Quote:
Originally Posted by Larry
In my former locality, there was also a suicide. This man had real psychological problems, and I don't think it's fair to blame the church for what he decided to do. But what I did notice was how the church swept the suicide under the rug. The next "leading brothers" meeting I went to, a few days later, he wasn't even talked about.
There's no way of knowing, but I did have the thought back then, "Maybe if this poor brother had been in a different church, he could have received more help." As it was, I doubt that he was ever encouraged to see a professional psychiatrist, or receive counseling (I don't know for sure). But our way of handling these kinds of problems was usually to think that increased spirituality was the answer.
I have read about other cases of suicides in the LC (I think Jane's book mentions at least one). Is this some kind of pattern? It's terrible to think about, but it should be addressed if this sort of thing goes on more often than we realized.
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Suicides is an extreme example. More common is the mental issues brothers and sisters are sometimes impacted by. Having the system of the recovery being a "cookie-cutter" system, how one recieves real care is determined if they fit into the cookie cutter mold (having the vision of the ministry). Some brothers and sisters try to fit into the cookie cutter mold just to feel accepted. Also there's the characteristic of the recovery system emphasizing the spirit and denigrating the humanity in the believer's soul.