Addiction Recovery Program Step 2

Key Principle:  Come to believe that the power of God can restore you to complete spiritual health.

 “We became willing to replace trust in ourselves and our addictions with faith in the love and the power of Jesus Christ.”

 “Steadfastness in Christ.”

 “Perfect Brightness of Hope.”

2 Nephi 31:20:   I love this scripture because it describes how to feel and care for my spiritual health.  “Press forward, feast upon the word of Christ, endure to the end and ye shall have eternal life.”

Belief in God

You will find how good it feels to express your feelings and needs to God.  I was told I should not ask for things but to only pray for His will.  Is it okay to pray for needs and questions to be answered?  Step two is simply to become willing to practice believing in the love and mercy of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and the accessibility and blessing of the Holy Ghost. 

In Mosiah 4:9, many witnesses in heaven and in earth testify of God’s existence.  What evidences of God and His love have you experienced?  

I have been touched by God’s love throughout my life.  Most recently I have been very touched by God’s love.  His love has been constant in my life.  But I recently opened my heart and soul and mind to fully receive His love and blessings.  I was given a God box in 2009 and I would put things in it on a note to hand it over to God.  Last night I opened it read about the different things I let go of and gave to God.  Most everything God had answered for me and blessed me with.  One thing I wanted so badly was a child.  And I gave it to God.  He blessed me by not allowing me to have a child in an unhealthy and toxic relationship.  I also asked for assistance with my relationship.  God has assisted me with that relationship by giving me clarity of the relationship and assisting me to end it, which in turn I knew immediately where I needed to go which was back to him and his gospel.  The blessings I have had since I have returned have been amazing.  Feeling the spirit daily, feeling God’s love, being surrounded by the most amazing people. 

I am sitting here writing this, listening to the Lamb of God soundtrack, and intensely feeling the spirit of Heavenly Father which I have not felt for years and I am filled with so much joy.  I honestly want to get lost in this process.  Waiting an entire week to go to church and meet with the Bishop and another lesson by the missionaries seems too long.  I am just so excited to continue to learn and grow spiritually.  I am so excited to do my part, to fully repent of my sins in my past, to exercise the atonement.  I am so grateful for Heavenly Father giving His only Begotten Son, the beautiful thing He did to allow so many people the opportunity to return to Heavenly Father one day at a time, it’s amazing and thank you. 

Faith in Jesus Christ 

Alma 37:33:  Preach until them repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and teach them to humble themselves to be meek and lowly in heart.  Teach them to withstand every temptation of the devil with their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Write about your feelings today of being humble and willing to turn to Christ and His gospel above all other sources of help in your recovery efforts. 

In my recovery and in my journey I have done many many different things.  All part of my process of recovery including 12 step programs, years of counseling, education, and self-help books.  I do not at all want to discount any pieces of the steps I have taken to get me to where I am at today.  Each thing was important.  Through all of it I gained understanding and insight into who I am and how to recover.  Yet something was still missing.  With a humble heart I hit my knees to show my reverence and my desire to do whatever it takes to return to my Heavenly Father one day.  I humbly ask Him for forgiveness for all of the things I have done.  I finally have the understanding that all men and women are sinners.  We are all equal in the eye of God.  The feeling I feel today is gratitude and relief.  Gratitude that I am able to use the atonement, relief that I can stop searching and running.  I am also a bit nervous because I am still human and I try to do the right things daily, but I let curse words slip and I have many years of bad habits to mend.  I want to get to the repentance step as quickly as possible but I humbly understand that the steps are in order for a reason. 

The Savior’s Compassion

How do you feel about sharing your feelings with the Lord?

The majority of the time I feel pretty good about sharing my feelings with the Lord.  When I doubt myself or I start to stray it is difficult for me to pray or to be honest with the Lord.  This of course allows me to fall away quicker from His grace. 

The Gift of Grace

In what ways have you felt the gift of grace in your life?  (The Savior will do for you what you cannot do for yourself.)

Wow I have felt so much grace in my life.  Throughout my life there has been times that I knew I had someone watching out for me, God’s grace.  Quite a few times in my life I have nearly died due to actions of my own or accidents.  Yet I always came out alive. I know God used His divine grace to look out for me.  More importantly I have felt the gift of grace in recovery.  The repentance process would be the prime example of God’s grace.  I am but dust of the earth but with the atonement and God’s grace all things are possible.  I have learned how to take each day one day at a time.  I have a good relationship with my parents and family.  I have gotten out of an unhealthy and toxic relationship.  This is all due to the gift of grace. 

Healing

When we think of healing we usually think about our bodies.  What else about you might require the healing power of Jesus Christ?

With this journey I feel so close to the gospel, the spirit, and my path in life.  With all my heart I know what I am doing is the right thing.  Yet for the days between church I lose my foothold and my connection.  I do not know how to keep the spirit with me.  I need Jesus Christ’s healing to make me clean and pure.  I am so excited to repent of my sins and be pure like a child.  I think this process is perfect for me to realize what I will struggle with and what I will need:  daily strength from the scriptures, prayer, and meditation from living a life so distant from the Lord.  I need to not only draw on the redeeming power of Christ for the atonement, but daily as I learn to crawl, then walk, and run as a child of God, how to stay connected with the spirit every day. 

I sit in a crowded Chinese restaurant listening to the Lamb of God and doing my step work and I feel so connected to my Lord and my path.  For the first time in my life I have such a strong testimony of God’s plan for me and the atonement and I am so excited to endure to the end and then go to heaven and live a beautiful life in the presence of God and with my family.  Amazing, absolutely amazing.  I never thought I could feel the way I feel.  Life is still life and it will have its challenges.  But I feel anything is possible with the gospel and staying connected to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost.

Awakening

Becoming aware or awakening and arousing your faculties is an important part of the process of learning to believe.  In what ways are you more aware today of Jesus Christ and His power in your life than you were last week, a month, or a year ago?

I think with my writing so far it testifies of my amazing awakening and arousing of my faculties.  A year ago I had no faculties at all to the spirit.  I would consider them to be almost dead.  Then I had this amazing clarity.  But it was something subtle.  But I had enough faculty to hear and see and I knew.  The combination of the end of my relationship, having a clear mind, and my father bearing his testimony to me on our fishing trip in March, everything changed.  I woke from a 15 year sleep of spirituality and I was very aware.  I told myself I would start slow.  I watched a few sessions of conference in Spring of 2012.  And it was like the talks were written for me.  Then I went to church and got on my knees and asked God with every ounce of my being to show me if going back to church was what I was supposed to be doing, let me feel the spirit.  I felt the spirit I have not felt since, to my best recollection, in my teens.  Yes, awake and listening and doing what I can.  Each day I wake up with good intentions to read the scriptures every day.  But I have not every day, but I am trying.  And I will continue to try. 

Deliverance From Bondage

Write some things you are willing to try to do today to receive His word to you.

I am willing to go to church, study the scriptures, meet weekly with the bishop, prayer, not listen to music that takes me away from God, keep the Sabbath holy, missionary lessons, being a visiting teacher when I am close to going to the temple, meeting new friends, follow the commandments, go scripture study class, pass on the good news, and be a good role model. 

To listen to an actual ARP 12 step meeting focused on Step Two: Hope
Please visit http://www.mormonchannel.org/addiction-recovery-program/hope-step-2

The Addiction Recovery Guide is available as a PDF (24 languages) or mp3.

More information is available on arp.lds.org.