IT is with gratitude that members of The Mother Church study the various reports read at the Annual Meeting, for each succeeding year carries with it signs of progress. There is nothing selfish in their gratitude, since what gives rise to it is their appreciation of the fact that something further has been done in bringing Christian Science, with its healing truth, to the world; something additional attained, in healing the mental and physical wounds of mankind; something more accomplished, in spiritualizing the thoughts of men. The reports of the various activities of The Mother Church indicate expansion and a greater degree of accomplishment.
The Christian Science movement is progressing—it cannot fail to progress, because of the healing work it is doing. When Christian Science was discovered by Mrs. Eddy in 1866, spiritual healing as practiced by Christ Jesus and the early Christian church had fallen into disuse. Since then the method of this healing, as set forth in Christian Science, has become increasingly known and more generally applied, until today its effects are acknowledged throughout the entire world. This is certain: the Christian Science movement as it is today is the result of the saving and healing work accomplished by the adherents of this Science.
Now, no Christian Scientist is ever perfectly satisfied with what has been accomplished; and he never will be satisfied, until God is universally acknowledged as All-in-all, and material sense is seen as utterly illusory and demonstrated to be nothing. The problem which the Christian Scientist ever has before him is the overcoming of mortal belief through the understanding of eternal Truth. Mrs. Eddy says on page 72 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," "Mortal belief (the material sense of life) and immortal Truth (the spiritual sense) are the tares and the wheat, which are not united by progress, but separated." The material sense of life and the spiritual sense—the tares and the wheat —seem to exist side by side in human consciousness; and it is there the separation must take place through the understanding of the unreality of the former—the tares— and the reality of the latter—the wheat. The understanding of Truth which Christian Science gives enables the student to do what the Master entreated those who heard him to do, as he taught in the temple (John 7:24), namely, "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment."
