I wish to bear witness to some of the many blessings which Christian Science has brought to me. I want to give the experience, "the falling apple," that led me to put into immediate use the law of Truth, which enabled me to overcome the use of tobacco, intoxicants, and profanity. In the year 1889, I was loading teams in a brick-yard. A teamster drove in to be loaded with brick, a man whom I had never seen before, neither did I ever see him again. Being a stranger, I had to introduce myself to him by relating all the ills of the body that I had, the chief one being, as I thought, a cancerous growth in my throat, caused by the use of tobacco. After he had listened to all my woes, he said to me, "You can stop using tobacco if you want to." He spoke "as one having authority," and instead of telling me of some drug as I had expected, he related to me his own experience, how he had used tobacco, had been addicted to strong drink, but was then free from the use of either. He said, "The way to stop is not to think about it; when the thought of tobacco comes up, think about something else." And I thank God, from that day to this, I have thought about something else.
Thus ended my first lesson in Christian Science. I did not get the name of this new remedy at that time, but God was leading me. Three months after this the name was revealed to me, by seeing a lady who had been healed of Bright's disease in its last stages, through Christian Science. After getting a few words of enlightenment from her practitioner, I knew that I had found the name of my new remedy, and what I had been looking for all my life, a remedy that would heal every ill that flesh is heir to. The first thing I did was to destroy all the medicine I had on hand, which I was taking three times a day. I then sat down and ate a good hearty meal of the things that were set before me, something I had not done for months previous to this time, never consulting my stomach as to what I should, or should not eat. I had been dieting myself for some time, and my stomach was getting in such a condition that I could hardly eat anything without suffering. Since that time I have never had any trouble with my stomach, and for this, and the many other blessings I have received through the teachings of Christian Science in the past fourteen years, I must say, I feel truly grateful. I would not feel that this gratitude was fully expressed, without turning with a thankful heart to her who has made all these things Possible in this age.
Los Angeles, Cal.
