A note about the cover sketch by Luanne:

Boston Light — little Brewster Island (outer Boston Harbor), Massachusetts

Boston Light was the first light station in North America and is the country’s oldest continuously used lighthouse site. The original structure, built in 1716, was destroyed during the Revolutionary War. Rebuilt in 1783, it has been called “the ideal American lighthouse.” Designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1964, it is the only manned lighthouse in the United States.

Christian Science v. New Age

I didn’t know what New Age was, so I did some digging on the Internet. I found that New Age is a term applied to a range of spiritual or religious beliefs and practices said to be based on Oriental mysticism, and was brought to Europe and America as long ago as the 1600s. This mode of thought has been referred to, among other things, as transcendental meditation, theosophy, esoteric magic, witchcraft, spiritualism, astrology, and beginning in the 1960s, as New Age. In Mrs. Eddy’s time it was known as New Thought.

Some of the various beliefs of New Age are forms of spiritualism, mind control, and reincarnation. The human mind in full bloom! It believes that sin does not exist, so there is no need for repentance. On the other hand, Christian Science acknowledges the claims of sin, but also unlocks the courage and the God-given understanding within each one to break the bonds of sin and be truly free!

Mrs. Eddy was well aware of the importance of handling these modes of thought, and she mentioned many of them in the watches she wrote for the workers in her home: “Theology, spiritualism, theosophy, psychology, occultism, false philosophy, false science, mesmerism, hypnotism, oriental witchcraft, black art, black magic, astrology, palmistry, demonology, diabolism, thought transference, are things to be handled occasionally; they are arguments which tend to perpetuate evil and death in the name of good.” (Blue Book, p. 90)

New Age thinking is more active today than we may realize, and has permeated practically all of civilization — medicine, government, ecology, education, business, and even churches. One article I found included Christian Science in a list of organizations associated with New Age, but New Age is the total opposite of Christian Science! This incorrect association may have been due to the fact that some of Mrs. Eddy’s early students became unfaithful to her teachings and started bogus religions, counterfeits of Christian Science, based on this New Thought. But Mrs. Eddy’s writings and those of her students who faithfully practice her teachings, contain the original teachings of Christian Science — the pure, unadulterated Word of God.

The difference between New Thought and Christian Science is the difference between covering up sin and uncovering it.

New Thought is the belief that one mind, through its thinking, can control and benefit another mind — but it is operating as pure evil mentality. Divine Mind never appears as one mind controlling another. This is the negation of Christian Science, which is the operation of pure Mind without personal accompaniment.

If, for the moment, the control seems to be good, that does not in any way change the evil of it. If you have one mind controlling another, you have two minds, and such a premise denies the allness of God as the one and only Mind.

The acceptance of more than one Mind embraces the full measure of evil, for if God is not all, then evil is something. All mental control, based upon the belief of minds many, is essentially evil, however "good" its aims may seem to be.

New Thought is the negation of the First Commandment, "I am the Lord thy God ... Thou shalt have no other gods before me," no other mind beside the one Ego, the one I, the one Mind.

Before coming to Plainfield Church, I found myself drifting into the by-ways of New Age teachings. At the time I believed it to be compatible with Christian Science; although the more I read New Age materials, the less I read the Bible and Mrs. Eddy writings.

The teachings at Plainfield Christian Science Church, Independent, have been correcting my misconceptions of God, Christ, and Christian Science. The process is healing the effects of the influence of New Age, which left me with a false sense of security. While I stand by what Mrs. Eddy writes, “she (Mrs. Eddy) feels, as she always has felt, that all are privileged to work out their own salvation according to their light, and that our motto should be the Master’s counsel, ‘Judge not, that ye be not judged’” (S&H, p. 443), I feel it is important to distinguish Mrs. Eddy’s work from that which is the total opposite of her teachings. Mrs. Eddy had to address this during her time.

One of the reasons I began to investigate the origins of New Age was due to the horrendous fires and floods in California this past year, the capital of New Age — this, combined with the effects on my life and watching the trend of mixing Christian Science and New Age within the movement, which included teachers and practitioners promoting it.

As I began to research the roots of New Age, I found it is often influenced by theosophy (Eastern Mysticism), hypnotism, and spiritualism. Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health, on page 110, “No analogy exists between the vague hypotheses of agnosticism, pantheism, theosophy, spiritualism, or millenarianism and the demonstrable truths of Christian Science.” The Christian basis gets watered down and lost by aligning with New Age. I have gained a greater appreciation of Mrs. Eddy, her Christian life and her love and use of the Bible as I read the history of her life and work.

The transformation to my life since being taught this Science of Christ correctly and practicing biblical principles is immeasurable. This clearer understanding is giving me a closer relationship with God and the great blessing of working for Him.

Two of Mrs. Eddy’s early students, Ursula N. Gestefeld and Emma Hopkins, worked in Chicago during the 1880s. One thing these women had in common was the fact that they did not want to follow Mrs. Eddy’s authority or acknowledge her place. They broke away from Mrs. Eddy and started their own religions, using her writings and mixing them with the occult, Eastern religion, mysticism, etc., and were instrumental in establishing the New Thought movement.

Ursula Newell Gestefeld

From ursulagestefeld.wwwhubs.com

Mrs. Gestefeld heard of Christian Science, when a friend loaned her a copy of Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy. Having been a sickly child, she applied its principles to her own case, and in a period of three months, without the help of any practitioner, achieved a state of health beyond any previously enjoyed.

She was taught by Mrs. Eddy in her Chicago class of May 1884, after which Mrs. Gestefeld practiced and taught Christian Science. In 1888, she published a book titled, "Ursula N. Gestefeld's Statement of Christian Science." Although she gave credit to Mrs. Eddy as its founder, Christian Science had already been stated by Mrs. Eddy in Science and Health and her other writings, and that was sufficient. Mrs. Eddy denounced Gestefeld’s actions in the Christian Science Journal.

Gestefeld resented Mrs. Eddy’s authority and wrote a caustic pamphlet titled Jesuitism in Christian Science. She established the Science of Being, a New Thought religious system that gained her national prominence.

Emma Curtis Hopkins

From newthoughtcsl.org/history

Mrs. Hopkins grew up in Connecticut and went to Mary Baker Eddy because she was ill. She was healed, and devoted herself to the study of Christian Science. She became a practitioner and served as editor (1884-85) of the Christian Science Journal. Within another year, she began to explore other metaphysical writings.

In 1886 she left Mrs. Eddy and moved to Chicago where, along with a colleague, Mary Plunkett, founded the Hopkins College of Christian Science, which taught an idealistic theology with a focus on serene lifestyles, prosperity, and positive thinking. The first graduates of the initial class in 1886 formed the backbone of the Hopkins Metaphysical Association, which evolved into the first organized association of the New Thought movement in the United States.

