324 A.A. Comes Of Age p-140/141
        Some of us still ask, "Just what is this Third Legacy business anyhow? & just
how much territory does service take in?"
        Let us begin with my own sponsor, Ebby, When Ebby heard how serious my
drinking was, he resolved to visit me. He was in New York; I was in Brooklyn. His
resolve was not enough; he had to take action & he had to spend money.
        He called me on the phone & then got into the subway; total cost, ten cents. At
the level of the telephone booth & subway turnstile, spirituality & money began to
mix. One without the other would have amounted to nothing at all.
        Right then & there, Ebby established the principle that A.A. in action calls for
the sacrifice of much time & a little money.
       
325 Grapevine June 1961
        Now that we no longer patronize bars & bordellos, now that we bring home the
pay checks, now that we are so very active in A.A., & now that people congratulate us
on these signs of progress - well, we naturally proceed to congratulate ourselves. Of
course, we are not yet within hailing distance of humility.
       
325 Twelve & Twelve p-76
        We ought to be willing to try humility in seeking the removal of our other
shortcomings, just as we did when we admitted that we were powerless over alcohol,
& came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
        If humility could enable us to find the grace by which the deadly alcohol obsession
could be banished, then there must be hope of the same result respecting any other
problem we can possibly have.
       
326 letter 1955
        Thanks much for your letter of criticism. I am certain that had it not been for its
strong critics, A.A. would have made slower progress.
        For myself, I have come to set a high value on the people who have criticized me,
whether they have seemed reasonable critics or unreasonable ones. Both have often
restrained me from doing much worse than I actually have done. The unreasonable ones
have taught me, I hope, a little patience. But the reasonable ones have always done a
great job for all of A.A. - & have taught me many a valuable lesson.
       
327 Grapevine November 1960
        The immediate object of our quest is sobriety - freedom from alcohol & from all
its baleful consequences. Without this freedom, we have nothing at all.
        Paradoxically, though, we can achieve no liberation from the alcohol obsession
until we become willing to deal with those character defects which have landed us in
that helpless condition. In this freedom quest, we are always given three choices.
        A rebellious refusal to work upon our glaring defects can be an almost certain
ticket to destruction. Or, perhaps for a time, we can stay sober with a minimum of self-
improvement & settle ourselves into a comfortable but often dangerous mediocrity.
Or, finally, we can continuously try hard for those sterling qualities that can add up to
fineness of spirit & action - true & lasting freedom under God.
      
328 Alcoholics Anonymous p-93
        When dealing with a prospect of agnostic or atheistic bent, you had better use
everyday language to describe spiritual principles. There is no use arousing any
prejudice he may have against certain theological terms & conceptions, about which
he may already be confused. Do not raise such issues, no matter what your own
convictions are.
       
328 Twelve & Twelve p-35
        Every man & woman who has joined A.A. & intends to stick has, without
realizing it, made a beginning on step three. Is it not true that, in all matters touching
upon alcohol, each of them has decided to his or her life over to care, protection, &
guidance of A.A.?
        Already a willingness has been achieved to cast out one's own will & one's idea
about the alcohol problem in favor of these suggested by A.A. Now if this is not turning
one's will & life over to a new found "Providence", then what is it?
       
329 Twelve & Twelve p-102
        In praying, our immediate temptation will be to ask for specific solutions to
specific problems, & for the ability to help other people as we have already thought
they should be helped. In that case, we are asking God to do it our way. Therefore, we
ought to consider each request carefully to see what its real merit is.
        Even so, when making specific requests, it will be well to add to each one of them
this qualification: "...if it be thy will."
       
330 Grapevine January 1958
        Those adolescent urges that so many of us have for complete approval, utter
security, & perfect romance - urges quite appropriate to age seventeen - prove to be an
impossible way of life at forty seven or fifty seven.
        Since A.A. began, I have taken huge wallops in all these areas because of my
failure to grow up, emotionally & spiritually.
       
330 Twelve & Twelve p-114
        As we grow spiritually, we find that our old attitudes toward our instinctual drives
need to undergo drastic revisions. Our demands for emotional security & wealth, for
personal prestige & power all have to be tempered & redirected.
        We learn that the full satisfaction of these demands cannot be the sole end & aim
of our lives. We cannot place the cart before the horse, or we shall be pulled backward
into disillusionment. But when we are willing to place spiritual growth first - then &
only then do we have a real chance to grow in healthy awareness & mature love.
       
331 Alcoholics Anonymous p-164
        We realize we know only a little. God will constantly disclose more to you & to
us. Ask Him in your morning meditation what you can do each day for the man who is
still sick. The answers will come, if your own house is in order.
        But obviously you cannot transmit something you have not got. See to it that your
relationship with Him is right, & great events will come to pass for you & countless
others. This is the great fact for us.
        To the Newcomer:
        Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him & to
your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find &
join us. We shall be with you in the fellowship of the spirit, & you will surely meet
some of us as you trudge the road of happy destiny.
        May God bless you & keep you - until then.
       
332 Bill's closing for the book.
        I AM RESPONSIBLE.....
        When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the hand of A.A. always to
be there. & for that: I am responsible.
                    Declaration of 30th anniversary
                    International Convention, 1965
                        -<>-
        Dear Friends:
        Since 1938, the greatest part of my A.A. life has been spent in helping to create,
design, manage, & insure the solvency & effectiveness of A.A.'s world services - the
office of which has enabled our Fellowship to function all over the globe, & as a
unified whole.
        It is no exaggeration to say that, under their trustees, these all-important services
have accounted for much of our present size & over all effectiveness.
        The A.A. General Service Office is by far the largest single carrier of the A.A.
message. It has well related A.A. to the troubled world in which we live. It has fostered
the spread of our Fellowship everywhere. A.A. World Services, Inc. stands ready to
serve the special needs of any group or isolated individual, no matter the distance or
language. Its many years of accumulated experience are available to us all.
        The members of our trusteeship - the General Service Board of A.A. - will, in the
future, be our primary leaders in all of our world affairs. This high responsibility has
long since been delegated to them; they are the successors in world service to Dr. Bob
& to me, & they are directly accountable to A.A. as a whole.
        This is the legacy of world service responsibility that we vanishing old-timers are
leaving to you, the A.A.s of today & tomorrow. We know that you will guard,
support, & cherish this world legacy as the greatest collective responsibility that A.A.
has or ever can have.
                   Yours in trust & in affection
                                  BILL
       
        (Bill W. died January 24, 1971)