From the time I was six years old, I wanted to read the Bible straight through. I remember starting with the first chapter of Genesis, and loving the thought of God creating everything good. Then I went on to other chapters, but I rarely read beyond the middle of Genesis before school or other activities encroached on my time. Months later, I'd begin again. It was after college when I finally finished reading all 66 books of the Bible in sequence.
My dad always recommended the New Testament, which I frequently read. But I intuitively felt that Jesus' healings and teachings were rooted in the spiritual growth recorded in the Old Testament.
An invaluable companion to my Bible study was Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. This book provided a method of looking at the Bible spiritually that I could understand even as a child. Reading Mrs. Eddy's spiritual interpretation of Scriptural passages formed a solid foundation for doing my own prayer and spiritual thinking. As a result, the genealogies in the Old Testament, and the many battles portrayed there, which some people complain about, didn't bother me.
