LOCAL NEWS
KSL TV Special Shines Light On Suicide, Hope And Healing
Apr 3, 2019, 7:52 PM
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Americans overwhelmingly believe that suicide can be prevented — but, in a survey, conducted by The National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention 78 percent of those surveyed also reported needing more information on how to help.
So, this weekend KSL TV is offering that help in a special broadcast that will air Saturday at 4 pm following General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“Hope in Your Darkest Hour” profiles those who have faced serious thoughts of suicide and shows how they found healing.
“I think it is so easy to hide these feelings of not feeling good enough, not feeling like you want to go on,” said Jane Clayson Johnson. “It’s easy to hide suicidal thoughts.”
Johnson is among those interviewed. She is also the author of the book “Silent Souls Weeping” which details the unique struggles members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints face when battling depression in a religion centered on a ‘plan of happiness.’
KSL TV anchor Dave McCann also interviewed Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for the special. Elder Rasband is a member of Governor Gary Herbert’s suicide prevention task force.
“I have to say one of the great blessings for me was being brought up to speed on the seriousness of this issue,” he said.
In Utah, more adults have thought about or attempted suicide than anywhere else in the country, according to the Utah Suicide Prevention Coalition.
Multiple factors contribute to suicide — requiring multiple solutions, but the one thing experts say we can all do to help prevent suicide is to talk more openly.
In the special, Sara Bennett and her mother Brenda explain how honest conversations helped them both heal after Sara’s suicide attempt.
“We both have learned that by kind of opening up about it and talking to people about it actually helps in both our healing,” said Brenda Bennett.
You can watch “Hope in Your Darkest Hour” Saturday at 4 PM on KSL TV or stream it live on KSL.com and the KSL TV app.