Every major contemporary New Thought organization can be traced directly to Hopkins's teachings:

She ordained Myrtle Fillmore and Charles Fillmore, who founded Unity;

Malinda Cramer, Nona Brooks, Fannie James, and Alethea Small, who founded Divine Science in Denver;

Hopkins taught a young Ernest Holmes, who founded Religious Science in Los Angeles and inspired the theology of Norman Vincent Peale and Robert Schuller.

She moved back to New York where, as a reclusive mystic, she taught primarily one-to-one in her private hotel suite in Manhattan.

Of all these writers, Ursula Gestefeld is the most dangerous, the most subtle — and why? Because she talks so much truth as to almost deceive the very elect and then poisons the whole by her terrible theosophical terms.

If Jesus had not declared his divine origin he would not have been crucified. If [Mrs. Eddy] had not declared that Science was revealed Truth, mortal mind would be proud of it. She had feared that the Truth was to be crucified again — that is, would be so mixed with error that it would be lost — that was what Mrs. Gestefeld was doing in trying to simplify her book. It is not personality [Gestefeld] attacks, but Truth.

Discontented with life and filled with fear, I found myself reading many books seeking the Truth that would make me free. I read many self-help books, many recommended by teachings from various business ventures, all encouraging human ambition, self-will, positive thinking and so on. I am grateful my period in this line of thought was brief; and the deep desire to know what is true, plus some family experiences, led me to Christian Science. In the brief time I spent exploring New Thought I found it was mostly about one’s own mind, so-called, having the capacity to create things. We did vision boards etc., creating what we hoped for, or having pictures of what we wanted, and visualizing them. Even when God was mentioned, I felt it was mostly about what we wanted our lives and futures to be.

This excerpt from Arthur Corey’s class instruction, Chapter 11, Animal Magnetism, sums up what I took away from New Thought:

“As we see it, the New Thought would enthrone the human mind as God, because it postulates minds influencing minds to the end of making the mortal like the immortal. ‘In Tune with the Infinite’ is their theme song. They accentuate planes of thinking, from the material, through the mental, to the supra-mental or spiritual. While declaring mind infinite and indivisible, they hypothecate many semi-independencies or ‘centers’ to explain the reciprocity required for the working of their system. The Unity school emphasizes the supposed power of concerted thought — which would necessarily involve minds many. This is clearly incompatible with our concept of Mind and its Science.”

A sincere desire to find the Truth about God and man, coupled with humble, honest and persistent study of Christian Science, reveals God as ALL-in-ALL, as the only Truth that makes man lastingly free, a Truth consistent with every man’s true birthright.

Christian Science Journal, 1888

The above is the title of a pamphlet by Ursula S. Gestefeld. Before entering [Mrs. Eddy’s] class, in 1884, she had been the student of a Spiritualist and mind-curer. Though a Christian Scientist in name, she is a member of the Theosophical Society in Chicago. Her attempted explanation of my book, Science and Health, is abortive; the altitude of her mind has neither reached the explanation nor inspiration of this work. She attempts to vilify my life and to criticize my works, in the face of twenty-two years of unstained labor in Christian Science Mind-healing, while she, a suckling, is drawing her nutriment from them. This is at least, silly. When teaching her, I found that her mind presented a compilation of other minds, that it possessed, to a remarkable degree, these qualities, — vanity, intellectual dash, and courage without conviction. Her reasoning is intoned with Pagan philosophy, her humanity besprinkled with Buddhism, and her pride and purpose nerved with the spirit of a Judas. The picture she draws of me, in the above-named pamphlet, is the subjective state of her own mind, and the minds of members expelled from the Christian Scientist Association of Boston. The reader recognizes at once that it is no portraiture of the Author of Science and Health. ... My heart’s desire is, that the mind of this woman be imbued with better thoughts, and her life uplifted. The only sense in which I employ the phrase “Loyal Students” she seems not to know. I mean those who are loyal to God, to justice, to Truth and Love. Thus loyal, those students and myself are one in motive and aim — united indissolubly in the bonds of Christian Science. This bond is not personality; it is Principle.

Christian Science Journal October 1888

Dear Madam:

I have just finished reading Mrs. Gestefeld’s Christian Science Lectures, or Statements of Christian Science. As a constant reader of Science and Health, I recognize every thought as taken from your book, but as lacking your spiritual benediction. To those not so familiar with your textbook, the omission to state plainly that Mrs. Gestefeld’s quotations are taken from Science and Health has a tendency to mislead people. ... I recognize the same difference between Mrs. Gestefeld’s Lectures and your book that I do between the zeal of Saul and the zeal of Paul. Her Lectures lack regeneration. She has not yet been to Damascus. Like the Prodigal Son, I return hungry to the parental house, Science and Health. I hope that those students who have had Mrs. Gestefeld’s Lectures recommended to them by their teachers, as superior to any other publication, will stop to think what they want or are searching for in the study of Christian Science.

Manual of The Mother Church,
The First Church of Christ Scientist,
in Boston, Massachusetts,
by Mary Baker Eddy, 88th Edition

He who dated the Christian era is the Ensample in Christian Science. Careless comparison or irreverent reference to Christ Jesus is abnormal in a Christian Scientist, and is prohibited. When it is necessary to show the great gulf between Christian Science and theosophy, hypnotism, or spiritualism, do it, but without hard words. The wise man saith, "A soft answer turneth away wrath." However despitefully used and misrepresented by the churches or the press, in return employ no violent invective, and do good unto your enemies when the opportunity occurs.

Painting by Luanne Tucker

Learn the peace of lowly living;

Touch Truth’s garment at the hem.

Perfumed petals draw their sweetness

From the flower’s roots and stem.

Laud and plaudits of the millions

Vanish into vacant air.

Centuries later men remember

Power that lay within a prayer.

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From Mrs. Eddy

Christian Science Journal, October 1886

DEAR MRS. EDDY: Not as an idle inquirer, but as an earnest, sincere thinker after the Truth, do I address you; and I hope you will, out of the goodness of your heart, answer me.

I have completed a course of Mental or Christian Science lectures. My teacher is a practising metaphysician of Chicago. She is also a "Theosophist," and during her lectures she introduced much of the Theosophic teachings and belief. When we were through, she advised us to purchase Sinnett's works, and several other books of like nature. I will say first, that I have your book, and that, with my Bible, I study constantly. After her suggestion I bought Sinnett's "Esoteric Buddhism," and have read it. I am now all confusion and mixed. I cannot reconcile it with the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. I cannot reconcile it with your teachings, consequently. Now, will you help me? Are you a Theosophist?

My teacher says: "Theosophy is metaphysics (Christian Science), only more so." Sinnett's book speaks (page 255) of "the necessity of evil." (?) Do "inanimate forms progress onward until a human Soul has been formed"? Do you believe "in the certainty of some hundred many-earth-lives to come,— the repeated in-carnations of a Soul"? He says: "Our planet and ourselves are no more creations than an iceberg." He says: "The seventh principle of man is undefinable, incomprehensible, and is the only God recognized by esoteric knowledge." Does that agree with your doctrine? He also says: "You can be immortal in good by identifying oneself with God, or can be immortal in evil by identifying oneself with Satan." He says, there are utterly unspiritual Egos. Do you believe in "the system of seven worlds for man," and in the seven principles that the occult science teaches men are composed of?

