Coming back to church after you have been less active can be very difficult. Often it involves making lifestyle changes, which may include giving up smoking and drinking. It can also be an adjustment to get up and attend church every Sunday. Often people feel like they cannot come back to church until they have made the changes they need to in their lifestyles. This is not the case. When you come back to church, you will be blessed with added strength to quit the addictive habits that you may have.
It is important as you come back to church to come on a regular basis. This will help you to form a new habit. It will also give the members of the ward a chance to get to know you. You will be able to make friends with people in the ward. You should meet with the bishop, even if you don’t have any items that specifically need to be discussed. Your bishop will be able to provide you with counsel that will help you when you are returning to activity.
The members of your ward will welcome you back. They will not be dwelling on mistakes you have made in your past, instead they will just be glad that you have come. As you come back try to read the scriptures every day. As you counsel with your Heavenly Father in prayer, He will give you the strength you need in order to come back.
Elder Neal A. Maxwell in “Why Not Now?” said this about making the choice to come back after being less active:
“Act, my brothers and sisters, for once the soul is tilted toward belief, and once there is even a desire to believe, then marvelous things begin to happen! Once one leaves the porch and comes inside the Church, then one not only hears the music more clearly—he becomes a part of it.
Act now, so that a thousand years from now, when you look back at this moment, you can say this was a moment that mattered—this was a day of determination.
Never mind, therefore, that you have made an investment of self and time in inactivity. Never mind that there is an accumulation of pride that will make it difficult to acknowledge that you have been wrong, for it will never be easier to do than it is now.”
The Lord will help you as you make the effort to return to church. Do you have any stories that you can share about how you returned to church after a period of being less active?