My healing in Christian Science was the natural result of the revelation of Truth which came to me with my first perusal of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy, and was instantaneous. I was not at that time even a regular attendant at any Church of Christ, Scientist, and so far as I know, I was not even acquainted with any member. It is with a consciousness of deep humility and unfeigned gratitude that I add my testimony of the healing and spiritual uplift which have come to me through the understanding of the divine Principle of Christian Science.
When my attention was first seriously attracted to the subject, I was, and for years had been, a great sufferer from the merciless attacks of a malignant form of kidney disease. At the period of which I write, the condition had become greatly aggravated. I could not walk more than a city block without either sitting down on steps or leaning against a wall to gather fortitude to go on. This extreme condition was not always present with me, but nearly always. In my extremity I consulted several physicians in various parts of the country; but they one and all gave me to understand that the best they could do with their resources would be to lessen my sense of the agony. With the calmness of despair I had settled down to the contemplation of the supposedly inevitable, when by a seeming accident my wife and I became acquainted with a traveling man who had just arrived from a sojourn of years in Japan. In the course of many evenings' conversation, he had imparted to us a faint perception of the wonderful truth of Christian Science, for which truth he himself was a most earnest seeker. Our desire to know more of this great discovery led to his advising us to purchase a copy of Science and Health, which we did at our earliest opportunity.
I shall never forget my first look into that wonderful book. It was on the evening of a day in which I had suffered intensely (I had long since ceased to take medicine or to employ any material application whatsoever, having found both of no avail), and I finally opened the Christian Science text-book and prepared to "look into" Christian Science. I am absolutely sure that I had no thought of finding a cure, for I did not believe such a tiling possible in our day and age. I started at the beginning, and having read that wonderful chapter on Prayer, I can truly say that instead of being bored, as I had fully expected to be, I was never so enthralled before. I reread the chapter, finding new joy in every word, and before retiring I felt compelled to read the second chapter, Atonement and Eucharist, also. When I reluctantly laid the book aside for the night, all the world seemed transformed to me. For several days thereafter I could think of nothing outside of this new light which seemed to have sprung up within me. I went happily about my duties, and when next I thought about my physical condition, it was to realize that I had not had one moment's consciousness of pain from the hour I had begun to read Science and Health. The healing was instantaneous and the demonstration complete.