Tell me, dear Mrs. Eddy, can one be a thorough, consistent believer in the teachings of Theosophy and the occult sciences, and at the same time a thorough, consistent believer in Christian Science, and a successful Healer? I have studied in order that I may be able to live the pure Christian life here, and to do good; oh, I want to do much good, and I see daily where I can do it if I am in the right path; and so it is for this I ask your help and advice, which I feel sure you'll not refuse to give me. If Divine Spirit created man in his own image and likeness, how can there "be unspiritual Egos"? or how can man be spiritually evil and immortally evil?

Hoping anxiously for an early reply, I am sincerely yours,

ANSWER. Your interesting questions found ready response in my heart, and enlisted my interest in your situation, as hundreds of others are doing, but for lack of time remain unanswered. I can only touch briefly the borderland of comment on the vast questions proposed.

Just now, the darkest spot on the horizon of mortal mind that Christian Science can illumine is envy, and the strife for "who shall be greatest." It pushes Christianity aside to elbow in a crowd of robbers, that enter not in by the door, Truth, but would climb up some other way. Obscure, unlettered, unprincipled people are filling the field as Mind-Healers, who are mind-killers, building their only superstructures on false foundations — the power of evil and substance of matter. They are working out, through mortal mind, the claim of total depravity, in all its forms of animal magnetism. They rise on the merits of the true healer, to at length fall from their own demerits. The above qualities, entering so largely into their work, engender the most difficult forms of disease.

Twenty years ago, when I first brought this subject to the consideration of the race, to be a Christian Science Mindhealer was no bid for respectability, popularity, wealth. It was a sharp appeal to conscience, spiritual growth, moral courage. The question then was, "Can you drink the cup?" On this basis there was no danger of injuring oneself or one's neighbor. The pioneer work has been done faithfully. Now comes the inquiry, Shall this work be overthrown by charlatans of the baser sort? Naught but the unselfish purpose, the higher understanding of God and the love of man, are incentives to real Mind-Healing. Once in this direction, and persecution, hardship, sacrifice, only "lead into green pastures, and beside the still waters."

Of "Esoteric Buddhism," its oriental necromancy, philosophy, or religion, I am happily ignorant. Such human philosophy may charm, allure, but it obscures the spiritual sense of Divine Science.

I recommend that you quit other reading and confine yourself for the present to the perusal of the Scriptures, and my work, Science and Health. This book has a Key to the Scriptures that never picks the lock, but opens the Word only as it turns in the grooves of God. This course pursued, and you will gain consolation and light. Theosophy is not allied to Christian Science: it misleads the understanding, whereas Christian Science enlightens it. In good there is no necessity for evil. If evil has a necessity, it is to destroy itself.

The inanimate does not originate the animate. Intelligence never sprang from nonintelligence.

Soul is Spirit, infinite and eternal; hence Soul is neither sinful nor susceptible of growth, — can neither sin nor die. "The wages of sin is death." Soul is immortal Spirit, — God, — and is in nothing unlike Him. Mortals entertain a false conception of Soul, because the senses say God — Mind — is in matter. This false view of Life, substance and Intelligence is miscalled Soul. Flesh was never incarnated; God made manifest in the flesh is the divine outer action upon the inner vile affections of mortals. The influence from without cometh from Spirit. Whatever is from within is of the flesh.

It was a false teacher who told you that Christian Science and Theosophy are one.

Man is not as an iceberg; he is the image and likeness of his Maker; and the sunlight of Truth melts these frozen hypotheses of error with the warmth of divine Love.

Man has but one Principle, and that is God; and the Scripture saith: "Acquaint now thyself with God, and be at peace."

Good is immortal, and evil is the opposite of good; hence evil is mortal.

The Ego is Spirit, and can be nothing else.

To your last touching enquiry, "Can one believe both Theosophy and Christian Science and be a successful healer?" I answer, No! "As well might a camel go through the eye of a needle." Christ is the Way, and the spiritual idea coincides at no point with the sensual or material.

Now dear friend, follow only the guidance of Truth and Love; then you will be at peace, and heal the sick and sinner.

With Love’s battle flags unfurled,

With hope’s cause before the world,

We are going on,

Though the storm clouds thunder o’er us,

Though the path seems dark before us,

Though the foeman strive to kill us

We are going on;

For our Master led the way,

Fought the fight and won the day;

Follow, follow all who may,

Going on, going on.

Send ye only back, who dare

Not the cross of Christ to bear;

We are going on;

Triumph’s star above us gleaming

Victory on our foreheads beaming,

For fresh duties hourly reaching,

We are going on,

To fulfil each hope and aim,

Conquer sickness, sin and blame,

And each erring heart reclaim,

Going on, going on.

From the darkness of the night;

Into morning’s golden light;

Sisters, labor on;

With the aid of God’s own Science,

With no heed of hate’s defiance,

Truth and right my sole reliance,

I shall labor on.

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From the Bible Study

This is a summary of the discussion from a recent Plainfield Church Bible Study. At these sessions, Bible citations from that week’s Lesson Sermon are discussed.

Around 420 BC, after the rebuilding of the Temple, God had ordained the priests to faithfully practice and teach the people the Word of God as given to Moses, and to keep it pure and holy. But they did just the opposite. They called the people’s evil acts, good. They offered polluted food for offerings to God. The priests offered impure animals for sacrifice, instead of the purest of the flocks. The Jewish men married pagan women, further contaminating the pure thought of the teaching given by Moses. The people were neglectful of tithing and caring for the church.

It was then that Malachi was chosen by God to sternly rebuke the priests and the people for their disobedient ways. He told them that they had turned from God, and he stressed their need to repent and reform. The name Malachi means “God’s messenger” or “my angel,” and He was indeed God’s faithful messenger. He got self out of the way and let God speak through him. He also predicted the coming of John the Baptist and Jesus, saying, “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.” (Malachi 3:3) The priests during Malachi’s time needed this purifying.

Today, we see the same degenerative actions as in Malachi’s time. There are some who would attempt to water down Christian Science and mix it with New Age philosophies and alternative methods of healing, instead of looking to God, Spirit, for every need. The need today is still to keep the Word of God pure, to keep our thought pure, and transform our lives through purer motives in obedience to God. Mary Baker Eddy gave us our textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, which unlocks the spiritual meaning of the Bible. How blessed we are at this time to have the Old Testament with the laws written down by Moses, the New Testament illumined by the light of Christ Jesus, and the final revelation given to us by Mary Baker Eddy in Science and Health.

