Truth – The Arbor – April 2015

The April 2015 issue of The Arbor focuses on Step 4 – Truth:

Make a searching and fearless written moral inventory of yourself

Here is a quote shared by Toni M. in this month’s issue:

“The sorrows and suffering from our past will no longer keep us from fully feeling the love of God. As our self-awareness changes, we may find an increase in self-esteem, a diminished sense of guilt and a greater peace in our lives.” President James E. Faust (Healing Though Christ, p. 42.)

ARP Fireside on Saturday, May 30 at 6:30 pm

When Other Sources Cease to Make Me Whole: Recognizing our false fixes

@ Kalamazoo stake center & broadcast on the internet at: https://sites.google.com/site/kalamazoostakeconference/

Hope – The Arbor – March 2015

The March 2015 issue of The Arbor focuses on Step 3 – Trust in God:

Decide to turn your will and your life over to the care of God the Eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.

See the article for a couple short videos about the Addiction Recovery Program. In this article, Toni M. shares the following:

“I successfully kept my secret from friends and family. Yet, I knew the day of reckoning was coming and frankly, I had become tired of my “victim” mentality. I stood at a crossroads with a decision to make — a decision that, I believe, would affect my eternity.”

Elder John K. Carmack offers hope: “While it’s the harder pathway, the Lord is aware of (all) people who have been caught in addictive behaviors and is watching patiently over them as they learn through their own experience about good and evil.” (Healing Through Christ, p. 35.)

Hope – The Arbor – February 2015

The February 2015 issue of The Arbor focuses on Step 2 – Hope:

Come to believe that the power of God can restore you to complete spiritual health.

This edition shares a couple messages of how our friends and family who love us can give us hope. For example, Sister Annette Lillrose said, “These friends come and stand beside me through the trials and winters in my life. They give me hope that the Savior is there, He is aware of my situation and better days will come. Until those better days do come, my friends will stand there beside me giving me the hope to hang on.”

Watch this video on what to expect at a 12 Step Recovery Meeting. 

Honesty - The Arbor - January 2015

Hear the story behind this picture in the January issue (link below).

The January 2015 issue of The Arbor focuses on Step 1 – Honesty:

Admit that you, of yourself, are powerless to overcome your addictions and that your life has become unmanageable.

This edition has some great articles. One of them quotes Elder Russell M. Nelson saying, “Addiction surrenders . . . freedom to choose. Through chemical means, one can literally become disconnected from his or her own will!“

An anonymous writer reflected, “I have kept it a secret for over 40 years. I knew what I was doing was wrong but never looked at it as an addiction. I tried and did quit many times but I always started up again. As I look at things now I wished I would have reached out for help sooner.”

God’s plan of happiness does not say we must walk through life alone or struggle without help from Him or our brothers and sisters. The Lord has his arms stretched open to receive us if we will seek refuge in Him and His Atonement. He is all powerful, all loving. He can enable us to overcome our weaknesses and can heal us all.

Service – The Arbor – December 2014

The December 2014 issue of The Arbor focuses on Step 12 – Service:

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.

You’ve probably heard the saying, “an idle mind is the devils playground.” Serving others can help us keep busy and direct our thoughts and actions towards helping others. One contributor said, “One of the more sure anchors of personal recovery over addiction is to be anxiously engaged in good causes.”

As quoted from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf in this edition: “Selfless acts of service and consecration refine our spirits, remove the scales from our spiritual eyes, and open the windows of heaven. By becoming the answer to someone’s prayer, we often find the answer to our own.”

LDS Family Services in Pittsburgh - The Arbor - November 2014

LDS Family Services is a private, nonprofit organization established by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to strengthen individuals and families.

LDS Family Services' Michigan Office provides support to the three Pittsburgh stakes, the Jamestown NY Stake, all the stakes in the state of Michigan, and the Toledo, Cleveland, Akron, Kirtland, and Youngstown Ohio stakes.  Doug Gardner, the full-time manager of the Michigan Office, has primary responsibility for the Pittsburgh stakes.


LDS Family Services provides:

Individual, marital and family counseling

Stake presidents can request that its two excellent courses, Strengthening Marriage and Strengthening Families, for their stakes.  Janet Stoddard of the Pittsburgh Seventh Ward has regularly taught those classes as a welfare specialist in the Pittsburgh PA Stake.

