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.
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