We have been given the whole Truth for all to embrace, and to live. The Bible and Mrs. Eddy’s writings tell us how to destroy error, and unlimited good is found in the study and practice of these books. Through this study, people are learning how to turn to God in earnest prayer and humbly listen to Him. God is the answer to every problem; but we must seek, listen, and obey Him. Purifying our thinking and loving God more is always the answer. We are God’s image and likeness—spiritual, not material. So, we turn away from the mesmerism of material sense and turn to God, good, to meet all our needs.

When practicing pure Christian Science, we are the minutemen of today. Always on guard, watching every thought, ready to set the captive free and liberate mankind from their mental prisons. In strict adherence to the principles of this Science, we find freedom. “Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings.” (Malachi 4:2)

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History Corner

Many Internet sites regarding New Age and other topics claim that Dr. Quimby is the source of Mrs. Eddy’s works. They all make these particular false claims regarding Mrs. Eddy as if they were facts.

A 38-page pamphlet was published in 1899 titled, “Christian Science History,” by Septimus J. Hanna. Hundreds of these pamphlets were freely distributed, “to present to all fair-minded people a few facts in contradistinction to the falsehoods as to the life and work of Rev. Mary Baker Eddy.”

Fourteen of these pages are dedicated to addressing the “most serious falsehood,” that Mrs. Eddy was not the author of Science and Health, and that her book was the work of Dr. Quimby.

There are many sources of well-documented facts laid out together in this pamphlet, clearing the misconceptions regarding Mrs. Eddy’s connection with Dr. Quimby. This information is still highly important since, to this day, these false claims continue to circulate, especially on the Internet, unchallenged. This pamphlet contains the correct history of Christian Science, and insights into the struggles Mrs. Eddy faced daily.

Below are samples of some of these interesting and very compelling facts included in Judge Hanna’s booklet. The first is quoted from a letter sent to Mrs. Eddy by one of her students, and published in the Christian Science Journal.

“It might be interesting for you to know that Mr. A. J. Swartz of Chicago, went to see the late Dr. P. P. Quimby’s son, and procured his father’s writings for the purpose of having them published in order to show the world that your ideas were borrowed from Quimby. After having examined them, to their utter disappointment, it was found there was nothing that would compare in any way to Science and Health; and he, Swartz, concluded that it would aid you too much to publish them, so they were returned to the owner.

“Mrs. Swartz saw and read these MSS [manuscripts], and she gave me this information. Mary H. Philbrick, Austin, Ill., May 8, 1892.”

Another sample quotes from a lawsuit in 1883 in the Circuit Court of the United States, District of Massachusetts. The court found that some writings published by an Edward J. Arens infringed Mrs. Eddy’s copyright of her book, Science and Health. Arens claimed Mrs. Eddy’s book was authored by Dr. Quimby, but he did not present any evidence to support his claim. When his attorney was asked why he presented no evidence, he said “There is no evidence to present.” The fact that he failed to produce this proof is conclusive evidence that no such proof exists.

It is sometimes said, “I think Christian Science is a beautiful religion, but I am not ready to espouse it, because I fear that it will require me to give up so much.”

One reason why Christian Science is a beautiful religion is that it does not require one to give up anything that is good or that will result in good for him. It calls for the abandonment of nothing but misery and that which causes misery. It sanctions everything that makes for the happiness, health, welfare, and life of man.

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Image by Carl Miller

From the Early Workers

Christian Science Journal, April 1927

Two years before I began the study of Christian Science, I had a great deal of trouble with my eyes. A film seemed to form over them, and I was able to read for only a few moments at a time. I was under the constant care of an oculist for a year, and at the end of that time he, himself, acknowledged that the treatments had been of no avail.

There were many other discordant conditions to be overcome, principally that of nervous intestinal indigestion, from which I had suffered for twelve years. During that time I was under the care of physicians of both schools, had two surgical operations, lived for seven months in a hygienic home, and was six months under an osteopath, but receiving no appreciable benefit, I turned to Christian Science as a last resort. My healing was not a quick one, for I had much to unsee; but through the faithful work of a practitioner, the old troubles faded away, except the obscured vision, which was then not fully met, although I was able to read much more comfortably.

Four years ago last January, the condition of my eyes became very acute. There was constant moisture in the eyes, which required frequent bathing. I could read but little in the daytime, and not at all at night. I took up the work myself during that month, but with no benefit. I was under the care of a practitioner for the next two months, and while I had an occasional bright day, there was no real healing. I then decided that the problem was mine, and must be solved through my own improved thought.

On page 133 of Miscellaneous Writings, Mrs. Eddy writes, "Three times a day, I retire to seek the divine blessing on the sick and sorrowing;" and so three times a day I, too, turned my face toward divine Love to ask for guidance, obedience, and more love. I worked faithfully and conscientiously through that month; and one night, when the storm seemed to roar around me, I called up my teacher and said to him, "I am not discouraged, I am not unhappy, but what shall I do? I have been sitting for four hours in a dark room and cannot see at all in the light. Would you go to an oculist if you were I?" In his quiet way he said, "Have you ever been to an oculist?" "Yes," I said. "Has he ever helped you?" he asked. "No," I replied. "Well, then, I would not go if I were you," he added. I sat for a moment, and then I arose, physically, and in the strength of spiritual understanding, "to resist all that is unlike good," as our Leader tells us in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (p. 393). I knew that I had done all I could; that I could not be mesmerized by the evil suggestion that someone could do something that God could not do. I knew there was no loss or failure in the work of Science, for each treatment was the very Word of God, and it could not "return unto me void." The second morning afterwards, I was at my desk and the thought came to me to look at my eyes. I did so. They were as dry and clear as they are to-day, a condition that had not existed for many months. This experience proved to me that no halfhearted, apathetic effort will succeed, but that we must be alert, earnest, and persistent in our rejection of error if we would claim our birthright of dominion.

I am deeply grateful to God and to Mary Baker Eddy, our beloved Leader, for the great blessings that have come to me from the study of Christian Science, and for the healing touch of the divine presence.

Christian Science Sentinel, March 10, 1910

Healing and reformation go hand in hand in Christian Science. Jesus' teachings clearly reveal that the cause of so-called physical conditions is mental, and that the remedy for such conditions is to change our thinking. It involves the correction of the moral fault that is often the cause of the physical disorder.

The medical profession has seen the devastating effects of wrong thinking upon the human body; and instead of working on the mental and moral level to correct it, has tried to reverse the law of cause and effect and to make mind dependent on matter.

Healing in Christian Science is much more than the temporary relief from aches and pains, — it is the correction of that which caused the so-called physical suffering in the first place — wrong thinking and acting. Mary Baker Eddy writes, “The effect of this Science is to stir the human mind to a change of base, on which it may yield to the harmony of the divine Mind.” (S&H p. 162)

The Christian Scientist knows the one Mind, God, is the sole healing power in the universe. He knows that the law of God is just as operative to destroy sin as it is to destroy disease, and that the healing of one includes the healing of the other. In "Rudimental Divine Science" (p. 8) Mrs. Eddy says, "Heal through Truth and Love; there is no other healer."

