Quote:
Originally Posted by Larry
Wow.
Ohio, could you say more about this? Was the suicide related to the battles within the LC's?
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.
|
Larry, I can testify that I suffered a kind PTSD from leaving the local church. It wasn't easy. The local church "bent our tree," like a Palm tree that's been bent by a storm, and grows on, bending up to reach the heavens.
Thanks for your thoughts and input Larry.