Our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, founded The First Church of Christ, Scientist, for the good of mankind, and each of its many activities was instituted to meet a special need. The reading-room is one of the most important channels of the church through which the word of Truth, unobstructed by human opinions, meets the need of mankind. Today the prophecy of Habakkuk is literally being fulfilled, as by means of Christian Science literature the earth is "filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord." In the reading-room all have the opportunity to obtain a demonstrable understanding of divine Principle as revealed through the Word of God.
This quiet place is of inestimable value to business men and women; here too the weary wanderer in matter may find rest and peace, and the sincere inquirer be satisfied, having all questions answered and his fears removed through the revelation of Truth and Love to this age. As the Christian Science reading-room is a great blessing to the community in which it is established, it should be in as easily accessible a place as possible. In many small places and where the work of the cause has just started, it is not always expedient or even possible to have a regular librarian, but those who in turn have charge of the rooms should watch and work to keep out the thought of confusion among themselves as well as among the visitors, and always to have in mind that the reading-room is a part of the Church of Christ, Scientist, and was never intended as a place for social gathering and conversation. Nor do those who need and seek the knowledge of God go to the reading-room to be entertained by personal opinions. In this connection it is well to study often Section 7 of Article XXV of the Manual of The Mother Church. He who is hungering and thirsting for righteousness can he satisfied with nothing less than Truth, and from the authorized literature he will have his questions answered and will get only what he can understand.
Nearly every question put to a librarian can and should he answered in this way. If you and I should need to know what Christian Science teaches on any specific subject, or if we are in doubt of the absolute and therefore scientific truth of something we have heard, we would certainly know that if we could go directly to Mrs. Eddy we would learn the truth on the subject. Now through the Concordance to Science and Health and the Concordance to our Leader's other writings we have the privilege of doing this very thing, thus averting the misfortune of a mistake ever occurring in either our theory or our practice, as any statement which is not based upon Principle and proved to be correct from her premise, is not Christian Science and we need give it no more credence. As we read on page 174 of Science and Health: "Truth is revealed. If needs only to be practised."