Christian Science Journal, February 1890

I am sure it was the Lord that led me to church that day. The sermon was all about the eagle stirring up her nest. The minister said that young eagles are timid and do not like to venture forth — are afraid to try their wings — and the old bird often stirs up her nest, and destroys the nest entirely if necessary, so that they will learn to use their wings. And then, if they still refuse to make the attempt, the eagle pushes them off the high, rocky ledge and soars away, and pretends to forget them — flying upward until she is a mere speck in the blue sky.

He told how the little fledglings, forced to use their wings, do the best they can to save themselves and to follow their mother. Apparently alone and forsaken, with the mother bird far, far above them, they must fly or be beaten to death on the rocks! But let the wings of one of those fledglings begin to tremble with real weakness, and the bird begin to fall — swift as lightning the mother bird darts down from her immense height, swoops under the little fledgling, and bears him up on her strong wings. Forgotten? Not a bit of it! Only being taught the lesson necessary to its life.

Discouragement is one of the many false beliefs of the human mind. Although every Christian Scientist knows that he should not entertain such negative conclusions about himself or anyone else, yet this archenemy to peace can sometimes persuade some faithful workers to listen to its lying arguments, and then to repeat them with, “I am so discouraged. I am a failure. I might as well give up.”

The subtlety of the attack is seen in the victim’s use of the word “I.” If someone had said to him, “You are discouraged,” he would instantly have denied it. He would recognize it as directed mental malpractice, and would promptly and vigorously cast it out. But if it can get him to accept the suggestion as “I” instead of “you,” then the battle is on!

Discouragement can be dismissed just as easily as the dust on a beautiful picture can be brushed off by one who knows the loveliness of what lies beneath.

What God gives us to do, He directs and protects. With this great truth to illumine the way, any new unfamiliar path is found to be so plain, so direct, so joyously and obviously simple, that we wonder, later on, how we could ever have hesitated and almost trembled at the thought of entertaining it. It was only the unreal lie of discouragement that sought to hinder our progress, and failed!

Knowing this, we can approach our work each new morning with a song in our heart because we are proving that there is no power on earth that can disturb the harmony, or the sweet and steady progress, of one who is daily walking closely to God.

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Interesting Squibs

What is fear? A frightful and dangerous substance to the guilty; but an illusion and harmless shadow to the conscientious and upright.

Socrates said that there are two sciences which every man ought to learn — first, the science of speech; and second, the more difficult one of silence.

Life is made up of little things. He who travels over a continent must go step by step. He who writes a book must do it sentence by sentence. What is the happiness of our life made up of? Little courtesies, little kindnesses, pleasant words, genial smiles, a friendly letter, good wishes, and good deeds. One in a million, once in a life-time, may do a heroic action. But the little things that make up our life come every day and every hour.

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.

The highest moral achievement is to so order our lives that we do right without knowing it.

Believe you can and you're halfway there.

Prayer

The most effectual faith in God is not that which takes the form of the intellectual proposition that He is a mighty personal being, ruling the universe from some invisible throne at the center; but it is faith in the goodness, the truth, the right, the love which He is.

Then the soul connects by natural channels of communication with the very springs of divine life, and draws therefrom inexhaustible supplies.

Keep your face always toward the sunshine — and shadows will fall behind you.

Oh, to have “the word of Christ” always dwelling inside of us; — in the memory, never forgotten; in the heart, always loved; in the understanding, really grasped; with all the powers and passions of the mind fully submitted to its control!

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Current Articles

I would like to take this time to celebrate Life and to give gratitude for the mighty work God has done through my Christian Science practitioner and the activities of this church.

Before coming into Christian Science, I was caught up in a terrible state of mind. My life experiences and lack of understanding of God, had me so deep in despair, that I saw no other way out but to kill myself. Death became a game to me. I started taking heavy doses of pain medications at night before I went to bed, just to see how close to the edge I could get. With the amount of pills I was taking, I could have died at any time. I went to work every day, and danced with the devil all night. I was reliving the evils of the past and sometimes did not sleep for days.

During this time, I was seeing a therapist once a week and had become so proficient in deceiving her, that I was able to obtain more pain medication with ease. At the same time, I was screaming inside, fighting for my life, against this unknown opponent that seemed to dominate my every word and action. It seemed like no one could hear me crying out for help. I felt guilty and ashamed, struggling to break free of the mental trap I was in. I was told I had an incurable mental illness that I would have to learn to live with for the rest of my life. I felt that all hope was lost.

A friend of mine, who knew of some of the struggles I was having, gave me the phone number of a practitioner from this church. I guess the devil knew that if I called that number, it would be “cast out,” because it came at me with increased force, suggesting that I would be better off dead. That night I took a very large dose of pills; and after some deeply disturbing thoughts, mixed with pleading to God for my life, I fell asleep. The next morning I was angry and yet very relieved that I was still alive. All day I struggled to call the practitioner, and by evening I had finally won the battle. Exhausted, I called her. It sounded like the voice of an angel, and I knew right then I had been saved. For the first time in my life, I cried tears of relief for that little girl who was so lost and now was found. My practitioner reached right in and pulled me out. I was never so happy to see the light of day in all my life. With conviction and authority, she filled my thought with so much Truth that there was no cause to argue. When she finished speaking, I knew I was “the daughter of the King,” and my inheritance was heaven.

Since that day, I have experienced many healings, each unfolding more understanding of my relationship with God. I no longer feel that my life is out of control. I have never taken another pill, and found no need to continue therapy. My mind is clear, and the sting of the past is gone. I know that God heard my cries and has never withheld His hand from me. I wake up each morning to greet the world with a heart filled with gratitude to God, for the life He has given me.

This healing has enabled me to use the talents God gave me to create paintings for our church magazine, that express God's love for His children. It has also given me the confidence and wisdom to build and open a pottery shop, which enables children who have been labeled “handicapped” to be both seen and heard, through the artistic expression of the true beauty that lies within them. It has changed the atmosphere of my home, enabling my family and friends to experience God's presence. My heart overflows with love for the opportunities I have been given, to use this Science for the glory of God. I am so grateful to be alive and working to fulfill His purpose.

I am so grateful for my practitioner and Mary Baker Eddy for bringing Truth into my life and waking me up from the deep sleep I was in. I am so grateful to God for all I have been given.

I had been having pains in the side of my abdomen for some time. Then I ended up having to go for a medical examination for my employer. While I was there, the doctor who examined me suggested that the cause for the pain could be very serious. I left that doctor’s office that day full of fear and uncertainty about my health.

I contacted a Plainfield practitioner about the situation. Out of the many useful ideas this practitioner gave me to work with, she also taught me about the daily practice of Christian Science, which, despite having gone through class with an “authorized” teacher, I never knew.

