Addictions

Addictions

"Let us remember that desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions. In addition, it is our actions and our desires that cause us to become something, whether a true friend, a gifted teacher, or one who has qualified for eternal life." Elder Dallin H. Oaks, "Desire" April 2011 General Conference


"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. These binding chains of addiction can have many forms, like pornography, alcohol, sex, drugs, tobacco, gambling, food, work, the Internet, or virtual reality. Satan, our common enemy, has many favorite tools he uses to rob us of our divine potential to accomplish our mission in the Lord’s kingdom." Elder Uchtdorf, "Are You Sleeping through the Restoration?" April 2014 General Conference


"The first thing we must understand is that addictions are so much easier to prevent than to cure. In the Savior’s words, “Suffer none of these things to enter into your heart.” Elder Uchtdorf, "Are You Sleeping through the Restoration?" April 2014 General Conference


"Satan also seeks to deceive us about right and wrong and persuade us that there is no such thing as sin. This detour typically starts off with what seems to be only a small departure: “Just try it once. One beer or one cigarette or one porno movie won’t hurt.” What all of these departures have in common is that each of them is addictive. Addiction is a condition in which we surrender part of our power of choice. When we do that we give the devil power over us. The prophet Nephi described where this leads: the devil says, “There is no hell,” and, “I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance” (2 Ne. 28:22)." Elder Dallin H. Oaks, "Be Not Deceived" October 2004 General Conference

"Be not deceived, brethren. Heed the ancient and modern prophetic warnings against thievery, drunkenness, and all forms of sexual sin. The deceiver seeks to destroy your spirituality by all of these means. Paul warns us against those who “lie in wait to deceive … by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness” (Eph. 4:14). Beware of the slick package and the glitz of a good time. What the devil portrays as fun can be spiritually fatal." Elder Dallin H. Oaks, "Be Not Deceived" October 2004 General Conference


"In addition to having these global desires, many in this audience today have deeply personal hopes: hope for a marriage to improve, or sometimes just hope for a marriage; hope for an addiction to be conquered; hope for a wayward child to come back; hope for physical and emotional pain of a hundred kinds to cease. Because the Restoration reaffirmed the foundational truth that God does work in this world, we can hope, we should hope, even when facing the most insurmountable odds." Elder Jeffery R. Holland, "A Perfect Brightness of Hope" April 2020 General Conference


"So, when our backs are to the wall and, as the hymn says, “other helpers fail and comforts flee,”17 among our most indispensable virtues will be this precious gift of hope linked inextricably to our faith in God and our charity to others." Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "A Perfect Brightness of Hope" April 2020 General Conference


"The battle over man’s God-given agency continues today. Satan and his minions have their lures all around us, hoping that we will falter and take his flies so he can reel us in with counterfeit means. He uses addiction to steal away agency. According to the dictionary, addiction of any kind means to surrender to something, thus relinquishing agency and becoming dependent on some life-destroying substance or behavior." Elder M. Russell Ballard, "O That Cunning Plan of the Evil One" October 2010 General Conference

"Medical research describes addiction as “a disease of the brain.”4 This is true, but I believe that once Satan has someone in his grasp, it also becomes a disease of the spirit. But no matter what addictive cycle one is caught in, there is always hope." Elder M. Russell Ballard, "O That Cunning Plan of the Evil One" October 2010 General Conference

"The solution to this problem ultimately is neither governmental nor institutional. Nor is it a question of legality. It is a matter of individual choice and commitment. Agency must be understood. The importance of the will in making crucial choices must be known. Then steps toward relief can follow." Elder Russell M. Nelson, "Addiction or Freedom" October 1988 General Conference

Position Statement

Many people in our world don't consider certain things addictive. From each of these talks I have learned about the way our brain works with addiction. An addiction can be something harmful like drugs or even something mentally harmful like iPhones. Using our phones too much is something people don't consider being an addiction. As we learn that there is always hope from an addiction, we can have a peaceful feeling that our Heavenly Father still loves us. If you know someone with an addiction, it is important to help and support them as best as you can. It might be hard, but try to see them the way Christ would see them.