The key principle of Step 10, Daily Accountability, is “Continue to Take Personal Inventory; and When You Are Wrong, Promptly Admit It.
Recovery from addiction is as much a spiritual process as it is a physical one. The first nine steps of the Addiction Recovery Program focus on changing our hearts in a spiritual awakening so that the Lord will accept our repentance and bless us with his healing power. Step 10 represents acceptance of the truth that we must continue to live each day in spiritual principles. My conversations with and observations of recovering addicts often focus on “living one day at a time” and sometimes, in the early stages of recovery, “one hour at a time.”
As we progress in our recovery, we learn for the first time or begin to practice again those spiritual principles and actions that will bring us closer to our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ: daily prayer and meditation; daily scripture study; forgiving others and ourselves; attending our church and group recovery meetings.
Because of the difficult times and adversity we face in the world today, and because Satan desires to have us again give in to our addictions, we must focus on living one day at a time in spiritual harmony with the Savior. Because we are human, we will stray from our new found spiritual principles and practices. If we stray from them, we must repent immediately and ask our Heavenly Father at once to restore our peace though His Spirit. Honesty and humility can strengthen us each day. We will become more conscious of Heavenly Father’s presence in our lives as we call on him daily to help us stay spiritually clean. We will learn to value progress and to forgive imperfection in ourselves and others.
Honest, daily self appraisal will become a way of life as we let go of our fears, place reliance on the Lord, and overcome temptations one day at a time.
It could be dangerous or deadly if we didn’t pay attention to what we are doing while driving a car. Daily accountability and self appraisal will help us stay awake and alert to where we are going with our lives.
We are taught in the Book of Mormon to watch our thoughts, words and deeds:
“If ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not.” Mosiah 4:30
As we continue in our spiritual growth, promptly admitting that we are wrong is a difficult discipline to develop. This is contrary to the nature of man, and to the addict’s tendency to blame everyone else for his or her problems. I testify that the Lord is patient and willing to forgive. Knowing that the Lord is willing to forgive us as often as we repent with real intent can give us courage to try again each time we fall short.
“As oft as they repented and sought forgiveness, with real intent, they were forgiven. Moroni 6:8
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