I was told to start my day, before even getting out of bed, declaring to myself the Daily Duties from the Church Manual. Then I was to use the seven synonyms for God, given in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy, and to work to associate those synonyms with God and myself. Doing this really helped to prepare my thought to understand and internalize the Plainfield Lesson Sermon that I study daily. It was only after this that I was to study the Lesson Sermon, knowing that God would make me receptive to what I needed to know from that Lesson each day.

Then I was told to get a small piece of paper and write down one thing that stood out to me from the Lesson. I was to carry that around with me and refer to it throughout the day (I’ve been keeping these in my wallet). I was then to store these small pieces of paper in a box at the end of the day, in order to build up my arsenal of right ideas. The practitioner assured me that, as I work with these ideas in this way, “they become you.”

I now regularly, genuinely, feel a greater sense of oneness with God (good) through this practitioner’s recommended daily practice. What a difference!

As the last few months have gone by, I have noticed my fear and focus on the pain I had been feeling start to become less and less important to me. Recently, I have noticed that the pain has left, and I’m not exactly sure when that happened!

I am very grateful, not only for this healing, but the learning and progress I’ve come to know, to trust, and to live in accord with a greater understanding of God than I had ever known before.

I thank God for leading me to the Plainfield Christian Science Church, Independent; for the Plainfield practitioner’s unwavering support, and for Mary Baker Eddy’s unwavering devotion to God to bring this discovery to the world.

A few years ago I used to drive about 40 minutes to work. At the time, one of my enslaving fears was being in a car on the road, whether I was driving or someone else was. Many negative thoughts would come which made me very fearful. Large cargo trucks, that would come so close sometimes and pass by so fast, had me on edge most of the time.

One rainy day there were many huge trucks along the way, and they were driving very fast and passing me on both sides. I decided to use what I knew in Christian Science. It was a bit snowy and the road scene was tricky, so I prayed for all the drivers, for the planes, and anything moving that day. I kept clear in my thinking that God is at the wheel of my car, and everyone else’s car. I stopped focusing on the messy road and repeated to myself that God is keeping everyone safe in their right lane. I kept working this way throughout my drive, and the result was the most harmonious 40-minute drive ever. A beautiful sense of peace came over me and has left me free from that awful sense of doom when driving.

Learning to discipline my thinking with the spiritual fact of God’s omnipresence, I learned to always pray before I got into a car. This practice of praying before going anywhere has helped me overcome this false sense; but even more effective has been the surrendering to God’s care.

A couple of simple prayers are now part of my mental preparation before going anywhere. I pray that, “The Christ goes before me and the way is prepared.” I also trustingly declare that, “God makes a way,” when I have to make a turn while in traffic, and have found that the way opens for a harmonious turn each time.

I have a different feeling when I drive now. I think correctly! I think of God’s Omnipotence, Omnipresence, Omniscience and Omni-action and surrender to His unfailing care. This has enabled me to appreciate the wonderful sceneries along the way and keep my focus on holding others in God’s love. Truly, when we love God and love to live His Truth, nothing can take away our joy. What a powerful Truth this is from Psalm 34:4, that: “I sought the Lord and He delivered me from all my fears.”

I would like to tell of God’s protection that we experienced recently. We had a storm (called a nor’easter in the North Eastern United States), which was a severe storm with lots of snow and heavy winds. Prior to the storm everyone in the church was asked to watch and pray in order to handle the weather, and pray that it not be destructive, but that God’s will be done. Everybody did pray.

As a background, my wife and I live in an area that is heavily forested. There are hills right next to our house which have very large old trees. Some are nearly 100 feet tall. This part of New Jersey is referred to as the last of the great Eastern forest. These are beautiful, magnificent trees. A couple of those trees are actually fairly close to our house.

During that storm, as we were home praying and doing God’s work, one of those very large trees came down. However, it did not fall down the hill toward our house where it would have hit our house. It came down at an angle alongside the edge of the hill, where it caused no damage at all. It did not make any sense logically that it would fall in that direction, except that it was clearly God’s protection. Even though several trees in our yard came down, our house was unharmed entirely as a result of that storm. We were able to carry on and do what God had for us to do.

This was a wonderful example of God’s protection when we trust in Him for our safety.

In Science and Health it says, “To begin rightly is to end rightly.” This speaks to one of the most valuable lessons I've learned in this church — to begin all things with God.

Beginning with God means, first, with a pure motive. Then, in every situation, to acknowledge His omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. And finally, to ask, with a sincere heart, that His will alone, be done. This puts every detail right where it should be, in the hand of God.

For the past month I've been going through an application and interview process for a promotion at work. I was strongly encouraged by senior management to apply; and, although I was unsure if I should, I was able to do what I now know to do — to ask God. I've been praying all along the way for guidance, step-by-step, asking for God to give me only what He wants for me, and to put me only where He wants me to be, in order to bless.

Although I've been faced with negative suggestions and some deterring opinions from a couple of people along the way, I've been able to work through it all, by praying with everything I have, and doing my best to trust it all to God.

This has been a much needed and most beneficial growth process for me. I'm so grateful for the peace and confidence that I have in knowing that, because I began by going to my Father and Creator, who knows what is best for me, the end result will be only what it should be, and I am satisfied with that.

In the Bible, in Isaiah, we read, “In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.” In Collectanea, referring to that statement, Mary Baker Eddy tells us we need to, “Study to be quiet.” To be quiet is to be still, to be free from the claim of disturbance, from the clamor of mortal mind.

At one time it was very hard for me to quiet my thought, even at times when I would be reading my Bible Lesson. All kinds of things would be racing through my head — maybe things I had to do, or things I was worried about. So, that idea, to study to be quiet, to just be still and listen, meant a lot to me.

Very often in praying to God we might do a lot of talking ourselves. We might try to tell God what we need, what we want Him to do for us. Yet really what we should be doing is listening! God already knows what we really do need, more than we do ourselves.

How important to quiet the human thought, the agitated thought, in order to get ourselves in a quiet place to hear God’s voice and feel His presence. It is important to feel His tender lovingkindness and to be receptive to it. In truth, what we need now and every day, is to feel the presence of God.

I am grateful for Mrs. Eddy’s council, “Study to be quiet.” Let’s work to quiet our thought to keep ourselves poised in the truth.

God sent water out of the desert land of Edom

Without rain or wind or cloud.

In the same way, He will deliver you to freedom

Though you cannot seem to see a way out.

Do you think it’s a hard thing to be healed?

Well, stop thinking that if you would be restored.

It is but a light thing to The Lord.

You remember, there was the feeding five thousand

With some bread, a couple of fish.

Can’t you see that you will be fed and clothed and

housed and

Live a life far better than you could wish?

You have only desired to find the Way;

Lift your thought up — waiting there is your reward.

It is but a light thing to The Lord.

If you think that you’re going to God

But you don’t really believe that He will do anything,

Then you’re not really going to God —

You’re just imagining a vain thing.

A waste of time.

God provided horses and chariots of fire

To destroy the enemy.

When you’re low down, it is the evil one’s desire

That you do not claim your right to be free.

