http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/
This site tells us that Utah [which is 71.76% LDS] has the highest rate of any state in the Nation as to mental-health issues. Another study that is obvious is the fact that Utah also has the highest usage per capita of anti-depressants, so it would appear that life in the Land of Zion isn't what the church would have you believe. Your church essentially tells one to "deal with your issues in life on your own"--there is no "Grace in Christ" to find to help with life's tragedies. This was all so much more obvious when I went through the deaths of my father about 7 years ago and then my mother last year and both of them being Members of the LDS Church. I simply noted the huge difference in the LDS way of comforting versus my church and others in the area who all point to Christ in these "trials in our lives".
We both will agree that either the Mormon Church is True as it professes Or it is False and really that is the focus of our debate here. Only God will help you see the Truth and I can only plant "seeds".
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Well, I have been the one who has been beating the “fruits†drum and now you feel you have me with my own criteria. But are these studies really about the fruits of Mormonism or are we jumping to conclusions here? Lets look a little deeper.
These studies gathered no data about which religion the respondents belonged to, only where they lived by state. Is it possible that these statistics are actually in spite of the Mormons living in Utah, rather than because of? Lets look at some of these figures and see what else we can learn.
Problems that are expressed in terms of rankings can exaggerate the size of a problem because often times the difference between best, average, and worst is small. The national average is 8.05%. In Utah, that percentage is 10.14% So when we talk about Utah’s “depression problem,†we’re talking about depression numbers that are about two percentage points above the national average.
When we compare Utah to the other “most-depressed†states like Kentucky, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, etc., that gap is much, much smaller. For example, in Rhode Island, 9.88% of adults report experiencing a major depressive episode. Again, in Utah that number is 10.14%. So there we’re talking about a difference of just .26% between a “Mormon state†like Utah, and a non-Mormon state like Rhode Island.
Mormonism’s potential responsibility for Utah’s depression numbers is further weakened by the fact that a very significant percentage of Utah Mormons are inactive, i.e., they are presumably not actively steeped in the supposedly depression-inducing Mormon culture.
To assess Mormonism’s potential responsibility for causing Utahns’ depression, it seems we would need to focus on the delta between the number of adults reporting depression in Utah (10.14%), and the most depressed “non-Mormon†state, Rhode Island (9.88%). In other words, if 9.88% of Rhode Islanders report depression without a strong Mormon presence in that state, then it seems at least 9.88% of Utahns are depressed for exactly the same sorts of reasons as Rhode Islanders. That leaves us with a delta of .26% of Utahns who might be depressed because of Mormonism.
Every study I have ever seen that specifies religious involvement shows that Mormons actively involved in their religion are among the healthiest groups in the world when it comes to mental health. Here are some examples:
The conclusion from a $4 million study of American youth and religion at the University of North Carolina showed that “Mormon Teens Cope Best: A study finds they top peers at handling adolescence.†(newsobserver.com March 13, 2005) This article summarizes the conclusion that “Mormons fared best at avoiding risky behaviors, doing well in school and having a positive attitude about the future. Conservative Protestants came in second.â€
Suicide rates in LDS patients went down as their religious involvement went up. DC Spendlove, DW West, WM Stanish, "Risk factors and the prevalence of depression in Mormon women," Soc Sci Med 18/6 (1984):491–495.
Inactive LDS males experience a suicide rate roughly four times that of active LDS males. Non-LDS males experience a suicide rate roughly six times that of active LDS males. SC Hilton, GW Fellingham, JL Lyon, "Suicide rates and religious commitment in young adult males in Utah," American Journal of Epidemiology 155/5 (1 March 2002): 413–419.
This same research shows that U.S. white males (aged 20-34) had suicide rates two and one-half to seven times that of active LDS males of equal age. Active LDS males, aged 15–19, have an equal suicide rate to that of national rates. Gilbert W. Fellingham, Kyle McBride, H. Dennis Tolley, and Joseph L. Lyon, "Statistics on Suicide and LDS Church Involvement in Males Age 15-34," Brigham Young University Studies 39 no. 2 (2000), 177.
Here are some other statistical fruits of Mormonism:
The National Catholic Weekly, John J. Dilulio Jr. reports in “Mormons and Charity†(April 9, 2012) on the Pew Forum Studies: 73% of Mormons believe that “working to help the poor†is “essential to being a good Mormon.†Led by Israeli-born scholar Ram A. Cnaan, the study concludes that churchgoing Mormons “are the most pro-social members of American society.†On average, Mormons dedicate nine times as many hours per month to volunteer activities as other Americans do. In addition to tithing, on average Mormons also give about $1,200 per year “to social causes outside the church.â€
The PEF(Perpetual Education Fund) program has already helped over 53,000 participants in 53 developing countries, plus five more approved. The average training program is about 2½ years with a reasonably high graduation rate around two thirds. Some participants leave early because they obtain decent jobs. Graduates typically gain jobs with at least twice their previous income. African countries typically have the highest loan repayment rate. Several non-Mormons have been so impressed with the program’s operational success and that every dollar contributed goes to students and none to administration or promotion that they contributed. In one case, the donation was $5 million.
The positions of women, including in the Mormon Relief Society (the oldest women’s organization in America), are apparently fulfilling, and the Pew Forum found that Mormon women are more satisfied with their role in their Church than are the women in any other religious group.
• An objective Pew Forum factual questionnaire concluded that Mormons know the Bible and Christianity better than members of any other religious group (with white evangelicals being second.)
I know I’m not supposed to be promoting Mormonism, but you asked for it. Besides, this is not me, but mostly data collected and analyzed by non-Mormon researchers.
