According To Elder Jeffry R. Holland He and Two Prophets Have Had Mental Illnesses


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According to Elder Jeffry R. Holand of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in a Conference talk that he spoke in October 2013, he has suffered from a mental illness.

 

"Like a Broken Vessel" (October 2013)

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/like-a-broken-vessel?lang=eng&media=video#watch=video

 

According to Elder Holland, the latter-day prophet George Albert Smith was a kind and gentle man, yet he had a recurring mental illness as well.

 

Also according to Elder Holland, even the prophet Joseph Smith, Jr. may have sufferened from the metal illness that is now called "Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)".  In Joseph Smiths own words he described his mood as going into the "abyss".

 

I accept Elder Holland's words as being true, as I accept him as a prophet, seer, and revelator that all of the members of the First Presidency are and that all of the members of the Quorum of the Twelve are.

 

I respect Elder Holland for being open about his mental illness and for asking us all to show compassion for those who have a health problem as serious as mental illness is.

 

I have a mental illness myself.  A lot of people do.  I believe that attitudes about mental illness would change if more people were open about their own mental illnesses as Elder Holland was in his conference talk.

 

I have more faith in God and in the LDS Church after hearing Elder Holland's talk.  I have more faith that I will be permanently healed in heaven and will be judged by an all-knowing God who can take everything into account.

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I suffer from clinical depression and generalized anxiety. I'm 35 years old and I've just accepted that about myself in the last few months. I didn't know how much I needed medication until I started taking it, and it has vastly affected my quality of life (and I think my family's, too) for the better. 

 

I still have a hard time saying that I have mental illness. I equate it with "crazy". I worry that my opinions and accomplishments will be discredited with other people. 

 

But having mental illness doesn't mean I'm crazy, stupid, or incapable. It means I have a chemical imbalance that disturbs my ability to effectively deal with things, and decreases my capability to feel good feelings. But I am still smart, sane, capable, and able to receive revelation for myself and my family. 

 

I hope that no one sees Elder Holland's past with depression as a decreased ability to be a prophet, seer, and revelator. 

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Oh I honestly believe I am crazy, in one degree or another. It is something I have to live with, depression doesn't make you crazy, I had that with my host of other junk. Though I never took medication for it-don't trust it.

Nor do I think, if Elder Holland is truly a Prophet, Seer and Revelator, that he would become effected in that area due to depression. We all have our trials, prophets too (often a lot more).

It makes us human and often brings people closer together.

 

I think it is admirable to talk about those things, even if some would rather leave them unsaid. Many people suffer from mental illness, and if I am crazy or not I don't feel shame over it.
It is what I am, like I am a male, a doll collector, 5ft 7, etc

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Guest LiterateParakeet

I have a mental illness myself.  A lot of people do.  I believe that attitudes about mental illness would change if more people were open about their own mental illnesses as Elder Holland was in his conference talk.

 

I agree.  That is why I share openly with people that I am in therapy.  I have PTSD and Dissociative Identity Disorder. previously called Multiple Personality Disorder (you can read about it on my blog).

 

I LOVE this talk.  It is so real and applicable to what I am dealing with.  I find all the "square your shoulders" and "be positive" or "be grateful" messages painful, but now at least when i hear them I just return my thoughts to this talk to find some comfort.

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Yep, good talk.

 

Here's the text version.

 

Let me leave the extraordinary illnesses I have mentioned to concentrate on MDD—“major depressive disorder”—or, more commonly, “depression.” When I speak of this, I am not speaking of bad hair days, tax deadlines, or other discouraging moments we all have. Everyone is going to be anxious or downhearted on occasion. The Book of Mormon says Ammon and his brethren were depressed at a very difficult time, 2 and so can the rest of us be. But today I am speaking of something more serious, of an affliction so severe that it significantly restricts a person’s ability to function fully, a crater in the mind so deep that no one can responsibly suggest it would surely go away if those victims would just square their shoulders and think more positively—though I am a vigorous advocate of square shoulders and positive thinking!

No, this dark night of the mind and spirit is more than mere discouragement. I have seen it come to an absolutely angelic man when his beloved spouse of 50 years passed away. I have seen it in new mothers with what is euphemistically labeled “after-baby blues.” I have seen it strike anxious students, military veterans, and grandmothers worried about the well-being of their grown children.

