The themes of addiction and recovery are prevalent through the entire Book of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon. In fact, every chapter has strong imagery of addiction and recovery. After King Benjamin teaches the Twelve Steps and the people make a covenant to take upon themselves the name of Christ, Ammon makes a Twelve Step call on the people of King Limhi who are in bondage.
These people are paying tribute money to their captors. I remember when a large chunk of my income went to support my addiction. My addictions consumed me, and every waking moment was spent thinking of how and when I could satisfy my addiction. These people had "many strugglings" (Mosiah 7:18) but to no avail. When I first saw the Twelve Steps through the window of the Alano Club, as I was walking to work on a hot summer morning thirty years ago, I pondered Step One. I convinced myself I could quit drinking when I was ready, even though I had not seen a sober day in five years. But two years later, when I was ready to quit, I found that my strugglings were in vain. I was truly powerless.
King Limhi gathers his people at the temple and proclaims this powerful promise of recovery:
"Therefore, lift up your heads, and rejoice, and put your trust in God, in that God who was the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob; and also, that God who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, and caused that they should walk through the Red Sea on dry ground, and fed them with manna that they might not perish in the wilderness; and many more things did he do for them" (Mosiah 7:19).
Abraham and Isaac were both rescued by Jehovah as they were strapped to altars (see Abraham 1:12-16; Genesis 22:9-12). Jacob was rescued from his brother, Esau, who sought his life, but later they were reconciled (see Genesis 27:41; 33:1-4). As we struggle with severe addiction, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is our only hope for rescue and recovery.
I remember when I was forty days sober in a hotel room all alone in Washington DC. I searched the dresser drawers for a phone book to call AA and get myself to a meeting. I was alone, far from home, and very vulnerable. Instead, I found an in-room bar with my alcoholic beverage of choice staring me in the face. I did manage to leave the room, call a taxi, get to an AA meeting, and return, only to have the compulsion hit me with the force of a tornado. I could feel the overpowering compulsion, and I knew that once again I was powerless.
I remember kneeling down by the bed and pleading to God for help as I pounded my clenched fists on the bed. Suddenly I felt all my strength flow out of my body, felt a sense of peace and calm, and then I fell harmlessly asleep on my knees. With all the strength I could muster I somehow pulled myself into bed, fell asleep, and slept soundly with my enemy and beverage of choice in the same room. When I woke up the compulsion was gone and the storm was passed. I checked out of that hotel room five days later with an absolute assurance and testimony of the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
King Limhi gives a warning from the Lord: "And again, he saith: If my people shall sow filthiness they shall reap the chaff thereof in the whirlwind; and the effect thereof is poison" (Mosiah 7:30). A whirlwind goes around and around in a vicious circle. Like the practicing addict in bondage who repeats the same senseless behavior over and over while expecting a different result, the whirlwind repeats its cycle over and over while never getting anywhere. We eventually become poisoned by our addictions.
The next verse gives a similar warning. "And again he saith: If my people shall sow filthiness they shall reap the east wind, which bringeth immediate destruction" (Mosiah 7:31). This is Middle Eastern imagery that Joseph Smith would not have been aware of. These people had descended from Jerusalem.
Map 6 shows Babylon due east of Jerusalem. In the original Greek of the New Testament, the word pneuma means wind, breath, or spirit. In some contexts it can be a representation of the manifestation of the Holy Ghost, such as on the Day of Pentecost when there was a "rushing mighty wind" (Acts 2:2). The "east wind," as a representation of the spirit of Babylon, blows across the Arabian Desert and destroys everything in its path. It withers the vegetation and causes "immediate destruction." Addiction does the same.
The end of this chapter in Mosiah has a powerful promise for the addict. There are two of these in Mosiah. The promise states,
"But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you out of bondage" (Mosiah 7:33).
God, who provided a daily dose of manna, to sustain His children wandering in a wilderness, will keep the addict clean and sober--one day at a time.
