Even the little understanding of man's relationship to God which is mine through the study of Christian Science makes me very grateful. I frequently attended the Sunday and Wednesday evening services with friends or relatives who were Scientists, but never felt a desire to study this teaching, although I always had a friendly feeling toward it and owned a copy of the text-book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy, which my grandmother had given me in my boyhood. This state of affairs went along for years, but as I grew older I developed a desire to smoke (and did to a great extent) and to go out among my friends to cafes and be a "good fellow" in their way. On such occasions I was careful not to let my parents know, as I knew they did not approve and would forbid.
In the fall of 1914 I attended a lecture on Christian Science, and it was after this lecture that I really had the desire to know more of Christian Science and to find a better way to have pleasure. I came home and began to study both the Bible and Science and Health, using the dictionary freely. After about two hours of reading I began to see a faint light on the spiritual meaning of the Bible, and from the night of that lecture I have had no desire for tobacco or to be a "good fellow," except in the way that Jesus has shown.
Words cannot express my thankfulness for this demonstration, and for the good that is being brought into our home. I am daily proving that Christian Science destroys both fear and discouragement, and trust that those who are trying to do so with a small understanding, as I am, will let that Mind be in them "which was also in Christ Jesus" and hold steadfast to the truth that there is no power apart from God. My heart is filled with thankfulness to God for this demonstrable truth which our dear Leader, Mrs. Eddy, has so plainly set forth in Science and Health. It is my one great desire so to live that all may see my good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven. I am grateful for all the Christian Science literature, and for the dear friends who are helping me on my journey from sense to Soul. — Chicago, Ill.
