When I was a little girl of seven, I was preparing for baptism.  I understood that all people sin.  It's part of being in this fallen world. Heavenly Father doesn't want us to sin, but He wants us to return to live with Him after this life.  How can that possibly happen when I will sin!  God prepared a way that we could do that.  He loved us so much, that He gave His only begotten Son to save us. (see John 3:16)

 
I learned that there are several steps to repentance:

• First, I must recognize that I have done something wrong and stop doing it. 
• Second, I must feel honestly sorry for what I have done.
• Third, I have to confess what I have done to my Heavenly Father in prayer and, when necessary, to my mom and dad or anyone else I hurt.
• Fourth, I have to do whatever I can to make up for what I have done wrong.  This involves restoring what I've hurt and repairing the relationship with the person I hurt.
• Fifth, I have to promise myself and Heavenly Father that I won't do it again and that I will try to do better in all of my life.
• Finally, I feel grateful that through the atonement and grace of Jesus Christ I can be cleansed of my sins and feel whole again.*

I understood the steps, but I had some questions:  How could a person do something wrong and not know it was wrong?  How little I understood life back then!  I also wondered why I had to confess to anyone but God? After all, sin is usually embarrassing.  Finally, how do I try to do better when I know I will sin again in other ways?  Do I have to repent of sin or do I have to repent of sinning?

As I matured emotionally and spiritually, my concepts of sin and repentance also matured.  I went to college and learned about rationalization and the other ways we can lie to ourselves and justify our actions.  I learned how people can numb their consciences to sin.  I learned that true repentance involves complete confession, even when it is embarrassing.  I also learned that repenting isn't something you do once for your one big sin, but rather, a daily process of personal refinement and cleansing through grace.  It is not a "Sunday-go-to-meeting" faith, but one that lives in every breath you and I take.

You can imagine my surprise the first time I encountered the 12-Step Program in an Al-anon meeting.  There were the steps of repentance in a complete, yet concise format.  Had I know then of the Christian beginnings of the Oxford Group and it's pattern for early Christian fellowship, I perhaps wouldn't have been so surprised. 

The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a  Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understand Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. 
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. 
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. 
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. 
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and become willing to make amends to them all. 
9. Made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. 
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. 
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge to His will for us and the power to carry that out. 
12.  Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs. 

I have known recovering addicts who have fully worked the steps and they are some of the most emotionally and spiritually strong people I know.  Those I have known have been honest, forgiving, and loving.  As I've come to understand the steps as they apply more broadly to many addictions and sins, I have come to believe that every one of us could benefit by taking these steps as we seek to walk more closely with our Savior.

Text © 2012 Gebara Education

*. Russell M. Nelson,  Friend,  March 2010

Picture of cleanse poster posted on Facebook.  Original source unknown.  I wish I could credit the source.  This is a beautiful picture and an even more beautiful sentiment.