In submitting this testimony for publication my object is twofold: first, as a beneficiary of Christian Science I desire to express my gratitude through its periodicals to Mrs. Eddy, author of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," whose pages have given me so much help both physically and spiritually; second, the hope is entertained that this will meet the eye of some sufferers, and be the means of inducing them to come and drink at the fount of this healing truth and have their sorrows turned to joy and their supplications to thanksgiving, not only for the healing of their bodies, but for the richness of the joy that will flood their lives, making of each duty to their fellows a votive offering on the altar of divine Love.
I may say that although I had been brought up by a Christian mother, I had been a skeptic always, and until within the last five years I had never gained the power of right thinking. For more than thirty years I had deluded myself with false beliefs, but the law of compensation never falters, it never fails to render full payment for all acts of mortals, be those acts what they may. The old adage that truth is stranger than fiction has been exemplified in many human lives by tragedies so deep that it places them beyond the sphere of imitation, and yet one cannot but concede that these experiences are necessary at times to awaken the human creature who is steeped in self, whose every thought is of the earth, earthy.
To my awakening sense comes the knowledge that the clouds of error slowly lifting from my mental view carry with them the false concepts due to their presence, leaving in their stead clearer perceptions of man's bounden duty to his fellows and his creator. I have come to regard the series of misfortunes that preceded and followed my rude awakening, and of which they were the direct cause, as but a means for my awakening; and although their coming brought many heartaches, I do not regret them now, and would not have them different if things were to remain as in the old life. Domestic troubles, the tearing asunder of family ties, business reverses, ill health, and the sudden passing of loved ones,—all these following in rotation forced me to the brink where it would seem that but a slight impetus was needed to send me down to total destruction; but happily for me, at this time a few good Christian friends gathered around me, buoyed me up with loving words and acts, helping me to place myself in the right attitude toward God (as they knew Him). All honor to them, and though my views have changed, through the understanding that Christian Science is bringing to me, I shall always hold them in loving remembrance.
The first few months following my conversion found me a humble but zealous worker in the missionary fields of this city, but soon difficulties began to creep in. I was not aware at this time of the nature and cause of these troubles, but suffice it to say that at the end of my first year of Christian experience I discovered myself drifting away from the doctrine of my church. At this time I knew absolutely nothing of Christian Science, never having seen its literature or heard its tenets upheld, consequently I had nothing to help me solve these errors; but they would not down, and my pastor was unable to throw any light upon these things for me. Platitudes will not answer these questions in a, satisfying manner; they do not meet the need when one is striving to rise spiritually in the scale of being. I loved the Bible then, and read it, but not understandingly. I strove to do my duty as a Christian, but did so with a heavy heart. Only those who have been through this experience know the bitterness of this cup, but I thank God that all this mental suffering is past history with me now, never to return.
It is now nearly a year since Christian Science first came into my life. An injury to the spine, followed by four months of suffering, which the doctors were unable to relieve, was the immediate cause of my seeking its aid. A Scientist, whose friendship I had previously formed, called on me at my request, and through his help and advice I was enabled to go to work again in ten days. In many smaller ways since that time the power of divine Truth has been brought home to me, so clearly and convincingly that to reject this lesson would mean the banishment from my life of every hope that I have been striving for. Light comes slowly to those who have been in spiritual darkness for many years, but it does surely come to those who persist in a course of right doing, and there is no other road to (real) happiness. I find Mrs. Eddy's writings a great help in the right interpretation of the Scriptures, and to one who enters into the spirit of her teachings is born a sense of gratitude to this good woman who is spending her life in doing good unto others.
I am not a member of any church at the present time, having severed my connection with my former church some three months after my introduction to Christian Science. One thing that prompted me to take this step was the physical healing, and the other was my longing for something more substantial to lean upon than the frail creeds and formalities of the old beliefs. To one who is trying to break away from the fetters of dead laws, the service of the Christian Science church is a revelation; the evident sincerity of its people, and their clear and intelligent testimony, go far in convincing one of their genuineness. The physical emotions are not allowed to come to the surface with them; their faith is based on reason, deduced from the solid facts of the Scriptures,—a literal carrying out of the divine invitation, "Let us reason together, saith the Lord."
Seeing these things, hearing these things, and having had the touch of divine Truth applied to my own life, there was no other alternative left me but to break away from the mistakes of the past. However much I may rejoice at the fact of my physical healing, I have far greater cause than this to be glad. The physical benefits received have indeed been great, but they dwindle into insignificance when compared with the spiritual freedom which one receives through the understanding of Christian Science. The elimination of erroneous concepts (induced by man-made creeds); the forming of new ones, more consonant with the spiritual laws of justice; the reduction of all friction in one's daily life to its lowest possible terms,—these are the things which tend to open the portals of the heart and allow its incense to float upward and outward, that all who will may share the glad news that another one of God's creatures has found the true way of Life. This testimony is given as a slight token of my gratitude for the light that has come unto me.— Tacoma, Wash.
