No greater joy have I known than that which I have gained through the study and application of Christian Science. It is my desire, in giving this testimony, to share my gratitude for the blessings which I have received through its teachings.
In my childhood home the Bible was greatly valued. My mother and father were ardent workers in an orthodox church and we were well grounded in Bible stories. Then my mother passed away, leaving my father bitterly lonely and with six children sadly in need of a mother's care. I could never understand why God could perform so cruel an act, for death, to us, was an act of God, and we thought He had taken her from us, although she had prayed earnestly to live for us. As I grew older, that thought increased. Before going to bed, we had always knelt at our bedside in prayer; now it seemed a foolish thing to do. What kind of God was it who lived so far away and so far above us, who sometimes heard our prayers, but more often not? I tried to continue reading my Bible, which I had always loved, but it did not seem to bring much practical comfort. So I gradually drifted away from church attendance and Bible study, though with a greatly disturbed sense.
Later, when I had a family of my own, we went on our vacation to the mountains and took with us a neighbor. Each morning she would take her books and go alone into the woods to read. One day she asked me to join her. Wishing to be a kind and courteous hostess, I complied. The books were the Bible and "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy. As we read I recognized that here were the very teachings of Christ Jesus made plain. These books revealed a God who is Love and who is eternally near, and the Christ, Truth, to be daily manifested.