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Sunday, June 11, 2017
"This Day He Hath Spiritually Begotten You"
Perhaps even more significant than the appearance of the Twelve Steps of recovery within a single chapter, Mosiah chapter 4, is the context of King Benjamin's speech in the Book of Mormon. LDS scholars agree almost universally that this speech was held during the Feast of Tabernacles in the Old Testament. The references to sacrifice offerings, joy and thanksgiving, the coronation of a new king, the gathering, and dwelling in tents or tabernacles, definitely ties this event to one of the three required feasts of Passover, Feast of Weeks, or Feast of Tabernacles. Feast of Weeks (or Pentecost) was a single-day event and would not require pitching tents. Kingly coronations were held in conjunction with the Feast of Tabernacles, and dwelling in tents would match the requirement given in Leviticus.
Regarding the Feast of Tabernacles the Lord said, "Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 23:42-43).
Egypt was the "house of bondage" for the Israelites (see Exodus 20:2). Addiction is our house of bondage. If the Lord set up this feast as a symbol of recovery from addiction, then the events surrounding it, and particularly with King Benjamin's speech, are of paramount importance.
In Step Eleven we are seeking knowledge of God's will for us and to have the power to carry it out. Step Twelve speaks of a "spiritual awakening." The bridge between the Twelve Steps and a fullness of God's glory is the covenant path.
The name Benjamin means "son of the right hand." In what became known as "the Vision," Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon see Jesus Christ on the right hand of God the Father:
"For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—
"That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God" (D&C 76:23-24).
King Benjamin becomes a type of Christ, who is the King of kings (Revelation 19:16). Later in "the Vision" it speaks of those who attain exaltation and godhood by saying, "They are they who are priests and kings (and priestesses and queens), who have received of his fulness, and of his glory . . . Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons (and daughters) of God" (D&C 76:56,58).
Becoming a son or a daughter of God means to become a god in this context. To become a spiritually begotten son or daughter of Christ means to inherit what He has and become like He is. Verse 95 in "the Vision" states, "And he makes them equal in power, and in might, and in dominion." The alcoholic, or addict, who was once "less than the dust of the earth" (Mosiah 4:2) is promised he or she can become equal to Jesus Christ as a result of His Atonement.
There is a play on words with the name "Benjamin" in the Book of Mormon. King Benjamin said, "And it shall come to pass that whosoever doeth this shall be found at the right hand of God, for he shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the name of Christ" (Mosiah 5:9). Those who enter into and honor covenants will be "on the right hand of God" to inherit all that He has.
The two things we seek after in Step Eleven, power and knowledge are manifest in the ordinances of the Melchizedek Priesthood:
"And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.
"Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest" (D&C 84:19-20).
"This Day" Is A Leitwort For A Covenant Making Day
It is significant that King Benjamin's speech uses the phrase "this day" five times.
"My brethren, all ye that have assembled yourselves together, you that can hear my words which I shall speak unto you this day . . . "
"and of all these things which I have spoken, ye yourselves are witnesses this day."
" I tell you these things that ye may know that I can answer a clear conscience before God this day."
"I should declare unto you this day, that my son Mosiah is a king and a ruler over you."
"And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you" (Mosiah 2:9,14,15,30; 5:7).
In the Old Testament, the phrase "this day" is associated with a covenant-making day. Here are two examples:
"Choose you this day whom ye will serve"
"So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day" (Joshua 24:15,25).
"What can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have born?
"Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee."
"This heap is a witness between me and thee this day" (Genesis 31:43-44,48).
Notice how witnesses are employed in all these examples.
Because of the covenant they become spiritually begotten sons and daughters of Christ.
The Name of Christ
As a major component of the covenant, the people take upon themselves the name of Christ. This is always associated with temple covenants. The dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple was given to the Prophet Joseph Smith through direct revelation according to his written statement. In the dedicatory prayer was this plea:
"And we ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them" (D&C 109:22).
That's certainly a lot of power! In the Aaronic Priesthood ordinances of baptism and the sacrament, we become "willing" to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ (see D&C 20:77). This willingness step, like the Twelve Steps, is preparatory for temple ordinances where we actually take His name upon us, or have His name placed upon us, as the above verse suggests.
