When my wife and I first heard of Christian Science nearly thirty years ago, we were living over twelve miles from the nearest place in which it was being studied and demonstrated. Rumors reached us that people who had been considered incurable were being healed, and my wife decided to go on horseback to the place to learn more about this new method and to talk with the Christian Science practitioner who had recently come there. The conversation my wife had with the practitioner convinced her of the truth of the interpretation of the Bible given in Christian Science and of its applicability to human problems. When she arrived home she was enthusiastic about the religion.
When I learned that my father-in-law had been healed through Christian Science treatment of stomach trouble of many years' standing which had not yielded to medical treatment, I no longer had any doubt about Science and was thoroughly convinced that here was something extraordinary and unprecedented that surpassed all else. And so I turned with confidence to the practitioner with regard to a cancerous wound in my gum, which was by then in an advanced stage. The practitioner's declarations c truth had an immediate effect, and a few days later the gum was healed.
The practitioner explained to me that smoking and the practice of Christian Science do not go together. To give up the smoking habit seemed to me almost impossible, and I was greatly troubled. Am because I had recently purchased a new roll of tobacco, I was unhappy about the financial outlay I had made. I promised to give up smoking when I had used up the tobacco. However, the practitioner helped me to see that now was the accepted time to do it; so I sincerely resolved to stop, although resisting the temptation to smoke called for great restraint. Finally with the help of God I was victorious, for He helps those who are sincere.
