It is more than eight years since I first began reading Science and Health, and though I did not understand for some time the truth contained in this book, I continued to read, for I felt it was a beautiful religion, and that there was surely something in it for me.
I had for a long time been under medical treatment for throat and lung trouble, but was not improving. After reading Science and Health, the Journal, and the lessons from the Quarterly for about two years, in order to convince myself thoroughly, I wrote to a practitioner for treatment, —the nearest one known to me being about two hundred miles distant. The treatment was continued at irregular intervals for over two years, but my healing was so very slow that during this time I could see very little change in the physical condition. I was, however, gaining what has been to me more than the physical healing; namely, a higher understanding of God, and this brought to me a peace of mind which I had not known before. My thought was being awakened to the truth, and I began to see that I had a work to do in this process of salvation, and when I went to work the healing began.
Soon after this I had a very severe test of my faith, which came in an attack of malaria. It lasted over a period of four months, and my friends thought I would never recover; but again, by the patient efforts of my practitioner, I was freed from it. Since that time I have had the privilege of class instruction, which has helped me in overcoming many ills of the flesh. The consumption entirely disappeared, and I also had the opportunity of proving the power of Truth in destroying the fear of contagion.
