“Let no man publish his own righteousness…; sooner let him confess his sins, and then he will be forgiven, and he will bring forth fruit” (Joseph Smith, in History of the Church, 4:479). I have totally been there. Addiction is a double life, a life of masks, a surreal world. I guess this “looking good […]
Confession to others: “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed” (James 5:16).
You may feel that someone who really knew all your weaknesses and failings would reject you. But a priesthood leader or a trusted friend who understands the recovery process usually responds with understanding and compassion. How could such a response help you heal? It is very hard for pornography addicts to come out of the […]
Most of us feel fear and an unwillingness to take step 5. How can confessing your sins to God give you courage and strength eventually to confess to another person?
I believe this question is aimed at those of us who fear meeting someone to share our inventory with. I must say confessing was terrifying for me. I believe I’ve come a long way. When I attended my first meeting I was determined to “pass.” As people went around telling their stories and their struggles, […]
Confession to God: How does confessing your sins to God help you make positive changes in your life?
Two things come to mind: (1) In order to confess my sins to God I have to know what my sins are. I have to recognize that I’ve sinned. (2) Once I’ve recognized my sin and felt remorse, I have to pray to “call up” God. So confessing my sins to God help me because […]
Step 5: Confession to a priesthood leader
Last night I confessed to my bishop my addiction and all that, but I really confessed and felt bad about being so secretive and dishonest. I have covered up, minimized, and pretended I was alright for many years. I wanted to go into the bishops office and unload all this heavy burden of lies and […]
Helaman 10:4-5
Ésta mañana estaba leyendo en el libro de Helamán, y estaba pensando en el ser humilde y seguir la voluntad de Dios; después, encontré ésta escritura. “Bienaventurado eres tú, Nefi…porque he visto que…no…te has afanado por tu propia vida [no has sido orgulloso] antes bien, has procurado mi voluntad y el cumplimiento de mis [revelaciones […]
Replacing denial with truth
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8) How can step 4 help you accomplish such a task? I think going back, retrieving painful and embarrassing memories, and putting them in writing has helped me recognize that I am ill. I truly […]
Step 4: “Turn away from your sins; shake off the chains of him that would bind you fast; come unto that God who is the rock of your salvation” (2Nephi 9:45).
Write about the resistance you feel when you think about being completely honest about your past. I have been writing and typing my inventory. I did a chronological history of my addictive behavior. As I did that, I highlighted specific events I want to bring up when meeting with my bishop. I also followed Nate’s […]
Conference Weekend and More
We surely enjoyed conference. Since my wife and I watched it at home, we were able to pause it comment and discuss some of the things–especially feelings–the conference sparked. I really found useful president Uchtdorf’s talks, president Monson’s gratitude talk, and elder Ballard’s addiction recovery. It renewed in me the realization that recovery must be […]
Communing with God
“Jesus kneeled down, and prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:41-42) I have, many times, prayed to get this cup removed. At times, I’ve been so desperate, that suicidal thoughts would come into my mind. However, after calming down and […]
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