The Manual of The Mother Church by Mary Baker Eddy is an integral part of the whole Christian Science movement. The author gives it great importance when she lists it with the Bible and with her book "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" in the following passage from "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" (pp. 251, 252): "Adhere to the teachings of the Bible, Science and Health, and our Manual, and you will obey the law and gospel."
The beginner in the study of Christian Science may be inclined to think of the Manual as a mere set of Rules because its phraseology differs from that of Science and Health and because it deals with the organization of The Mother Church. But as the spiritual sense of Church, which permeates the Manual, is gained through the unfoldment of the truth to individual consciousness, the importance of this book is realized. It becomes a wise guide, a faithful counselor, a guard against mistakes, and a loving protection on our journey from earth to heaven.
When founding the Church of Christ, Scientist, our Leader thought that laws of limitation would never be needed for a Christian Scientist, but experience taught her otherwise (see Miscellany, p. 229). Without the Manual, pure Christian Science, with its element of healing, would soon be lost to the world. Instead of one authorized set of Rules governing the whole movement, many diverse opinions would creep in, thus breaking the unity upon which Christian Science is founded. The Church must be protected not only from opponents who would deride it, but also from the conscious or unconscious mistakes made by students of Christian Science.
