I suffered for thirty-five years from numerous ailments, among them serious stomach and bowel trouble, which many physicians and material remedies failed to cure, and seldom relieved; and for almost fifty years I had striven ineffectually under the old teachings of Protestant religions for spiritual light about God and man. I did not know what to believe, or how to get out of my physical suffering. I could not believe many of the theories that were preached and taught in the churches and elsewhere; so I withdrew from the church where I had been a member for many years, resolved to try to live the Golden Rule and do the best I could.
For many years I was misinformed about Christian Science, and consequently did not want to have anything to do with it; and no mental or physical relief came until Christian Science entered my life through daily contact with a Scientist. Seeing the Christian life she was living, and recalling the testimonies of healing I had heard, I decided there must be something in her religion. As my sufferings grew more serious daily, I decided, with very little hope, to call upon this lady to see if she thought she could help me. She soon told me that God did not make me sick, or cause any one to die. That instantly won my heart, for that was what I wanted to believe. I began to get better immediately; for I felt that if Christian Science were of God, it was all right, and that if there were any failure, it was our own fault: and from that time until this, there has never been a day when I have not been consciously thankful for Christian Science.
I have seen and known of hundreds of cases of healing, and many of them wonderful,—the healing of cancer, tuberculosis, epilepsy, neurasthenia, and other ills. I am thankful beyond measure to God, divine Love, for opening the way to eternal Truth for all of us through a better understanding of the Bible. I am grateful for the life and works of Christ Jesus, our great Way-shower, and that our revered Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, was pure enough and faithful enough to prove to the world that Jesus meant what he said, by showing us through her life and works that the works that Jesus did may be done again. I am thankful from the depths of my heart for what Mrs. Eddy has given to the world,— for her writings, the periodicals, lectures, Reading Rooms, et cetera, and for the spiritual understanding I have gained through them.
