I am excited to share that the Mormon Channel has a new video series called #12StepstoChange, talking about the power of 12-step work to help people heal from addiction. Starting September 1st, as part of Addiction Recovery Month, Mormon Channel will feature a story a day from people who have used the 12 steps. Each day will focus on a different step. Edit: You can watch all the videos here.
I plan to share some of that content here, and encourage you to watch the Mormon Channel’s social media channels for updates as well. Find it on Facebook, on Twitter (and YouTube). Or watch the dedicated website page here for updated content.
I also want to say that 12 steps can help with many other things — not just the typical addict’s story (which stories, by the way, are amazing!). I have been doing 12-step work for three and a half years now. I went because there was a lot in my life that was weighing me down, and God guided me to the rooms in various ways over a course of years of time, even before I finally decided to commit to regular attendance and working the steps. (More about my experience here and here.)
I had no idea what to expect but this is some of how my involvement with 12-step recovery and community has changed (and continues to change) my life:
– I found answers about the Atonement that I’d been seeking since my youth (e.g., how do you turn your burden over to Christ?)
– I discovered truth about God that I’d ached to understand but couldn’t access because I had broken beliefs in my brain about Him and was too consumed with earning my worth.
– As a result, I’ve come to know myself with more clarity than ever, and am developing more compassion and understanding for others.
– I’ve come to appreciate the plan of salvation, particularly the doctrine of agency and the need to learn by experience.
– I learned a language (and keep learning more) and a toolkit that have changed my life. This is such a gentle process, and it flows in a “wisdom and order” way that is elegant and clearly divine.
– I have learned that vulnerability, honesty, and asking for help are key to finding God and forging friendships that I hope will last into the eternities. I feel like I’ve experienced glimpses of Zion — changed hearts being knit together in a room where it’s safe to be a messy mortal, to admit your powerlessness, and to testify of God’s amazing, gentle, unspeakable power.
For me, there is no meeting in the Church that is regularly and consistently more powerful than 12-step meetings. I can see why Jesus spent time with people who knew they needed Him, who had nowhere else to go. Humility and reliance on the Savior brings power. And so does the simple willingness to walk into a room seeking help or insight and inspiration about the grace of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It is truly sweeter than sweet to witness it in others’ lives, and to experience it in my own.
Thank you Michelle for this insightful post in regard to the Mormon Channel’s. “12 Steps to Change”. My story is Step 9 in this series (September 9th) … more importantly though is your experience utilizing the Steps in your life as you have sought answers to challenges. The observations that you noted are so HUGE. Obviously recovery has changed my life through abstinence, becoming spiritually aware and reborn. My comments are motivated by the fact that so many (non-addicts, regular people) could be touched by the powers of the Steps. Success my friend, John
John, your comment touched my heart. Thank you so much. I hope more “non-addicts” (although don’t we all have our coping mechanisms that keep us from truth and from God?) will hear the stories and be moved to look into the 12 steps. Truly there is nothing like them. I’ve spent a lifetime learning about human behavior, self-help, therapy, etc. All of those things are good, but God moves in 12 steps in ways I can’t even describe. I think of a friend, for example, who struggled with an addiction for decades and in 30 days of a 12-step program (not the LDS one, but one specific to her addiction), she was a different person. I’ve seen this kind of change happen in many people’s lives. Of course, the process of conversion and change and healing extends beyond such shifts, but the shifts are real.
Thank you for courageously sharing your story. I just realized tonight that the videos are available on YouTube so I am looking forward to hearing your story…I am glad I don’t need to wait until the 9th!
~Michelle
What a beautiful site! I am so glad Segullah brought me to your words and content.