And I have seen it in young fathers trying to provide for their families. In that regard I once terrifyingly saw it in myself. At one point in our married life when financial fears collided with staggering fatigue, I took a psychic blow that was as unanticipated as it was real. With the grace of God and the love of my family, I kept functioning and kept working, but even after all these years I continue to feel a deep sympathy for others more chronically or more deeply afflicted with such gloom than I was. In any case we have all taken courage from those who, in the words of the Prophet Joseph, “search[ed] … and contemplate[d] the darkest abyss” 3 and persevered through it—not the least of whom were Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, and Elder George Albert Smith, the latter being one of the most gentle and Christlike men of our dispensation, who battled recurring depression for some years before later becoming the universally beloved eighth prophet and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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I think Mental Illness is a very broad term. There are many types of mental disorders and each is to be treated different. Depression for example can be broken down to dysthymia, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, postnatal, major depression, bipolar disorder, situational depression, Psychotic depression. From reading Elder Hollands talk it sounded like he was alluding to something that was along the lines of situational depression. However after reading George Albert Smiths biography he certainly suffered from Major depression that actually left him bed ridden and physically exhausted for months and years.

Joseph smith, I think all of us would have suffered some kind of depression if we were put through what he had to endure.

I think Elder Hollands talk struck a cord with a lot of people cause it showed some vulnerability as a leader something not always seen in general conference talks. Often leaders can stand like spiritual giants, having it all together, finding the holy grail of gospel living. Which is fine and very well but sometimes people want to hear, hay I struggled too and that\'s OK? Elder Holland hit that cord in this talk

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I think Mental Illness is a very broad term. There are many types of mental disorders and each is to be treated different. Depression for example can be broken down to dysthymia, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, postnatal, major depression, bipolar disorder, situational depression, Psychotic depression. From reading Elder Hollands talk it sounded like he was alluding to something that was along the lines of situational depression. However after reading George Albert Smiths biography he certainly suffered from Major depression that actually left him bed ridden and physically exhausted for months and years.

Joseph smith, I think all of us would have suffered some kind of depression if we were put through what he had to endure.

I think Elder Hollands talk struck a cord with a lot of people cause it showed some vulnerability as a leader something not always seen in general conference talks. Often leaders can stand like spiritual giants, having it all together, finding the holy grail of gospel living. Which is fine and very well but sometimes people want to hear, hay I struggled too and that\'s OK? Elder Holland hit that cord in this talk

 

I agree.  We could say that mortality is a mental illness.  The term handicap is a relative term.  When I was in college I met a blind girl that hated to be called handicapped.  She felt that what she lost in sight she gained in other things that were made better because of necessity to her blindness.   Thus she believed she could see things those with sight could not.  I have come to believe the greatest handicap of life is to think of one’s self as handicapped or disabled because we are different. 

 

As a small child I suffered severe brain trauma and damage.   There are things that are very difficult for me.  Spelling for example – sometimes I cannot spell the simplest words.  Reading aloud is a problem because I have difficulty getting word orders correct (spelling is the same problem).  I was made fun of a lot in school and called stupid because I could not do many very simple things.  But there are things I can do that are almost impossible for anyone else.  For example I hear music in factories and can identify manufacturing problems.  Working with robotics in a factory is for me very similar to tuning a musical instrument. 

 

It is my theory that we all come into life with abilities and disabilities.  We all have our weaknesses and strengths.   To me it is not about what you can do that I can’t or what I can do what you can’t.  It is about what we can accomplish together.  And for me team work is such a disadvantage because I am a horrible leader that tends towards difficulty getting my input across without offending someone.   I really need someone like my wife that can explain to everyone else what I am doing.  It amazes me what others bring to the table – even at this forum.  But we all can do much better by seeing the great talents in others and ourselves instead of the weaknesses.

 

I am concerned when we center on each other’s and our own weaknesses rather than on our strengths.  Yah, I know this makes me and anyone that agrees look and seem arrogant.  Okay – get over it – put that thought aside and let’s doing something amazing together.

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  • 8 months later...

According to Elder Jeffry R. Holand of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in a Conference talk that he spoke in October 2013, he has suffered from a mental illness.

 

"Like a Broken Vessel" (October 2013)

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/like-a-broken-vessel?lang=eng&media=video#watch=video

 

According to Elder Holland, the latter-day prophet George Albert Smith was a kind and gentle man, yet he had a recurring mental illness as well.

