On completion of the Original Edifice of The Mother Church in 1895, The Christian Science Board of Directors presented to Mrs. Eddy a miniature facsimile of the granite cornerstone of the building. It was six inches in each dimension and contained a gold box inscribed with an affectionate message from the members of the Board. With this gift they sent an address on behalf of all contributors to the Church Building Fund, saying, "We hereby present this church to you as a testimonial of love and gratitude for your labors and loving sacrifice, as the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, and the author of its textbook, 'Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.'"Pul., p. 86;
Although Mrs. Eddy lovingly declined the offering of the material church building, one can recognize in her response her deep appreciation of the gesture. And she ended her letter with characteristic turning of thought from material symbols to spiritual substance. She wrote: "More effectual than the forum are our states of mind, to bless mankind. ... As our church's tall tower detains the sun, so may luminous lines from your lives linger, a legacy to our race."ibid., p. 87; And, indeed, the memory remains with us of all that the church edifice signifies of the devotion of thought to the revelation of the Comforter, divine Science, expressed in that earlier period. It is a reminder of the debt of love and gratitude we owe today to our Leader and to her faithful followers of the past century, whose fidelity to Truth has added over the years to the strength and healing influence of the Church of Christ, Scientist. The legacy of light we have inherited from them all is an inspiration to us today, and will be to posterity. It is fitting that we should give thanks for their work—as we may hope that future generations will wish to give thanks for whatever legacy of understanding and demonstration we leave to them.
Now, as in the past, love and gratitude constitute essential foundation stones of the Church of Christ, Scientist. These qualities are built right into its structure, and into the life of each of its obedient members. In the Manual of The Mother Church Mrs. Eddy writes in one of its By-Laws, "Gratitude and love should abide in every heart each day of all the years."Man., Art. XVII, Sect. 2;
