P.A.S.G.

P.A.S.G. (Passage) - Pornography Addiction Support Group is a subsidiary of the (Mormon) church's general Addiction Recovery Program specifically created for those who struggle with sexual addictions which include but are not limited to: viewing pornography, masturbation, inappropriate sexual relationships, or reading romance novels.

Some may wonder why there is a separate program for those that struggle with pornography/sexual addiction; especially since everyone uses the same Addiction Recovery Program Manual.  I want to bear my testimony of the PASG program and express why I feel it is not only heallthy, but necessary to have it separate from ARP.

Sexual addiction is not socially accepted as some other addictions are; such as alcoholism or drug addiction.  There is an extra, very dark, measure of shame attached to sexual addiction; especially amongst the LDS community.  Satan knows how deep those rivers of shame run and he uses that knowledge to his advantage in every way possible.  Sexual addiction is easy to fall victim to, easy to hide, and easy to get trapped in:

It’s free

Most evidence can be deleted

Physically acting out can take place with no one knowing. 

It is insatiable; a rabid hampster in a running wheel; never-ending.

The secretive nightmare of sexual addiction is the perfect breeding ground for shame.  Once we are hooked and Satan has us in his grip, he then uses shame to keep us bound.  It is a deadly, isolated and very personal cycle.

The beauty of the PASG program is it is designed specifically for those struggling with sexual addiction.  A participant doesn’t have to worry about being compared to others with more socially acceptable addictions and they don’t have to worry about being in meetings with anyone of the opposite gender.  It is difficult enough confessing such sin to a Bishop let alone letting others in.  That is the catch-22.  Satan wants us to isolate, but in order to heal we must have a support system of loving and caring individuals that we can lean on and work with in order to combat our addictions.  There needs to be a safe place for those struggling with sexual addiction to go, to share their struggles and triumphs, to hear stories of healing, to learn specific and targeted tools of recovery and especially a place where they can learn how to utilize the power of the Atonement in their lives.  This is a place where in a safe place they shed the shame that has kept them perpetually bound.

My Savior has saved me through this program.  I went from feeling lost and broken to feeling whole and free.  I went from feeling devastating shame to wanting to share my story with the world in order to help my Savior release my fellow brothers and sisters from Satan’s grip.  I am so grateful for this program and the Atoning sacrifice of my Savior and I pray for the day when a person can enter any city on this whole earth and find a meeting to attend.