They with you are much more than they with them.

The Almighty is your shield and your sword —

It is but a light thing to The Lord.

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Letters of Gratitude

I have been listening to so many wonderful audio files from the Plainfield Church. I am so grateful for this amazing resource. The gems that your church provides us with are incomparable. The Bible Studies, Roundtables and testimonies are richly helpful. I am SO GRATEFUL! Plainfield is doing the work that I have been wanting to see in the world. I do want to get involved.

I started working with Mary Baker Eddy’s article Body and the article on mesmerism. That led me to Oneness by Bicknell Young which led me to Infinite Supply by Martha Wilcox and then more. I love the Bible study about Noah and the Roundtable on the Remnant, among so many more.

Thank you so much!

I want to give thanks for the March 2018 issue of Love is the Liberator on “Employment.” I am finding several articles especially helpful at this time: “Excerpts from Finance,” by Bicknell Young, and Mrs. Eddy’s “Ninety-First Psalm” and “Possession,” also by Mary Baker Eddy. The magazine is filled with Love! Also the painting by Luanne is simply awesome! It expresses grace, beauty, tenderness, Love, spiritual peace, gentleness and purity and so much more. To me, it represents the “Kingdom of Heaven” here on earth. Thank you!

I totally agree with what was recently said at a Roundtable discussion about learning the most about Christian Science from a practitioner.

I had a wonderful practitioner when I was growing up. She seems to have been similar to Mrs. Evans in many ways. From somewhere, and perhaps from this wonderful woman, I remember the saying, “One teaches by healing, and one heals by teaching.” This saying implies that teaching and healing should go hand-in-hand. If you think about it, Jesus both taught and healed.

This is what attracted me to Plainfield. I’m not in this for the quick fix; I’m in it to increase my understanding of God. There are good practitioners out there who I can call, get healed, and write a check to; but what have I gained in my understanding of God?!? This is why Plainfield is such a gem. The practitioners at Plainfield are willing to both heal and teach. Modern technology allows much of this teaching to be on the web, multiplying its reach. This church and its practitioners get the importance of both! I am grateful to have found this church.

What an incredible blessing it is to have the Plainfield Church! We are so grateful to be able to attend from afar through the wonderful online services. Our website, a labor of love, offers resources to answer every need.

We realize how much effort goes in to making the Plainfield website available to all, at no charge, so enclosed please find our contribution to help make this possible.

I’m in Sydney Australia. I’m studying Christian Science and I’m very grateful for the YouTube content available.

Yes, your work is reaching the great beyond! There’s a little alien and his family (right now) on the other side of the universe who is powering up his spaceship from the translation of your YouTube broadcasts and articles (for future traveling!) Joy is the fuel of eternity otherwise being an eternal being would be pretty boring.

Seeing and hearing the articles and Roundtables you have posted has brought renewed joy into my life. What precious study resources. Thank you, thank you, thank you for doing this labour of love. It’s important that you get this feedback too for renewal and confidence about how important your work really is! Affirmative! Results are occurring. Transformation of thoughts are occurring. I’m a tough nut to crack and you’ve reached me. Oh may YouTube stay honest and true in the uplifting of humanity! May my gratitude give you all infinite energy and affirmation! Joy is the fuel that can power across the infinite spiritual universe.

Some days I am feeling down and I find a great help in the Church Bible Studies and Roundtables to lift me up. Thank you for being there.

I am so grateful for the growth I have experienced since coming to Plainfield.

Love is the Liberator and the Forum Highlights are just filled with inspiration.

Thank you so much!

Thank you God for Christian Science and the Plainfield Church, the faithful practitioners and this blessed church. To have a safe haven and a good loving God is what I desire so much and I have found that here.

God Bless.

I just want to express my gratitude for the powerful readings on the Mission of Christian Science. It was reaffirming to me of how blessed we all are to have been given this priceless gift of Truth and how imperative it is for each of us to strive to apply that Truth daily in our lives.

Thank you for the Roundtable discussion on Mrs. L. Adrienne Vinciguerra from a Century of Christian Science Healing published in 1966. The discussion was a fascinating account of her living in Austria in 1942 in a prisoner of war camp on the Hungarian border and walking out of that camp in broad daylight as a result of studying Science and Health for about four months. Her testimony goes on to share how she was protected and guided by listening to God. Very inspiring. I appreciate all the wisdom I learn from listening to your practical guidance each week.

Thank you for the article “Given Thee From Above” by Mary Beth Singleterry. Like all that is written in this church, it is the pure truth expressed, so to bless mankind. This article gives the comfort, courage, and confidence needed by everyone, everyday, by reminding all of the absolute fact that there is no power apart from God, therefore there is no reason to worry, doubt, fear, to stress or be impressed by aggressive requests, suggestions, or demands. What peace we can find in trusting this!

Wow! What an uplifting healing Easter service. When it was over, tears of joy and gratitude were freely flowing down my face. Thank you.

I’d like to express a heartfelt thank you to Jeremy for setting up the YouTube channel. I find myself listening to the channel while doing household chores or during a lull at work, such a blessing. Thank you for taking this leap of faith on behalf of the world. Also thank you to all the church members that have recorded articles and books that populate the channel as well as the instructional testimonies that I find most helpful. I love how this church is making true Christian Science available to all around the globe.

I am so grateful for the Truth and Love expressed and demonstrated by the Plainfield Christian Science Church, Independent members.

The Lessons, Bible Study, watches, website and all that is available on it is tremendous. Just when I think the website is best ever it is “best-ed” by the perfection of God continually unfolding.

Thank your for the readings and teaching.

I am so grateful for the example of Jesus Christ and Mary Baker Eddy.

I am enclosing a contribution. No amount is enough when I think about how valuable Christian Science is. I feel so blessed that I was led to this wonderful religion — so full of provable information.

Thank you for the readings called the Receptive Heart at a Wednesday evening meeting in October 2017. As I listened to them again I thought of all that is going on in our country and the world and how these powerful words, like a prayer, call to the receptive heart to awaken and heal. “And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”

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Testimonies of Healing

From L. F. in Maryland

I am so happy to be here tonight. And I am so grateful to give my testimony.

When I woke up yesterday I had a headache and I dreaded going to work, so I had to fight for my joy with heartfelt praises to God for life, truth, and love. The headache ceased; but as I was getting ready for work, I noticed a rash on both arms. I had a busy day ahead of me and was still feeling a little overwhelmed. Because I didn’t want anyone to notice my arms, I wore a sweater. I prayed all the way to work affirming that God is my life.

When I got to work, I looked at the rash and noticed that it had gotten worse. So I closed my door and began to work with the Scientific Statement of Being and the definition of Man found in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. I worked with these truths for about 30 minutes, until I felt the Peace of God. Then without looking at my arms again, I started my day, going to one meeting after another, and didn’t think about it again until around 3:00 o’clock when it started to get a little warm in my office. So I shut the door and I took my sweater off and, praise God, my arms were healed! More proof that Christian Science is a demonstrable truth.

