Sometimes students of Christian Science wonder how relevant the Manual of The Mother Church is. Occasionally we may hear someone say that the Manual should be subject to change just as the Constitution of the United States is amended to keep up with changing times. What do we really think of our Church Manual?
We should study the Manual of The Mother Church by Mrs. Eddy lovingly and devotedly if we would recognize its spiritual origin, design, and effect. As the Manual's By-Laws are assimilated, they lead us out of materialism and progressively reveal man, individually and collectively, in the likeness of God. As we apprehend the preserving power of God, divine, governing Love, which obedience to the Manual demonstrates, we will understand that theological misinterpretation, medical theories, and material opinions with their speculative designs will have no adverse influence upon The Mother Church or branch Churches of Christ, Scientist, and their members.
The Church Manual did not originate in church councils, and it simply cannot be understood merely in terms of legal or religious concepts. Spiritual law illumined Mrs. Eddy's consciousness and brought to her receptive thought a divine plan to govern, nurture, and maintain her church's organization. The By-Laws were the outpouring of her love for God and Church, and they must be understood through the inspiration of spiritual sense. We acknowledge Mary Baker Eddy as the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science and the Leader of the Christian Science movement —a God-appointed and anointed revelator of Truth. Because the presence and power of the Christ felt in her writings bring healing and spiritual enlightenment to humanity, her followers realize that the Manual is a divinely original masterpiece, and they are alert to animal magnetism's ruse to undermine their full obedience to it and their recognition of its pristine perfectness and completeness.
