This vital step was also the means by which we began to get the feeling that we could be forgiven, no matter what we had done or thought. Often it was while working on this Step with our sponsors or spiritual advisors that we first felt truly able to forgive others , no matter how deeply we felt they had wronged us. Our moral inventory had persuaded us that all-around forgiveness was desirable, but it was only when we resolutely tackled Step 5 that we inwardly knew that we would be able to receive forgiveness and give it, too.