For the recovering addict (and actually for all of us) the path becomes clear as to where the Lord would like to lead us with the Twelve Steps.
Regarding the Feast of Tabernacles the Lord said, "Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 23:42-43).
Egypt was the "house of bondage" for the Israelites (see Exodus 20:2). Addiction is our house of bondage. If the Lord set up this feast as a symbol of recovery from addiction, then the events surrounding it, and particularly with King Benjamin's speech, are of paramount importance.
In Step Eleven we are seeking knowledge of God's will for us and to have the power to carry it out. Step Twelve speaks of a "spiritual awakening." The bridge between the Twelve Steps and a fullness of God's glory is the covenant path.
The name Benjamin means "son of the right hand." In what became known as "the Vision," Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon see Jesus Christ on the right hand of God the Father:
"For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—
"That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God" (D&C 76:23-24).
King Benjamin becomes a type of Christ, who is the King of kings (Revelation 19:16). Later in "the Vision" it speaks of those who attain exaltation and godhood by saying, "They are they who are priests and kings (and priestesses and queens), who have received of his fulness, and of his glory . . . Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons (and daughters) of God" (D&C 76:56,58).
Becoming a son or a daughter of God means to become a god in this context. To become a spiritually begotten son or daughter of Christ means to inherit what He has and become like He is. Verse 95 in "the Vision" states, "And he makes them equal in power, and in might, and in dominion." The alcoholic, or addict, who was once "less than the dust of the earth" (Mosiah 4:2) is promised he or she can become equal to Jesus Christ as a result of His Atonement.
There is a play on words with the name "Benjamin" in the Book of Mormon. King Benjamin said, "And it shall come to pass that whosoever doeth this shall be found at the right hand of God, for he shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the name of Christ" (Mosiah 5:9). Those who enter into and honor covenants will be "on the right hand of God" to inherit all that He has.
The two things we seek after in Step Eleven, power and knowledge are manifest in the ordinances of the Melchizedek Priesthood:
"And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.
"Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest" (D&C 84:19-20).
"This Day" Is A Leitwort For A Covenant Making Day
It is significant that King Benjamin's speech uses the phrase "this day" five times.
"My brethren, all ye that have assembled yourselves together, you that can hear my words which I shall speak unto you this day . . . "
"and of all these things which I have spoken, ye yourselves are witnesses this day."
" I tell you these things that ye may know that I can answer a clear conscience before God this day."
"I should declare unto you this day, that my son Mosiah is a king and a ruler over you."
"And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you" (Mosiah 2:9,14,15,30; 5:7).
In the Old Testament, the phrase "this day" is associated with a covenant-making day. Here are two examples:
"Choose you this day whom ye will serve"
"So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day" (Joshua 24:15,25).
"What can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have born?
"Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee."
"This heap is a witness between me and thee this day" (Genesis 31:43-44,48).
Notice how witnesses are employed in all these examples.
Because of the covenant they become spiritually begotten sons and daughters of Christ.
The Name of Christ
As a major component of the covenant, the people take upon themselves the name of Christ. This is always associated with temple covenants. The dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple was given to the Prophet Joseph Smith through direct revelation according to his written statement. In the dedicatory prayer was this plea:
"And we ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them" (D&C 109:22).
That's certainly a lot of power! In the Aaronic Priesthood ordinances of baptism and the sacrament, we become "willing" to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ (see D&C 20:77). This willingness step, like the Twelve Steps, is preparatory for temple ordinances where we actually take His name upon us, or have His name placed upon us, as the above verse suggests.
For the recovering addict (and actually for all of us) the path becomes clear as to where the Lord would like to lead us with the Twelve Steps.
Sunday, June 4, 2017
King Benjamin Teaches Step Twelve
King Benjamin completes the Twelve Steps of recovery in Mosiah chapter 4. Those of us who have been blessed with recovery and God's grace feel a sense of need to carry the message to the still-suffering addict.
AA Step Twelve: "Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs."
LDS Addiction Recovery Step Twelve: "Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, share this message with others and practice these principles in all you do."
LDS Addiction Recovery Step Twelve Key Principle: Service
King Benjamin: "For behold, if the knowledge of the goodness of God at this time has awakened you to a sense of your nothingness, and your worthless and fallen state—
"I say unto you, if ye have come to a knowledge of the goodness of God, and his matchless power, and his wisdom, and his patience, and his long-suffering towards the children of men; and also, the atonement which has been prepared from the foundation of the world, that thereby salvation might come to him that should put his trust in the Lord, and should be diligent in keeping his commandments, and continue in the faith even unto the end of his life, I mean the life of the mortal body—
"And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish" (Mosiah 4:5-6,16).
It's significant that the original AA version for this step, the LDS version, and King Benjamin's discourse, all speak of a "spiritual awakening." It's also worth noting that the words "alcohol" or "alcoholic" only appear in the first and last step. Upon reading these Twelve Steps for the first time, I quickly discounted their value, thinking the recurrence of the mention of God, or a Higher Power, and the lack of recurrence of mentioning alcohol, did not address my drinking problem. I reasoned to myself how I could go to church, but then be drunk two hours later. But by reading the AA Big Book, attending AA meetings, and listening to others who had serious time invested in the program, I eventually learned I didn't really have a "drinking" problem--I had a "living" problem. I was not willing to "live life on life's terms" according to the AA principle, and even more importantly, I was not willing to "live life on God's terms," as discussed in the LDS program.
Really, we alcoholics and addicts have a spiritual disease, and it requires a spiritual cure. The AA Big Book teaches that without a spiritual experience (or an awakening unto God), we are likely to drink and use again.
King Benjamin links the first and last step--the steps that specifically mention alcohol or a drug of choice--by contrasting our powerlessness as described in Step One with the "goodness of God" and our newfound spirituality as discussed in Step Twelve. I have to admit my own bias with these steps. For some of them, I prefer the original AA wording; and for others I prefer the LDS Recovery Guide wording. For this step, I really appreciate the wording in the LDS Guide as echoed by King Benjamin. (Actually, it should be the other way around, since King Benjamin gave his Twelve Step discourse long before Alcoholics Anonymous was ever heard of.)
Today I have a personal testimony of the truths taught by King Benjamin. I know it wasn't really the Steps that brought sobriety, recovery, and God's goodness into my life. Instead, my recovery is a result of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. And I have also recently learned and gained a testimony that, just as President Russell M. Nelson taught us in the most recent General Conference, that "It is the Savior who delivers us from physical and spiritual death." He holds the key to my sobriety and recovery. The Steps are steps to Christ. He is the One who heals me and empowers me to stay clean and sober one day at a time.
At my first AA meeting, way back on July 17, 1989, I stood in awe and disbelief. At the end of the meeting I must have had fifteen or so people come up to me and say how glad they were that I was there. They gave me their phone numbers and meeting schedules. The next day I attended the Lunch Bunch Meeting for the first time and met the man who would become my sponsor for fourteen years. He said to me, "You don't know how glad I am to see you here." About two months later, I attended a meeting in Williamsburg, Virginia and a few days later, one in Washington DC. At both meetings I got hugs, help, and phone numbers. I had to wonder why they would even care about a total stranger like me.
One day I heard someone share about his recovery. He said, "You have to give it away to keep it." I had learned what Bill W. and Dr. Bob had learned in 1935. Bill had gone to Akron, Ohio on a business trip and was tempted to drink. He phoned various clergymen trying to find another alcoholic to talk to. Bill knew this was the only way he could stay sober. He found another drunk in Dr. Bob, a surgeon. Bob finally agreed to give Bill 15 minutes of his time, but the conversation lasted six hours. AA was founded on Dr. Bob's sobriety date--June 10, 1935. Alcoholics Anonymous will celebrate its 82nd birthday on Saturday.
King Benjamin was right. We "will succor those that stand in need of (our) succor," because we are all "beggars" before God (see Mosiah 4:16,19). Sobriety, recovery, and God's grace are gifts from Him.
We will not turn away the beggar, and neither will God.
AA Step Twelve: "Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs."
LDS Addiction Recovery Step Twelve: "Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, share this message with others and practice these principles in all you do."
