They Help Me
Over the last few months I've been thinking a lot about addiction.
I have several friends who are dealing with one type of addiction or another.
Some want to overcome them, others don't.
I found out yesterday a very dear friend of mine has been dealing with an addiction for many, many years. I'm so proud of her for sharing her struggles with her family, friends, Bishop and Stake President. They are all rallying to help her. I reached out to her, letting her know I love and support her. She replied that she was ashamed and embarrassed. She shouldn't be.
I hate shame and I hate embarrassment.
I am convinced they are Satan's tools to keep us stuck.
Those are the very feelings that keep people trapped in addiction. Especially those who really want out.
I've been especially concerned about this as I've worked so much with the youth these past few years. Shame and embarrassment not only keep them from getting the help they need for pornography, drug and alcohol abuse, and other addictions, but those who are dealing with anxiety and depression keep quiet as well.
Meet my Great Uncle Tom's cousin, Carlton P. Tierney.
I'm not sure what relation that makes him to me.
Carlton died serving our country.
Since the kids sleep during the Summer, I have more quiet time in the mornings, so I've been spending some of it working on family history.
I do family history for two reasons.
One, I feel a responsibility to help my ancestors receive the blessings of baptism and temple covenants.
Two, I need blessings and I need help.
I absolutely believe that as I help my ancestors they help me.
Several years ago someone shared the story below (it's paraphrased a bit) with me about how family history work, specifically indexing, helped a young man overcome his addiction. He mentions having more of the Spirit in his life and I believe, in addition to that, the angels he was helping were also helping him.
I have several friends who are dealing with one type of addiction or another.
Some want to overcome them, others don't.
I found out yesterday a very dear friend of mine has been dealing with an addiction for many, many years. I'm so proud of her for sharing her struggles with her family, friends, Bishop and Stake President. They are all rallying to help her. I reached out to her, letting her know I love and support her. She replied that she was ashamed and embarrassed. She shouldn't be.
I hate shame and I hate embarrassment.
I am convinced they are Satan's tools to keep us stuck.
Those are the very feelings that keep people trapped in addiction. Especially those who really want out.
I've been especially concerned about this as I've worked so much with the youth these past few years. Shame and embarrassment not only keep them from getting the help they need for pornography, drug and alcohol abuse, and other addictions, but those who are dealing with anxiety and depression keep quiet as well.
Meet my Great Uncle Tom's cousin, Carlton P. Tierney.
I'm not sure what relation that makes him to me.
Carlton died serving our country.
Since the kids sleep during the Summer, I have more quiet time in the mornings, so I've been spending some of it working on family history.
I do family history for two reasons.
One, I feel a responsibility to help my ancestors receive the blessings of baptism and temple covenants.
Two, I need blessings and I need help.
I absolutely believe that as I help my ancestors they help me.
Several years ago someone shared the story below (it's paraphrased a bit) with me about how family history work, specifically indexing, helped a young man overcome his addiction. He mentions having more of the Spirit in his life and I believe, in addition to that, the angels he was helping were also helping him.
I was born and raised in a family that were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and lived in a good ward. I was going to church and was very active. When I got out of high school, I decided to go to work in the oil fields to make some money for my mission. When I came back, I just wasn’t taking it too seriously. I believed the Church, but at the same time I had an addiction from my youth, and had been battling that the whole time...I got involved in drugs and especially alcohol. I got wilder and wilder and remember waking up one day and looking in the mirror and saying to myself, “You’re the worst person you know.” I was begging God to help me. I got past alcohol and drugs. I was going to a 12-step program. I was praying in the evenings and reading the scriptures. I got to a point that no matter what I did, I couldn’t get back—I couldn’t stop certain things. I was not doing drugs and alcohol, but I still had other addictions I just couldn’t give up. I was going through a really rough patch, feeling really weak at the time and feeling more and more despondent and depressed.
December 1, 2013, a good friend of mine from my youth called me up. I told him I had been praying and begging the Lord to help me find a way that I could come back. As we talked, he told me he had been doing indexing. The next day, I was talking to one of my brothers, and he said something about indexing, so I downloaded the program and got into it. Almost from the beginning, I could feel the spirit; I could feel the difference.
I called my friend the very next morning and told him I had indexed my first hundred names, and was starting on my next hundred. At some point, I realized that I had gone longer than I had ever gone before without pursuing my addictions. I was getting excited, and I was talking to people in my bishopric about indexing. One of them wanted me to teach him, and then I taught someone else how to do it. Not only did I stop my addictions, but I stopped wasting a lot of time on the Internet, and my TV time went way down. If I was having some kind of emotional issue or temptation, in 1 to 2 seconds, I could click on the icon and be doing the Lord’s work and I didn’t want to do anything that was inappropriate. I was praying in the morning and in the evening. I was reading my scriptures daily without fail and trying to do all the things that I could...I just don’t feel like doing anything wrong when I’m indexing. That’s the best way to put it. I don’t feel like doing any sins when I’m indexing. It’s not just for battling addictions, indexing for me brought the availability of the spirit almost at will. Redeeming the dead has redeemed me, and it can work for anybody.
Indexing is actually pretty fun. My Dad loved to index. For him it was something he could do even when he was sick. It helped my formerly very active and hard working father feel needed and productive.
ps - Estabon comes home 4 weeks from today!!
