Preventing and Overcoming Addiction

     I love Dieter F. Uchtdorf's recent talk Are You Sleeping through the Restoration?  He warns of three common problems in the world we live in: Selfishness, Addiction, and Competing Priorities.  I have reviewed this talk over a dozen times and receive new insight every time.  For example, my wife and I watched Maleficent the evening before last, and then I read the talk again yesterday morning; the parts where Maleficent falls asleep, loses her wings, and eventually overcomes her problems were still fresh in my mind when I read President Uchtdorf's words, "closes his eyes for a moment.., We are designed to soar freely through the heavens..." and "What is the remedy" repeated three times.  

     He states, ”Addictions often begin subtly. Addictions are thin threads of repeated action that weave themselves into thick bonds of habit.  Negative habits have the potential to become consuming addictions.”  He then goes on to list ten common addictions, the last two being the Internet and virtual reality.  He closes his talk with, “A call to awaken.  The Apostle Paul wrote ‘Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.’… Let us awake…”

     I testify that that there is always hope!  I continually receive help from my wife, my priesthood leaders, my psychiatric counselor at the V.A. and my church's addiction recovery program.  As President Uchtdorf said in his talk, "The most important thing is to keep trying."  One day at a time! -- johnblogwalker