When quite a young man I had a long talk with some atheists, with the result that when I left their house my belief in God was gone; and for about twenty years I lived almost any kind of life. From time to time I wondered about a hereafter, and finally worked out a theory founded on reincarnation. I had never been a student of the Bible, but once, just to get some of the facts from an historical point of view, I read from Genesis nearly through Psalms.
About sixteen years ago I went to a Christian Science lecture. After the lecture I questioned a member of my family for about three hours in regard to Christian Science. That night I read the chapter on Prayer in the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy. During the next three days, through reading that book, I was healed of the smoking and drinking habits. There had been a strong belief that I had inherited the drinking habit, and I smoked incessantly. A roughness on the inside of my mouth, with a certain amount of pain, also quickly disappeared. I began to attend the services of a Christian Science church, and through what I heard of the testimonies and by reading the textbook I was able to overcome the effects of an accident almost instantaneously. By the loving help of a practitioner I was healed of blood poisoning, which started from an infected finger. I could write of many more healings through the loving help of practitioners and friends, and through reading the works of our dear Leader, Mrs. Eddy.
While I am grateful for the many healings, I also feel unbounded joy in having a better understanding of God; and while I realize I have this understanding only in a small way, I know it can never be taken from me; also, by reading Science and Health I have obtained a better understanding of the Bible, and have been able to get a great deal of help from one of the psalms which before I had thought to be very dry reading.
