Fighting substance abuse with faith

Worland LDS Church's addiction recovery program

I attended a meeting on Oct. 8 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Worland. A member had reached out to me after reading the column I wrote about my recovery from addiction, and I became interested in writing about the recovery group at the LDS Church.

Given that October is Substance Abuse Prevention Month, it’s a great time to shine a light on those who are working toward recovery and are willing to speak on it.

The meeting follows a recovery program created by the LDS Church, using literature and workbooks that they provide. Those affected by addiction of any kind are welcome to join. Each week at their 7 p.m. Tuesday meetings, they discuss one of the 12 Steps to Recovery of the LDS Church recovery program.

In my own words, the 12 Steps — regardless of the organization — are guidelines for people to follow to confront their addiction and address the problems in their lives that lead to substance use, and the steps become a daily practice for those in recovery.

The group’s discussion leader Valerie Jevne said, “When this meeting began in The Church, their counselling services recognized a need to provide addiction recovery to members of the church. They approached Alcoholics Anonymous to get permission to use the 12 Steps, and we just adapted them to be more gospel-oriented, to align with the truth that we’ve been given.”

When I went, I was met by a group comprised of those suffering from addiction and those whose lives have been affected by it. They welcomed me to sit at their table, we opened with a prayer, and then talked about their Fifth Step: “Admit to yourself, to your Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ, to proper priesthood authority, and to another person the exact nature of your wrongs.” Group members took turns reading aloud from their literature and gave pause to listen to one another’s personal testimonies about what they read and the parallels they drew to their own lives.

Jevne kindly set aside the last portion of the meeting for me to share about my own journey in recovery. I spoke as I often do at meetings: about what things were like, what happened and what things are like now. The group thanked me for sharing and asked me questions, which I was happy to answer. We closed the meeting and I took home some cookies.

I contacted Jevne later to ask more about her meeting, and how she got involved in it.

Jevne moved with her husband Randy from Riverton to Worland in 2022 at the request of her son. She said, “He needed assistance in his life because of his addiction. He called us up and asked for our help, so we moved to support him and his family.”

On her attitude toward addiction, Jevne said, “It’s always different on the outside looking in at addiction. As I’ve gotten closer to the issue, my perspective toward it has changed … Now I understand that the agency of the affected individual is what it comes down to. They have to have a desire, and to understand that there are loved ones that want to help them, and to know that no matter who they are or what they’ve done, God created them and they have worth. I think that’s the greatest thing I’ve learned.”

I asked her, “You have all this insight into the issue now, but I’m sure you’ve done a lot of work in learning about it personally to get this point, right?” Jevne said, “Yes, I have. Something I’ve learned is that although it’s up to the addict to change, they need the support of other people. Addiction can make the person battling it believe that they are alone in their fight, but there’s a reason we were sent here in families: we can’t do these things on our own.”

Jevne doesn’t personally deal with addiction but has family members who do that she tries to support. She began attending recovery meetings in Riverton with her niece, who also battles addiction. When she moved to Worland to help her son, she began attending a recovery meeting there with him, until it moved to another town.

She and her husband joined the LDS Church together shortly after they got married in 1978, and she has been active in the church ever since. When it came to talking about addiction, she would refer to what she knew: the teachings of her church. Shortly after, she discovered that the LDS Church in Worland had a recovery meeting.

Jevne said, “I really enjoyed the meeting I attended with my son, but because it was a meeting that had no religious affiliations, members didn’t really approve of my references to the Book of Mormon when I spoke. That was the main difference that drew me to attend this meeting at the LDS Church. We focus on the atonement of Jesus Christ, and we recognize that through him healing begins. He is the foundation of all our lives. I know that to be true; Randy and I have been in the church for 48 years, and over that time I’ve seen the benefits.”

When she and her husband started attending the recovery meeting at the LDS church, the current discussion leader had been going for 15 years. Jevne explained, “Within the church, members can follow a ‘Calling’. The Calling of a discussion leader for the recovery meeting is considered a service missionary calling, and when the former leader wanted to step down, Randy and I accepted that Calling. As of this month we’ve been doing it for two years.”

Jevne told what a newcomer to her meeting could expect, saying, “They can expect anonymity. They have to have that assurance, because there’s always that fear of being judged, and other people knowing. They can expect to be welcomed, and to be loved, and I hope you saw that when you came. Most importantly, we can give them the knowledge granted through the atonement that Jesus Christ has already accepted for us and our sins. Once again, it’s through him that the healing begins; he’s just waiting for us to come to him to listen and to act upon his suggestions. This program works; it’s a sureness that we feel through Jesus’ love and understanding, that we can overcome any addiction.”

I asked Jevne how her meeting can benefit those like her, who attend to support loved ones. She said, “It can help tremendously. The way life works, if someone in your family is dealing with an addiction, it’s impossible for it not to affect you. Our group’s literature is written by those who struggled with addiction, and through it we can learn their side. If we can understand where they are coming from, we can be more compassionate and mindful towards them … It helps me to see people in a better light no matter the darkness they go through.”

To those who have yet to reach out for help, to those suffering in silence, Jevne said, “To be alone is not the plan; realize that you are of worth. Accept that you’ve been created by a father who loves you, who knows you better than anybody, better than yourself; So he will never leave you alone. Just reach out to him, seek him in other people. You’re not alone.”