At the age of about eighteen years I left a comfortable home for South Africa. I had received a good religious education, and during the eleven years that I was out there I had many opportunities for applying my religion to the temptations that crossed my path. The best I could do was to know the difference between what was right and what was wrong, which did not seem a very difficult task; but I soon saw that something else was necessary, and that was to resist the wrong. This I earnestly tried to do, but soon became discouraged. Temptation to think wrong quickly developed in me, and caused me much mental agony, as I felt that to think wrong was just as bad as to act wrong.
At the end of the eleven years I returned home for the second time, broken down in health. Owing to mental worries and physical ailments I gradually drifted away from my church, and feeling hopeless of ever reaching the state I looked upon as perfection, decided there was nothing to do but give up the fight. At that moment a sister gave me a copy of the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy, to read, and to please her I took it, knowing nothing about its teachings. I had not been reading this book very long before I returned it to her and got a copy for myself, together with all the other Christian Science books I could lay hands on, although I was in such a mental state that it seemed impossible to retain what I read. Some three or four months later I heard that Christian Science services were being held in the town where I was then living. I lost no time in calling on the first reader, and became a regular attendant at the services.
I quickly got to know many Christian Scientists and was much interested in hearing of the great blessings that Christian Science had brought into their lives. Each one that I met invariably put the question to me. What brought you into Christian Science? My answer was always the same,—Not physical healing, but because the more I read the textbook the more I want to read it. After attending a few Wednesday evening testimony meetings and hearing of many different cases of healing, I felt that there must be plenty of room for Christian Science to do something for me.