I am so grateful for Mrs. Eddy, for Christian Science, for this church, our website, and for ongoing and loving practitioner support. It has truly changed my life.

From D. C. in Oregon

A while back I injured my hand, when, you might say, I got caught between a rock and a hard place. It tore off the skin on the back of my hand in an area about two by three inches, but it was still attached on one side. It took some time to get the bleeding to stop, but after I did, I called my practitioner here at Plainfield for help.

As always, she was very kind and helpful. She told me to look up the definition of God in our textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. It says, “GOD. The great I AM; the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise, all-loving, and eternal; Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love; all substance; intelligence.” The practitioner said to give special attention to “the all-acting” for the next few days.

I continued to speak with my practitioner and studied the definition of God. In just a few days my hand was completely healed! I never suffered any pain after calling her the first time, only when it first got injured. There is no other treatment that could have brought such a quick and complete healing as I had through Christian Science.

I give my thanks to God, to Jesus, Mrs. Eddy, and my practitioner for keeping me healthy.

From P. P. in Florida

Several years ago, I had spent the morning reading and studying. When I got up to start my duties for the day, while walking very fast on a marble floor, I jammed my foot into the base of a column with such force that it threw my body into the air and slammed me down on my back onto the hard floor. My first thought was, “ow, ow!” My second thought was “Get up.” I knew, being a Christian Scientist, that I should be declaring the truth, so I lay there a few moments and prayed. Shortly the thought came, “Get up and go about your business.”

Having learned the importance of obedience, I stood up. As I did, all pain left. I then dismissed the experience, just going about my business. It was not until that evening that I thought about the incident again. I was sitting in my office with my bare feet propped up on the credenza. I suddenly looked at both feet, and they were perfect — no pain, swelling, or redness, no bruises, just two perfect feet.

Clearly God was with me and caring for me (as He does for all), and He was working on my behalf.

From B. S. in Paris, France

With the help of a practitioner from this church, I am realizing I am the son of God. Thank you, God, for everything You are doing for me. Erroneously thinking I wasn't worthy to get any attention from You, I discovered that the Truth was exactly the opposite.

I am grateful for the change in my work, and I am happy to discover that we are not living in a world of danger. No, we are living in the realm of God, good.

I am more and more quiet and happy to realize that evil thoughts cannot outline anything in my life.

From E. S. in Georgia

Our family has had a wonderful demonstration of God’s care, which I am profoundly grateful for. My son, who is a senior in high school, plays soccer for his high school team. In January he was required to have a physical exam. Everything was normal except his blood pressure, which kept reading high, and the doctor would not sign off. He went to three different doctors, and each time the result was the same. The third doctor finally said he should see a cardiologist, since it seemed he might have a heart murmur, which could cause this. My husband made an appointment, and my son went through a number of tests. He was told this murmur was fairly normal and the high blood pressure was probably due to stress or hypertension. The cardiologist okayed him to play for the season.

However, my son has been concerned about this, and has taken his blood pressure on his own several times. The readings have always been high. He is also going through a lengthy and rigorous process for admission into a military academy, and part of the requirement is to have a medical exam.

The past few months have been a bit of a roller coaster, and I have had to wrestle with getting myself out of the way of his decisions. When speaking with a practitioner in this church, she told me he feels this pressure, and it is animal magnetism trying to get me to lose my peace. So, I have been working instead to see him as God’s child, and that God knows what he needs.

Last night when praying, I became very calm and felt God’s love and care for him, and knew that God governs every function of his body. This morning as I was reading Science and Health, this stood out to me: “Spiritual ideas, like numbers and notes, start from Principle, and admit no materialistic beliefs. Spiritual ideas lead up to their divine origin, God, and to the spiritual sense of being.” This gave me a great sense of peace.

Since this day was the physical exam for admittance to college, I called my practitioner for additional help. A short while later, I got a text from my husband saying that our son’s blood pressure was completely normal. After months of it not being normal, this was wonderful news and a clear demonstration that God was at work, showing what was always true. I am so grateful for God’s care and for practitioner support.

From C. H. in Pennsylvania

Several weeks ago I was awakened by an awful pain. I remembered that Mrs. Eddy said if anything happens in the night, to get up and get dressed; so I got up and sat in a chair. I began praying with truths I have learned about body, from Mary Baker Eddy’s article titled “Body,” which can be found on our website. There is one God, so there is One body, One Power, One activity...this is God’s body and He is made manifest in my body and all bodies.

I also remembered a recent Bible Study where we talked about Christ Jesus’ healing of a man who had been blind since birth. One commentary related that the blind man didn’t see the Christ, but the Christ saw him. This is true for us today. At that moment I hadn’t been aware of the Christ right away, but the Christ is always aware of me.

Soon I found myself nodding off to sleep, and I realized that the pain was completely gone! I returned to bed and slept for the remainder of the night. I did pray to know that the healing could not be reversed in any way, and the pain never returned. We may not see the Christ, but He always sees us, and I think about this every day now.

From J. M. in Georgia

Recently, I called a close friend to confirm plans we were making for the weekend. She confided in me that she had received an unfavorable doctor’s report. She began to cry and said she was not ready to die. At that moment, thoughts about God and who this friend really is began to flood my thought. I told her that was a lie about her and we could not accept it, for God did not tell her such a thing.

As thoughts about God and who my friend is came to me, I began to share my thoughts with her. One statement I shared was from a testimony given at this church a few years ago. The testifier mentioned a relative who was also given an unfavorable report, and the testifier told her relative, “A doctor’s diagnosis has NO power over you!” I also mentioned Jesus' statement to Pilate from John 19:11: “Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it be given thee from above.” She thanked me for every statement of Truth.

Every day for a week I prayed. We talked before her next appointment, and she told me how her heart felt free. I gave her these words from hymn 10 in the Christian Science Hymnal, “All power is given unto our Lord, On Him we place reliance. ... He is our shield and tower, Almighty is His power.” Also, from Miscellaneous Writings by Mary Baker Eddy, page 151, “God is our Father and our Mother, our Minister and the great Physician.” Lastly, I mentioned to her what a practitioner told me, “Let the Christ go in before you.”

The next day as soon as she left the doctor’s office she called me. I could hear the joy in her voice. She said the doctor ordered a second x-ray, and it showed no abnormality!

I am so grateful for this proof of God's allness and that nothing apart from Him is present or has power!

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The Purpose of This Issue

Manual of The Mother Church,
The First Church of Christ Scientist,
in Boston, Massachusetts,
by Mary Baker Eddy, 88th Edition

While members of this Church do not believe in the doctrines of theosophy, hypnotism, or spiritualism, they cherish no enmity toward those who do believe in such doctrines, and will not harm them. But whenever God calls a member to bear testimony to Truth and to defend the Cause of Christ, he shall do it with love and without fear.

“Publish the Word”

Broadcast the Truth

“Freely ye have received, freely give”