Through applying the detailed repentance process outlined in the Twelve Steps, I have found the same joy Benjamin’s people found. The Lord will reach out to heal each one of us in the same way He did the people of King Benjamin. These principles apply in our day as much as at any time in the history of the earth. Meanwhile, I needed to focus on the only salvation I could work out-my own. I had to be able to say, unequivocally, that I was consistently practicing what I was recommending to others. I am humbled and grateful to say that as I continued to work the steps, I eventually realized I could only carry to others the portion of the message I had lived. One thing the Twelve Steps inevitably teach us is the lesson of humility, which is essential to learning these principles for ourselves. I should use that in a talk or a lesson,” or even, “I should write a book about that!” I would read or hear some new principle and instantly think, “That’s a really great thought. As soon as a new precept would dawn on me, I would immediately begin to hear the adversary’s efforts to distract me from my own need for salvation by reminding me of someone else’s need.

I have to admit I have been tempted myself to apply a new principle or practice I have learned to someone else before I embraced it and internalized it for my own sake. However, in the Savior’s own words, preserved for us in Luke 22:32, we find His own counsel given to Peter, but perfectly fitting for us: “When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” Starting in AA long ago, this premature zeal-this sharing a message we haven’t yet applied to ourselves-became known as “two-stepping.” In other words, the new enthusiast reduces the twelve steps to two-hearing and then sharing-conveniently leap-frogging over the personal challenge represented in each of the ten intermediate steps. Often, upon finding the hope and promised relief in learning these true principles, many of us get very excited-for the “other guy’s” sake.Īfter all, we can immediately think of a dozen people who really need this! We have the reaction: “Wow, I’ve got to tell so-and-so’ about this!” I admit, this may not be the first reaction of a sex addict as often as it is with other kinds of addicts because of the heightened level of shame we have to get over, but even among us it happens. One member of SA expressed it this way:īeing Sure We’re “Twelve-Stepping”-Not “Two-Stepping” In fact, our personal story is the most effective way to carry the message. They allow hope, which may have seriously dimmed, to be rekindled. The stories of others who are recovering become our first lessons in recovery. It simply grows from telling your story as it unfolds and progresses. None of this requires great understanding of philosophical or religious doctrines. As you are able to bear testimony of continuing abstinence, you serve as a beacon of hope to those who are still struggling.

Those first experiences of being saved from acting out eventually grow into consistent abstinence, which is what most of us were seeking when we first admitted we needed help.

As you begin to have success in allowing the Lord to rescue you from acting out, you have more to share, including the testimony that relief is possible, that a person can be tempted without having to give in to the temptation. This, too, is comfort to others, for in hearing your story they understand they are not alone. When you begin to share your own story with others, you might start by describing the devastation addiction has caused in your life. It embodies the hope that recovery is possible, and is worth seeking. Even that humble admission is a testimony which strengthens and encourages others. When you participate in such a group, you admit by your mere presence that you are looking for help. This can be as simple as talking one-on-one with another individual who is struggling, or it could be in an organized recovery group, such as the groups listed in Appendix C. You start offering service to others the moment you begin participating in a fellowship of recovery. Some imagine that they must make a grand, public effort in order to begin helping others.

Clean hands pure heart