LDS Family Services has played a central role in developing Family Home Evening lessons designed for parents to teach their children about the dangers of pornography.  The lessons include basic doctrines and principles about the sacredness of the body, sexual intimacy, following the Spirit, choosing good media, appropriate actions for when a child sees pornography, and repentance. The lessons include age-specific activities parents can select based on the needs of their family.

LDS Family Services has hired Bishop Mark Geherin of the Pittsburgh First Ward to work as a part-time counselor to meet with Church members in the Pittsburgh and Erie areas. Bishop Geherin brings tremendous talents and experience in his role as a professional counselor.

Adoption services

In June 2014 LDS Family Services announced changes to its adoption program. Currently, LDS Family Services provides free counseling to LDS single expectant parents and their families and assists LDS families who are hoping to adopt by providing free consultation and referral to community adoption resources, as well as screening and registration for a free adoption matching website.

Addiction recovery program

This 12-step program provides help for dealing with addictions involving substances (such as alcohol, tobacco, drugs, coffee and tea), gambling, pornography, inappropriate sexual behavior, codependency and disorders associated with eating.The Michigan Office publishes the Arbor, a monthly periodical that provides updates on meetings available to those in the Pittsburgh area. Each issue also highlights one of the program's twelve steps. The November issue focuses on step eleven:

Seek through prayer and meditation to know the Lord's will and to have the power to carry it out.

In June 2014 the First Presidency approved a new Spouse and Family Support Guide, currently available on line, but scheduled for publication as a booklet in the future.

Consultation with Church leaders

LDS Family Services is available to assist Church leaders as they work with members of their congregations who are dealing with social or emotional challenges.

Daily Decisions - The Arbor - October 2014

The October 2014 issue of the Arbor features daily accountability:

Continue to take personal inventory, and when you are wrong promptly admit it.

That's not always easy, but it's crucial. As Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Council of the Twelve Apostles explains in "Decisions for Eternity":

Each day is a day of decision, and decisions determine our destiny.

An anonymous contributor to the Arbor uses these helpful questions to assess her/his daily conduct:

• Did I pray to know and follow God's will today? What progress did I make?
• What weaknesses do I need to surrender to God?
• In what ways was I kind and loving?
• Was I able to "let go and let God?"
• Do I need to make amends to anyone?
• Did faith, or fear, control my thoughts?
• Am I taking care of myself physically, emotionally, and spiritually?
• What am I grateful for today?

That we may choose wisely each day's decisions for eternity is my earnest prayer.

Forgiveness and Restitution

"Whenever possible, make restitution to all persons you have harmed." Step 9 of the Church's Addiction Recovery Program applies to every one of us, addict or not. If we hope to be forgiven by God and by others, we must try to fix what we have broken.

In the words of the lead writer in the September 2014 edition of the Arbor, step 9 calls us to "identify and seek forgiveness from people whom we've offended." If we are sincere, as part of the process of seeking forgiveness we will attempt to repair the wrongs we've done to them.

But there's more, he says: "I must forgive everyone before I can expect others and the Lord to forgive me." The author faced a challenge in doing that—two major offenses that had hurt him deeply. He shares his story in the Arbor. Sometimes forgiving is just not easy.

Sometimes we mistake what forgiveness means. One of the finest discussions of forgiveness—what it is, why we should forgive, and how—is last year's Marjorie Pay Hinckley lecture at Brigham Young University, "Forgiveness in Marriage." The principles explained there apply not only in marriage but in many other relationships. If forgiving is a challenge for you, take time to watch the lecture, embedded above.

Forgive and seek forgiveness. Forgive and be forgiven. Forgive and find peace.

The Arbor - March-April 2014

The Arbor is an on-line periodical that shares helpful testimonies and updates on the Church's addiction recovery 12-step program in the northeastern U.S.

The March-April issue focuses on steps 3 and 4:

• Decide to turn your will and your life over to the care of God the Eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
• Make a searching and fearless written moral inventory of yourself.

One contributor testifies in the March-April issue of the Arbor,

My first step was acknowledging that trying to do it all alone was not working. Realizing that my Father in Heaven and my Savior Jesus Christ are real as anything I can see, touch, hear, and smell right here and now, and that they love me and want to help me were essential for knowing I can trust them.

In addition to inspirational testimonies and stories, the Arbor includes a list of the face-to-face and telephone call-in meetings available to those who want to overcome addiction and to family members who are suffering from the addiction of loved ones.

