Carrying the Message

When I arrived at my first meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous, I had zero knowledge of what people in AA did or how they were staying sober. I only knew that I could no longer stop drinking at any time during the day. Whatever willpower I had was useless against the first drink. Then, in that first meeting, I heard that people were staying sober and changing their lives by following a formula called the 12 Steps.

Moreover, I was told:

"Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics. It works when other activities fail. This is our twelfth suggestion: Carry this message to other alcoholics! You can help when no one else can. You can secure their confidence when others fail." (Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 89)

I hardly believed this was possible, yet there was a room full of people who were not only sober but happy and confident. I stayed with this small group, and my recovery was launched.

Dr. Bob Smith, in Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, clearly states:

"If you think you are an exception to the rule, that somehow you can stay dry without helping others, you're only deceiving yourself. The principle of service is woven through the fabric of AA."

The Point

As Confucius wrote:

"If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of a hundred years, teach the people."

It is in service—at AA meetings, in the fields and hospitals of despair, and in the oceans of broken and lost lives—where we become strong. Strong enough to counter the whispers or shouts of addiction.

Christ exemplified this strength when he rebuked Satan in the wilderness:

"Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." (Luke 4:8)

Again, He reinforced this lesson when rebuking Peter:

"Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." (Matthew 16:23)

Finally, in His great commission, Christ commanded:

"Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)

This same spirit of carrying the message is echoed in The Book of Mormon:

"Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble." (Mosiah 28:3)

The message is clear: carrying the message is not just a duty but a privilege. Whether in AA, through faith, or in service to others, we grow stronger by sharing the gift we have received. And in doing so, we find true freedom and lasting sobriety.