 

Also according to Elder Holland, even the prophet Joseph Smith, Jr. may have sufferened from the metal illness that is now called "Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)".  In Joseph Smiths own words he described his mood as going into the "abyss".

 

I accept Elder Holland's words as being true, as I accept him as a prophet, seer, and revelator that all of the members of the First Presidency are and that all of the members of the Quorum of the Twelve are.

 

I respect Elder Holland for being open about his mental illness and for asking us all to show compassion for those who have a health problem as serious as mental illness is.

 

I have a mental illness myself.  A lot of people do.  I believe that attitudes about mental illness would change if more people were open about their own mental illnesses as Elder Holland was in his conference talk.

 

I have more faith in God and in the LDS Church after hearing Elder Holland's talk.  I have more faith that I will be permanently healed in heaven and will be judged by an all-knowing God who can take everything into account.

it was interesting to hear about one of the leaders way back who was basically out of it most of the time but whenever he had to make an important decision about the church under his responsibility he would have a moment of clarity and/or the decision he would make would end up being the right one.

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I don't want to be healed, if I am then I lose who I am, it is a huge part of me and my personality, the one who'd be in heaven would be totally different.

Why would I want that?

I don't quite understand this line of thinking, please forgive me if i'm being one of those people who just don't understand :/

You see the way I think about things is i've had really low moments in life, and even if I tend to be withdrawn the times that are up feel better.

I am who I am, not because of how I am, but who I choose to be.

Treatment for a broken leg doesn't change who I am, I see depression similarly.

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My heart goes out to those of you who struggle with psychological difficulties. I would imagine that many of you are fighting the good fight and should be applauded for your efforts.

I think Mental Illness is a very broad term.

Yes. Not only is it broad, but so-called "mental disorders" are actually social artifacts. They are culturally defined and greatly informed by societal values. They also occur in a biological vacuum. If you read the entire DSM-V, you will see that not one single "mental disorder" has its cause explained. Good books to read about these critical issues in are The Book of Woe: The DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry by Gary Greenberg, Saving Normal: An Insider's Revolt... by Frances Allen, and Anatomy of an Epidemic by Robert Whitaker. (The anti-"Big Pharma" propaganda in the last two books are too cynical for me, and likely will be for many of you; but the material on the DSM and mental disorders is spot on.)

I also recommend these two sites:

http://www.madinamerica.com/

https://bobfancher.wordpress.com/

Bob Fancher is a personal friend of mine and colleague. His book, Cultures of Healing: Correcting the Image of American Mental Health Care has been invaluable to me in my writing and practice. I also recommend Philip Cushman's book, Constructing the Self, Constructing America: A Cultural History of Psychotherapy.

Here are some articles to consider, too:

http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/dsm-5-0/british-psychological-society-condemns-dsm-5

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/suffer-the-children/201203/why-french-kids-dont-have-adhd

http://www.madinamerica.com/2014/12/depression-serotonin/

Any critical thinker involved in the mental health field can see that the entire discipline is fragmented, biased, riddled with opposing armed camps, ill-informed, and laden with wishful thinking. I say "critical thinker" because mental health care (psychology, psychiatry, and psychotherapy) is not a truth-seeking profession.

"The distance between what we know and what we wish we knew is far to great to bear, and we fill it with believing." Bob Fancher, 1995, Cultures of Healing

I agree. We could say that mortality is a mental illness. The term handicap is a relative term. When I was in college I met a blind girl that hated to be called handicapped. She felt that what she lost in sight she gained in other things that were made better because of necessity to her blindness. Thus she believed she could see things those with sight could not. I have come to believe the greatest handicap of life is to think of one’s self as handicapped or disabled because we are different.

Like I said, culturally informed. If a person doesn't do things the way the majority of people think something should be done, then there is something "wrong" with them. It really becomes ethnocentric with a cultural imperialism. Edited by Urstadt
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Out is despair comes the deepest of questions, the greatest longing for answers and the most fervent prayers. It was out of despair that Joseph called out unto God, recording both his "prayer of despair" and the answer D&C 121 and 122, which has inspired millions of lives everywhere. These scripture gave us the words etched in marble walls at Liberty Jail, teaching us how to love, show love, use the Priesthood to bless our families and for many a way out of despair. Some of my most meaningful poems have come out of my greatest sufferings and so it is throughout, with many Prophets. The most beautiful scripture is found in Psalms brought forth through David's suffering...noting much of that was self inflicted.

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