A guest post by Kyle Bradford Jones, MD, introducing his new book When All Hope Seems Lost: A Gospel Perspective on Mental Illness in Youth (BCC Press).
Of the three major eternal traits mentioned repeatedly by prophets (faith, hope, and charity), I feel as though hope is the most neglected or misunderstood among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This may merely be my lone observation, but in church meetings, I hear a lot more about faith and charity than I do hope. Why? Hope is the best! So how do we increase the hope in our lives?
In my new book When All Hope Seems Lost: A Gospel Perspective on Mental Illness in Youth, one of the things emphasized is that there is always hope in Christ. No matter what. He’s there. He loves you. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you have or haven’t done. As Elder Holland has said, “It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines.” While we tend to accept that notion for others, we often don’t accept it for ourselves. But Jesus is King! He is the Messiah! He is a God! No matter what troubles us, He “descended below them all” (D&C 122:8, emphasis mine). What does “all” mean? EVERYTHING! No one else can say that. No one else can do that. No one else. This should give us the ultimate hope that we can do ANYTHING through Him (Philipians 4:13). He did, not just for all of us, but for you, too.
Religion and mental illness have an unusual history. Auditory and visual hallucinations (hearing or seeing things that aren’t there) was often misinterpreted as either heavenly or hellish visitations. If someone had behavioral outbursts, whether from mental illness or a given disability, it was often believed that they were possessed. While we don’t often have such interpretations nowadays, we still run into the prevailing cultural beliefs that overcoming feelings of depression or anxiety are merely a matter of willpower; if you want to feel better, you just need to MAKE YOURSELF feel better, as though it is just a choice. This can do immense harm to the individual, and neglects the role of Jesus and His atonement in our lives. It neglects the concept of hope.
However, embracing that hope is incredibly difficult when you are in the midst of mental illness. Positive thinking won’t eliminate or cure a mental illness. While we should always remember “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2), expecting that to solve all of the problems of someone close to us often comes across as callous and uncaring. One big aspect of our hope in Christ is that we can love the way He loves, and see one another the way He sees us. Such is the charity that emerges from our faith and hope. True hope and charity isn’t trying to force someone to have perspective, it is showing them what that perspective can provide through Christ-like love. This is what When All Hope Seems Lost is all about.
I have suffered from clinical depression and anxiety for over two decades now. I take daily medication. I engage in therapy. I work hard to stay on top of my overall health. But a lot of individuals in the church don’t seem to understand the place that mental illness occupies in the gospel. Common thoughts include, “I was promised joy through the gospel, but I am very far for feeling joyous. I must be doing something wrong, or maybe God just hates me.”
Included in my book are interviews I conducted with multiple teenagers struggling from mental illness. One teenager named James spoke about his struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder. “I was convinced that if God cared about me, I wouldn’t be feeling like that because I was doing all the things He was asking me to.” (page 69) Sometimes the “hope” we’re told about feels more like a scolding, or maybe even a lie. We often expect Christ to simply show up and remove our problems, especially if we are doing all we can to be righteous. “Fasting and prayer and scripture study weren’t enough [for James]; he needed more of a boost than church could provide, and there is nothing wrong with that. God still loves you. Part of how He shows that love is by providing wonderful scientific understanding and breakthroughs that can help us come back to Him, no matter how bad the trials may be. Never forget Him because He never forgets you.” (page 74)
Hope in the face of mental illness includes caring for ourselves physically, spiritually, and emotionally. This includes healthy eating, exercise, adequate sleep, seeking communion with God, and talking about concerns and difficulties with others. Sometimes it requires medication. But the essential thing is creating quiet, still moments without distraction so that we truly connect to the divine. The hope provided to us through Jesus as we experience illness of any kind is most often hope in the opportunities and support we have to get through our earthly journey. That is how Christ’s love manifests. “While God may not cure your illness, He can still heal you.” (page 50)
We cannot force hope on anyone, nor should we. But feeling loved by others in a way that can remind us of our Savior Jesus Christ is critical to experience the hope that we all deserve. “We all possess the divinity to overcome our challenges with the Savior’s help.” (Page 12)
Kyle Bradford Jones practices family medicine in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is an associate professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of Utah. He is the author of Fallible: A Memoir of a Young Physician’s Struggle with Mental Illness, winner of the 2020 Pencraft Award for Autobiography, and Hospital: A Medical Satire of Unhealthy Proportions.