Suicide is a personal and family tragedy that has devastating consequences. Certainly the loss of the creative talents and the cherished association of a loved one cannot be measured. But for the loved ones left behind, the consequences of suicide may last for years. Suicide presents the survivors with the profound challenge of dealing with innumerable unanswered questions including the reasons for suicide, how the survivors judge themselves in relationship to the suicide victim, and the unanswered questions as to how God will judge those who take their lives. These factors help to place in perspective why this tragedy is so profound.
        The following essays that comprise this book are intended to help those struggling with the tragedy surrounding a suicide with comfort and, hopefully, some better understanding through the experiences of others who have faced the same challenge. For twenty-five years, I have been a psychiatrist dealing with the distress of severe emotional and mental illness in the lives of my patients. I have been a part of the devastation that these disorders can have in the lives of people. The human brain is the most complex system in the universe. Surely, there is much of God's love for us in these latter-days as evidenced by the enormous outpouring of knowledge about how the neurochemistry of the brain works. We have learned more in the last thirty years than in the previous 6000 years. Great advances have been made in alleviating the symptoms and dysfunction associated with mental illness through medications and psychosocial interventions. However, in spite of advances, professionals in the mental health field are often helpless in preventing suicide in patients. Despite family and science's best efforts, some of our family and friends continue to take their own lives. The World Health Organization estimates that one million people died from suicide during the year 2000. Youth suicide, the third leading cause of death among teenagers and young adults, accounts for more deaths in the United States than all natural causes combined for youth between the ages of 15 to 24. Suicide risk is also high for older people in the United States who have a higher rate of suicide than any other segment of the population. In 1998 the rate of suicide for white males 85 and older was six times the national age adjusted rate. These are alarming statistics. No segment of the population is immune to this problem and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are no different.
        The challenging question as to why these statistics are increasing and why individuals would commit suicide is complex. There exist no easy answers. The majority of scientific research points to the factors of biological illness interacting with psychosocial and environmental stressors in the individuals who eventually take their lives. The presence of mental illness, especially depression and Bipolar Disorder, are seen in the vast majority of those who become the victims of suicide. These illnesses are not chosen, but are the result of the complex expression of biologic genetic predisposition and environmental stress. 
        Brain disorders are no respecter of persons. Therefore, although we may not know exactly in any one situation why a particular person took his or her life, we should understand that they were dealing with intense emotional distress, which overcame their ability to cope rationally. This should give us pause to withhold our judgment as to their standing with God, and look to the healing power of the spirit to help us find comfort rather than cause. 
        What does a Latter-day Saint family do when confronted by the loss of a loved one to suicide? Where does a grieving parent or spouse turn when there is so little to comfort them and so many unanswered questions? This book, "Where is Our Hope for Peace? A Resource for Latter-day Saints Coping with Suicide," is offered as a source of comfort and hope. Personal stories from survivors provide insight for those surviving the tragedy of suicide. Suggestions are made from professional and personal experience to help survivors cope. This book does not pretend to have all the answers or to exhaust the subject, but to begin a dialogue with the reader that may help the person feel less alone in the struggle.
        In the Book of Mormon, Nephi struggling with the many unanswered questions in life, responds with this observation: "I know that he loveth His children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things." (I Nephi 11:17) Certainly, we "do not know the meaning of all things," - the pain, suffering, the reasons, the outcome for those who commit suicide, but we do know that God loves all his children and that He will do justly and show mercy through His great wisdom and compassion to those that suffer. We likewise can take hope from His great mercy and seek peace in the comfort of His spirit. He loves us, each of us. He loves all his children, including those who end their life by taking it. 

Dr. Richard C. Ferre, M.D. 
Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry
University of Utah, School of Medicine