“There’s enough heartache and sorrow in this life without our adding to it through our own stubbornness, bitterness and resentment.” That’s the message of Mormon leader Dieter F. Uchtdorf in a powerful new video that aims to put an end to bullying.
The short film, created Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and starring Utah teens, strikes a modern chord because it depicts high school students as victims of cyber-bullying, a behavior that’s unfortunately becoming more and more common. In 2011, the National Crime Prevention Council found that cyber-bullying affects almost half of all American teens. And sadly, the consequences can be quite serious. A new study published by the journal JAMA Pediatrics, found that children who have been cyber-bullied are three times as likely than other kids to have thoughts of suicide. As the Los Angeles Times reports, between 5 and 8 percent of American teenagers try to kill themselves each year.
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In the video, Uchtdorf teaches us the two simple but powerful words that we all should know when it comes to bullying: “When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting to cause harm, please apply the following – stop it.” Those words couldn’t be any more true today.