Fly Fisherman

No implications that he did something wrong at all. Just pointing out that serious mental challenges can happen to those with the highest callings and status in the Church. As a chronic sufferer of depression/anxiety myself, learning of George Albert Smith's experience and mental/nervous challenges has brought me incredible hope and peace, especially having to live with the stigma associated with it, which, fortunately, is weakening, as more understanding is taking place in/out of the Church.

Yes a family in my ward who lives down the street from me used that exact phrase: "taking a break from the Church". They resigned from the Church a year or so later.

Yes, but was an Apostle when he had his multi-year nervous breakdown.

Sometimes for months. By himself. In a tent. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23290831?seq=1

I know this doesn't really contribute to the debate of the subject, but I always take the chance when it arises to make awareness of George Albert Smith's mental/emotional breakdown in the early 1900s as an Apostle. It simply is a part of Church history that isn't well known, and, at least in my opinion, it ought to be. As a sufferer of chronic anxiety/depression myself, I turn to this document frequently - it simply gives me peace. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23290831?seq=1 In the journal that it was published in: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1056&context=mormonhistory It's a fascinating read if you have an interest in mental illness.

I'll listen to it soon when I get time. I would really like to watch the movie also. I served my mission in the late '80s in Northern Italy. From what I understand, the documentary has a missionary experience depression and goes home 9 months early, if I am correct. I experienced severe depression on my mission, although back then, depression wasn't much known about in the mission field. If the same standards and awareness towards depression today were in place then, I probably would have been sent home. The depression I experienced made the experience, at times, excruciatingly difficult and painful. Still, I am absolutely grateful to have experienced my mission - and there were some wonderful experiences that I had and at times the depression disappeared for months at a time also. I think a lot about my mission every day. And, I was blessed to keep detailed journals of my experiences - 1,000 pages written of it. I read and relive those experiences in my journal all the time. There were miracles that I was experiencing and didn't even really realize it.

Perchik: Money is the world's curse. Tevye: May the Lord smite me with it. And may I never recover. --Fiddler on the Roof 😉