Mindful Latter-day Saint Apologetics
Providing thoughtful and faithful responses to criticisms and questions of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ
My own spiritual journey and recovery has shown what true masculinity is all about. The character and integrity. Finding joy, since happiness requires right circumstances, means to come to a place of experiencing life - regardless of the good, bad, and those ugly moments.
If any truth of my own personal journey and recovery holds validity it is the idea that I still feel inadequate. Still feel that I am not the man I have wanted to become. And I sometimes forget that my recovery and spiritual growth are a personal journey of becoming complete in Christ.
As meaningful as our desire is to reach out to those who are lost, and specifically more so to those suffering from active substance use and mental health disorders; we do well to remember the wise and therapeutic recommendation to do no harm. And erroring on the side of ignorance is not cutting it anymore. What I propose is for the Christian community at large, and each individual Christian personally, to come to understand some things when engaged in ministry work. That is, to become aware, educated, and understand the true nature of recovery, the healing process, and the restoration of an individual to a meaningful and purposeful Christian life and relationship. Not just with our Savior, Jesus Christ, but also in relationship with others that are supportive, understanding (through empathy and compassion). A sanctuary that is considered safe.
Often times I feel like I am not receiving what I desire from others because I am not willing to allow myself to be open enough to receiving. It's as if I have a little shop set up for people to come in and yet maintain locked doors.
There is an awakening that occurs in the heart and minds of every person who is suffering and perishing. Those who awaken to their awful condition and state of being see the destruction for what it really is. We see ourselves as unclean. Filthy. And, a great burden is on our back that weighs us down. As much as we do not want to face this truth – we must face it or continue to suffer and perish. This is where we find Christian. Faced with the reality of a coming destruction. The reality of the burden we bear.
When it comes to our Christian faith - we are to learn to become better individuals. It is not only striving to be more Christ-like in our lives. It involves being mindful in our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. We may not believe that there may be a solution to those problems that evoke us toward anger. One of the motivating factors toward our natural disposition toward anger centers on perceived (whether real or not) danger. When we experience anger, chances are that it is due to us feeling quite threatened.
The antidote to our spiritual captivity is rooting ourselves in Jesus Christ. This is where our mindful and prayerful study through the Book of Mormon will take us this year. Want to have a true and real authentic spiritual influence and impact in your life? Spend some time reading through the Book of Mormon.
There appears to be some aversion to attending, participating in, and following the 12-steps of sober support meetings. The underlying question: does a 12-step program help people achieve sobriety? In Chapter 2, of the second edition of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, we read the following introductory statement: WE, of Alcoholics Anonymous, know thousands… Continue reading Does a 12-step based recovery program work?
Within the past year, we have heard stories from social media, news outlets, and ongoing conversations around the rise of the opioid crisis. Reading through the various commentary, there is a noticeable trend of individuals caught up in emotional responses. Yet, as a society, do we fully comprehend the nature of addiction and how individuals… Continue reading Nature of Substance Use Disorder and Social Responsibility
Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com Damascus Way Recovery is asking for your donation to help support this website and ministry. If every person reading this chips in just $10 Damascus Way Recovery will be able to continue maintaining this website, build up this ministry to help men and women struggling with crisis of faith,… Continue reading Asking for $10.00 or More to Support Damascus Way Recovery
Those individuals who are contemplating suicide are dealing with some very serious intense and distressing emotions. They feel they are at the brink of complete and total hopelessness. They feel unworthy, unlovable, and feel severely inadequate in dealing with the stress in their lives. They want the pain to go away. To them, suicide is the only answer and there is no arguing or reasoning with them.
In order to be healed. We have to take the steps. There are some Christians who may disagree with me on this. However, in recovery, we have to do the work necessary to bring our sins, our shames, our guilt, our distressing emotions to the alter and offer them up to God in order to receive forgiveness and healing. We are called to repent of those things we have done wrong. Without true and sincere repentance, we may not fully experience the joy and forgiveness that Christ offers us.
What then is the recipe to get on the other side of our wrestling match with God? First, we ought to remember to always seek after truth in our own lives. Not only seek after it, live it out as authentic as possible. Remember that just as God validates our own sorrows, our own struggles and our own doubts and fears, we too must validate other's who are going through their own season of wrestling with God. Secondly, we ought to be ready to be of service to those who are wanting to find their own personal revelation. Though, we are not able to give to them their own revelation about God, or receive answers for them. We are, instead, able to encourage, empower and support their ongoing means to find their own blessing, testimony and faith in God. Much like Jacob had to wrestle with God and receive the blessing afterward, we too must do this alone - not without the support of others around us though.
