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I am attempting the process of repentence for about the millionth time and I am having the hardest time just staying committed and not falling back into the mess that I've created. Does anyone have any advice? I'd appreciate any of your favorite scriptures, or any advice at all on how to maintain the desire for righteousness.

Thank you so much!

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To begin with, what is 'the mess'? If it's some kind of addiction, then find a specialist who can help you with your particular addiction. Actually it would be better to find an addictions specialist/therapist who is LDS, then you can get spiritual help along with the intellectual and psychological.:) Keep VERY close to the scriptures and to your Heavenly Father throughout all this and ask Heavenly Father for strength when you come across periods of temptation/backsliding. NEVER give up. There IS and WILL BE a light at the very end of the tunnel.:) Just have faith and strength. The very best of luck to you and my prayers are with you.

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It is never an easy road, but its the best road to take and a necessary one at that! My best advice is, if you havent yet, talk to your Bishop, and follow what he says with strict obedience. He will give you a much more inspired answer than any of us here could.

However, I think it is so necessary for you to pray very sincerely... and alot of it! Ask in your prayers that Heavenly father will change your heart and help you repent. Repenting is something that takes alot of effort, and doesn't happen simply by recognising our errors. I think now is a great time for you to expand your testimony of the atonement and a great time to study. I think som topics that I would recommend you study would be The Atonement itself, Grace, Mercy and justice, Repentence and Forgiveness, etc....

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress :)

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Lost, if I remember right, you had already talked to your bishop and all he wanted to do was have a disciplinary court for you? I can't recommend enough of you going to an addiction specialist who will help you and not kick you when you're down. Being made to feel even worse is the LAST thing you need at this stage of the game. You're at a very frail and fragile point in your life where all you should be getting is nothing but positive re-enforcement, and not negative. I have a brother-in-law who went to AA and it was the best thing he ever did! It literally saved his life! If you can get an LDS who is a spiritual, intellectual, and psychological specialist in what it is your going through, then you've got a triple threat to your addiction that can't be beat!:) Again, good luck!

Edited by Carl62
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Whether it's dealing with the word of wisdom, or with the law of chastity, or something else... there's all types of addictions. They can be powerful. The church has a great program to help people overcome addictions of all types. Don't be afraid- the program can be very helpful and uplifting.

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I am attempting the process of repentence for about the millionth time and I am having the hardest time just staying committed and not falling back into the mess that I've created. Does anyone have any advice? I'd appreciate any of your favorite scriptures, or any advice at all on how to maintain the desire for righteousness.

Thank you so much!

Hmm...thoughts, allowed to fester for a time, leads to action if left unchecked.

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Lost, if I remember right, you had already talked to your bishop and all he wanted to do was have a disciplinary court for you?

I have talked to my bishop and he wasn't at all negative, he was incredibly positive and wonderfully kind. He said that generally they would have a church council, BUT he didn't want to yet. He is probably the best bishop in the world, and I absolutely trust him. He gave me one thing that I absolutely needed to do to avoid the council, and one thing I needed to think a lot about....that was a couple weeks ago and Im still working on both.

As for the church programs...I live in a state where the church isn't big like UT and the western states, so the closest place for counceling is 1000 miles away. I've searched and there are no LDS private councelors in my state, and I went to another who tried to tell me the church was overly restrictive and I was too young to be worrying about things. So basically the finding a councelor step is out, there aren't any out here.

Thanks so much for all of your advice everyone! I look forward to continuing to read this thread!

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Take it one day at a time, Lost87. We are given challenges and weaknesses that are suppose to test us, but we are never given anything that with Divine Help we cannot overcome. Your bishop sounds like a peach, keep doing what he says and eventually you'll get to a really good point in life :D

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The Church has a great Addiction Recovery Program. You can read about it and download the book they use here: Addiction Recovery Program

A major part of overcoming any weakness is the concept of pleasure and pain. The weakness obviously has you either enticed by short-term pleasure, or seeking to avoid pain.

Until the pain of the sin is greater than your desire for the sin's pleasure, you will probably keep falling back to it. One of the key words in the Book of Mormon is "remember." This is what causes people to repent and change. Remember the atonement of Christ. Remember your weaknesses and sins and the pains they caused Christ and those around you. Start thinking daily for a few minutes on the great pain you will suffer if you don't fully repent (D&C 19), where you will suffer even as much as Christ did.

Think on the suffering Alma went through before he fully repented and was saved (Alma 36), where he describes the pain as "exquisite." Visualize your sins bringing you to an Alma-like experience. You are in darkness, alone, and suffering mentally and physically for your sins. It is overwhelming, and looks to never end. Imagine feeling the intense and overwhelming pain. Let it cause you to fear and tremble and hurt.

Then imagine yourself fully repenting, giving up every fiber of that sin from your heart, mind and body. Feel the atonement of Christ wash over you with exquisite joy and love. Feel yourself free of the sin and the temptation, as even thinking of the temptation causes the intense pain to return.

Do this exercise daily for a few minutes, and you will condition your heart and mind into embracing repentance and righteousness, and totally hating the sin.

(Thanks to Tony Robbins for the concept of retraining yourself on pleasure/pain).

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I am attempting the process of repentence for about the millionth time and I am having the hardest time just staying committed and not falling back into the mess that I've created. Does anyone have any advice? I'd appreciate any of your favorite scriptures, or any advice at all on how to maintain the desire for righteousness.

Thank you so much!

Hi lost87, I went through a disaplinary and although it was hard and at the time, didnt feel very loving and helpful. I now know it was. I was excommunicated and although I also struggled, Im now pushing forward of my own free will. Im in the churches addiction program and its doing me alot of good. Im hoping to be rebaptized soon and look forward to going back to the Temple.

If I can do it with all my pride and self centredness, Im sure you can. Trust Heavenly Father to love you. He really does. He will forgive you no matter how many times you fall down. Go to your Bishop, think on the disaplinary as a blessing and a new beginning and put that one foot in front of the other.

Im to weak to take those steps myself, But Jesus gives me his shoulder to lean on. He will do the same for you.

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I have talked to my bishop and he wasn't at all negative, he was incredibly positive and wonderfully kind. He said that generally they would have a church council, BUT he didn't want to yet. He is probably the best bishop in the world, and I absolutely trust him. He gave me one thing that I absolutely needed to do to avoid the council, and one thing I needed to think a lot about....that was a couple weeks ago and Im still working on both.

As for the church programs...I live in a state where the church isn't big like UT and the western states, so the closest place for counceling is 1000 miles away. I've searched and there are no LDS private councelors in my state, and I went to another who tried to tell me the church was overly restrictive and I was too young to be worrying about things. So basically the finding a councelor step is out, there aren't any out here.

Thanks so much for all of your advice everyone! I look forward to continuing to read this thread!

Lost, I apologize if it came across that I was implying anything negative was coming from what the bishop was saying or advising to you. I wasn't sure and that's why you'll notice I had a question mark at the end of that sentence. That's great that you've found a bishop who you can confide in and who gives you positive, helpful advice on your road to recovery:) Keep listening to him and follow everything that he tells you. You just may have the very best ticket to your full blown recovery sitting right in front of you. Best of luck and continue to keep us posted.

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I had some problems a long time ago that I really couldn't fix by myself. I prayed a lot but I also kept church music, especially primary songs, playing in my home and in my car. I also hung out with the missionaries as much as possible. I tried to stay in the presence of people who were strong where I was weak. It worked.

One thing I didn't do that I wish I had done is I wish I had kept my name on the Temple prayer list. You can call the Temple and just give them a name. It's that easy.

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