Mrs. Eddy places Church in a vital position in relation to the Cause of Christian Science, for she states, "The church is the mouthpiece of Christian Science,—its law and gospel are according to Christ Jesus; its rules are health, holiness, and immortality,—equal rights and privileges, equality of the sexes, rotation in office."The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 247;
Since mankind did not at once recognize and accept her discovery of the Science of being, our Leader saw the necessity of an impersonal means to maintain this Science unadulterated for the generations to come. It is no wonder that she worked diligently to establish her Church on the rock of Christ, Truth. With such a foundation it will continue to maintain its indispensable position as "the mouthpiece of Christian Science."
The example of the changes in the early Christian Church confirms the need for maintaining, in undiminished demonstration, the purity and power of the Science of being that Jesus, our Way-shower, thoroughly lived. Jesus had manifested the Christ for all mankind in all that he said and did. Yet he had well known the limitations of the general thought of that age when many followers failed to grasp the deeper metaphysics that were so natural to him. A few had understood and passed it on by word of mouth to others, who carried on healing work after the manner of Jesus' example. Yet this healing work continued for only about three hundred years after the time of Jesus. Gradually, as material concepts began to assume a greater place in the Christian movement, healing through spiritually uplifted prayer became less and less frequent. Finally spiritual healing efforts were dropped almost entirely.
