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When did the 9th Step Promises become AA's Promises?

 

Good Day fellow AA Historians,

? ? ?This question may, in fact be a purely regional question as each group is autonomous.? I can only attest to portions of California and So. Florida where somewhere in the meeting formats, there is introduced for someone to read " The AA Promises".? These are, in actuality the 9th Step promises found on the bottom of Pg 83 and continued onto pg 84 of our text, 'Alcoholics Anonymous'.? I do not recall this being apart of my early sobriety, coming in 1995, but hear it often now in various parts of the country and meetings I have attended.

? ? Can I find out the earliest time other members may have heard this; where the 9th step Promises, became AA's Promises, negating the fact of ALL the promises written in our program of recovery, from various Steps Taken, as experienced by those that came before us?

? ? ?I guess the follow-up to this query would be to ask, by naming the 9th step promises as AA's Promises, with no or very little mention of the multitude of promises, possibly giving the impression that one needs to have taken an 8th and making amends in the 9th, to acquire the Ultimate of what AA has to offer?

? ? Personally, I was affected when I read the i "have a new employer".


Thank you all for you comments of experience.

Happy & Grateful,
Ric B. in Homestead, Fl

5/14/1995 DOS
 

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I got sober in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1984 and my recollection is that the promises were being read at that time around here.? Of more significance to me regarding the promises is that if you look at “The Book That Started It All”, the working manuscript of the big book published by Hazelden, you will see that the promises were in a different form…they were like the steps…Here is what WE did…talking about their experience…the promises were the same We knew a new freedom and a new happiness, we did not regret the past, no matter how far down the scale we had gone we saw how our experience…and so on…

?

I have always disliked the promises as they outline emotional goals (recovering alcoholics are people who expect a reward for having been given a gift ?)…when written as the steps were written they are so much more meaningful…I wish they had left them as originally written.

?

DAVID G. SMITH : ATTORNEY AT LAW

LAW OFFICES OF DAVID G. SMITH

?? PRACTICE LIMITED TO PERSONAL INJURY SINCE 1978

?

2201 BROADWAY SUITE PH 1: OAKLAND CA 94612-3063

T. 510.893.3741 : F. 510.893.2701

E. Dave@... : W. DaveSmithLaw.com

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?? ?? ??????

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From: [email protected] On Behalf Of -Ric in Homestead, Fl
Sent: Tuesday, June 16, 2020 10:25 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] When did the 9th Step Promises become AA's Promises?

?

Good Day fellow AA Historians,

? ? ?This question may, in fact be a purely regional question as each group is autonomous.? I can only attest to portions of California and So. Florida where somewhere in the meeting formats, there is introduced for someone to read " The AA Promises".? These are, in actuality the 9th Step promises found on the bottom of Pg 83 and continued onto pg 84 of our text, 'Alcoholics Anonymous'.? I do not recall this being apart of my early sobriety, coming in 1995, but hear it often now in various parts of the country and meetings I have attended.

? ? Can I find out the earliest time other members may have heard this; where the 9th step Promises, became AA's Promises, negating the fact of ALL the promises written in our program of recovery, from various Steps Taken, as experienced by those that came before us?

? ? ?I guess the follow-up to this query would be to ask, by naming the 9th step promises as AA's Promises, with no or very little mention of the multitude of promises, possibly giving the impression that one needs to have taken an 8th and making amends in the 9th, to acquire the Ultimate of what AA has to offer?

? ? Personally, I was affected when I read the i "have a new employer".


Thank you all for you comments of experience.

Happy & Grateful,
Ric B. in Homestead, Fl

5/14/1995 DOS

 

When i came to AA in June 1985 i really don 't remember them being read at meeting. I know for a fact that they were not read at my homegroup. Seems like the in the 90's you started to hear them at more meetings and by 2000 they seemed to be accepted as something? you read at meetings. I have never cared for them since I think it makes people think these thing will start as soon as you quit drinking..? They never say that they are talking about themat Step 9. well that iss my two cents worth. I scanned the page from The Book That Started It All and the 4th edition of the BB. The firsts one si hard ot read and i don't see them be counted like the Steps and the second can be read. Thanks , Bob Hickey
 

I started in Jan 1980. In Barrington, Northern?IL.
The 9th step promises were read at some club meetings, Like Palatine?IL Alano, but not much at other meetings back then, if memory serves.
Never heard them referred to as "AA Promises" tho'
Later on there arose a hobby of BB mining for "promises" for every step and Tradition, it seems.

On Sat, Jun 20, 2020 at 12:57 PM <tgifcreations@...> wrote:
When i came to AA in June 1985 i really don 't remember them being read at meeting. I know for a fact that they were not read at my homegroup. Seems like the in the 90's you started to hear them at more meetings and by 2000 they seemed to be accepted as something? you read at meetings. I have never cared for them since I think it makes people think these thing will start as soon as you quit drinking..? They never say that they are talking about themat Step 9. well that iss my two cents worth. I scanned the page from The Book That Started It All and the 4th edition of the BB. The firsts one si hard ot read and i don't see them be counted like the Steps and the second can be read. Thanks , Bob Hickey



--
Best Regards,
J.Barry Murtaugh

Court Maroon, Ltd.
773-851-2100
 

When Bill W. was writing the Book he got to the point (page 83) where he felt he needed to inject some promising hope. So when he was at the meeting that night (at his house) he asked all the people attending to write down some hopeful, and promising things they'd experienced from working the Steps. When they passed in all their answers Bill counted over 120 enlightening things from the group. He narrowed them down to 12 for the book.
Pat Murphy
Cedar Rapids, Ia
 

It might be interesting to find out when AAWS started selling the laminated sheet for sale. Does anyone know?


On Tue, Jun 30, 2020, 5:07 PM Pat Murphy <pasamurphy@...> wrote:
When Bill W. was writing the Book he got to the point (page 83) where he felt he needed to inject some promising hope. So when he was at the meeting that night (at his house) he asked all the people attending to write down some hopeful, and promising things they'd experienced from working the Steps. When they passed in all their answers Bill counted over 120 enlightening things from the group. He narrowed them down to 12 for the book.
Pat Murphy
Cedar Rapids, Ia

 

Pat, can you please source this information? Can you tell us where you got that?


On Tue, Jun 30, 2020, 2:07 PM Pat Murphy <pasamurphy@...> wrote:
When Bill W. was writing the Book he got to the point (page 83) where he felt he needed to inject some promising hope. So when he was at the meeting that night (at his house) he asked all the people attending to write down some hopeful, and promising things they'd experienced from working the Steps. When they passed in all their answers Bill counted over 120 enlightening things from the group. He narrowed them down to 12 for the book.
Pat Murphy
Cedar Rapids, Ia
_._,_._,_
 

Pat

Interesting...What is the source for that story about the promises. I had never heard it before.

TIA

Jim

On Tue, Jun 30, 2020, 16:07 Pat Murphy <pasamurphy@...> wrote:
When Bill W. was writing the Book he got to the point (page 83) where he felt he needed to inject some promising hope. So when he was at the meeting that night (at his house) he asked all the people attending to write down some hopeful, and promising things they'd experienced from working the Steps. When they passed in all their answers Bill counted over 120 enlightening things from the group. He narrowed them down to 12 for the book.
Pat Murphy
Cedar Rapids, Ia

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