Some years ago when applying to join a branch Church of Christ, Scientist, I was interviewed by a Christian Science practitioner, whom I had asked to be my sponsor. This very loving man commenced by asking me several questions and then, probably sensing my lack of experience, went on to warn me not to place my fellow church members on pedestals.
He told me that being part of a church membership was like being part of a family. Although members were united in a common bond of love for God and for Christian Science, disagreements might arise. He advised me to look to God rather than to people for guidance and then I would avoid disappointment and disillusionment.
In 1908, Martha W. Wilcox, who later became a Christian Science practitioner and teacher, was called to Mary Baker Eddy's home to serve in the position of housekeeper. On her arrival, Mrs. Eddy spoke to Mrs. Wilcox about the nature of mental malpractice and how to handle it. She explained that when one feels disturbed or upset because of another's words or actions, the disturbance needs to be met within one's own mentality. She showed Mrs. Wilcox that the danger does not arise from without but from within consciousness, and that personalities are not separate from consciousness but are mental images formed within it. Mrs. Wilcox later wrote: "She [Mrs. Eddy] showed me that this seeming-within enemy could never harm me if I were awake to the truth and active in the truth. This lesson on mental malpractice was quite apropos for one entering a household comprised of never less than 17 up to 25 so-called personalities."We Knew Mary Baker Eddy (Boston: The Christian Science Publishing Society, 1979), p. 200 .
