The 12 Step Program - Step 12 (Part 3)

Send us Fan Mail In part number three of this 12th step, I will be speaking about the phrase “carry the message”. In order to help some of you, here is the 12th step in its entirety: Having had a spiritual experience as a result of this course of action, we try to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. I am truly sorry to be so repetitive, but it seems I want to tell you why I am using this version of the 12 steps. I use, for the purposes of all my writing about the straps in the 12-step program, the version of the steps that was published in the first edition of the book Alcoholics Anonymous. I do not use it only because, as far as I know, it is copyright free, but because I really like and agree with this version of the steps. Better So, many folks in the program, especially those we refer to as “old-timers”, will lead you to believe that carrying the message is what the 12 step program is all about. I am here to tell you that in my estimation that is not true at all. The purpose of the 12 step program, as I believe it was given to us through the influence of God, is for each of us to discover a new way of life; a way of life that has God as its center. It is my personal belief that this program revolves around the third, versus the 12 steps. This The 12th step, and all it entails, especially carrying the message is here for two reasons. The first case is to keep ourselves in check, and to make sure we are living this new way of life. The second is equally important and that those who have come before us and realized that one of the best ways of living this new way of life is to share what we have gained from it with others. Carrying the message is not the main activity of those who are involved in a 12-step program, but it is seriously necessary to preserve that spiritual knowledge that we have gained. It is also strongly suggested in order to keep what we have gained from the program by sharing this knowledge with others. What is the message, you may ask? Well, it is sharing these 12 steps with others while letting them know that by turning to their Higher Power, they can repair the wreckage of their past and embark on a new way of life. Better Who is it that shares this way of life? Part of the answer is given in the 12th step itself. Things like, “having had a spiritual experience as a result of this course of action”, or “trying to, practice these principles in all their affairs,”, are certainly good indications that one is ready to carry the message. I personally believe that those who were considered “changed” In the Old Oxford Group, were a good example of those who may be ready to “carry the message”. Remember however, those who do carry the message do so effectively because of that which has come into their hearts, not their heads.