According to Latter-day Saint perspective, suicide must be dealt with and handled with sensitivity and human caring. Suicide is considered a moral issue. The General Handbook of Instructions (1989) states, “A person who takes his own life may not be responsible for his acts. Only God can judge such a matter. A person who has considered suicide seriously or has attempted suicide should be counseled by his bishop and may be encouraged to seek professional help” (11-5). Thoughts of suicide and acts to take such measure represents a crisis in a person’s life and should not be taken lightly. People with suicidal tendencies need to seek professional help in order to determine the underlying causes, and so that they might also be treated.

When a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints commits suicide, their body is not dishonored. If the person has been endowed and was in good standing with the church, the body may be buried in temple clothing and normal funeral procedures are followed.

Despite traditions and beliefs that recognize and honor the ways in which value decisions led to the death and martyrdom of Jesus Christ and of Joseph Smith, there is no support in LDS doctrine for anyone intentionally seeking death.

Latter-day Saints are commanded in D & C 59:6,

“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Thou shalt not steal; neither commit adultery, nor kill, nor do anything like unto it.”

This extension to the original commandment is relevant, when considering a variety of life-threatening behaviors that suicidologists identify as suicide equivalents or “slow suicide.”

Suicide is not an individual matter. Suicide involves physical and biological factors, as well as interpersonal, family, and social system ramifications. This idea is used to battle those who claim that individuals have the right to do whatever they please with their lives, even if that includes suicide.

It is the position of the Church that when there are choices, such as between life and death, to be made the majority of people will choose life. There are many resources available in the church to those who are members and those who are not in order to help them better their lives and to learn to live and love and to help make choices when difficult decisions arise. The Church does not deny that there are times of inequity, unfairness, conflict, instability, evil, aging, and illness, but they strive to make it possible through their extended resources to make things better and to be seen as resolvable.