What was then called LDS Social Services published a booklet for local lay church leaders in 1974 titled "Identification and Prevention of Suicidal Behavior." It includes warning signs, a list of do's and don'ts and suggests seeking professional help for the member.

LDS Church spokesman Dale Bills said he was not aware of any new publications specific to suicide since the pamphlet was published 32 years ago.

In recent years, LDS Family Services has offered seminars on depression and suicide for stake presidents and bishops. Some local church leaders have invited organizations like the Utah chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill or Provo's Hope Task Force to make presentations.

The church periodically publishes articles in its magazines about depression, which sometimes include a section on suicide.

A 2004 article in the Ensign magazine included a list of suicide warning signs among young people and advised readers to take threats seriously and refer them to appropriate medical or mental health services as necessary.

'Intent and circumstances'

Elder Russell M. Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve addressed suicide in a 1987 speech during LDS General Conference titled "Suicide: Some Things We Know, and Some Things We Don't."

The talk dealt mostly with LDS doctrine regarding suicide.

"Suicide is a sin — a very grievous one, yet the Lord will not judge the person who commits that sin strictly by the act itself. The Lord will look at that person's circumstances and the degree of his accountability at the time of the act," Elder Ballard said.

Furthermore, he said, the full circumstances of every suicide are not known, and God will judge accordingly.

"I feel that the Lord also recognizes differences in intent and circumstances: Was the person who took his life mentally ill? Was he or she so deeply depressed as to be unbalanced or otherwise emotionally disturbed? Was the suicide a tragic, pitiful call for help that went unheeded too long or progressed faster than the victim intended? Did he or she somehow not understand the seriousness of the act? Was he or she suffering from a chemical imbalance that led to despair and a loss of self-control?"

The Catholic view of suicide is much the same as the LDS view.

"We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of," according to the Catholic catechism.

"We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance."

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