Friday, September 3, 2010

Addictions

We had a powerful presentation last Sunday at church with participants from an Addiction Recovery program that my Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints runs patterned after AA-American Alcoholic's 12 step program. Focused on addictions of any kind including: pornography, alcohol, tobacco, gambling, co-dependency, eating disorders, etc., it's amazing what they are accomplishing. We have 30 groups in just our local community open to people of all faiths. It is free and administered by volunteer missionary couples. They meet weekly and study a workbook which is used for journal entries and tracking their progress.

Three individuals from this program spoke at our church meeting and shared how the program had helped them. One young man with a terminal illness had turned to drugs to help him feel better. A couple had struggled-the man with alcoholism and the wife with codependency and depression. The point was made that we ALL have addictions of some kind or weaknesses that get in our way. The booklet is available FREE online or can be ordered if you want a physical copy. The push is on to offer this free program throughout the world to help others cope with addictions. We all have family members or friends who suffer from an addiction. Check it out.

President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught: “Addiction has the capacity to disconnect the human will and nullify moral agency. It can rob one of the power to decide.” "Revelation in a Changing World," Ensign, Nov. 1989, 14

5 comments:

  1. Addition is real. We all can triumph. This program can be intense and is in a confidential group setting.

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  2. We had a presentation in our Relief Society about this program. My husband (the bishop) teasingly said I should go because of my love of chocolate. :D

    Teasing aside, it is a wonderful program!

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  3. I wasn't aware of this...great that the church is helping as some of these addictions are so hard to beat...

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  4. Thanks for this post. I grew up in a home darkened by drug addiction. Luckily I had a mother who was there for us, and tried her best to shield us from it. But that is not always the case. Especially if it is the mother with the addiction.
    (But chocolate is more of a motivation as well as a sanity stabilizer. Not getting rid of it for sure!)

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