LDS Addiction Recovery Step Twelve Key Principle: Service
King Benjamin: "For behold, if the knowledge of the goodness of God at this time has awakened you to a sense of your nothingness, and your worthless and fallen state—
"I say unto you, if ye have come to a knowledge of the goodness of God, and his matchless power, and his wisdom, and his patience, and his long-suffering towards the children of men; and also, the atonement which has been prepared from the foundation of the world, that thereby salvation might come to him that should put his trust in the Lord, and should be diligent in keeping his commandments, and continue in the faith even unto the end of his life, I mean the life of the mortal body—
"And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish" (Mosiah 4:5-6,16).
It's significant that the original AA version for this step, the LDS version, and King Benjamin's discourse, all speak of a "spiritual awakening." It's also worth noting that the words "alcohol" or "alcoholic" only appear in the first and last step. Upon reading these Twelve Steps for the first time, I quickly discounted their value, thinking the recurrence of the mention of God, or a Higher Power, and the lack of recurrence of mentioning alcohol, did not address my drinking problem. I reasoned to myself how I could go to church, but then be drunk two hours later. But by reading the AA Big Book, attending AA meetings, and listening to others who had serious time invested in the program, I eventually learned I didn't really have a "drinking" problem--I had a "living" problem. I was not willing to "live life on life's terms" according to the AA principle, and even more importantly, I was not willing to "live life on God's terms," as discussed in the LDS program.
Really, we alcoholics and addicts have a spiritual disease, and it requires a spiritual cure. The AA Big Book teaches that without a spiritual experience (or an awakening unto God), we are likely to drink and use again.
King Benjamin links the first and last step--the steps that specifically mention alcohol or a drug of choice--by contrasting our powerlessness as described in Step One with the "goodness of God" and our newfound spirituality as discussed in Step Twelve. I have to admit my own bias with these steps. For some of them, I prefer the original AA wording; and for others I prefer the LDS Recovery Guide wording. For this step, I really appreciate the wording in the LDS Guide as echoed by King Benjamin. (Actually, it should be the other way around, since King Benjamin gave his Twelve Step discourse long before Alcoholics Anonymous was ever heard of.)
Today I have a personal testimony of the truths taught by King Benjamin. I know it wasn't really the Steps that brought sobriety, recovery, and God's goodness into my life. Instead, my recovery is a result of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. And I have also recently learned and gained a testimony that, just as President Russell M. Nelson taught us in the most recent General Conference, that "It is the Savior who delivers us from physical and spiritual death." He holds the key to my sobriety and recovery. The Steps are steps to Christ. He is the One who heals me and empowers me to stay clean and sober one day at a time.
At my first AA meeting, way back on July 17, 1989, I stood in awe and disbelief. At the end of the meeting I must have had fifteen or so people come up to me and say how glad they were that I was there. They gave me their phone numbers and meeting schedules. The next day I attended the Lunch Bunch Meeting for the first time and met the man who would become my sponsor for fourteen years. He said to me, "You don't know how glad I am to see you here." About two months later, I attended a meeting in Williamsburg, Virginia and a few days later, one in Washington DC. At both meetings I got hugs, help, and phone numbers. I had to wonder why they would even care about a total stranger like me.
One day I heard someone share about his recovery. He said, "You have to give it away to keep it." I had learned what Bill W. and Dr. Bob had learned in 1935. Bill had gone to Akron, Ohio on a business trip and was tempted to drink. He phoned various clergymen trying to find another alcoholic to talk to. Bill knew this was the only way he could stay sober. He found another drunk in Dr. Bob, a surgeon. Bob finally agreed to give Bill 15 minutes of his time, but the conversation lasted six hours. AA was founded on Dr. Bob's sobriety date--June 10, 1935. Alcoholics Anonymous will celebrate its 82nd birthday on Saturday.
King Benjamin was right. We "will succor those that stand in need of (our) succor," because we are all "beggars" before God (see Mosiah 4:16,19). Sobriety, recovery, and God's grace are gifts from Him.
We will not turn away the beggar, and neither will God.
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