Not long ago, Glenn Chesnut, who publishes Hindsfoot Foundation items, wrote an article on why the A.A. "Conference Approved" shibboleth does not, cannot, and should not bar freedom of expression in A.A. Chesnut is also the moderator of the so-called aahistorylovers. And it was Chesnut who recently barred from his forum aabibliography which published the following article - one that generously mentions Chesnut's position.
Here is the extract on censorship - taken from www.aabibliography.com
What “Conference Approved” Literature Means
"Please post this much needed article from Pete's Stuff. It incorporates the long-ignored Box 459 article that GSO said it couldn't find. If you want to see an excellent and much longer discussion of this, go to the Hindsfoot Foundation site where Professor Glenn Chesnut lays it all out in terms of its importance. I receive questions about this all the time; and people at conferences, Central Offices, and meetings are confronted with the conference approved nonsense with great frequency. Any AA can read anything any time anywhere for any purpose. There is no Tradition that says otherwise. There is no Tradition that can or should or will censor or censure what is presented at a meeting. And if someone thinks they've found the mythical tradition, tell them the Traditions are not laws, are not binding on anyone, and were never intended to prohibit free speech or freedom of religion by AAs or others. Those who suggest otherwise just don't know A.A. Nor do they know that early Alcoholics Anonymous was a Christian Fellowship, studied the King James Version of the Bible, read all kinds of literature--Protestant, Roman Catholic, New Thought, medical, and otherwise, and put out reams and reams of pamphlets and guides as the years went by. Included were pamphlets from many Central Offices and Intergroups--including the long-running Cleveland Central Bulletin, the four Akron AA pamphlets, The Four Absolutes, Then there were other writers mentioned below and not mentioned below--Clarence Snyder, Sister Ignatia, Marty Mann, Father Pfau, Richmond Walker, Ed Webster, and on-and-on.Not to forget over 500 Oxford Group and Sam Shoemaker books and pamphlets that were read and circulated byDr. Bob himself. And let's not forget that the most ignored and suppressed writing of all - Anne Smith's Journal - contained the heart of early A.A. and was discussed almost every morning at the Smith home Quiet Times.
Take off the shackles, and use your mind! Better still, see what someone else has had to say. Particularly, the Creator in what He revealed in His Word. Our basic ideas came from there.
My recent title Making Known the Biblical History and Roots of Alcoholics Anonymous specifically identifies hundreds and hundreds of writings that have contributed to the origins, history, founding, principles, and practices of A.A. in just the few years it has been in existence: http://www.dickb.com/makingknown.shtml
God Bless, Dick B. http://www.dickb.com/index.shtml; http://www.dickb-blog.com; http://aa-history.com/bookstore.
dickb@dickb.com
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What “Conference Approved” Literature Means
GSO Box 4-5-9 1978
(Volume 23, No 4)
Any literature that pertains to the principles of AA or is approved by a Group Conscience - is perfectly acceptable to be read by any AA member or in an AA meeting.
You hear it in meetings, “…we have AA Approved Literature available for sale at cost…”
You hear it in group conscience meetings “…we should only allow readings from AA Approved Literature…”
You hear non-group members crosstalking in a meeting when someone reads from Richmond Walkers’ 24 Hours a Day, Emmet Fox’s Sermon On The Mount, or one of Ralph Pfau’s Golden Books –“You can’t read that in an AA meeting – it’s NOT AA Approved Literature…”
Factually, unlike Alanon, there is no such thing as AA Approved Literature. The early AA’s read from the Bible, the Upper Room, Oswald Chambers, Cecil Rose, Leslie Weatherhead, Sam Shoemaker, Emmet Fox, Richmond Walker, Ralph Pfau and many others – a simple visit to Dickb.com will bear this out. As Dick B. aptly points out “Whatever some may think, A.A. has no index of forbidden books.”
In the 1950’s AA World Services took over WORKS publishing’s rights to publish the Big Book and began publishing other books as well. In the course of the next 40 years AAWS began to publish more books but eventually lost the copyright on the first two editions of the Big Book. Until 1993 books which were owned and printed by AAWS were identified by the use of a Circle/Triangle Symbol bearing the three legacies.
On May 21, 1993 , an AA World Service Ad Hoc committee released an unsigned document titled: Follow-up Statement Regarding Use of the Circle/ Triangle Symbol. In it, AAWS stated that Alcoholics Anonymous will phase out the 'official' use of the circle and triangle symbol in and on its literature, letterheads and other material. That document was issued without a conference action or a group conscience.
The term “Conference Approved” literature now replaces the Circle/Triangle Logo to merely “identify” (AAGV Vol. 50-7 1993) the books solely owned and published by AAWS and not as a predetermined list. The most definitive illustration of this is that the public domain first edition of the Big Book is NOT “Conference Approved”. “Conference Approved” in no way constitutes a list of any written documents of which an AA body approves or disapproves. (Please see the ad hoc committee Final Report of the 1993 General Service Conference)
A formal statement concerning the Conference, the G.S.O, and what AA members read was issued by the General Services Office of AA in 1978.
“WHAT CONFERENCED-APPROVED MEANS”
GSO Box 4-5-9 1978
(Volume 23, No 4)
AA’s General Service Office said:
“It does not mean the Conference disapproves of any other publications. Many local A.A. central offices publish their own meeting lists. A.A. as a whole does not oppose these, any more than A.A. disapproves of the Bible or any other publications from any source that A.A.’s find useful.
What any A.A. member reads is no business of G.S.O., or of the Conference, naturally.” "
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