Here at The Christian Science Publishing Society, we have been devoting considerable thought and prayer to the ongoing task of understanding more clearly—and thus fulfilling more effectively—the distinct mission Mary Baker Eddy intended for each of the Christian Science periodicals she founded. We welcome and encourage you—our readers and contributors—to join us in this important endeavor.
Central attention is being given to the way Mrs. Eddy described the purpose of each periodical in her editorial in the first issue of The Christian Science Monitor, which is reprinted in The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany under the heading "Something in a Name." She says: "I have given the name to all the Christian Science periodicals. The first was The Christian Science Journal, designed to put on record the divine Science of Truth; the second I entitled Sentinel, intended to hold guard over Truth, Life, and Love; the third, Der Herold der Christian Science, to proclaim the universal activity and availability of Truth; the next I named Monitor, to spread undivided the Science that operates unspent. The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind." Miscellany, p. 353.
The Editors would like to share with you some of the thoughts that have been unfolding to our staff in regard to the specific purpose of the Journal. We've been asking ourselves (and consulting the Bible and our Leader's writings for answers) "What does it mean 'to put on record the divine Science of Truth'? Where does it need to be put on record, and why? How is the Journal doing this, and how can it do it better?"
