Our Great Responsibility

A selection of Bill W’s General Service Conference talks, 1951-1970

Review from an A.A. member:

This book is a record of the beginnings and first years of the Alcoholics Anonymous General Service Conference, which was formed in 1951 – the year after the death of Bob S. The introduction contains a history of the long and rocky road, spearheaded by Bill W, to develop the Conference. Bill saw that through the Conference, ‘the moment of transfer of authority to serve, from us oldtimers to the movement, is at hand.’
When I began reading this, I thought it would be rather dry – in fact it is an interesting and often witty look at the foundations of the AA General Service Conference, told through a series of speeches given at said conference. Bill W’s wit and droll humour shines through, and there is a great deal for anyone interested in a deeper knowledge of the makings of AA – the trials, internal debates and near-misses that are the foundation of our fellowship.
Here are some of the quotes that show the fragility and learnings of those early times:
“People animated by the worst possible motives often tell the truth in large gobs.”
“I obeyed this mandate grudgingly, admitting they were right and also for the very good reason – purely egotistical – that if I didn’t obey they’d throw me out on my ear and I’d lose my standing.”
“All AA progress can be reckoned in terms of just two words: humility and responsibility. Our whole spiritual development can be measured by our degree of adherence to these two magnificent standards.”
“God… has granted you three precious graces: freedom from a deadly affliction; a life experience that enables you to carry that priceless freedom to others; and a vision, ever widening, of God’s reality and of His love.”
“When we say that each group is autonomous, that means in effect that it has a right to be wrong from the viewpoint of the rest of you. My viewpoint is that the more we insist on strict conformity with these steps and traditions, the more resistance against them we create.”
“In spite of my weaknesses and your weaknesses, we were going to do this. And it would succeed.”
It is clear that AA really only survived by threads and safety-pins – at so many junctions, the co-founders and early members could easily have given up.
Thank god they didn’t.