Views on suicide in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

On many occasions spanning over a century, leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) have taught that suicide is against the will of God, though, Church teachings on suicide have changed through the years.[1] One of the earliest recorded explicit mentions by a top church leader was by George Q. Cannon in the First Presidency who stated in an 1893 editorial to LDS youth that "Every member of the Church should be made to understand that it is a dreadful sin to take one’s own life. It is self-murder ...."[2] He echoed this stating, "They who do so are guilty of murder, self-murder it is true ... no one can destroy so precious a gift as that of life without incurring a severe penalty."[3][4][1] Cannon recorded that the First Presidency decided those who died by suicide would not receive an honorable burial in their LDS temple robes as was customary for endowed members.[5] In 1987 the apostle M. Russell Ballard also stated that those who die by suicide have "committed a very serious sin, and some consequences of it may remain with them throughout eternity."[6] Church seventy Bruce R. McConkie wrote in his highly influential LDS bestseller[7][8][9]^: 16 Mormon Doctrine that "Suicide is murder, pure and simple, and murderers are damned."[10]^: 12[11][12] In the 2011 LDS Beliefs: A Doctrinal Reference published by the church, the section on suicide called it "self-murder" and stated that, "modern prophets and apostles have likewise spoken clearly about the seriousness of murder, including self-murder and the severity of consequences associated therewith."[13] The LDS Church opposes physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia.[14]