Dear Editor:—Will you kindly give place to the following explanation. Immediately after the Christmas holidays a letter, which I had previously written to Mrs. Eddy, was published in the Sentinel and Journal. In it I thanked her for sending to us a copy of Prof. Theodore F. Seward's book, "Bible Sunshine." I have recently learned that this mention of the book was regarded among some Christian Scientists as an endorsement of it. This is not correct. The author kindly sent this copy to Mrs. Eddy, and as she has but little time to give to anything apart from her increasing work, she sent it to us, and I was merely thanking her for her courtesy.
I have since been told that "many Christian Science healers are putting it into the hands of patients who think they cannot fully understand 'Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.'" This statement, together with the information of the misdirected thought occasioned by a mere mention of the book in a letter which was not intended for publication, leads me to ask the privilege of making this correction. Had I suspected such an erroneous impression had been made upon any one, it should have been righted long ago.
The truth of the matter is, that after reading Professor Seward's book, we greatly regretted that one who had been so awakened to the Truth of Christian Science, and had expressed such gratitude for that awakening, should feel that he could give to the world a book that would be better to put into the hands of any one than the one that had led him, and thousands beside, out of the wilderness or superstition. We felt that a personal desire was blinding him to the greater good that he could do, were he promulgating instead the pure doctrine of Christian Science as it has been given to the world from the inspired pen of our Leader, the Rev. Mary Baker G. Eddy; and any attempt to elucidate the text-book of Christian Science must be unfavorably received by those who know the import and value of that book. The loyal Christian Scientist knows that neither he nor his patient should read or study the books of any other author than those of our beloved Leader, in order to learn the Science of the Christ Truth which she is teaching and demonstrating to this age. We are learning what Jesus meant, when he said to his disciple, "Follow me;" and while we respect all individual effort to uplift humanity, we know that if we would protect the interest of our Cause we must directly follow the one who is leading this Cause. We must enter the sheepfold by the door, and not seek to climb up some other way.
Concord, N. H., August 2, 1901.