Goliath appears to be more powerful in the lives of those who suffer from the motivation and enslavement of their addiction. It appears there is no one courageous enough to come out and face the enemy. Yet, for the alcoholic and addict - it is the courage and faith to stand alone facing their addiction that brings about the defeat of their enemy once for all. Meaning, it is not merely enough to slay their addiction - it is to overpower their addiction and subdue it to the point of decapitation so that it no longer has breath in the addicts life.
There is an awakening that occurs in the heart and minds of every person who is suffering and perishing. Those who awaken to their awful condition and state of being see the destruction for what it really is. We see ourselves as unclean. Filthy. And, a great burden is on our back that weighs us down. As much as we do not want to face this truth - we must face it or continue to suffer and perish. This is where we find Christian. Faced with the reality of a coming destruction. The reality of the burden he bears.
Recovery is a dark journey for most of us. Through our faith in Jesus Christ, we come to full knowledge of His light, love, and truth. Do we forsake others struggling in their own darkness and journey? God forbid. This is the heart and foundation of recovery support groups.
Authentic recovery separates those who are being in recovery and those who are doing recovery. Much like the Christian faith - this means an individual cannot escape their Garden of Gethsemane. We are tasked to experience the painful awareness of our behaviors that were the results of our dependence on substances, sex, food, gambling, et al. It is the painful process of moving toward the new life. Putting to death the old man in order to rise up with a newness of life. Unfortunately, many rather be in recovery instead of actually doing recovery.
Our “Gethsemanes” are those places where our will wrestles to find its way to God’s will. As God patiently wrestled with Jacob and his will, He also wrestled with Jesus the Son of Man, His will and His request in the Garden of Gethsemane. As Adam represented mankind by wrestling his way out of the… Continue reading Having A Gethsemane Experience toward Spiritual Transformation
no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.” ~ Isaiah 54:17, ESV ~ It is a hard truth in recovery that those who continue in active substance use will… Continue reading Your Vindication
... all the people were assembled together, they took their swords, and all the weapons which were used for the shedding of man’s blood, and they did bury them up deep in the earth. ~ Alma 24:17, Book of Mormon ~ When one comes to the awareness of their powerlessness over substance use, and the subsequent inability… Continue reading Burying our swords of rebellion
There is a stark difference between costly and cheap recovery. Cheap recovery is the single most deadly enemy. An enemy of one’s effort toward a healthy and well-meaningful and purposeful life. We are fighting for costly recovery. What is cheap recovery? It is a cut rate recovery journey where there is minimal cost with supposed… Continue reading Costly Recovery
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another... ~ Hebrews 10:24-25 ~ We begin to learn the fellowship aspect of recovery. Coming together with other individuals, sharing our stories becomes a contagion of hope. Hope… Continue reading Fellowship and sharing words of hope
but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. ~ Acts 26:20, ESV ~ When we turn from our shipwrecked lives. When we turn toward a Sovereign and Divine Heavenly Father. What we… Continue reading Genuine and authentic repentance
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ~ Colossians 3:3, ESV ~ Christ's love is one where it transforms us. It changes everything about who we are. Christ's love is perfect and steadfast. He cares for us, despite our failings and wayward ways. It is through Christ's love that we… Continue reading Transformed by the love of Christ
In the first installment of this series, we explored the Nature and Power of Honesty. In the second installment, we focused on the Nature and Power of Belief and Hope. Today, we will explore the Nature and Power of Surrender. This step confronts, conflicts, and challenges us to sacrifice self. It is the first step where action… Continue reading Nature and Power of Surrender
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. ~ Ephesians 4:31-32, ESV ~ The greatest obstacle to serenity, happiness, and successful recovery is being stuck in the mire of bitterness,… Continue reading Looking up and moving on
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. ~ John 14:27, ESV ~ There is no doubt that life in society today is filled with anxiety, stress, and worry. There is uncertainty we all… Continue reading Prescription for panic and worry
Mindful Latter-day Saint Apologetics 
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