With God-bestowed wisdom and foresight Mary Baker Eddy writes in the Manual of The Mother Church (Art. XXIII, Sect. 10), "In Christian Science each branch church shall be distinctly democratic in its government, and no individual, and no other church shall interfere with its affairs." Let us consider what the faithful application and fulfillment of this rule can mean to each church member, to each branch church, to the movement, and to the world.
Are not the nations of the world in their cry for freedom really desiring the freedom which is inherent in true democracy, and has not our beloved Leader pointed out the way whereby the Churches of Christ, Scientist, "lift up a standard for the people" (Isa. 62:10)? For instance, in "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" she writes (pp. 246, 247): "The Magna Charta of Christian Science means much, multum in parvo,—all-in-one and one-in-all. It stands for the inalienable, universal rights of men. Essentially democratic, its government is administered by the common consent of the governed, wherein and whereby man governed by his creator is self-governed." Here we have the starting point and the fulfillment of all true democracy.
What a glorious occupation Mrs. Eddy provided for her followers when she thus outlined the way they may come into line with this true democracy. A young member of a branch church attended her first church business meeting. She had prayed long and earnestly that God's government would be manifested throughout the meeting and felt sure that her prayers, together with those of the more experienced members of this large branch church, would result in complete harmony. What a disappointment was hers when the meeting dragged on without a satisfactory result. She returned home crestfallen. However, after attending several such meetings she noticed that the problems under discussion were very similar to those appearing at that time in the world. She reasoned that a problem solved in the church would help in the solution of a similar problem in the world. When this fact was recognized, church membership became very vital.
