Dr. Emmet Fox was a Minister, Author, Teacher, Healer and Mystic; a man whose work deeply impacted the philosophy and spiritual direction of the program of Alcoholics Anonymous. Bill Wilson credits The Sermon on the Mount, Fox’s most famous publication, as being the source of the open and affirming spirituality of the 12 steps.

In his time, he influenced more people than any other New Thought leader simply because he attracted wider audiences for longer periods of time.  To this day, his works are read widely by many spiritual seekers. 

His objective as a New Thought teacher was not to establish yet another religion, not to establish yet another set of religious doctrines, but to encourage individuals, whether they attend church or not, to develop their own creative power and to personally understand what God is, and what God is all about, and then to be able to relate that to their own lives.  He had a talent to speak and write with great clarity.

His message was simple and direct.  He said:

Sooner or later you will have to put God first in your life, God must become the only thing that really matters.  It need not be and better not be the only thing in your life, but it must be the first thing… When that happens your life becomes simple, richer and infinitely more worthwhile.

He brought new meaning to millions of people around the globe with what he called the  golden keys of health, inner peace and success. 

In 1931, he became the pastor of The Church of the Healing Christ in New York city, founded by Dr. W. John Murray in 1906, and was called The First Church of Divine Science, in New York City.  His Sunday morning lectures at the Hippodrome Theatre, the Manhattan Opera House and Carnegie Hall were attended by over 5000 people.  His meditations were powerful, his sermons never lasted more than twenty minutes, and he spoke of God in the most personal and intimate terms. 

Over two million copies of his book “Sermon on the Mount” have been distributed.

It is in this remarkable book that he says: “The fact that most people do not suspect the existence of this Power does not change the fact that it is there,” says Dr. Fox. “Remember that hardly anyone except a few philosophers suspected the existence of electricity, or the power of the steam, until a few generations ago, then these things were brought into the service of man and have transformed the world. The laws of Nature were just the same then as they are now; only people did not know that such a force existed, and so they had to go without. I believe many of the limitations and difficulties that people take for granted will be things of the past.”  In The Sermon on the Mount, Emmet Fox offers what he believes to be the keys to success in life, teaching that man is a child of a perfect God.

The Sermon on the Mount is one of the key resources used by Dr. Bob and Bill as they struggled to grasp the spiritual principles of the entire program of recovery. As we continue to Seek through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, it is helpful to become familiar with the tools and teachings our founders used on the same journey.

You can purchase your own copy on Amazon.com or download the ebook here: Sermon On The Mount.