Christian Science is the only form of religious teaching which I have ever embraced, having been educated in its precepts from the time I was five years of age. I have always accepted as a matter of course the fundamentals of this truth, and would have looked with amazement upon the presence of a doctor in our household. Notwithstanding this apparently excellent background, and my constant association with earnest workers in Science, I was not elementally a Christian Scientist—there was something lacking. What this lack was, remained for me to discover when I was removed from the immediate sphere of influence of the one upon whom it appeared I had relied for the solving of all my problems.
I lacked the practical application of the great truths I had learned, and it is as impossible to be a Christian Scientist without demonstrating its Principle as it is to be a mathematician without proving the various theorems and propositions for one's self. I found that to be a Christian Scientist was not merely to attend the Sunday and Wednesday evening services with regularity, and to skim the Lesson-Sermon each day perfunctorily, but systematically to seek a knowledge of that truth which makes men free, to emulate the works of the Master, and to obey his precepts. Having progressed thus far, I ceased to look upon Science as a religion of mere optimism, and found it to be a means to real right thinking and right living. Then were the fruits of my understanding made manifest, not only in an improved physical condition and in the ability to work out specific, physical problems, but in a mental enlightenment which has increased many fold as my understanding has advanced.
Christian Science has been the compelling force of my college career, an experience fraught with error disguised in many and devious cloaks. During this time there is nothing for which I have been more grateful than for the privilege of rendering service to the cause by being an usher in the local church, and I know it has been a blessing to all my fellow students who have thus had the opportunity to express their deep gratitude to Mrs. Eddy. Secondly, I am indeed appreciative of the provision made in The Mother Church Manual for the establishment and maintenance of Christian Science societies in connection with colleges and universities. Our local organization, though young, has served as a bond for mutual uplift and for the working out of problems seemingly peculiar to the college student.
