Back of every right activity in the Church of Christ, Scientist, is a spiritual idea to be discerned and demonstrated; and a business meeting with perfect divine intelligence understood and utilized therein, would be the expression of such an idea. Many human footsteps must be taken before this perfection is realized and demonstrated, and it may be profitable to consider some of them. An important question naturally arises, What should be the attitude of a member of a branch church toward its business meetings?
No department of the church work calls for a larger and more active demonstration by each member than does the business meeting. It is in these meetings that the member is called upon to exercise complete faith in and reliance upon divine Principle, for here is where helpful opportunities are afforded for the proof of his own understanding of God's government in its control of his thoughts and words. Every member should recognize the importance of attendance at these meetings, since they not only serve as wonderful occasions for individual growth, but are a very prominent factor in the progress of our cause as a whole. What member of a human family would fail to be present at every conference where matters important to the welfare of the family were to be considered, and how much more should the members of a branch church be joyously happy in having a voice in questions which are among the most deeply significant of present-day affairs.
Each alert Christian Scientist should therefore be awake to the necessity of doing specific mental work before attending a business meeting of his church, for how else can he be sure that he has on "the whole armor of God" and is ready to hold his thought true to Principle, so that the errors of mortal mind—self-will, pride, impatience, intolerance, ignorance, and the like—shall not seem to control him. When Christian Science reaches mortals it finds them in all sorts of mental conditions, and the business meeting of a Church of Christ, Scientist, is made up—from a relative standpoint—of mortal minds in as many different stages of progress as there are persons attending. None as yet have attained the perfect demonstration of wisdom, intelligence, and love; therefore here is presented a favorable opportunity to demonstrate what Mrs. Eddy calls the "transitional qualities," namely, "humanity, honesty, affection, compassion, hope, faith, meekness, temperance" (Science and Health, p. 115). Could we today have a more demonstrable model for one's activities than these same mental qualities?
