When Christian Science was first brought to my attention, I was in dire need of help. I had been away from home attending a university, but had been forced to leave because of a nervous condition which resulted in run-down health.
One day a neighbor of ours saw me in the yard, and she asked me if I would like to try Christian Science. I said I would, although I knew nothing about it. The next day I went to see a Christian Science practitioner. Medical treatment and a diet I had been following were discontinued.
I gradually began to improve, and with my health regained, I soon returned to the university and finished my education. I have always been humbly grateful for this experience.
At that time I was most willing to accept the wonderful benefits of Christian Science, but I did not study and practice its teachings as I should have done. Although during a period of several years I received help from the prayerful work of others, it was only after two or three severe experiences that I began to study and apply this Science.
Finally I desired church membership in a branch church. The smoking habit had been dropped, but the desire to drink intoxicants persisted. I asked for help from a practitioner, and it was lovingly given. At my first visit the practitioner told me that a sincere desire to quit was half the victory. The practitioner worked prayerfully for about a month, and while the temptation to drink came a few times after that, I soon lost all desire for intoxicants in any form.
About the time I applied for church membership, I had an experience which proved the power of Christian Science to protect and deliver. I was suspected of a very serious crime, and some of the circumstances strongly pointed to me. I immediately sought the help of a practitioner. The authorities questioned me, and later I learned that members of my family were to be questioned. But that never occurred, thanks to Christian Science. Several other persons were questioned, and finally one man was held, although there were practically no clues. Within two and a half days after the work in Science was taken up, this man confessed, and I was completely exonerated.
The night the confession was obtained the practitioner told me that two passages had come to him. One was from Luke (12:2), "There is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known." The other was from Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy (p. 542), "Let Truth uncover and destroy error in God's own way, and let human justice pattern the divine." One of the investigators later told me that after they had questioned the guilty suspect for some time, they started two or three times to quit and tell their superior that they could do nothing further. But he said that something kept telling them to go on, and they did until the story of the crime was disclosed.
In less than two weeks I was healed of a severe case of hemorrhoids. This healing came when I suddenly realized man's complete dominion over the material senses. Traits of character, self-consciousness, and a fear of speaking before audiences have been overcome. Harmonious business relations have been experienced, and what seemed to be a serious mistake was rectified when it was revealed that man has really never made a mistake.
For these many wonderful experiences, I am unspeakably grateful. I am especially grateful for the practitioners who have helped me along the way. I could not close without an expression of deep gratitude for our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, for membership in The Mother Church and a branch church, and for class instruction.— Tulsa, Oklahoma.
