such are not to be condemned for taking
their own lives. It should also be remembered that judgment is the Lord’s;
he knows the thoughts, intents, and abilities of men; and he in his infinite wisdom
will make all things right in due course.”
Mormon Doctrine, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966, p. 771
I
know that any fully rational person who contemplates suicide must realize what
a terribly selfish act this is. Peace came to me only when I recognized that
only the Lord could administer fair judgment. He alone had all the facts, and
only He would know the intent of the heart of my friend. I was reconciled with
the idea that a lifetime of goodness and service to others must surely be
considered by the Lord in judging the life of a person.
When
he does judge us, I feel he will take all things into consideration: our
genetic and chemical makeup, our mental state, our intellectual capacity, the teachings
we have received, the traditions of our fathers, our health, and so forth.
I
draw an important conclusion from the words of the Prophet: Suicide is a sin—a
very grievous one, yet the Lord will not judge the person who commits that sin
strictly by the act itself. The Lord will look at that person’s circumstances
and the degree of his accountability at the time of the act.
Elder M. Russell Ballard – Suicide:
Some Things We Know, and Some We Do Not. October 1987 Ensign
.JPG)
