The Man And The Millstone
A tear ran down Brother Jones’ face as he told me his story. He was 73 and has had many Church leadership positions. Up until a few days ago he had been a veil worker at the LDS temple. He had children and grandchildren who loved and supported him. (It was easy to see why, he was gentle and kind.) I noticed a bruise on his cheek. He told me he had been beat up while he was in jail last week. He innocently told other inmates his charges – two felony counts of sexual abuse of a child. Jailers moved him to “secure” for safety until his family bailed him out. He explained, “I had been tickling my granddaughters.” Yes, They are Our Neighbors Most individuals whom
Miracle of Recovery
A Recovering Addict’s Story Preston, a recovering drug addict, said, “I was raised in the LDS Church, but at the age of 14 I started using drugs and alcohol. The decision to use turned into a 17-year addiction problem. Then, when I was 31 years old, I located an ARP (LDS Alcohol Recovery Program) group in my area. The ARP meeting has helped me to stay clean for the past four years. It is a wonderful program! It provides an avenue for addicts to become clean and to get involved in the Church again.” The Addiction Recovery Program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continues to bless the lives of thousands of individuals and families affected by the tragic consequences of addiction.
New Church Anti-Pornography Site
If you or someone you love is struggling with pornography, there is a new resource. This week The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints launched their official site: Combating Pornography: Replacing Darkness with Light The site contains resources for five audiences: Individuals, Parents, Spouses, Youth, and Leaders. And four levels of resources for each audience: Prevent, Recognize, Overcome, and Support. Here is a brief tour. Safeguarding Our Homes Preventing a pornography problem is easier than overcoming one. Spouses can play a key role in preventing the painful effects of a pornography addiction. The Prevention area for Spouses provides a variety of articles including brief videos. One article by LDS Family Services is entitled Safeguarding Our Homes, Protecting Our Children. The article lists the following
Pornography –I’m not hurting anyone!
But-Pornography is not Victimless Most of the calls I used to get concerning marriages were for a variety of difficulties like communication, finances or some similar problem they were facing. In recent years, however, most phone calls have to do with pornography. “Dr. Brinley, how do you know if your husband is into pornography?” is a typical caller’s question. I would ask the spouse why she was suspicious. I recall one woman responding, “We don’t have a finished basement, except my husband’s office there. I went down the other night to kiss him goodnight. I was not wearing shoes. As I got close to his office, I heard things that sounded like terrible stuff and I was sure it was pornography. As soon as I
“Summer Season” of Addiction
Sixteen year-old Tom had been abusing pain medications for over a year before his father found four Darvocets (prescribed pain medication) hidden in his son’s scriptures. His father confronted him with the “The Golden Question” which is “Whose are these?” (Knowing deep down inside they were Tom’s all along, but not yet ready to accept the truth.) Tom responded with “The Golden Answer” which is “I’m holding them for a friend. Dad, you know I’d never do drugs.” During the Summer Season of Addiction substance abusers become experts in hiding and lying about their use. Even when obvious signs of substance abuse are discovered, the user tends to passionately lie! Spring Season The Spring Season of addiction is characterized by joy and pleasure
The Addicted Spirit
There are 1.5 billion pornographic Internet downloads a month. There are 68 million pornographic search engine requests each day – 25% of the total search engine requests are for pornography. Or how about this stat, 90% of U.S. children ages 8-16 have viewed porn online – most while doing homework. (Pornography Statistics) In response to this pornography crisis we now have thousands of addiction interventions including exclusive treatment programs, a variety of internet filter options, numerous books and podcasts. All of these resources are aimed to help individuals overcome a pornography addiction. Just this week I was counseling with another couple with a porn problem. Financially, they were very well to do – the biggest house in the neighborhood, all the toys and cars, etc.