The Arbor - January and February 2015

The January and February 2015 issues continue the Arbor's tradition of providing inspiration and guidance for overcoming addictions of all kinds. Each month the Arbor focuses on one of the twelve steps to recovery. With the beginning of the new year these issues focus on steps one and two.

The January issue focuses on step one, honesty. As A Guide to Addiction Recovery and Healing explains:

Living in recovery requires absolute honesty. However, denial, self-deception, and isolation are hallmarks of addictive behavior. "By being humble and honest and calling upon God and others for help, you can overcome your addictions through the Atonement of Jesus Christ" (vi).

 The February issue features step two, hope. An anonymous contributor explains:

I learned I had to . . . seek God's help for me. As I felt His help and comfort, my hope increased. This is where I need to be. This is where I want to be—turning to God with faith.

The Arbor lists both face-to-face and telephone recovery groups (which can be completely anonymous) available to anyone at no charge. All are welcome. You can recover through the faith in Jesus Christ.

The Arbor - December 2013

The December issue of the Arbor focuses on the twelfth step—maintaining sobriety by helping others. One contributor testifies that "serving our fellow men and our Savior, is transformative, protective, life-changing and life-saving."

This issue also includes important information on changes to phone-in meetings:

Meetingplace is being retired; Webex will replace it.

There is a new call in number: 1-855-537-4000.

Each meeting has a new Meeting Code, listed after the meeting location on page 4 of the Arbor.

(Meeting ID#’s are now called Meeting Codes.)

When you input your meeting code do not include any spaces.  (The space in the number is to make it easier to read.)

See the Arbor for a complete list of face-to-face and phone-in meetings.

The Arbor - November 2013

The November 2013 issue of the Arbor focuses on the role of personal revelation in helping overcome addictive behaviors.  Read about this and find telephone and face-to-face addiction recovery groups in Michigan and western Pennsylvania.

The Arbor - September-October 2013

This issue of the Arbor focuses on seeking forgiveness and making restitution. One contributor writes, "my progress was blocked until I was humble enough to acknowledge my action and make every effort to truly change, including restoring what I had damaged to the very best of my ability." Read his and other stories of finding peace through making restitution in this issue, along with the latest listing of telephone and face-to-face addiction recovery program meetings.
 

The Arbor - August 2013

Read in the August 2013 edition of the Arbor about letting go, and see the current schedule of face-to-face and phone-in meetings of the Addiction Recover Program available in Michigan and western Pennsylvania.

The Arbor - June-July 2013

I loved the article in the June-July edition of the Arbor from the sister who quit smoking after 38 years by turning to the scriptures every time she had the urge to light up.  See this, other testimonies, and the current list of face-to-face and telephone meetings in this edition.

The Arbor - May 2013

The May 2013 issue of the Arbor includes wonderful testimonies from individuals who were afraid to share the dark things in their past but found acceptance from their brothers and sisters and from the Lord.  Also see the list of all Addiction Recovery Program meetings available in western Pennsylvania and Michigan, both telephone meetings and face to face.  A person can attend the telephone meetings and remain completely anonymous.

The Arbor - April 2013

The April 2013 issue of the Arbor focuses on step 4, the fearless moral inventory.  Some view this step with dread.  Two articles in this issue testify to its liberating power and describe how they have used step 4 to free themselves from the burden of memories.  Also find a current list of telephone and face-to-face Addiction Recovery Program meetings.

The Arbor - March 2013

The March 2013 issue of The Arbor focuses on yielding our hearts to God as an essential step in recovery.  Read testimonials of this truth and get the latest information on telephone and face-to-face Addiction Recovery Program meetings in this issue.

The Arbor - January 2013

The January issue of the Arbor describes what it's like to attend a face-to-face Addiction Recovery Program meeting.  It lists the face-to-face and telephone call-in meetings available in western PA and MI.

The editor has a request: "Please share with us your experience in working the Twelve Steps by emailing it to lund@juno.com.  It does not have to be long; just a few sentences is okay."

The Arbor - December 2012

Read Sister Annette Lillrose's awesome parable of the little ram whose sister taught him to nurse, and its application to Step 12 of the Addiction Recovery Program, "To Lead Another," in the December issue of the Arbor.  You can also find the latest information on face-to-face and telephone meetings, for you or someone you love.