This is totally random, and a little out of the ordinary for things I post, but I just wanted to mention a program Erik and I have participated in during the Sunday School hour of our block meetings for the past few months. Our ward decided to give the members a glimpse into the fairly new program the church has sponsored called the Addiciton Recovery Program. It was created by members of the church who were "addicts" and closely mimics the 12 step Alcoholics Anonymous program. The purpose of doing this during the Sunday School hour was, I think, both to inform about the structured meetings that are held weekly and also about the accessibility of this program to the general membership of the church.
I have come away from this class really grateful for its structure and concrete ways of how to improve my life using the Atonement (the teachers of our class called it the Atonement Recognition Program). The manual that they have put together is available for free online at:
combatingpornography.org
(interestingly, this is a new website that the church has created that just launched...facinating)
For instance, one "step" is to take a written, personal inventory of your life; good and bad. The purpose being to look for patterns in behavior or reactions to situations that can help you maybe understand the root cause of some of what you are looking to change in your life.
I loved this class and the opportunity I got to learn more about the Atonement and how I can use it more in my life in very concrete ways (I'm a very concrete, list-y type of person!). I'm SO grateful for a Faith that helps and motivates me to become better and more like my Savior, Jesus Christ. A Church that seeks to help it's members become better is only doing the work of God, in my opinion. What an amazing blessing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is in my life! I know that God knows me. I know that Christ lives and that he died for me and that he is the head of the LDS church. I am so grateful for this direction in my life when there are so many things that can bring me down.
Working with addicts in recovery participating the in 12 step program at the Loma Linda VA was one of the most powerful experiences of medical school for me. I really believe the 12 step program is inspired and can change lives. Then when you add an atonement framework to the 12 steps, they are even more powerful.
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