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With a new expanded name, the Addiction Recovery Program is blessing lives through the Savior, Jesus Christ

The expanded name of the Addiction Recovery Program better reflects the role of the Savior in healing

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has expanded the name of the program that helps people struggling with or affected by addictions. The new name is: “Healing through the Savior: The Addiction Recovery Program.”

The changes emphasize that healing begins as hearts are turned to the Savior, Jesus Christ. For many participants, the name — and focus on Jesus Christ — perfectly reflects the healing they have experienced.

Along with the revised name, the Church has released an updated 12-step recovery guide.

“Changing the name to focus more on Jesus Christ emphasizes the healing that comes through Him and His Atonement,” said Blaine Maxfield, managing director of Welfare and Self-Reliance Services, in a Jan. 9 news release on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

The 12 steps in Healing through the Savior: The Addiction Recovery Program are adapted from the 12 steps of the Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc. The adaptations help participants overcome addictive and compulsive behaviors through inspired principles of recovery, including honesty, hope, trust in God, humility and forgiveness.

Recovery meetings are held for those struggling with addictions and for family members and others affected by addictions to support and connect with each other. The program is also about connecting and turning one’s life over to the Savior, Jesus Christ.

Lives blessed

Many lives have been blessed through the program in the past two decades, including those of Scott and Melissa Harker.

Scott Harker is currently the bishop of the Coaldale Ward in the Taber Alberta Stake, in southern Alberta, Canada, but just five years ago, he was struggling with a pornography addiction.

The Harker family pose for a photo outside the Cardston Alberta Temple. The Harker family has been blessed as Scott and Melissa Harker have engaged with the Healing through the Savior: The Addiction Recovery Program.
The Harker family poses for a photo outside the Cardston Alberta Temple. The Harker family has been blessed as Scott and Melissa Harker have engaged with the Healing through the Savior: The Addiction Recovery Program. | Courtesy of Scott Harker

Melissa Harker started attending a spouse and family support group as a way to motivate her husband to attend the addiction recovery program for himself. When he did finally attend that first meeting, it was a humbling experience, he said.

“I could just tell that Melissa was done with the cycle again and again,” Scott Harker said, admitting that he would lie about how bad the problem had become. “I always wondered, ‘Why am I doing these things?’ because it hurts my wife so bad.”

Admitting he had an addiction — and using the word “addict” — was actually a freeing experience for Scott Harker.

“For the first time in my life, I knew why this was happening,” he said.

Another freeing moment came as he went to the meetings and realized that the other people there were what he called “really cool guys.”

“That opened a space in my mind and in my heart that if these people could be good people, then maybe I could also be a good person,” Scott Harker said. “Because I had kind of written that off as a possibility up to that point.”

As Scott Harker went through the 12 steps, the Spirit would constantly reassure his wife. She said the experience not only helped her husband but helped her experience the Savior’s healing power.

“It took a lot of work,” she said. “And then I was able to be more vulnerable with him, and forgiveness just came as part of that.”

Because of his own journey, Scott Harker said he is now able to help others take advantage of Healing through the Savior: The Addiction Recovery Program.

The Harker family pose for a photo while on a hike together. The family has been blessed as Scott and Melissa Harker have taken part in the Healing through the Savior: The Addiction Recovery Program.
The Harker family poses for a photo while on a hike together. The family has been blessed as Scott and Melissa Harker have taken part in the Healing through the Savior: The Addiction Recovery Program. | Courtesy of Scott Harker

“It’s a miracle that I didn’t expect or think was possible, to be able to talk openly about this,” he said.

Both Harkers say the new name reflects how they have received healing through Jesus Christ.

“I know that it works,” Scott Harker said. “Turning your life to Jesus Christ, that’s one part of the gospel that I know is 100%, because I experienced it, and so that became a strength in my life.”

Beyond the steps

For Justin and Heather Barton, members of the Peone Creek Ward, Spokane Washington Mount Spokane Stake, in Colbert, Washington, the journey of healing through the Savior began in 2006.

After learning of the extent of her husband’s pornography addiction, Heather Barton attended the classes on her own for eight years. She said she expected to learn how to fix her husband — but instead learned how she herself could turn to Jesus Christ.

“I realized very quickly that the Savior’s Atonement wasn’t just for sin, it was for me to be healed,” she said. “It’s Him who has helped me. It’s Him who’s healed me. It’s Him who’s healing our marriage still.”

That greater understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ came especially as the Bartons implemented Step 2: "Come to believe the power of God can restore us to complete spiritual health."

“For me, the steps were a tool, the instrument that brought me to understand the Savior and brought me to understand my Heavenly Father in a way I never did before,” Justin Barton said.

The transformation for the Bartons has led them to want to lead others to Christ through the program. They have worked as group facilitators and have recently been called as service missionaries in the Spokane River YSA Ward, focused on the addiction recovery program. Justin Barton relates the work they are now able to do to how Jesus Christ told Peter in Luke 22:32 that “when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”

An addiction recovery group meeting is shown in a YouTube video of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint.
An addiction recovery group meeting is shown in a YouTube video. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has renamed its 12-step program, "Healing through the Savior: The Addiction Recovery Program." | Screenshot from YouTube

This is also part of the last step of the program, Step 12: “Having had a spiritual awakening through the Atonement of Jesus Christ as a result of taking these steps, we share this message with others and practice these principles in all we do.”

“When I recognize, ‘Holy cow, God has done this miracle in my life, in our lives, in our marriage,’ I have to continue to give back,” Justin Barton said.

Finding a meeting

Maxfield said: “Although it may take time, overcoming trials and addictions is possible through Jesus Christ. Through participation in Healing through the Savior: The Addiction Recovery Program, individuals can find hope, healing and strength to rebuild their lives by turning to the Savior.”

The recovery groups are free and confidential. They are also not limited to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In-person and virtual meetings are led by service missionaries. Groups also have facilitators who are living in recovery and desire to support others who want to heal.

Two women participate support each other in a recovery group as part of Healing through the Savior: The Addiction Recovery Program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Two women support each other in a recovery group as part of Healing through the Savior: The Addiction Recovery Program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Last year, the recovery meetings were held in 30 different countries and in 17 languages. Virtual and in-person meeting times and locations are listed on AddictionRecovery.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

The website features videos and stories of hope and support group guides. There are also podcasts of recorded meetings to learn more about what a meeting is like.

“The Savior is keenly aware of all of our trials and struggles,” said Ben Erwin, a Family Services therapist who manages the addiction recovery program, in a news release on ChurchofJesusChrist.org. “When we gather to support each other in overcoming this challenge through Him, my experience is that He is there with us.”

Editor’s note: Information on course facilitators has been updated.

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