Question
Gramps,
I remember attending the funeral of a young father who had taken his own life. At the time, my return missionary told me that God is a just god, and doesn’t compensate for certain sins. It made me sad to think of this young man’s family never being with him for the eternities. They had done nothing wrong. I now am in a situation where I fear for my own son’s well being with suicide being a possibility. My question is, can a family still be together for eternity if a suicide has taken place?
S Sherman
Answer
S Sherman,
My heart goes out to you as you struggle with the concern regarding your own son. It is never easy to see our own children feel that this might be the only option to end the trials in their life.
Elder M. Russell Ballard had this to say regarding suicide:
“Obviously, we do not know the full circumstances surrounding every suicide. Only the Lord knows all the details, and he it is who will judge our actions here on earth.
”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“
This is taken from an excellent talk that Elder Ballard gave regarding suicide. It is entitled: Suicide: Some things We Know, and Some We Do Not.
I highly recommend reading this. Our Heavenly Father is a just and loving Heavenly Father. While some may feel the eternal consequences of taking of one’s life is black and white, it is far from it. Heavenly Father knows what is in our heart and our mind. He knows our struggles. He will judge our actions in a fair and loving way. While we may not know until we cross the veil how things end up, I have faith because of a loving Heavenly Father, that families will still have that opportunity to be together.
Gramps