Step 2
March 28, 2010 at 10:15 pm 1 comment
“Come to believe that the power of God can restore you to complete spiritual health.”
This is the center of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the crux of the Plan of Salvation.
Of all of the things that I believe, I believe this more resolutely and deeply than any other: that I can be made whole. I believe that Jesus Christ, through His great atonement, has the ability and opportunity to take my sins from me, to restore me to complete and total spiritual strength.
I used to, for a long time, on believe in this idea. I believed in Christ, and I believed that He could same people from sin, but I wasn’t so convinced that he could save me. I didn’t believe Him when He said His sacrifice was sufficient for me. I thought it might be sufficient for most people, or even for everyone else, but it certainly wasn’t sufficient for me. I felt that I had betrayed Him too many times, that I had worn out my welcome.
I like to think of myself as being in control of my life (we all do). I like to think of myself as having power over the things round me. Yet, no matter my strength, no matter how much I think I can control things, I can’t heal myself. I can’t, no matter how many good deeds I do, no matter how many times I go to the temple, or feed the poor, make my self spiritually well by myself. Jesus Christ is the only one whose bandages are big enough and whose solvents powerful enough to cleanse my soul.
And so it is with addictions, whatever they might be. Our addictive impulses overtake us, leaving us powerless; so powerless, in fact, that only the power of God can pull us from their grasps.
Entry filed under: Religion. Tags: Atonement, Faith, Forgiveness, God, Jesus Christ, LDS, LDS Church, Religion, Repentance, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
1. Sarah | March 29, 2010 at 8:21 pm
I love this idea of posting about each of the 12 steps! I recently encountered the 12 steps because of a friend who is trying to recover from an addiction. As you said in your initial post about the 12 steps provided by the church, I truly feel that they are the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Evan and I listened to the first few tracks, we realized that the 12 steps were steps to repentance and strengthening testimony that we all can and SHOULD be abiding by in our daily lives. I’m grateful to you for this reminder.