Quote:
Originally Posted by jay santos
In my ward, a friend of mine his son came home from his mission after about six months. He was a straight arrow, model citizen, kind of kid you want your kids to look up to and emulate. The story the family gave was that he suffered from depression. My friend wouldn't open up with me the whole story but based on bits and pieces I theorized there might have been an immorality issue that either was the real reason or was the root cause of the depression/guilt.
Since then the mother has gone quasi-inactive. They both have basically been completely offended by the ward's reaction. I have observed from afar, and I believe 90% of what they are feeling is self inflicted. They're paranoid. Nearly every RS lesson, this woman is offended by something the teacher said that she took as a personal attack. Bishop doesn't visit them, he must not care "we're not worthy for the bishop to care." Bishop visits them. "What are we a charity case or something?" Someone asks how their son is and they're nosy and judgemental. They don't ask and they don't care about the son.
From my perspective I see nothing but sincere sympathy and non-judgement for both the parents and son. It breaks my heart to see them so stuck on this idea that people are judging them.
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It's great that people have been so accepting. I guess I'm just saying in my most personal experience of it, the people from my home stake were generally judgmental and I think this is a big potential problem. Of course, self-victimization is an issue, too. It's not just one sided. People on all sides are responsible for their reactions to this less-than-ideal circumstance.