Our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, writes (No and Yes, p. 25): "Man outlives finite mortal definitions of himself, according to a law of 'the survival of the fittest.'" And in our church organization she provided an orderly series of opportunities to help the student of Christian Science outlive and outgrow all limiting definitions of himself, to fit him with the knowledge and ability to practice Christian and scientific healing.
One of the most inspiring and joy-filled opportunities so provided is class instruction from an authorized teacher of Christian Science. The conditions under which the student may avail himself of this great privilege are set out by our Leader in the Manual of The Mother Church (Articles XXVI and XXVII). In her other writings, too, there are many helpful comments on spiritual education in general and on this important step in particular.
During the period of instruction profound spiritual truths of God and man are simply and clearly unfolded to the student, together with the method of their practical application. These truths can uplift his thought and transform his experience. They can help him to find fulfilled in his own daily living the promise of Christ Jesus (John 10:10): "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." This instruction blesses the student himself, and at the same time it enables him to make a larger contribution to the purification and leavening of human thought and society.
