Every alert student of Christian Science acknowledges the importance of the Church Manual, the compilation of By-Laws written and prepared by Mary Baker Eddy for the guidance of her Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, known to Christian Scientists by the endearing term The Mother Church. Well may the student ask himself the questions, "What is the purpose of the Manual?" and. "Can we truly grasp and preserve the revelation contained in the Christian Science textbook without similarly understanding and upholding the Manual?"
To intelligently answer these two questions we must understand that Mrs. Eddy gave us the final revelation of Truth and that this final revelation is contained in its completeness in the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." It is true that Science and Health will keep on unfolding; indeed, every time we pick it up it is new as the depths of its spiritual meaning become more and more apparent. So infinite is the revelation that there will never come a time when we say, "I have finished with that book." Every Christianly scientific truth that unfolds to us stems from its inspired pages and must find verification therein. There is no higher revelation, nor is there any personal revelator who can ever lead us beyond what Mrs. Eddy gave us. Her revelation is the full and final truth; in other words, it is the appearing of Truth itself.
The Manual is designed to preserve this revelation for humanity in its purity, to keep it from becoming adulterated, and "broaden its channels." In her book "Retrospection and Introspection" Mrs. Eddy writes (p. 52), "For many successive years I have endeavored to find new ways and means for the promotion and expansion of scientific Mind-healing, seeking to broaden its channels and, if possible, to build a hedge round about it that should shelter its perfections from the contaminating influences of those who have a small portion of its letter and less of its spirit." The Manual builds such a hedge; indeed, one of its final By-Laws (Art. XXXV, Sect.1) describes its unique purpose as being to hedge about the budding thought with divine Love.
