Our Weaknesses

Today my scripture study was  Alma 5 . What a great chapter for working Step Four. There were tons of questions Alma asked that are good questions for us to ask ourselves. Since Step Four is about getting to really know ourselves, these questions will really make you search your soul. Not a chapter to whip right through.

The study section I am on is "Recognize our own weaknesses." The quote at the beginning by Elder F. Enzio Busche is really good:

Without the capability to recognize truth, we will not be really free: we will be slaves to habits or prejudices heavily covered with excuses. 

This is where we discover our character weaknesses so we can work on overcoming them. This is where we admit we aren't as good as we thought we were. Sure our spouse has an addiction, but we have weaknesses that we need to overcome too. This is where we discover the beam in our own eye I guess, so we can work on getting it out.

Questions to write about and ponder:

• What character weaknesses have I come to recognize?
• How have they influenced my thought patterns?
• What fears, anger, resentment and frustration have I felt towards God and others?
• What childhood experiences have contributed to these feelings?
• Do I have negative emotions that poison and consume me?
• How have my attitudes and actions caused others pain and suffering?
• Have my feelings of resentment continued even after people have changed or sought my forgiveness? 

This is hard work, I'm not going to lie to you. This part isn't any easier for me this time than last time. But I definitely need it.