Posts Tagged ‘ suicide ’

94–95: Suicide

May 1, 2012
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94–95: Suicide

Suicide affects all of us, and involves so many devastating emotions. Grief (as one of the panelists refers to it, a very “complicated” form of grief), guilt (“What did I do wrong?” “I should have seen signs and intervened”), and, often, an element of concern for the deceased’s soul state (“Can they ever be forgiven?” “Were they accountable when they did this?”). In this two-part episode, panelists Natasha Helfer Parker, Charn Burton, and Nicholas Maughn join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon in an thorough discussion of  suicide—offering education about its primary causes (what to look for if the person...

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The Mormon Therapist on Teen Suicide

August 18, 2010
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Recently a 16-year-old young man from our ward hung himself. It was a horrendous shock for everyone, as this was a handsome, well-liked boy. The young man’s family began immediately to say that it was an accidental death, but it was ruled a suicide by the coroner. Why does someone do something like this? Does the method of suicide give any clues? This apparently happened in a closet, and it was not a long closet. He REALLY wanted to end his life and it must have been a horrendous death. I appreciate any insight you may have on this...

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The LDS Church, Homosexuality and Suicide: How Can We Prevent It?

August 14, 2008
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On February 25th, 2000 — in the heat of the LDS Church’s Prop 22 efforts in California to ban same-sex marriage — a young LDS returned missionary named Stuart Matis drove to his local LDS chapel, pinned a “DO NOT RESUCITATE” sign to his shirt, and shot himself in the head.  More of Stuart’s story can be read here and here.  Also, to read one of Stuart’s last letters on the subject written weeks before his death — click here. A few years ago I did some research on the topic, and discovered that Utah leads the nation in...

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