This is the "official" definition. Yet there can be some sub-definitions given too. Note that the definition provides no good or bad usages, yet the common thought is "oohhh, that's bad...". I would submit a better, or clearer definition is contained in one word - dependency. There are many bad things that one can get addicted to, and there are also many good things too. Let's explore a few of these.

Drugs come first and foremost on the bad addictions list. And even the word, "drugs" is very terse. A drug could be any thing - illegal and legal. Consider the age-old battle of caffeine. A can of soda, coffee, chocolate - all contain caffeine to some degree. The end result of these things are dependency, or craving. There are many in the office where I work that I hear them say that they cannot function properly unless they have their morning coffee. Same goes for chocolate. There are many health studies that confirm that caffeine AND sugar are addictive and once on it, it is hard to quit. The body goes through withdraws because of lack of the particular substance.

Other bad additions are gambling, pornography, smoking, alcohol consumption just to name a few. These share the same charactersiticcs as the other addictions. The justification might go like this: "One time will not hurt me. Okay just ONE more. I only do it socially - around friends, I can't stop thinking about it, I need it". And then one is hooked. It is a sad statistic that one justifies such behavior and chooses to ignore all the warning signs.

On the Spiritual side, bad addictions are things such as missing church (becoming less active), gossiping, speaking evil about the Lord's annointed. These all start out very similar to the other additions mentioned above: "Just one Sunday, they'll never miss me. Oh, but the football game of the century is on the exact time as church, okay, this ONE more Sunday I'll skip church. Wow, do I REALLY have to go to church?" and guess what? You have justified yourself out of being active. The same pattern can be played out for any of the other Spiritual additions. True, they might not miss you, but guess what? YOU are missing out of the blessings. YOU are missing out on renewing your baptismal covenants by partaking of the sacred emblems of the Sacrament. YOU sare missing out on the fellowship of the Saints, and progressing. "Oh, but so, and so just made me mad. I'll show them by not showing up to church for a while". Really? And lastly, "I just don't like what our Bishop had to say, he just doesn't know what he's talking about!"

The other people that revel in this behavior are those that rejected Heavenly Father's plan of happiness. Satan and his legions shout for joy when this happens, beause they know that alll the "just one time's" mentioned can start a downward spiral and further and further away from our Heavenly Father. They are doing all they can to lead one soul at a time away.

There are many good addictions that one can get into. Things such as service to others, church attendence, a smile, honesty, integrity, morality just to name but a few. President Uchtdorf commented, "As we lose ourselves in service of others, we discover our own lives and our own happiness." For some, service is met with begrduging actions. But as they really get involved in the service; whether its a service project, Home/Visiting Teacing they forget about the bittter atitudes and really find to love what they are doing and for whom they are doing it. The Church exists for the gathering of the Saints where we can learn and grow from each other in our Ward/Branch Units.

Did you ever consider a smile can be addicting or contagious? Yet it is something that all can do and is free of charge. Honesty is becoming less prevelent in society. We can choose to be honest. But if we are only 99.8% honest, there will always be that 0.2% that we are not. And history says that the 0.2% will grow because we need to justify, or tell another lie to cover up the original lie, and so on. The same goes for integrity and morality. We can be a light unto the world. Yes, our light may burn so bright because we live in dark days. We may be noticed - by those seeking the light or those who reject the light altogether. And we may be ridiculed or even persecuted for showing our light of integrity and morality to the world.

We can choose to not even start on the addiction path. By avoiding the "one time only" lie, we can stay closer on the path the Lord has set for all His children. And even i one is addicted to things, there is always a way back. The road may be tough. And jsut like a caffeine or sugar withdraw, we will also get those feelings of resistance because of the grip that Satan and his followers might have on us. But, please know there IS always a way back. We CAN show our light to the world. Elder Bednar recently counseled us to "flood the world" with our righteous and uplifting words on social media. I am grateful to be a drop of water in that flood. We can choose to become addicted to the gospel - where we consciously start and end our day in prayer, we pray over our meals. we have our family and personal scripture studies. We can become addicted to General Conference and the words of living prophets on the earth to give us counsel. We can become addicted to family history, and missionary service. And finally, we CAN become dependent upon the Lord; for it is He that has given us everything we have.

As we strive to become addicted to light and truth, ever will the scripture ring true: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven."