"Teach them to withstand every temptation of the devil,
with their faith on the Lord Jesus Christ."  (Alma 37:33)
 
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  The 12 Traditions
of Heart t' Heart		    The 12 Traditions
of A A		   About The Traditions

 

        

1. In Heart t' Heart individual recovery depends on the loving, supportive fellowship of the group. Without acceptance and unity there can be no fellowship and thus no recovery.

2. In Heart t' Heart there is only one ultimate authority--a loving God who manifests His will for each group in our prayerful group conscience. Our Heart t' Heart leaders are but trusted servants, they do not govern.

3. The only requirement for Heart t' Heart membership is a desire to stop participating in compulsive/addictive behaviors.

4. Each Heart t' Heart group is autonomous within the guidelines of the steps and the traditions, encouraged only to practice these principles in all its decisions.

5. Each Heart t' Heart group has but one primary purpose--to carry its message of recovery from compulsive/addictive behavior to those who still suffer.

6. A Heart t' Heart group ought never endorse, finance or lend the Heart t' Heart name to any outside publications or enterprise, lest problems of copyrights, money, property or prestige divert us from our primary purpose.

7. Every Heart t' Heart group ought to be fully self-supporting through voluntary donations from members only.

8. Heart t' Heart should remain forever non-professional, but our General service center may employ special workers.


9. Heart t' Heart, as such, ought never be organized. We may, however create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.

10. Heart t' Heart has no official opinion on any outside issue. Neither is its intent to promote any doctrine or policy contrary to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Hence, the Heart t' Heart name ought never be drawn into any controversy, the opinions expressed being simply those of the individuals who share them.

11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction, rather than promotion. We need always maintain the spiritual foundation of personal anonymity, acknowledging that all recovery comes through dedication to the principles of the program.

12. Personal anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions--ever reminding us that this program is focused on principles and not personalities.

 

   1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A. A. unity.



2. For our group purpose, there is but one ultimate authority – a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.

3. The only requirement for A. A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.


4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A. A. as a whole.

5. Each group has but one primary purpose – to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.

6. An A. A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the A. A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.

7. Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.


8. Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever non-professional, but our service centers may employ special workers.

9. A. A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.

10. Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence, the A. A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.



11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction, rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio and film.


12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

The Twelve Traditions are reprinted with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. Permission to reprint the Twelve Traditions does not imply affiliation with this program. A.A. is a program of recovery from alcoholism – use of the Twelve Steps or Traditions in connection with activities which are patterned after A.A., but which address other problems, does not imply otherwise.

 

   In 1938 when the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous were first introduced, it was already obvious that they were a set of principles, which if taken to heart and acted upon, could literally transform a person's life. Nearly 100 previously hopeless alcoholics had been saved from the brink of insanity and death by practicing these principles. That fellowship was to continue to grow until today there are well over a million recovering alcoholics, sober and restored to normal living because of the twelve-step program.

From 1938 to 1946, the fellowship of A.A. struggled along on the organizational level. While individuals were recovering in exponential numbers, the organization was staggering and teetering. The group needed some firm guidelines for its "life" as a fellowship of people who wanted as little "organization" as possible and a loving God as their only authority. How do you "organize" that degree of personal freedom? The twelve traditions are the result of their effort.

THE TWELVE STEPS ARE THE PRINCIPLES THAT ASSURE PERSONAL, INDIVIDUAL RECOVERY. THE TWELVE TRADITIONS ARE THE PRINCIPLES THAT ASSURE THE SUCCESS OF A GROUP. JUST AS IT IS ESSENTIAL TO PRACTICE THE STEPS ON A PERSONAL LEVEL, IT IS EQUALLY ESSENTIAL TO PRACTICE THE TRADITIONS IN ANY GROUP THAT MEETS TO SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER IN LIVING THE STEPS.

With the formation of Heart t' Heart, the original twelve traditions were prayerfully reviewed and rephrased to reflect LDS concepts. We highly recommend that each person participating in a Heart t' Heart group, particularly as any kind of "leader," be very familiar with both the original traditions and the Heart t' Heart version. Our groups will not have the positive helpful effect they are meant to have if these concepts are ignored.

  

 

 
 

 
 
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